AN: Hi guys! I just wanted to thank you all for reading my story. I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of traffic my story has gotten thus far. I am truly honored to have caught the attention of so many people. I hope that I can continue to hold your attention with future chapters.
In response to some anonymous reviews: There was some confusion on why Edward referred to Tony as a "Swan". While Tony is in fact Anthony James Cullen, it is going to take some time for Edward to accept Tony as his son. I put Swan in quotes because it was meant to be taken as him seeing Tony purely as Bella's son due to the fact that they both sleep talk.
Also, someone asked why the Cullen's didn't have a house in Forks. When the kids were in college, Esme/Carlisle relocated to Chicago. They sold the house then. Eventually, as the kids graduated, they all migrated to Chicago to be closer to family. Hence, the need to stay in hotel rooms!
Hope that clears that up for you guys! Now, read on and enjoy! :)
CHAPTER TWELVE
I was sitting in a coffee shop early on a Saturday morning. I had just come from the gym. My muscles were aching, but that was because I had to make up for missing out on my workouts during the week due to my hectic schedule at the hospital. Although I was passed my intern years, I still felt like I needed to give my all to make a name for myself.
Suddenly, the chair on the other side of my table was pulled back, and a young man, probably in his late teen, plopped down in the unused chair.
"Um…hello?" I was unsure what this stranger wanted with me. The coffee shop was rather empty that morning. There was no reason why he needed to sit at my occupied table when so many others were vacant.
"Are you Edward Cullen?" How did he know who I was?
"Yes, and you are?"
"Just some unwelcomed garbage." Well, the kid certainly didn't think highly of himself. I studied his appearance. He was wearing a baseball cap, with the band pulled low on his face. On his back was a worn out leather backpack. I assumed he was a student. Deciding he needed some encouragement, I tried to make him feel a little better.
"Well, I doubt that is true. And I would hate to refer to you as garbage. What's you're real name?
He hesitated briefly before answering. "Anthony". "Well Anthony, what can I do for you?"
"Nothing…just like you've always done." And with that, he stood up and left. Hurrying to throw out my garbage, I quickly followed him, hoping I could get some more answers from him, but instead I found nothing but abandoned streets. I decided the kid had issues, and went about doing my usual Saturday morning tasks.
The next day, I awoke from a restless sleep to find that instead of it being Sunday, I was reintroduced to yesterday. Feeling like I was trapped in a "Groundhog Day" sequel, I decided that maybe I was stuck on Saturday because I didn't do something right yesterday. So, I was set to go about my day differently.
Instead of hitting the gym, I called my brother Emmett to see if he wanted to get together to catch up. I hadn't seen him in awhile, but I unfortunately I didn't reach him. I just got his voicemail. I then tried Jasper. Same thing. Moving on to some of my fellow doctors, I rang Garrett, Felix, and Demetri, yet they all seemed to be out. Feeling lonely, I decided to go for a walk to immerse myself with the other people out and about on this Saturday morning.
While walking by the nearby playground, I watched while the children frolicked and played with their little companions. Unsure of why I chose this route, especially with my feelings toward kids publicly known, I hurried my pace. I was almost passed the playground when suddenly I heard a loud thump on the ground, and a shrill cry of a boy, probably about the age of 9 or 10.
Hurrying over to the scene, I decided I could try and help the boy since I had a background in medicine. When I reached him, I introduced myself. "Hello, my name is Edward, and I'm a doctor. Can you tell me what hurt?" Instead of fulfilling my request, the kid scampered away from me before I could touch him, saying "No, no not you. ANYONE but you." Then suddenly, in the blink of an eye, he disappeared, and I was in a new scene.
At this point, I realized I must be dreaming. Looking around my new setting, I realized that I was in a church. The church was packed, so I figured Saturday afternoon mass was about to start. Instead, I heard the easily recognizable chords of Pachelbel's Canon in D. So this must be a wedding. Sitting down in the last pew, I watched as a young woman walked down the aisle towards her beau. When I tried to look over the crowd to see the groom, I could not see anyone. Curious, I stood up to get a better look, and I realized that it was not a man, but instead Tony. WTF?
The bride's father answered a question that I missed, saying that he and his wife give their daughter to this man to be wed. Then the priest asked the question of who gave the groom to his future wife. Suddenly I saw my Bella, my beautiful Bella stand up from the front row, and said I do. Ohh, how I wished it was her at the front of the church saying those words to me.
Anyways, Bella's answer apparently wasn't good enough for the priest. He asked, "And what of his father?"
Instead of Bella answering, little Tony barked out "I have no father, just a sperm donor". While the statement was practically true, I couldn't help but feel rejected. Next to Bella, that awful Jacob Black stood up. What the hell was he doing here? He addressed the priest, "In his father's absence, I, his uncle, along with his mother, give him away to this beautiful woman." A round of applause and choruses of "awwws" were heard around the church. Ohh how perfect. Perfect Jacob saves the day.
I realized that I must have been brought here to give my son away. So I began making my way towards the front of the church to claim my son, as well as put Jacob in his place. However, when I reached the fourth or fifth row, I hit an invisible wall. I couldn't get through. I began to bang on the wall, and call out to Tony and Bella, but they couldn't hear me. Becoming desperate, I even called out to Black. He turned toward me. Thank God, someone heard me. Unfortunately, he was not the person I wanted help from. Instead of coming to my rescue, Black just smirked, and then turned his back on me, as if I wasn't there.
The scene changed again, and I found myself in my bedroom welcoming in another Saturday. Noticing a theme, I tried to determine when I would meet Anthony again, and what age he would be this time. Walking out of my bedroom, I realized I was not alone in my apartment. Instead, Bella was in the kitchen. Thrilled with this aspect of the dream, I ran to her and tried to take her in my arms, however she changed course quickly when the doorbell rang out.
Watching the scene unfold, I saw my sister, Alice and her husband Jasper enter. Jasper was holding my niece Sophia in a baby carrier. Alice greeted Bella, and then clapped her hands excitedly. "Where is that nephew of mine?" Bella explained that he was napping, but would be awake soon. The three adults (well, 3 and a half if you counted the baby) sat around and caught up with one another until a soft cry was heard somewhere further in the apartment. Bella excused herself to go and retrieve Anthony.
I followed her into my office, which I was surprised to see had been transformed into a nursery of sorts. There, in his crib, was an unknown infant. Seeing the bronze fuzz on his head, I could imagine that this was my son. Wait…my son? I mean Anthony. The boy was Anthony. I had no tie to him. Bella addressed the baby, "Hello my precious. Don't cry. Mommy and Daddy are here." Thrilled that Bella was able to see me, I stepped forward to say hello to Anthony as well. However, I was pushed out of the way when Black himself entered the room and said the dreaded words; "Hello son."
I woke up rather abruptly from what I would call a nightmare. Sitting up in the still dark room, I ran a hand through my hair before cradling my head in my hands. What was going on?
Ignoring my subconscious, I laid down and tried to go back to sleep. However, a distant cry in our hotel suite alerted me that I was not the only one awake. Venturing out of my room to investigate, I found my mother cradling Tony, who was whimpering in her arms. My father stood in the doorway watching the scene unfold. I approached him. "What's up?" I whispered.
"Just a bad dream" my father replied. "We've got him. Just go back to bed." Well, I was dismissed. Believe me, you didn't have to tell me twice. Walking back to my room, a thought passed quickly through my tired brain. Nightmare, huh? Like father, like son…..wait, WHAT?
