AN: Got some great reviews on the last chapter (Thanks!). Lots of good questions regarding the story. I've written up an Q&A at the end of this chapter if anyone is interested.
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Chapter 10 - All isn't what it seems
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Edward was the first one up after a sleepless night of watching over a sick and miserable Tony. The child had calmed down eventually and was now fast asleep, but that hadn't happened until after what felt like countless hours of crying and itching.
Poor Bella had gotten almost as little sleep as Edward himself and was still out cold. He expected she would stay in bed for several more hours. If it wasn't for his scheduled morning meeting with the plumber over at the house, Edward wouldn't have minded doing the same. He was dead tired, but instead of sleeping, he found himself in the kitchen, at seven in the morning, trying to repeat the feat of making breakfast for the second morning in a row. Surely, he deserved an award for this accomplishment? Or maybe not… If you have kids, you should at least know how to feed them…. and cheese on burnt toast does not count as cooking, apparently.
He had decided to attempt Cinnamon French toast. It would be easy enough, he hoped. The tutorial he'd found on youtube made it look like a breeze… Though, just cracking the eggs, trying not to get any shells in had been a messy ordeal.
Edward had the frying pan on the stove, and the milk/egg/sugar/cinnamon mixture whipped to a froth in a mixing bowl, when he heard keys rattling in the lock of the front door. Ignoring the sound he dipped a thick slice of toast into the egg batter and carefully laid it into the pan.
The door swung open with a creaking noise, but Edward didn't dare taking eyes off the stove. Mostly out of fear of burning the kitchen down, but also because he already knew it was Alice. Technically, Jasper did have a key too, but Edward could already sense his sister's intense presence close by. Also, he knew it was Alice, because he had sent her a text, asking if she could come over, knowing she had the day off and knowing that Bella would probably need some help with Tony, who was bound to be super cranky when he woke up.
"Hi, knucklehead!" Alice half whispered half hissed at him, as she tipped on her toes into the kitchen. "Thanks for waking me at five forty-five in the morning."
"Hi, brainless!" Edward responded, eyes firmly set on the bread in the sizzling hot frying pan. "It was more like six thirty and you've had heaps more sleep than me, so stop complaining."
"How is the little guy doing? He's sleeping, I hope?" Alice asked as she put her big shoulder bag down on the counter and turned to check her reflection in the microwave door.
"Yeah, he's sleeping. He is currently passed out cold on my bed and it took a lot of effort to get him that way. So, whatever you do, don't wake him," Edward cautioned, frowning in concentration. According to the tutorial he was supposed to slide the spatula under the toast to make sure it was cooked enough. If the bread stuck to the pan, then it wasn't ready.
"Wouldn't dream of disturbing him, or Bella. I'm sure they'll need all the rest they can get. I'll just set up my computer in the living room and do some work to pass the time," she moved as if to head out of the room.
"Wait—" Edward stopped her as she reached the door. "Could you, maybe, stay in the kitchen for a little while. Just in case I need a hand with the fire extinguisher," he muttered, because there was no telling how his effort in the kitchen would play out. Better safe than sorry….
"Oh My God, I didn't even realize you were cooking!" Alice exclaimed a little too loudly, and ran over to wrestle the spatula out of his hand. "Step away from the stove. I don't want the sprinklers going off, ruining my kitchen."
"Not funny," Edward replied sourly, as he sidestepped her, "You're almost as bad in the kitchen as I am."
"Am not," she returned. "I cook all the time."
"But never from scratch. Re-heating pre-made meals doesn't count, lazy bum." Edward pointed out, flipping the first piece of French toast onto a platter. It was a little 'eggy' and the cooking was a bit uneven. He took one bite, before deciding it would go straight into the trash the minute Alice turned her back.
"I cook enough to know when the temperature needs to be adjusted, unlike some people around here," Alice shot back, reaching around him to turn the knob that lowered the heat.
"You're not fooling anyone," Edward shook his head and waved the spatula dismissively. "You'd starve, if Jasper wasn't such a whiz in the kitchen."
"We're a team, me and Jaz. I'm his sous-chef. I make a mean pasta salad and superior quality roast beef sandwiches."
"We'll, that's great, but I'm attempting to make French toast here, so go sit in a corner or something," Edward responded with a huff, sliding another chunk of butter into the pan. "There is just no way I can do this AND deal with you at the same time."
"So grumpy, so grumpy," Alice mused pinching his cheek, making him frown. "I suppose, I could treat myself to a coffee and sit-down. Who knows? This might even be entertaining to watch. I'm allowed to talk though, right? Silence is not my strong suit."
"I don't care what you do, as long as you don't criticize my cooking skills, or get in my way." Edward ushered her towards the coffee pot and away from the stove. The next slice of bread needed to get in the pan like two minutes ago, or the butter would burn.
While Edward immersed himself into the task of getting the bread French speaking and nicely toasted, Alice sat cross-legged on the kitchen counter, sipping her coffee, chit chatting about anything and everything like she normally did.
As the clock ticked on, the kitchen filled with the wonderful smell of cinnamon and… well…burnt butter. The result was edible, Alice was kind enough to sample a bite or two, just to make sure. However, even Edward had to admit that his French toast could hardly be described as 'tasty looking' as they were a bit on the saggy side, with too much batter on each slice of bread.
"You seriously think Anthony will eat this?" Alice inquired, in her most innocent voice. " I mean, no offence, but that boy is one picky eater."
"He loves French toast."
"He loves Bella's and mom's French toast."
"Thanks, just what I needed to hear," Edward snorted, placing the last slice of bread in the pan. "Look, I was planing on putting them in the oven anyway, to keep them warm. Hopefully, they'll dry up a bit more."
"Well, they might…but they'll still look like shit," Alice cackled… yep, she's a meanie. "How long do you think they'll sleep, anyway? Until noon?" she went on, changing the subject.
"There is not telling. The longer the better, I reckon," Edward answered while he did a hasty job of washing out mixing bowls, cleaning utensils, and wiping down surfaces. "Dad said he was going to come by and check on Tony on his lunch break. I suppose they need to be awake for that."
"Oh, okay. I didn't know that," Alice said, hopping down from the kitchen counter. "It makes sense he would try to squeeze in a visit. You know they are leaving tomorrow, right? Jasper is taking them to the airport."
"I know, I promised mom we'd go out for dinner before they leave, but time has just flown by and… She'll be disappointed for sure."
"You're seeing her today, aren't you? Take her out for lunch or something. I'm sure she understands. It's not your fault the little guy isn't feeling his best."
"Well, yeah, she's helping me with the redwood treatment for the stairs. I doubt it's me she wants to spend more time with though, it's Tony. She loves her grandbabies."
"How about you invite mom and dad over tonight for dinner? You can have them bring the food. The Italian place down on Bleaker Street makes utterly delicious take-out food. The menu is in the top drawer next to the dishwasher."
"Maybe, I could do that," Edward agreed, grabbing his keys and his phone off the counter. "I should probably check with Bella first, though. She might not be up for it. She's seeing her chiropractor this afternoon. Usually her back muscles get really sore after those appointments, so…."
"Oh, this afternoon?" Alice asked, following Edward out of the kitchen. "You know I can only stay until two o'clock, right."
"Yeah, I know. We'll work it out, somehow. I'll probably have to come back watch him for an hour or two," Edward sighed. He pulled on his coat; kicking Tony's discarded snow boots out of the way as he searched for his own shoes. "Look, I need to get going, or I won't get anything done today. Keep an eye on the oven. Don't let anything burn. We don't want the sprinklers going or off, or the fire department to come knocking on the door."
"Oh, now you're giving me ideas… Men in uniform are always welcome at my door. Bet you, Bella wouldn't mind some eye candy either."
"She has her blood pressure to think of, " Edward pointed out, while checking the time on his phone. "Just don't traumatize my son, that's all I'm asking. I really, REALLY need to go now. Call me if anything happens and have Bella call me when she gets up, alright Brainless? You think you can handle that?"
"Of, course, Knucklehead. I've got everything under control. See you later!"
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"Uhm, hello! Where did you guys disappear to?" Alice hollowed into the stillness of the apartment a few hours later.
Bella and Tony had been up for nearly three hours and lunchtime was fast approaching.
Alice had been busy in the kitchen for the past half an hour, working on making a macaroni and cheese casserole from scratch. Because Edward was wrong, she actually DID know how to cook , she just preferred to let other people (i.e. Jasper) do it for her.
She had volunteered to make lunch for two reasons. One, Bella looked like she would fall over at any moment, worn down from sleep depravation and an aching back. And two, because she figured her ultimate revenge on her brother would be if she could get Tony to tell his daddy that he loved his auntie's lunch better than the soggy toast he had been force fed for breakfast. Because everyone knows infants make excellent food critics, right?!
Anyway, she had just put her casserole in the oven and had gone looking for the others. "Are you hiding? You're spooking me."
This time she got a response, a faint but clearly identifiable thump of a book falling to the ground and the quick shuffling to pick it up.
"In here," Bella called out from the room that was Tony's temporary bedroom, sounding a bit groggy.
"Oh, there you are. Were you asleep?" Alice asked trying not to sound too concerned, by the fact that she had just found Bella and Tony in a pile on the floor.
"Nah…. We we're just chilling and reading," Bella replied, patting the stack of photo albums at her side, trying to act like she hadn't just been caught asleep, though it was quite obvious that that had been the case. "Didn't notice him dozing off there," she added, looking over at Tony, who was sprawled out like a star fish on the floor by her feet, getting drool and spit all over his favorite tractor book.
"I just put the casserole in the oven, " Alice said, extending her arms out for Bella to latch onto, pulling her up off the ground. "It should be ready in twenty minutes, if you wanna wake him? Don't know what's best, to wake him when he clearly wants so sleep, or to let him sleep at the cost of going another hour without food? I know dad will be here in another 45 minutes, or so. "
"Let's move him to the bed," Bella suggested, wobbling a bit before finally standing up straight. "I'll wake him and feed him after the two of us have eaten."
"Alright, I do the lifting," Alice agreed, carefully scooping the child off the floor. "Could you move the pillows?"
"Wait, let me pull the covers off as well. There, put him down, " Bella instructed, clearing the bed so that Alice could lay the boy down and tuck him in.
"Have a good nap, little guy," Bella leaned down to kiss his cheek, then groaned as she felt the all too familiar pressure on her bladder. "Alice, I really need to jet off to the bathroom. Would you mind-… ?"
"Go! Don't worry about Tony. I'll keep an eye on him."
"Thanks," Bella called out over her shoulder, already waddling out of the room.
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When Bella came back from the bathroom she found that Rosalie had joined Alice in the kitchen. It turned out Rose had managed to push her shift back a few hours, so that both Alice and Edward could go with their respective plans for the afternoon without worrying about who would look after Tony when Bella left for her two a clock appointment with her chiropractor.
"I had the new girl, Jodie, take my afternoon class," Rosalie explained. "She needs the experience, and I need a break. I'm not a machine, you know. Three spinning- and six pump classes a week takes its tolls even on the fittest of person."
"That's crazy! I though you only stepped in when one of the regular instructors call in sick?" Bella commented, because that's what she remembered from short stint of filling in as a front desk receptionist at Emmett's gym.
"Didn't I tell you? Adam damaged his C4 vertebrae, when he took his girls ice skating on new years. He's won't be back for three months at the very least."
"Ouch! Well, I guess that explains why you've been looking a bit drained and worn out lately," Bella teased. Rosalie always looked like a picture of health. Having a child didn't seem to have aged her, or slowed her down one single bit. She seemed more confident and comfortable in her skin these days, than the Rosalie that Bella remembered from high school.
"Crap! Is it really that noticeable?" Instead of laughing it off, like Bella had expected her too, Rosalie looked genuinely taken back. "Whatever you do, don't get older! I'm telling you! It really sucks all energy out of you," she grumbled, hiding her face in her hands.
"Is this about the big 30?"Alice laughed. "Relax, your birthday is still several months away."
"Shut up, Al," Rosalie snapped, "This is about Emmett wanting to hire someone to cover for Adam and me saying 'don't be silly, I can do it'. You know what his response was? He said, 'You're twenty-five anymore, babe.' The nerve of that man! "
"How dare he!" Alice voice held the perfect amount of indignation.
"I know," Rosalie grumbled. "I have to do this. I HAVE to put him in place. It's only been a few weeks and I'm already running on my last fumes. On top of everything else, I have a child to raise, a home to run and a husband to keep on a short leash. You know how Emmett is. He'll never let me live this down, if I don't see this to the end."
"Now, I feel bad for relying on your help with Tony so much," Bella sighed, absentmindedly shifting in her seat, both of her hands behind her, rubbing her stiff back. "If there is anything I can do…"
"No, I didn't mean it like that. Both Emmett and I love your little guy and Elliott adores him too. It's been great fun to see those two get to know each other. "
" I'd hate to see you burn yourself out in the process, though!"
"I just need to whine and complain to someone...and then I'll feel better." Rosalie waved her concern away. "Also, I'm about to start my period, so it's mostly the hormones talking. I feel so bloated it's not even funny!"
"Me too, sistah," Alice exclaimed. "My boob's are hurting and my stomach is cramping. Ugh! You're so lucky to have nine months of not having to deal with any of that, Bella."
"OMG! Shut up, Al! You have no idea what you're talking about," Rosalie groaned, while Bella outright laughed.
"I'd gladly take menstrual cramps over extreme mood swings, hormonal imbalance and swollen...well, everything."
"Emmett wants another kid like yesterday, but if I get my say, that won't happen until Elliott is in school."
"Didn't you have trouble conceiving though?" Alice pointed out. "You probably shouldn't wait too long, if you want more kids."
"I wouldn't mind adopting the next one…" Rosalie shrugged. "What about you, Bella? You want more kids after this one?"
"Hell no!" she replied without even blinking. "I mean, it's not a definite no, but I feel two is quite enough for now."
"Uh-uh, does my brother know you feel that way? Because I'm pretty sure I heard him tell Em, you'll keep going until they have one of each at least. Not counting Tony."
"I wouldn't take that kind of talk too seriously. The shock of just how much work a newborn can be will change his tune real quick."
"Why wouldn't we count Tony?" Bella interjected, not that it made any difference on her standpoint in the matter, but because the absurdity of not counting Tony really boggled her mind. Of course he counted. He was their first. He was the glue that kept them together.
"Hey… quiet! Did you guys hear that?" Alice asked suddenly. "I think I heard something."
Bella was off her chair and on her feet immediately, but the other girls stopped her.
"You stay where you are! Alice will go check on the little guy."
"No, I'll go," Bella insisted. "Alice should check on the oven. I smell something burning."
Bella winked at Rosalie, before taking the opportunity to escape the kitchen. She almost felt guilty when she heard the Alice panic over what this meant for her casserole.
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Bella found Tony sitting in the middle of his bed, clutching his stuffed tiger, with big fat tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Edda..." he whimpered when he saw Bella entering the room.
"Aww, sweetheart. I'm here. I've got you."
"Bewwa, I wan my Edda," the boy cried, extending his arms, wanting to be picked up.
"It's okay bug, daddy's working right now, but he'll be back later." Bella soothed him. Her stomach made it difficult for her to cuddle him properly, but she tried to make it up to him by sinking down on the bed pulling him into her arms.
"Bewa?" Tony hiccupped, wiping his nose on her shirt.
"Yes, I'm right here. Guess who else is waiting to see you? Your auntie Alice is still here. She's in the kitchen making lunch for us," Bella told him, drying his tears with her sleeve. She was going to have to change clothes now anyway. "You know who else is here? Your auntie Rose! You're such a lucky little boy, with two aunts here to see you at once. AND also, your grandfather will be here soon. Three visitors in one day. How cool is that!"
"El?" Tony asked furrowing his eyebrows and tilting his head sideways.
"No, no Elliott today. Your cousin is visiting one of his other friends from daycare today. Remember, we talked about this when you brushed your teeth earlier," Bella reminded him, kissing his cheek. "Come on let's go eat some lunch. I have to go out for a little while, but Rose brought Elliott's 'Planes' DVD, for you two to watch. You'll have so much fun; you won't even know I'm gone."
"No," the boy wailed, having picked up on the going out for a while part.
"No, what? You don't want lunch, or you don't want to watch the DVD," Bella asked, pretending she didn't know the real reason he was protesting.
"No, go leave, Bewwa." He clung to her neck, his little hands fisted in the tangled length of her hair.
"Honey, it's just for an hour and a half. I'll come back., I promise." Bella felt her eyes tear up, but she it together the best she could. "I love you heaps and heaps. I'll never leave you and neither will your daddy. We'll always be your family. ALWAYS."
"Edda?" the boy whimpered.
"Yes, Edward is your daddy. Just like Emmett is Elliott's daddy," Bella explained slowly and with slight hesitation. "We should have had this conversation ages ago. You know what? We should tell daddy about this when he gets home tonight. We should tell him that we're a family. That he's the daddy and I'm the mommy and that we all love each other very much, alright?!"
"Say Edda daddo?"
"Yes," A laughter bubbled in her chest. "Yes, we'll tell Edward you know he's your daddy. He'll love hearing that from you."
"Otay," Anthony sighed, his forehead touching hers as his thumb went to his mouth.
"You feeling sleepy, baby?" she asked, running her hand through his hair. "We should eat first, and wait for grandpa Carlisle to get here, then you can sleep all you want. How does that sound?"
"Macaloni and cheese, pease and fhank you," he mumbled around his thumb.
"Aww, sweetheart. You're the best kid any mother could ever ask for." This time there was no stopping the tears from falling. She made a point to smile through it all though, making sure he knew it was happy tears, as she lifted him onto her hip and carried him intro the kitchen.
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"Wow, look at this pic!" Alice said, tapping her finger at the page in the album she was flipping through. "Is that Renee? Look at that belly. She looks ready to pop any minute."
Bella swallowed down another mouthful of food and craned her neck to see what she friend was talking about.
"Yes, that's Renee," she confirmed, then she furrowed her brows. "The date says 4th of July, so that means she was not even six months along there."
"Yikes," Rosalie, shook her head. "She was big."
Anthony contributed to the conversation by poking his nose with a sticky finger.
"Stop that Tony, or you'll end up with cheese stuck in there permanently," Bella warned, grabbing a baby wipe to clean his hand and face.
"You sure you don't have a secret twin lurking somewhere, Bella," Alice teased, turning the page and holding the album up to show the others, two more pictures of a very, very pregnant looking Renee.
"I don't think I've ever heard how much she gained, but she swore she'd never have another baby, because her body wasn't built for it."
She hadn't given it much thought before, but now that it was pointed out to her, she had to agree that the otherwise always very slender looking Renee must have been on the heavier side of average during her pregnancy. Her bump seemed enormous in those pictures.
"You know that pregnancy weight gain is hereditary, right?!" Rosalie pointed out, confirming the thought that had just flashed through Bella's mind.
"Shut up," she groaned, pushing her plate away. Thankfully, her phone chimed, just then, saving her from stressing over the weight issue, because as she checked her phone, another issue was brought to her attention.
Bella couldn't help but snort out loud at the message displayed on the screen.
"What's happening?" Alice's head snapped up in curiosity.
"Edward's being ridiculous," Bella replied, with a shake of her head. "He texted me earlier about dinner with your parents tonight and I replied with 'Sure, but I'm inviting Seth over as well'. This is the response I got." She turned her phone for the others to see.
It was a four seconds long video clip of Edward banging his head against a brick wall. "There is no sound, but I think you, but you get the idea."
"Still no love lost between those two, I take it?"
"Nope. No warm, fuzzy feelings there… I feel like there's this silly pissing contest going on."
"Are you sure it's not a di-.. duck measuring one," Rosalie snorted, rescuing Tony's plate of food as the little boy immediately attempted to mimic his father, banging his head against the kitchen table. "What a fine example he's setting, your old man, eh Tony?!"
Bella sighed and reached for another baby wipe. "I don't think Edward has anything against Seth per say. It's just that he serves as a reminder of things he would rather just forget. Perhaps it's simply that he's been the bearer of bad news one time too many."
"So, why do you keep bringing him around, then?" Alice asked curiously, getting up to head over to the counter, where she helped herself to another refill of the casserole; her third. Some damn fine cooking, indeed.
"We work together, not to mention, he's a good friend of mine. I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to have friends, even male ones," Bella huffed, grabbing Tony's sticky hands before they could land on her shirt.
"Of course you do. What I meant was, why don't you just meet up with him elsewhere? What my brother doesn't know won't hurt him. It would save you a lot of tension."
"It's more convenient to have him come here, with Tony and everything. Also, I don't want to have to sneak around, that's just wrong…" Bella shrugged, reaching for her glass of milk. "I wouldn't-…. NO, Tony! Stop that! What have I said about playing with your food?!"
"Is a no," the boy pouted, opening his hand to let go of the handful of mashed vegetables he had just grabbed off his plate.
"That's right. We don't play with our food."
"Here let me take him," Rosalie suggested. "I'll get him cleaned up, so that you can finish eating before Carlisle get here." she offered, lifting the boy out of his high chair.
"Thanks Rose! You're a lifesaver. I was hoping I'd have time to change into something more presentable."
"Go, get changed. I'll handle this messy little fella. By the way Alice, didn't you say you had to leave at a quarter past the latest?"
"Oh, shoooot," Alice cursed, throwing a glance at her watch. "Yeah, I've gotta go. Have fun at the chiropractor, Bella. Oh and have fun at dinner tonight. Tell Edward, no fistfights and no throwing stuff in my apartment."
"I doubt it will go that far," Bella laughed. "But I've been wrong before."
"I expect a play-by-play tomorrow," Alice insisted, picking up her purse and waving goodbye to Tony.
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AN: Q&A
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Q: What is an EPIPen?
A: I realize now that I should have included an explanation to this in the chapter… It was mentioned earlier in Toxic Lullaby, but that was quite a while ago, so I get that no one remembers that.
EpiPen is a prefilled automatic injection used in emergency situations for the treatment of severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis). You keep the EpiPen nearby and ready for use at all times.
I should have done better research on this from the beginning, because as it turns out the epipen should be stored at room temperature, protected from light and NOT in the refrigerator. Oops…
Q: Were Edward and Alice adopted by the Cullens?
A: Yes, and Emmett too, but they are as close as any siblings can be... too close even... to the point where they tend to be all up each others business, all the time. I had to go back and look at what I've written about this previously… They grew up together and they share a similar past; all three of them were orphaned at a tender age (around 5 yo) and all three of them were adopted into the same family at roughly the same age.
Q: This Aunt or her brother is going to have something to do with Edward aren't they?
A: Usually when there are new characters introduced they are added to the mix for a specific reason. The photo albums will play an important role. In the first story we had the stalker letters, in the second story it was Bella's recorded messages and Angela's diary, in this story we have auntie Maggie's photos and captions. Also note that sometimes you have to add more characters to a story to make the ending too easy to predict. They could be decoys…
Q: I noticed this is no longer labeled Edward/Bella. Is there a reason for that?
A: Nope, no reason other than me being sloppy. I simply missed adding them as a pairing when I posted the first chapter. It's definitely a B&E story and it will have happy ending. I don't think anyone will die, at least not anyone important. No cheating, but probably no wedding either… we'll see about that…