Disclaimer: Not Stephenie Meyer and to be safe, I'm not Jeff Davis either. If was, I'd be thinking up ideas for a new series of Criminal Minds, rather than taking his characters qualities, putting them into Twilight characters and twisting them around for my pleasure.

I'm going to try and update once a week at the weekend. It might not be something that actually happens but I'm going to try. I've just started a new job so things are still up in the air at the moment.

Enjoy.

"I know you're an agent with the FBI now and I was so proud when I heard that." She smiled and I took a breath, not wanting to let anything slip. "But there are some things you don't know, Edward."

"And what would those be?"

"I think you need to sit down."

. . . . . . . . . .

Edward

"I'm alright standing, thanks." I crossed my arms, glancing up to see Emmett and Rose carrying Nicky up the stairs. Emmett gave me a look that told me he was giving us some time unless it started to sound like we were killing each other. I nodded and he made his way behind his mother and son.

"Sweetheart, please." She placed a hand on the sofa next to her, giving me a pleading look. I let out a sigh, sitting down next to her, slightly away from where she was. I could see that she wanted to move closer to me, her body shifting towards me slightly. But I could see that she knew that it wasn't a good idea, so she stayed where she was.

"What is it that I don't know?" I asked, leaning forward, resting my elbows on my knees, looking at her. She looked down, sniffing gently. "Mom." I pushed and she looked up at me. "What is it that I don't know?"

"There are some things you don't know about your father." I shook my head, chuckling gently. "There are things you don't know about him and how he grew up. Edward," she shifted so that she was facing me more so than before, "your father didn't have everything that he worked hard to give you, your brother and sister. Have you never wondered why you've never met your father's parents?"

I shrugged, shaking my head. "Never occurred to me before."

"It's because your grandfather was an evil man. There are things that he did to your father that I don't even want to think about and that's why he has never been allowed around the three of you."

I shrugged again, not really understanding where she was going with this. "What does this have to do with me?"

"It has everything to do with you, Edward." She whispered, shifting closer to me and gently running her fingers along my hairline. "Your grandfather held Carlisle back in every way. He hardly let him out of his sight. The only time he did was when he was at school, sleeping or in the bathroom. Other than that, he always had to be with his father, no matter what he was doing."

"Kind of like he did to me." I muttered and she sighed, looking down.

"I know that what your father did before you left wasn't right but he wanted what was best for you. He arranged all of those classes and extra tutorials for you so that you would have the best chance for what you wanted to do in your life."

I let out a laugh, standing up and running my hands through my hair. "I can't believe this. You're . . . you're defending him? You've just told me that he went through shit with his father and you're defending him doing exactly the same thing to me. How does that make sense? Look, mom, I get it. You love him and you want to be on his side but there is no way that I'm ever going to understand what the hell he thought he was doing. I know that it doesn't seem important to you but because of him, I missed out on a lot of experiences that were important to me. I was the only kid that didn't go to prom. I was the only one that didn't go to any events around Forks at that time. There were so many times that I felt so alone because everyone else had done things that I hadn't even had a choice in." I sighed, closing my eyes. "I missed out on so much and I know it doesn't seem like much to you but . . . because of him, I lost my friends. I spent my entire senior year alone because all of my friends thought that I thought that I was too good for them."

"I know and I'm sorry for that." She looked up at me, her eyes glistening with tears.

"That's not what you need to apologise for." I said softly and she sniffed, looking confused.

"Then what do I need to apologise for?"

"You weren't there for me." I stated, simply. "I know now and I knew then that there was something in you that didn't like what he was doing but the point is, you didn't say anything. You just stood there, in the background and . . . . I don't even know." I blew out a gust of air, my hands flopping down to my sides limply. "You didn't do anything to stop him."

"It wouldn't have made a difference, sweetheart."

"It might have. It might have made a difference." I looked at her and I saw a tear slide down her cheek. "But we'll never know, will we? Maybe if you'd mentioned how much like his father he was being, it might have made a difference, but there's nothing we could do about it. And it didn't help that Alice is his biggest cheerleader."

"What do you mean by that?" She looked confused at the mention of Alice.

"Did not know that she decided to try and verbally accost me when I was eating with Emmett in the diner?" I asked and she shook her head slowly. "Well, she did. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be in town but if you see her could you mention that I don't want to see her."

"I'm sorry if she upset you." She sounded apologetic and I sighed again.

"She didn't upset me. She pissed me off." She flinched at my words and I couldn't say that I cared. "She's still got that high and mighty attitude that annoyed me when we were teenagers. Nice to see some things don't change."

"Sweetheart," she stood up, stepping over to me, "you're right, Alice hasn't changed and you're not the only one who doesn't like the person that she's become. I don't know what caused the change. But I don't like who she is now. Now, if she was like that little spitfire up there, then I would have a different opinion of her." I smiled remembering that Emmett had said that mom loved Rosalie.

"Look, Mom, I . . ." I sighed, shaking my head. "I appreciate you coming over here but there's nothing that you can say to me that will even make me consider changing what I think of the two of them. The damage has been done and it can't be reversed."

She sighed, looking sad at my words but I couldn't bring myself to take them back. It would be lying and even though I wanted my mother to be happy but I wasn't going to lie to her to achieve that.

"Well," she gave me a sad smile, "can't blame me for trying, can you?" I shook my head and she stepped towards me, clearly wanting a hug and I couldn't deny her. I knew that it wasn't my mother's fault that my father was the way he was. Yeah, she might have been able to stem some of it, but Carlisle could be intimidating and I wouldn't be surprised if my mom was afraid of him to some extent. She pulled back, not letting me go but studying me closely in the way only a mother can. "Tell me, sweetie, are you happy?"

"I am," I answered honestly, giving her a smile. "I've made a life for myself in D.C. I have a job that, while it may be gruesome and disturbing in some ways, I really enjoy. I know that I'm making a difference and that's why I do it."

"I'm proud of you, honey." She whispered, placing a hand on my cheek gently. "I know it wouldn't be my first choice of career for you purely because I want you to be safe but as long as you're happy, that's all that matters to me, honey."

"Thanks, Mom." I whispered, pulling her close to me again.

"I better go." She said softly, looking at me longingly and I gave her a small smile in return and she cupped my chin again before making her way over to the door. "I love you, baby." She walked out before I could say anything in response.

Hearing it click, I let out a breath I hadn't realised that had been there. There was something in seeing my mother again that made me wish I was that little boy that had his mother there when he was sick.

I really had missed her.

"Hey," I turned to see Emmett standing there, watching me closely. "You okay?"

"I think so." I nodded slowly, running my hand through my hair. "Well, we're both still alive, so . . ." I chuckled and he smiled at me. "I don't know, Emmett. I'd like to say that there was some kind of understanding reached but if there was, I have no idea what it is."

"Well, as long as the two of you aren't waiting in the wings to get at each other, then . . ." He shrugged and I laughed gently.

"No, that's me and dad." He snorted, laughing and I couldn't help but join him. "This has been the weirdest few days." I muttered and Emmett nodded, blowing out a gust of air.

"Alright, I threw your bag in the guest room." I looked up at him, having forgotten about my bag completely when I'd had forty pounds worth of child thrown at me. I was glad that he had remembered to grab it because I knew that it would be outside still.

"Thanks, man." I sat back on the sofa, leaning back and Emmett joined me.

"How are you feeling?" He asked and I could feel his eyes on me.

"I don't know." I answered honestly, shaking my head as I looked over at my brother. "I honestly don't know. I mean, there's a part of me that wants to talk to her again but there's a part of me that doesn't trust myself to. I don't know. I'm so confused."

"That's okay, Ed." He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and I looked up at him. "I think you're allowed to be confused about all of this, Ed. There's something in your head telling you that Mom didn't actually do anything wrong but there's also something else telling you that even though she hadn't done anything directly to you, she sided with dad and that's not something you can get over."

He was right. "When did you get so deep?"

"Hey, it's what happens when you become a dad." He laughed and I shook my head, unable to hold back a smile. "At least it's what happened to me. I don't know about anyone else but since Nicky came along, it's like I've had to grow up."

"Ha! Good one." I smirked and he mock glared at me.

"Watch it. I might be a dad but I'm still your big brother and as such it is still my duty to kick your ass when the time calls for it." I pointed a finger at me and I couldn't stop myself from laughing at the serious look on his face.

"Alright, we both remember what happened when you tried. And that was before I joined the Bureau." I stood up, stretching out my arms over my head, yawning. "I'm going to turn in for the night. I hope you don't mind?" He shook his head standing up. He motioned for me to follow him and I realised there and then that I didn't know where the guest room was. He opened a door and stepped inside. The room was a decent size, the magnolia on three of the walls bringing out the dark maroon wall behind the head of the bed. I noticed that the bedspread and majority of the furniture followed the colour scheme of the wall.

"Hope you like it." He smirked, rolling his eyes and I knew that it wasn't his decorating expertise that went into this room. It didn't surprise that this room was down to Rose. It had her touch.

He left me to get settled and I sat down on the bed, sinking into the mattress. It surprised me and I chuckled as I realised that it was a Tempur-Pedic mattress. Why the hell did they have one of those in the guest bedroom? With the two of them, I'd never know. At least I never had any idea what was going through Emmett's head.

I changed into my night clothes, using the en suite that was connected to the guest bathroom to brush my teeth and carry out my nightly routine before I pulled back the sheets and climbed in, again, sinking into the mattress. I found myself glad that I'd thought to pack some jeans in my go-to bag. There was something in the back of my mind when packing that told me I needed to pack them, so I did, but there wasn't any particular reason I could think of.

I checked my phone, seeing that I had a couple of texts from the team. Well, Jake and Jasper really. I smiled when I saw Jasper's text letting me know that if things got tough here and if I needed to talk, he was always there to listen. I wanted to call him now but then again it was late in Virginia so I didn't want to disturb him.

I grabbed my phone charger out of the bag and looked for a socket, conveniently finding on down by the bedside table. Plugging my phone on to charge, I placed it on the table and settled back on my sied before closing my eyes and trying to slip off to sleep.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

It didn't take as long to fall asleep as I thought it was going to be which just told me how exhausted I really was. I yawned as I pushed myself up, or at least I tried to. My sense of stability combined with the fact that the mattress sank when pressure was put on it.

I nearly fell off of the bed when I put my hand down and missed the edge of the mattress. I shook my head, clearing it or at least trying to.

"Uncle Eddie!" I jumped as a three foot forty pound lump landed on my lap, giggling up at me. I had to laugh at the expression of glee on his face as he smiled up at me.

"Hey, buddy." I ran my hand through my hair, hearing the roughness of my own voice. "What are you doing in here?" I asked and he giggled.

"Daddy told me to come get you for breakfast."

I rolled my eyes, nodding at his words. "Of course he did." He bounced up and down on the bed which was not a good motion for my full bladder. "Alright, buddy, let me get dressed and-"

"No, silly!" He giggled again and I raised an eyebrow at him. "It's Sat-u-day!" I nodded, not understanding where he was going with his little route. "We have breakfast in jama's on Sat-u-day's."

"Oh," I exaggerated my reaction because I could see that that was what he was looking for. Little kids were so easy to please sometimes. "Well, then. I guess we have to have breakfast in our pyjama's then." I leaned down close to him and he eagerly leaned forward. "But I have to go to the bathroom first." I whispered and he nodded, his eyes going wide. He leapt off of the bed and I chuckled, shaking my head as I flopped back down on the bed, already worn out from all of the energy the little one seemed to exude.

I chuckled again, pulling myself out of bed and making my way into the bathroom. After going through my routine, I padded out of the guest bedroom and down the stairs. Emmett ran past me, shouting a good morning, a giggling Nicky running behind him. I couldn't help but laugh at the two of them and I was glad that Emmett had made a life for himself. He'd found the happiness everyone looked for and it was the simplest of things that gave him that.

A family.

Well, alright, I guess families weren't always simple but they didn't lead an extensive lifestyle and I could tell that it didn't matter to them.

"Hey," I looked away from the two children, one of them overgrown and suffering from a major Peter Pan complex, to see Rose grinning at me. "A little louder than you're used to, right?"

"You could say that." I laughed, sitting down on one of the stools at the breakfast bar. "They're always like that, right?" She laughed, nodding as she turned, flipping some pancakes. "I'd grab them quickly if you want them."

"Sounds like it was before we left home." I chuckled and she raised an eyebrow. "You eat fast or you don't eat."

"Yeah," she giggled, plating up some pancakes. I grabbed some quickly and she grinned, shaking her head. "You're right about that." She pulled out some maple syrup that she'd had in the microwave out and placed it on the table. "It's warm." She sighed, resting her hands on the breakfast bar as she watched me closely. "Edward?" She glanced behind me and I nodded, looking up at her. "I'm glad you're here." She whispered, maintaining eye contact with me.

"I'm glad I am too." I reached across, taking hold of her hand and she squeezed back. "It's hard for me to be back here but seeing Emmett as happy as he is, it makes it worth coming back." She smiled at me, seeming happy with my answer. "Of course, meeting you and Nicky is an added bonus." She giggled, squeezing my hand again before turning and carrying on with the pancakes as a yelling Emmett and a squealing Nicky came barrelling back into the kitchen. It seemed that the tables had turned and Emmett was now pursuing his son around the house.

"Uncle Eddie!" I laughed as he hid himself behind my stool away from his Dad. "Help me, Uncle Eddie!"

"Oh no, nobody can help you now!" Emmett mock roared and I laughed.

"Emmett Damien Cullen!" Rosalie turned around waving a spatula at Emmett and he stepped back, his arms dropping as his eyes followed the instrument in her hand. "You will leave that little boy alone if you want any breakfast."

"I'll be good." He nodded, sitting down on another one of the stools. He eyed my pancakes and I narrowed my eyes at him, moving my arm in front of my food. He grinned at me and I angled my fork like a weapon, ready to strike.

I wonder if 'defence of pancakes' would hold up in court.

Probably not.

"Here," Rosalie placed a plate of pancakes in front of Emmett and he whooped, grabbing some cutlery before grabbing the syrup from in front of me and drowning his pancakes in it. I was glad that I had grabbed what I wanted before Emmett had staked his claim.

Rose lifted Nicky into his chair next to mine, placing a plate in front of him, before grabbing her own.

"Edward, could you give Nicky a little syrup, please?" Rosalie asked, placing the pan into the skin, filling it with water, ready to wash out. I reached over to grab the syrup before Emmett let out what sounded like a growl and I raised an eyebrow. "Emmett, give your brother the syrup." I let out a chuckle at the motherly tone and how quickly he complied.

I poured a small amount of syrup on Nicky's pancakes, not giving in when he pouted at me for more. Rosalie smirked at me, shaking her head, whispering that I had more control and willpower against the little boy than his father did.

Apparently, Nicky had given up on getting more syrup as he dug into his breakfast with as much vigour as his father did.

I watched as the three of them interacted having the small meal that Rosalie had made.

You could see how much love the three of them had for each other. It wasn't something you saw often anymore. The two of them revolved around their child and I could see that he idolised his dad. Emmett was something I'd never really thought of him being before. He was a husband and father, something that had crossed my mind whenever it had wandered to my brother over the years.

I found myself smiling at the happiness Emmett had in his eyes when he looked at his son and I came to a realisation. I wanted to feel the obvious love my brother had for his wife and son. I wanted the life he had at home.

I wanted this.

But I didn't know if I'd ever have it.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Things are moving forward, just slowly.

Don't worry, Jasper will be back soon and we'll be finding more out about him. Haven't decided whether I'm going to be doing a Jasper POV at this point in time. If the story calls for it, he might voice his opinions but for the moment it's Edward's story in his point of view.