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Chapter 13 – The Sweetest Thing

"Did you have fun tonight?" Edward asked as Reagan climbed into her bed.

"Yes. Is Bella spending the night?" she countered. Edward shrugged and tried not to falter beneath her gaze. Sometimes her lack of filter frightened him to no end. He dreaded her teenage days.

"I don't know," he answered honestly and Reagan frowned.

"I like when she sleeps over. Can I talk to her? I need to ask her something really 'portant."

"It's late, baby. You should get to sleep," Edward tried to reason and pulled the blankets up to her chin.

Reagan huffed and folded her comforter down with her arms.

"Please, Daddy?" she pled, and he really couldn't resist.

"Fine," Edward sighed. "Then right to sleep. Got it?"

"Yes, sir. I love you." She grinned.

"I love you," he said before kissing her head and leaving the room.

He found Bella in his room already dressed for bed and turning down the sheets.

"Your presence has been requested down the hall." Edward smiled and slipped off his shoes. Bella gave a quiet laugh and touched his face before making her way to Reagan's bedroom.

Edward got undressed and brushed his teeth, wondering the whole time what Reagan possibly needed to ask Bella about. The few minutes the two girls spent alone were killing him.

"Ready for bed?" Bella asked when she finally returned and closed the door behind her. Edward nodded as they climbed in and settled themselves in the middle of the bed, facing each other.

"What did she want?"

"To ask me something." Bella shrugged and snuggled closer to him, kissing his chin and wrapping her arms around his body.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Edward said with a laugh. He brushed Bella's hair from her face and gently brushed his lips against hers.

"She asked if I could help her on a school project. She's going to do it on penguins." Bella yawned and closed her eyes.

"Oh," he muttered. It was simple enough.

"I did tell her if she really wanted to know about penguins then you had to bring her to the zoo so I could really show her all about them," she explained.

"Of course." He should have known.

"Is Sunday good for you?"

"Do I have a choice?" Edward chuckled. The sound of it warmed Bella's body and she pulled herself closer.

"No," she replied.

Edward shook his head and closed his eyes. He suddenly felt like the two women in his life had completely taken over. His free will had been taken away and he had no say in anything anymore.

He really liked it.

xXx

"Last night was fun, huh? We should do it again." Jasper's voice interrupted Edward's work for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

"Don't you have any work to do?" Edward looked up from his computer and found his best friend leaning against the doorway of his office. Jasper shrugged and sat in a chair across from Edward.

"Sure. But I'm bored," he explained as he started making tiny paper airplanes from the Post-Its on Edward's desk. "By the way, Christopher is pissed he doesn't have a puppy now."

"Hey, don't blame me. Blame the douche that bought it," Edward grumbled.

"Did hell just freeze over? I don't think I've heard a negative thing come out of your mouth since all this bullshit started." Jasper smirked. Edward crumpled up one of his little airplanes and threw it at him.

"I know a bribe when I see one." Edward shrugged.

"That was obvious, man. Rae's smart though." Jasper looked at his hands, trying to dispel some of the tension he'd inadvertently created.

"She wanted to stay on Sunday," Edward admitted. "It was the first time ever, and I hadn't seen her all weekend."

"You'll have those days, man. Take it from a divorced-kid. What matters is that you do what's best for her, no matter what."

"I do."

"And that's why you're her main caregiver. Because you didn't jump ship when the waves got rough."

"You're so poetic," Edward teased. "Alice is a lucky lady."

"Fuck you."

"No thanks. Go do some work before you get us both fired," Edward said as he waved Jasper out of his office.

Jasper sighed, but did as he was told. Edward laughed to himself and wished his daughter and his girlfriend were that easy.

The rest of the week was no different than Monday. Edward and Reagan went through their normal routine, only at the end of the day Bella stayed over and was there in the morning. Wednesday night Reagan was with her mother, so they had an adult night with Mike and Jess.

Edward was a little uncomfortable seeing Jess out of the dance studio. Especially considering the way she used to pay extra attention to him. But he was glad she'd found Mike and was laying off of the inappropriate flirting in front of his daughter.

By the time the weekend rolled around, Edward was much happier than he had been on Sunday night. He also knew that he would be taking his daughter home on Sunday. Of course, he had Bella and a trip to the zoo to thank for that, but he wasn't complaining.

"Daddy?" Reagan asked as they made their way through the zoo. It was a chilly day and most of the animals were hidden out of sight.

"Hm?"

"Do you love Bella?"

Edward choked on his breath.

"What?"

"Well, she stays the night and you kiss her a lot and she's lots of fun, too. I was just wondering." Reagan shrugged and held her father's hand tighter.

"When did you get so smart, little girl?"

"I was born smart, Daddy." Reagan giggled and then ran off to the front of the penguin exhibit. Edward followed her, smiling. She was fascinating sometimes. The way some children could see the world in such black and white terms was amazing… and a little scary.

Reagan pressed her face to the observation window and watched the penguins swim, mesmerized. Edward knelt behind her and brushed her curly hair from her face.

"They're so beautiful," she whispered as her green eyes followed the sleek black birds through the water. He wanted to agree, but it was hard. Watching his daughter so completely enthralled and happy was overwhelming.

Bella watched from a few feet away, too content to disturb them. She had meant what she said when she told Edward about her past with Jacob. There were things she'd never thought about, nor wanted, until she met Edward. This was one of those things. She wanted to watch him with Reagan while she grew and learned. She wanted to watch him with other children – with their children.

She could have stayed there all day, but Edward eventually looked up and smiled when he met her eyes.

Hi, he mouthed.

Bella managed a small wave, though her insides had suddenly turned to mush. She still wasn't sure how he managed to do that to her.

"Hey," she greeted the two of them and tried to calm the butterflies that had suddenly taken refuge in her stomach. Bella knew why she was nervous, but that only made her more nervous. She was about to bring two of the most important things in her life together.

"Bella!" Reagan cried and threw her arms around Bella who simply smiled and hugged her back just as tightly.

"Are you ready?" Bella straightened up, held out her hand to Reagan, and glanced at Edward. He nodded as if to say lead the way, so she did.

She led them through the side door of the observation area and down a long hallway until they reached a little office. It was cluttered and messy. Edward had no doubt it was where Bella holed herself up for most of the day doing research and working.

"Is this where you work? It's not neat like Daddy's office," Reagan said looking up at Bella.

"Well, your daddy is special isn't he?" Bella teased and Edward frowned.

"I like a clean workspace. Unlike some, who are content to work in what looks like the inside of a recycling dumpster."

Bella stuck her tongue out at him and took Reagan's hand again, leading her out of the office and back down the hall. She showed them a lab where they studied DNA from different birds, a nursery where they hatched eggs and hand-raised some of the penguins, and the infirmary where they housed sick ones.

Reagan followed, asking more questions than Edward had ever heard her ask. Bella answered every one of them, completely satisfied in sharing her knowledge. Edward simply hung in the background observing them.

"Well, that's the end of our tour. Unless…" Bella tapped her chin and pretended to think. Edward looked behind her and saw that she was standing in front of the door that led right into the habitat.

"Unless what?" Reagan frowned up at her, clearly not ready for the experience to end.

"Unless you'd like to meet one, of course!"

"Really?" Reagan clung to the front of Bella's shirt and she laughed and nodded.

"You really need to get the full experience," Bella told her before stepping back to open the huge door. She quickly pulled on a pair of heavy-duty gloves and motioned for Reagan and Edward to follow her. As they stepped inside, a little penguin that Bella had let out earlier was waiting just on the other side hopped over to them.

Reagan watched wide-eyed as Bella scooped him up and knelt down in front of her.

"This is Alfie. You can touch him if you want. Just not his face, okay?"

Reagan nodded and cautiously stuck out one little finger. She touched him tentatively and grinned.

"He's so smooth!" she said as she fanned out her fingers and stroked Alfie's feathers.

"It helps him swim fast," Bella explained, her eyes on Reagan's face the whole time.

"How do you tell them apart?"

"See these?" Bella pointed to a band around the bird's wing that was adorned with little bead-like things. "They have different colors and numbers that help me remember who is who. I can't look at him and know he's Alfie, because they all look the same. But the band has all his information and tells me he's Alfie."

"Does it hurt him?" Reagan's eyes were worried.

"No. It's not very tight. He doesn't mind it."

"Do you think he'll ever go back and live in the wild?"

"No, he won't. Alfie was born here, so he wouldn't be very safe in the wild," Bella told her and watched Reagan's face drop. "It's a little sad, but he likes it here."

"Well, as long as he's happy." Reagan shrugged and pulled her hand away finally. Bella set Alfie down and they watched him waddle around the small space. Reagan laughed as he waddled circles around Edward and in between his feet before making his way back to the gate, expecting to be let back in. Bella opened it and Reagan waved goodbye as Alfie returned to his friends. Edward led the way out of the small room and Bella closed the door behind them.

"Did you have fun today?" Bella removed her gloves and bent down to Reagan's level.

"It was awesome!" Reagan nodded enthusiastically then hugged Bella tightly around the neck, almost knocking her over. "Thank you!"

"You're very welcome," Bella replied, holding the little girl tightly against her.

"I love you, Bella," Reagan whispered. Bella stiffened for a moment and her eyes filled with tears. She was certainly not expecting that or what came next.

"I love you," she responded quietly, kissing Reagan's cheek and relinquishing her grip. She stood up and the two of them smiled at each other, hand in hand, as if they'd just shared their most precious secret.

Edward stood a few feet away, trying to regain his composure after watching the exchange.

"Um… we should… we should let you get back to work," he muttered and held out his hand to Reagan. She took it and stepped to her father, a huge smile on her face.

"I'll be off in twenty minutes," Bella told him, stepping forward and slipping an arm around Edward's torso. "Meet me at the carousel?"

"Okay." He nodded and kissed her gently before she led them out. Reagan tugged Edward through the park, oblivious to her father's sudden change in behavior.

He was stunned. The words fell from Reagan's mouth so naturally that he envied her. He was jealous of how easily she could express her feelings – how easily Bella had said it back.

"Daddy?" Reagan's voice brought him from his thoughts and he felt guilty for getting so deeply lost in them.

"Yes, baby?" He reached down and pulled her into his arms, though she was getting to big to be carried around.

"I'm really glad we came here today," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Me too," Edward agreed, kissing her cheek and setting her back down. They made their way to the carousel and found Bella waiting for them. Her clothes had been changed and her hair was loose around her shoulders. Her cheeks were tinged pink from the cool air.

Edward's chest tightened when she smiled. She was beautiful.

They boarded the carousel silently and Edward helped Reagan onto an elaborately painted white horse before joining Bella right behind his daughter. She clung to a golden pole as the ride started to move and he did the same, their feet and hands touching.

He watched her for a moment in awe.

"What's wrong?" she finally asked.

Edward smiled. "Nothing."

"Then why are you staring at me?" Bella frowned.

"I just… like to look at you."

"Weirdo." She laughed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I envy her," Edward said with a nod toward his daughter.

"Why?" Bella looked up at him and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"She just has this ability, you know? This thing about her. She can say exactly what she wants and somehow it's always the right thing," Edward explained.

"She's a kid. It's like their superpower or something," Bella responded with a shrug.

"But… she beat me to it."

"Beat you to what?" Bella questioned, though she knew what he was going to say.

"Those words, Bella. The ones I've been afraid to say for days," he replied and gently touched her cheek.

"Well, she beat both of us then," Bella said before burying her face in his shoulder. He pushed her back and tilted her chin up with his fingers, his face determined.

"She asked me if I did, you know. Just before we got here," Edward explained, his eyes locked with hers.

"If you did what?"

"If I loved you. Reagan asked me if I loved you."

"Oh," Bella muttered and looked down at her feet for a moment. When she looked back up her deep eyes sparkled with amusement. "Well?"

"Well what?" Edward asked and the corners of his mouth turned up.

"Edward!" Bella stamped her foot and gripped the placket of his jacket.

"Yes," he said with a shrug.

Bella glared. "Yes what?"

"Yes, beautiful. I love you. Happy?"

"Incredibly," she whispered before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him with all she had.

"Don't you have something you want to say to me?" he asked once she'd pulled away.

"You're cute," she replied with a smile. Edward frowned and let his fingers dig into her sides. Bella laughed loudly before tightening her grip on him and kissing him again.

"I love you, Edward. There. Are you happy?"

"More than you know, Bella." He grinned. "More than you know."

PS - Alfie is a real Rockhopper I met last March at Sea World. He's adorable. I got to pet him. :)