Big hugs to ThatIsRiddik and killerlashes. And you, of course. Thanks for reading.

Pulling Heaven Down – Confronting

Leah

"What's that noise?" I asked.

"Hm? Oh, I'm changing my scrubs. You're on speaker phone," Edward answered sounding far away.

"Did you get peed on again?" I laughed.

"No," he chuckled quietly. "I spilled coffee on myself."

"Smooth."

"Yeah, yeah. That's what happens when you've been up for twenty-two hours straight."

"How much longer do you have?"

Edward yawned. "A few more hours."

"Are you going to Bella's after?"

"Mmm…maybe." He sounded half-asleep.

"Maybe you should just go home," I told him, frowning. It wasn't as if I didn't want him spending the time with Bella and Willow- I knew how important that was to him and them. I also knew how hard he had been working all week, though.

"I probably should…but you know I can't. Especially after what happened last week."

I sighed. "I know."

"I see how this relationship is going to be," he teased. "You just want me all to yourself."

I disagreed with a silent eyeroll, though I was rejoicing at the way he said "relationship".

"You're very cocky, doctor. I just want to make sure you're awake when I force you to spend time with my son," I ribbed him and he laughed softly.

"You could never force me to spend time with Harry. Or you, for that matter."

"That's what I like to hear." I grinned and he took a deep breath on the other end of the line.

"I'm about to pass out, sweetheart," he muttered making my insides flutter with one little word.

"Get some rest then, and call me tomorrow."

"I'll call you tonight."

"Edward…"

"Don't argue with me, woman."

"Oh, yes sir," I said with just a hint of sarcasm. "Tonight."

"G'bye."

I said goodbye and slipped my cell phone back into my pocket with a smile. It had been a week since our breakfast, the day we'd discussed and made a decision on our relationship.

We'd decided that we did, in fact, want a relationship. Edward and I both knew it wasn't going to be easy. He knew that there was going to be some drama and that he would possibly be caught up in it. I knew that he was going to be busy with work and that Bella and Willow were in his life, too.

I closed the door to my bedroom and turned to find Edward standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. He smiled and I gestured to the bed.

"It's okay, I won't try to seduce you," I teased, and pulled him to the edge with me.

"What if I try to seduce you?" He wiggled his eyebrows and I laughed.

"Well, while I'm not opposed to the idea…I think it would be best to…wait."

He nodded. "I can wait. I will wait," Edward whispered before brushing my hair from my face and kissing me gently. I kissed him back, my own fingers threading through his hair and pulling him closer, until we fell back onto my bed.

"My mother's down the hall," I said as I pulled away.

"You say the sexiest things to me," he replied with a grin before propping himself up on his elbow. I did the same, my hand rested on his cheek, enjoying the fact that he was simply there with me.

"Shut up," I laughed, and got serious quickly. "Are you sure, Edward?"

"Leah, stop asking me that. I told you, I want this. I want you. All of you. I'm not- I'm not trying to step in here and save the day, okay?"

"I'm not sure you even could."

"Exactly, I know. I've just…I've never felt this kind of pull to another person, Leah," he said as he dropped his gaze to my comforter.

My heart stuttered in my chest and I bit my lip to keep from smiling. I wanted to be happy, hell, I was happy, but I also needed him to know it's not going to be easy.

"Edward, I-"

"Don't." He silenced me with his lips and I let him. I let him comfort me with his kiss, let him promise me that it would be okay, and I did the same because I truly felt that it would.

I was organizing shelves in the back of the store when I heard the bell ring and quickly made my way to the front of the store.

"Leah!" Willow yelled my name and threw her little arms around my waist.

"Hey, kiddo!" I answered her and hugged her tightly while Bella smiled from the door.

"We came to visit you. And buy some books. Mommy, can I go look?" she asked, and Bella nodded. Willow squeezed me one more time and then ran off to the back of the store where our reading corner was.

"How've you been?" she asked once Willow was out of earshot.

"I'm fine. Are you here about Edward?" I tried to keep the tension from my voice, but I wasn't sure I succeeded.

"No. Well, hm."

I laughed and shook my head. "I know you're worried about him being with me. You've barely spoken to me since he and I went out."

Bella sighed and leaned on the counter. "It's not that I don't think you two aren't good for each other, because I do. It's just…"

"Not the right time?"

"Kind of? I guess I'm more afraid that this thing with Sam isn't over and you'll end up breaking Edward's heart," she said in a rush. Well, the girl really needed to work on her subtleness.

"Bella…I'm not going back to Sam."

"But things could happen that might make you change your mind, Leah. And I don't want Edward to be caught up in it. He really cares about you and-"

"I've filed for divorce," I interrupted her quietly.

"Oh." She gaped like a fish for the briefest second before regaining her composure.

"I know it just complicates things, but we've talked about it. He's not here to save the day, and I'm not going to let him try."

She thought for a moment and picked at her perfectly manicured nails.

"Are you afraid I'm going to take him away from you?" The question flew out of my mouth before I could stop it. The hurt look on her face made me instantly regret it.

"I'm not in love with Edward!" she cried. I half-expected her to set her hands on her hips, wrinkle her nose, and squeal "EWWWWWW!" As it was, she did glare at me.

"I didn't say you were. I know how important it is for you and Willow to have Edward in your lives. Trust me, now that I know what it's like..."

"He's a really good guy, Leah," she whispered.

"I know, Bella. I know." I ran my hands through my hair and met her eyes. "The way I feel when I'm with him…I can't even begin to tell you what it feels like."

Bella cracked the beginning of a wistful smile. "You sound like Jake."

"He had feelings for Edward, too?" I teased, and she laughed loudly.

"Sometimes I wondered," she said with a full-blown smirk. "No…Jake said those things, you know. About us."

I smiled and squeezed her hand tightly. "I'm not going to hurt him, Bella."

"How's Harry?" She quickly changed the subject.

"He's being lazy. I've been trying to get him to walk for weeks," I told her with a frown.

"Jake would bribe Willow with snacks," she said smiling. "Like she was a puppy or something."

"Hey, I'll try anything." We laughed together, though some of the tension was still there.

"Do you want to come over tonight? For our Friday dinner, I mean?"

"Oh, no. That's your time. I've already talked to Edward; I know he's looking forward to it."

"You're sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Mommy! Can I get these two books?" Willow interrupted before either of us could say anything else.

"Sure, baby."

"Do you think Edward can read them to me tonight? After dinner?" She looked from me to her mother and I smiled, though part of me was a little jealous of her. Willow already had such a great relationship with Edward. I wanted that for myself…and for Harry.

"I'm sure he will." Bella smoothed her daughter's hair and gave me a little half-smile. I returned it and took the books from Willow so I could ring them up.

Bella paid and they said goodbye, leaving me alone in the store to wait for Angela- Fridays were usually her night to close. I didn't think too much on my conversation with Bella, because I knew she'd meant well. She and Edward had been friends for a long time, almost as long as Jake and I.

"Do you ever get jealous that he hangs out with her all the time and you only see her, like, once a week?" I asked as we climbed up a path to the overlook.

Jake shrugged in front of me. "Not really. I like Edward. Besides, she doesn't get jealous that I'm hanging out with you."

"Well, that's because I have no interest in you whatsoever, Jacob Black."

"Why you gotta hurt me so bad, baby?" He tossed me a grin over his shoulder and held out his hand as we reached the cliff.

"It's just in my nature, sweetheart." I elbowed him in the ribs and he laughed.

"Whatever, Clearwater. You read for this?" Jake gestured to the cliff in front of us and I nodded."Good. See you at the bottom!"And then he jumped. I followed, laughing the entire time.

After Angela arrived I left to pick up Harry and make dinner for us. By the time I was putting him to bed, Edward called.

"Dinner over already?" I asked as I tucked Harry into his crib.

"Yeah, I called it an early night," he answered, and I could hear rustling in the background.

"Did you read to Willow?"

"I did. Two new books, thanks to The Nook."

"Good. I'm glad you did, she was looking forward to it." I felt myself smile, all traces of jealously gone, and only happiness there for the little girl.

"How's the little guy?"

"All tucked in."

"And Mommy?"

"Tired," I yawned and fell onto the couch.

"I know the feeling," Edward murmured, his voice muffled.

"Are you in bed already?"

"Mmhm."

"Don't fall asleep on me, Cullen."

"Wouldn't dream of it, sweetheart."

"Okay. You go to sleep and call me tomorrow. I'm off, I'll cook you dinner."

"Sounds perfect."

We said goodnight and I turned on the television, needing something to help clear my mind. Truth was, I missed Edward. Sure, we talked every day, but we really hadn't seen other save for one night we'd had dinner at his place. After a few minutes of channel surfing I gave up and decided to head to bed. As I flipped off the lights, there was a knock at the door. It wasn't too late, so I didn't think anything of it. Maybe it was Mrs. Cope bringing some lost item of Harry's back, or Peter across the hall because he lost his keys and Charlotte wasn't home yet. So I opened the door without checking the peephole first.

My knees buckled as it swung open and I met the dark eyes of the very person who had driven me to Seattle in the first place.

"Sam," I choked out his name and held on to the doorframe, so I wouldn't fall on my face.

"What the fuck is this, Leah?" he held up a piece of paper, his eyes livid.

I took a deep breath and steeled myself against the door. I eyed the paper in his hand and then met his harsh gaze. "Divorce papers, Sam."

"You disappear for three months and then have the nerve to divorce me and take my son away?" Sam took a step forward, so I closed the door behind me, not interested in him getting close to Harry.

"You know why I left. And you never even bothered to find us, so what does it matter? You don't want us anymore." I tried to keep my voice from shaking, but it was hard. No matter how true what I said was, no matter how happy I was with Edward, it still hurt so much.

"He's my son, Leah. You can't take him away from me!" he yelled, and I closed my eyes briefly. When I opened them he was standing closer, his fists clenched at his side and his jaw set tight.

"You don't have a choice," I said through clenched teeth.

"I'll fight you on this, Leah. You can't keep me from seeing him."

"Where have you been for the past three months, Sam? You don't give a shit about either one of us! All you cared about is yourself and whatever slut you were fucking behind my back. Don't you dare tell me I don't have a right to do this, I have every right to. You walked out on our family. You did what you did. Nobody forced you, and I sure as hell wasn't going to stand by and let you- let you-" I broke off with a sob as I remembered the sting of his hand on my skin. How it didn't just happen once. How it took me weeks to get up the nerve to leave him.

"Is everything all right out here?" A man's voice interrupted and I thanked God for thin walls. I met my neighbor Peter's worried gaze and gave him a sharp nod.

"He was just leaving," I managed to say with a pointed look at Sam.

"This isn't over." Sam tossed the paper at my feet and stormed off. I sagged against the door as he did.

"Are you okay?" Peter crossed the hall and held me up by my elbow. I nodded and he opened the door for me. "Do you want me to get Charlotte? She's good at stuff like this? I can't handle when people cry."

I wiped at my face and noticed that I actually had been crying and gave a small laugh.

"No. I'll be okay."

"Are you sure? I can call someone for you…"

"It's okay, Peter. Thank you."

He nodded and left, closing the door behind him. I picked up the paper he'd set on the coffee table and sighed. It was a subpoena for our court date, set in three weeks.

It took me a moment before I decided what or rather, who, I really needed. I quickly grabbed Harry's bag and scooped him out of his crib. We were in the car and on our way across town before I could really even think about what I was doing.

Harry was still asleep when I was knocking on the door to a fourth-floor apartment.

"Coming," I heard through the door. "Leah? What the hell's going on?" Edward blinked quickly as he took in the fact that I was standing on his doorstep with a sleeping baby.

"Hi. I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go," I rambled as he led me inside. "I just- I was so-"

"Hey," he interrupted me and wrapped both of his arms around Harry and I. "Calm down. Tell me what happened."

"He showed up at my door. He was so angry…" I trailed off and felt Edward's hand pressed against my back and his lips on my hair.

"Who?"

"Sam."

Edward let out a breath and pulled away. "Let's get this guy to bed, huh?" He led me to his bedroom, a room that I had only walked through to use the bathroom the last time we were here, and pulled down the sheets in his bed. I watched as Edward arranged the pillows in some sort of "cage" and then held his hands out for Harry. I handed my son over and he laid him down with a gentleness that made my heart ache.

"You want to talk about it?" Edward asked as he turned to me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

I fell forward and rested my head on his chest, shaking it.

"Okay. I'll get you a t-shirt or something to sleep in. You guys can take the bed." Edward kissed my forehead and, after a moment, handed me a shirt and a pair of boxers. I glanced down at him, wearing a pair of thing sweatpants and no shirt, and (even in my stressed state) took a moment to appreciate it.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I clutched the clothes. Edward just shook his head and took my face in his hands.

He kissed me gently and I felt myself relax. "I'll be in the living room if you need me."

I nodded and watched him walk away, hoping with all my heart that this wasn't something that would push him away.

Reviews get awkward sexual comments or teasers. And sometimes both. Just kidding. About the sexual stuff, not the teasers. :)