It took more than a bunch of purple flowers and a muttered, practiced apology for Edward to convince Bella to even think about forgiving him. She'd sat quietly at her desk and let him ramble on, but didn't say much in return. She'd told him she needed time to think, but promised she'd call him in the next day or two to meet and really talk.

That day came, and the little coffee shop on the south side of town was the location they agreed on. They sat on opposite sides of the booth, each of them grasping their coffee cups like lifelines. The silence stretching between them was awkward and uncomfortable, not at all like the previous times they'd spent together.

Bella promised herself she wouldn't be the one to initiate the conversation. He'd been the one to make the mess; he would be the one to clean it up.

"So, uh," Edward started, clearing his throat. He stared down at his mug as he spoke instead of meeting her gaze. "How have you been?"

"Fine." Her reply wasn't cold, but quiet as she studied him.

"And how is the new school year going?"

"So far it's going well. I think I have a good group this year." She paused, reconsidering her feelings about jumpstarting the talk they needed to have. "But I don't think we came here to discuss my job, did we?"

"No." He shook his head. "No, we didn't." His eyes finally met hers. "I know I apologized the other day, but I know it isn't enough. You need an explanation, and I need to give you one."

"I'm listening."

He blew out a breath as he looked down to his fidgeting fingers. "I got scared," he finally whispered.

"Scared?" Bella asked incredulously.

He looked up at her. "You terrify me," he admitted. "For years I avoided relationships because they only complicated things. In my past experience, women are more trouble than they're worth."

Bella bristled at his insinuation.

"And then you come along and blow all those misconceptions out of the water. You weren't needy or clingy like a lot of the women I've gone out with before. You could actually hold up your end of a conversation. I loved spending time with you, getting to know you, and when that happened," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I panicked. All my bad, past experiences came rushing back, and I didn't stop to think. All I could think about was complications spelled disaster, and I was reminded of why I didn't do relationships. I never stopped to consider it was you in it with me. The woman I got to know the last couple of months is someone I respect and care for, and I should have never said the things I said. I didn't really mean them, I was just ... I panicked, and old feelings came back full force. I know I hurt you, and I'm so sorry."

Bella was quiet as she considered his long-winded apology. It was a lot to take in, and she wasn't sure if her bruised heart would allow her to offer him the forgiveness he so clearly wanted.

"You're right. You did hurt me," she said quietly. "You know I don't date much and I'm not exactly a social butterfly. So you know it took a lot for me to put myself out there. I ..." She paused, unsure she was willing to share with him the depth of feelings she had begun to have for the man seated across from her. "You really did hurt me, and it'll take a lot to come back from that."

Edward nodded his head. "I know. But will you give me another chance? I screwed up, but I know I'm not willing to let you go without a fight. I want to prove to you I'm not that heartless asshole you saw that night."

"Then I guess you've got your work cut out for you." Her smile was small, but it was there, and Edward took it as encouragement they might come back from his epic fuck up after all.

"I know I do."

They spent the next ten or fifteen minutes in casual conversation, neither of them willing to go too far too soon, but Edward knew his time to share his news was running short.

"Um, there's something else we need to talk about." His tone was cautious but serious.

"Well, that sounds ominous."

"Not exactly, but there is something we need to deal with together. When you left that night, where did you find Thumper?"

Bella's stomach sank, knowing where this was going. "With Daisy."

Edward nodded. "That's what I thought. Well, it looks like in just over a month we'll have a litter of grandpups." His smile wasn't exactly forced, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Bella groaned. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea he could figure out how to unlock a door."

Edward waved off her apology. "No, don't apologize. It was stupid of me to think we could have them so close without any problems. What's done is done, and we can only try to make the best of things."

"I'll pay for half the vet fees and shots and all the other stuff that comes with puppies. Oh, then we'll have to find them homes, and—" Her eyes went wide. "Do you know how many there are? How many will we have to place?"

"Eight."

Bella slumped back in her seat. "Good grief. Eight puppies. How in the world will we ever place eight puppies?" she mumbled.

"And here I thought we were the ones with a possible complication that night. Ends up our dogs are the ones with the unplanned pregnancy. Kind of ironic, huh?" Edward reached across the table to take her hand in his. "Bella, things will work out and be fine. You'll see."

And things were fine. Bella insisted on visiting with the mom-to-be, and she doted on Daisy, bringing her treats and extra ear scratches throughout the week. Edward had given her a key so she could stop in and see Daisy in the afternoons after school before she drove back to Forks. Things between the two of them were growing less tense as well. They eased back into things slowly. Their weekly night with friends was the first thing to be reinstated, much to the delight of Alice and Rosalie.

Even though they hadn't gone on another date, they talked every evening and met for coffee every Sunday morning. As the days turned into weeks, and Daisy's time to deliver grew closer, they started meeting at his house. They eased back into the comfortable place they had been in before that night, as they both came to call it. Their conversations had progressed from friendly to intimate, but that hadn't yet translated to the physical. In that respect, they'd kept their distance.

"Oh, wear that blue sweater you had on a few weeks ago! I loved that on you!" Alice's encouraging voice over the phone made Bella smile.

While they had seen each other in the few weeks of her separation from Edward, Bella felt like things were close to being back to the way they should be. Alice's irritation toward her brother for his behavior seemed to have lessened, and the group was finally back to normal all these weeks later.

"You think?"

"Yes. Blue is definitely your col—" The beep of another caller interrupted their conversation. Bella looked at the display, seeing Edward's face staring back at her.

"Alice, I need to let you go. Your brother is on the other line."

"Okay. See ya at Pete's in a couple hours!"

Bella clicked over to the other call, and as she greeted him with a friendly hello, she was cut off by a frantic Edward.

"I think Daisy's in labor."

Bella could almost picture Edward gripping his hair in his panic.

"Okay, well, everything is ready, right? Her whelping box and all the supplies we need?" Bella quickly gathered the bag she'd had packed for just this situation and slipped on her shoes to head for her truck as Edward rambled in her ear, going down the list of things they'd had ready for well over a week.

"Then I'd say it's go time. I'll be there in about thirty or forty minutes. I just need to drop off Thump at Alice and Jasper's."

"Okay. Drive safe, and I'll see you soon."

Leading Thumper by his leash, they walked to the truck. In a sentimental moment, Bella crouched down beside her faithful companion and rubbed his head.

"You're about to be a daddy, Thump." She kissed him on the head and rose to her feet. She opened the door to the truck and ushered her fur baby inside. "Come on, boy. Let's go have some puppies."