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Pulling Heaven Down – Introducing
"All right, Dr. C., who is she?" Heidi interrupted my thoughts Thursday night after my day with Leah and Harry. I hadn't seen them since Saturday, but we'd spoken on the phone and made plans for the weekend when we both had a day off. It was true what I'd told her, though. She drove me crazy and I never stopped thinking about her.
"What?" I frowned down at her and took a sip of my now cold coffee.
"Edward. You've been standing there for five minutes."
"I'm waiting for a file!"
"And I gave it to you five minutes ago!"
I glanced down at the counter and then back at Heidi, who was staring expectantly.
"It's Leah," I confessed and rolled my eyes at her enthusiastic clapping.
"I knew it!"
"You did not," I scoffed.
"I did, I could tell. You had big old sparkly hearts in your eyes that day she brought you coffee."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "You're a little scary.
She flashed me a smug smile. "Thanks. So, is it serious?"
"Maybe." I shrugged. Heidi frowned at me, impatient. "Yes, I think so."
"Good for you, Dr. C."
"Thanks." I drummed my fingers on the counter.
"You going to take care of any patients today or are you just going to brood?"
"I haven't decided yet." I tossed my pen at her and picked up my file and cold coffee, fully prepared to work.
"You can't leave! You haven't told me any of the juicy details!" Heidi protested and I chuckled quietly. We'd known each other since I'd started my residency at Harborview, and she'd always helped me out (while flirting shamelessly the entire time). Medical school didn't leave me with much time to make friends, so I most hung out with people I worked with or not at all.
It was usually not at all.
"There're no juicy details."
"…yet! I want to hear about the romance! C'mon, please? Is it twoo wuv?" Heidi protested, and I shook my head.
"I don't want to jinx anything, nosy Rosie," I said with a wink before I walked away. I wasn't really worried about jinxing anything with Leah, though. I knew we had a long road ahead of us, but I was excited about what could happen.
Of course, with my schedule and the fact that we were nearly always accompanied by an adorable eleven-month-old, what happened for the first couple weeks was a lot of talking.
Well, that and a few quick and harmless make-out sessions. It was a strange sort of "honeymoon stage" we were in, but we both seemed to be coping well. I knew Leah had a lot on her mind with the impending court date, so I did my best to preoccupy her and Harry when I could.
My connection with Harry was something that fascinated and scared me at the same time. I loved spending time with him and it all felt so natural, but at the same time there was an overwhelming sense of responsibility hanging over my head. I knew my relationship with Leah was serious simply because of the fact that she let me in her life. She let me in Harry's life, and I didn't want to let either of them down.
Harry was so much fun, though. He made weird little faces and got excited about the littlest things. Only banana-flavored snacks were suitable for him, and he pretty much despised anything pink. Then there were some times…moments when he was sleeping, and it was the most peaceful thing I'd ever seen. I could see myself somewhere down the road, teaching him to play football or ride a fucking bike…and then I started to freak out.
So, in between moments of clarity and utter confusion, I made the most of my time with them. Sometimes it was dinner at one of our houses, but there were trips to the park or library, too. It went like that for two weeks, just the three of us in our own little world when the opportunity arose. Every moment I spent with Leah and Harry turned into just more. More smiles, more laughter, more feelings…so much more.
Part of me felt like maybe we were living on borrowed time. I knew that eventually there would be court dates and a divorce and that things were going to get messy, but we didn't worry about that. We didn't worry about anything except us…yet.
Of course, things changed after my Friday-night dinner with Bella and a reminder of an event that I'd put out of my mind. I was in the process of chopping vegetables when my phone buzzed in my pocket.
"Bells, can you grab that? I'm waiting on an update about a patient," I said, sticking out my hip to her. She snorted, muttering something about "lady hips" and took the phone from my pocket. "Rude," I replied.
"It's your brother. He says 'Dinner at 7 for your bday, Sunday. The whole damn fam is coming. Be there or be square, loser'," she read with a smirk.
"Shit, it's my birthday." I set down the knife and closed my eyes.
Bella grinned and handed me back my phone. "Did you not notice that it was June?"
I shook my head. "I've been busy."
"I can tell." She waved my phone at me, which now had a picture of Harry from our ferry ride for its background, and gave me a small smile.
"I'm really happy with them," I said quietly.
"I can tell that, too," Bella replied and rested her head on my shoulder. She took a deep breath and leaned up to kiss my cheek, and then slipped away from me.
"Are you going to take them to Emmett's?" Bella asked as she scooped my vegetables into a pan with chicken for stir-fry.
"I should, huh? You'll come, right?"
"Wouldn't miss it, lady hips." She grinned.
"On second though, I'm not sure I can handle you, Leah, and Rose under the same roof…"
Bella simply laughed and shook her head, ignoring the fact that I was completely serious.
xXx
Leah
"Are you sure it's okay for me to go, Edward?" I asked, even though we were already in his car and on our way to his brother's house.
"It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to," he retorted, rolling his eyes, and kissed my hand. "I'm the birthday boy, I can bring whoever I want."
"Which I'm still pissed that you didn't tell me about!" I pulled my hand away from his and glared at him. "What if I wanted to get you a gift?"
"I don't need anything… and it's just another day, sweetheart. It's not like it's a special one, anyways. I'm thirty-one, no big deal."
"How did you spend your thirtieth?"
"Working." He reached over and took my hand again. "I was almost finished with my residency and this patient came into the ER with a gunshot wound. I treated him initially and I just couldn't leave him. So I stayed all night," he told me and I felt tears prick my eyes for the compassion that he had for absolutely everyone.
"You're a good egg, Edward Cullen."
"Well, that's what my mama tells me." Edward grinned as we pulled into his brother's driveway. There were already cars there and my heartbeat thundered in my ears as I got out. I smoothed down the front of my blouse, a dark green number that Edward seemed to like, and took a deep breath before opening the rear passenger side door. Edward's arm was around my waist and he pulled me back against his body before I could reach for Harry.
"You look beautiful, stop worrying," he murmured against the back of my neck and I shivered. I turned, resting my hands on his chest and leaning up to kiss his cheek.
"Thank you," I whispered to his skin. He simply smiled and reached around me to grab Harry's bag and hand it to me, before he lifted my son from the confines of his car seat.
My hands shook as we stepped inside Emmett and Rosalie's house, but we were quickly greeted by Edward's family and I was left with no more time to be nervous. I watched as Edward gave his father and then his mother a one-armed hug with Harry tight in his other.
"Oh!" Esme cried when Harry grabbed a hold of the beaded necklace she was wearing. She laughed and untangled his little fingers, then tickled him gently. He laughed, his eyes wide as he took in his new surroundings.
"Careful, he's quick," I explained as I pulled him from Edward's arms. Edward slipped am arm around my waist and pulled me against his side.
His mother's smile was surprised at first, but she quickly covered it up. "I'm used to it. How are you, Leah?"
"I'm well. It's lovely to see you. And you, Dr. Cullen," I greeted Edward's father with a shy smile, but he wasn't looking at me, he was looking at his son. His son with his arm around me and my son.
I didn't have much time to think about what was happening, because suddenly the door was flung open behind us and Edward and I were being separated by a whirlwind of elbows, jangly bracelets, and black hair.
"Happy birthday!" I heard Alice squeal as she threw her arms around Edward. I tried not to wince and cover Harry's ears, while everyone else smiled around us.
"Ouch. Nice to see your volume hasn't changed, Shorty," Edward teased his sister and winked at me over her head.
"Of course not," she laughed and hugged him again before pulling a tall blond man out of the doorway. "You remember Jasper, right?"
"Of course." Edward smiled politely and shook the man's hand and then gestured to me. "And you remember Leah?"
Alice turned to me, her blue eyes going wide as she did. As she opened her mouth to speak, Harry yelled in protest and tried to push himself out of my arms. I frowned, but Edward simply laughed as Harry opened and closed his tiny fists in Edward's direction.
I rolled my eyes, but handed him over while Alice continued to stare.
"This is Harry." Edward smiled.
"He…he likes you?" She looked from Edward to me for confirmation and I nodded, smiling a little at her look of surprise.
"A lot," I told her.
"All right, can we get this party started yet? I'm starving," Emmett boomed over us, sticking his head out into the foyer.
"Is Bella here yet?" Edward asked as we filed into the dining room.
Esme's eyes flashed from me to Edward and a strange look crossed her face.
"No, not yet," Rosalie answered before she turned to me. "I'm Rose, by the way. You only know my asshole husband." She grinned.
"Leah." I held out my hand she shook it. "And he's not so bad," I said with a nod in Emmett's direction, "Just a little mama-bear when it comes to his baby brother."
"I have a feeling we're missing something, dear," Carlisle stage-whispered to Esme.
"Oh, I'm sure we'll know all about it eventually." She patted his cheek and took a seat at the large dining room table.
As Rosalie pulled a high chair out and Edward settled Harry in it, the doorbell rang. Emmett disappeared and returned a moment later with Bella, Willow, and a huge cake in tow.
"Sorry we're late. We had a sprinkle incident," Bella explained as Rosalie took the cake from her and Edward stepped forward to hug both her and Willow. They quickly sat on the other side of Edward. As dishes were passed around conversations were started and things were noisy and lovely.
I could feel Esme's eyes on us as Edward leaned over and gently brushed his fingers along my cheek.
"I'm glad you're here," he whispered before pulling away. I smiled and took his hand under the table in my silent response because I was glad to be there with him. After we ate, there was cake and everyone understood what Bella meant by "sprinkle incident" because there wasn't an inch of frosting that wasn't covered with the tiny things.
We moved the party into the living room after that, though it wasn't quite big enough to accommodate all of us so Edward and I sat on the floor while Harry and Michael chased each other around the room on wobbly little legs, giggling the whole time.
"He hasn't really been around other kids much," I admitted as I watched them play.
Rosalie smiled and stood up, "I'm going to grab drinks, any special orders? Speak now or you get what you get-"
"And you don't throw a fit!" Willow finished. "Can I have chocolate milk?"
We laughed, and I followed Rosalie into the kitchen to help.
"We started Michael at a daycare when he turned one," she explained. "It's been really great and they do a lot of academic stuff, too. I can give you the name of it if you're interested. When will Harry be one?"
"July fourth, actually," I told her as I poured the wine she'd given me.
"How fun! Are you planning a party?"
"I'm not sure, there's so much going on right now…" I trailed off and sipped from one of the glasses in front of me.
"Understandable," she said with a sympathetic smile. "Harry seems to really like Edward."
I smiled into my wine glass. "Edward is so amazing with him. It's funny that Alice thinks he scares kids," I laughed.
"Alice just thinks Edward is too serious." Rosalie rolled her eyes, but smiled endearingly at the thought of her sister-in-law. "Truth is, Alice talks so much that no one else can get a word in edgewise, and most of the time Edward just lets her take the spotlight."
I chuckled quietly. "And she doesn't notice?"
"Have you met Alice?" Rosalie grinned.
"Hey, Emmett wants to know if you're actually brewing the beer or if you're going to be out here anytime soon," Jasper, Alice's boyfriend, asked from the kitchen door. Rosalie made a face and shooed him away, but not before handing him a few beers to take with him.
"I wanted to apologize for my husband. He gets a little protective of Edward, and I'm sorry he took it out on you." Rosalie gave me an apologetic look after he left.
"I get it. I mean, kind of." I shrugged. "But…he shouldn't worry." I met her ice-blue eyes and gave her a small smile. I could only assume that the look in my eyes spoke volumes because the look on her face was gentle and understanding.
"That bad, huh?"
I felt myself blush. "Maybe."
Before I could say anything else, Esme burst into the kitchen.
"There you ladies are! We're going to play Charades, are you coming?"
I nodded and carried my glass of wine out of the kitchen, only to turn around just before I reached everyone else, to see if they needed any help.
"I just don't like it, that's all," I heard Esme say in a loud whisper.
"I'm sure it's not like that, Esme," Rosalie replied with a quiet laugh. "This isn't Sister Wives."
"Well, they're both here, aren't they? And he seems to be fine with it! They seem to be fine with it! I never thought Edward, of all people…"
"Don't jump to any conclusions just yet, okay? Talk to your son first."
I barely heard Esme's response because I was rushing away from the kitchen, half-amused and half-mortified at what I'd heard. In the living room Bella had taken my spot next to Edward and Willow was squeezed in between them.
It was easy to see how Esme would think what she did.
Edward smiled at me from the floor and I leaned down to take Harry from him, quietly asking for him to join me.
"Is there somewhere I can change him?" I asked Emmett.
"Upstairs, second door on the left."
"Uh, I'll show you," Edward muttered and guided me upstairs with his hand on the small of my back. Inside Michael's room I changed and redressed Harry, then set him on floor among a little pile of toys.
"We have a problem." I bit my lip to keep from laughing, but Edward looked worried.
"What's wrong?"
"Well…it's your mom."
"My mom?" He frowned. "What about her?"
"I'm pretty sure she thinks you're dating Bella and me at the same time," I explained, enjoying the way his jaw dropped.
"What? She does not."
"Edward. I mean it. I heard her talking to Rosalie."
He scratched his head, thinking, while Harry impatiently pulled on his jeans and babbled. Edward sighed and picked up my son, still frowning.
"I'll talk to her."
"And tell her what?" I grinned. Edward rolled his eyes and pulled me to him with his free hand.
"You know what," he murmured against my lips.
"Just checking," I said before kissing him quickly. "Now…how good are you at Charades?"
