CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ESME'S POV

As I watched Edward storm away from me, I felt my heart slowly fall to pieces. Why was he so quick to hate this precious little boy? I was in over my head. Taking advantage of my moment of solitude, I whipped out my phone to call my partner in crime.

"FINALLY! Mom, I've been waiting around for hours for you to call me back. We have serious plans to put into motion" Alice trilled

"Sorry Alice, we've had quite a morning." Knowing me so well, Alice was quick to pick up on my somber mood. "Spill Mom. What's going on in that drab little town?"

So I told her all that I knew. I explained Edward's restless behavior on the airplane. How he had a lot of inner turmoil that needed to be roped down in order for everyone to make it out of this situation unscathed. I recounted our conversation with Dr. Eleazer, and the brief details we learned about Bella's pregnancy. Then I describe meeting our grandson. Alice was pleased to know that Tony could recognize Carlisle and me from a picture.

"Do you think…he knows…all of us?" she asked. Unfortunately, I could not answer her. The only picture Tony mentioned that Bella kept around was that graduation one. And while he knew we were his grandparents, Tony didn't supply an explanation for who Edward was in the photo.

Not wanting to get her hopes up, I simply answered, "Maybe Alice. I don't know if that is the only picture she keeps around. We're heading to the house later this afternoon to pick up more supplies for Tony. We can get a better sense then."

Continuing with my narration, I talked about our pizza dinner, and his dietary preferences. And then Tony's sleep talking. We both chuckled at that fact, happy to see he got one of his mother's better traits. Going from happy stories to sad, I sighed before launching into detail regarding Tony's nightmare.

"He thought we were taking him away Alice; that he'd never see Bella again, or his house or his friends. I don't know where he got that idea. No one's mentioned leaving Forks at all. I understand that we are all strangers and the day was a stressful one for all those involved, but to have him not feel safe with us was simply horrible. I just wanted to bawl right along with him." Tony cried himself back to sleep eventually, but would not accept anyone's words of comfort. He wanted to see Bella, and he wanted to go home. I would definitely have to check in with that Angela girl to see what she thought about us staying at Bella's house during our time here.

Back in the present, Alice mentioned, "Well mom, what if it comes down to that? You all can't put your lives on hold forever. Dad and Edward are going to have to get back to work at some point. Usually, a coma does not last more than a few weeks. However, as long as the person is breathing on their own, I've heard stories of comas lasting for a long time—even years! Who knows how long it'll be before Bella awakes from her slumber."

Just what we needed, another depressing point to weigh us down. Sensing a need to uplift the conversation, Alice added, "Hey, do you think if Edward kisses Bella, she'll pop up like Sleeping Beauty did?" I started cracking up. Leave it to Alice to lighten anyone's mood.

Finally, I told her about our pancake spectacle. Alice got giddy when I described what Edward did for the boy, but I could tell her hopes were squashed right along with mine when I relayed his final message to me. Needing to get another's opinion, I had to ask, "Did I fail him as a mother? Is it my fault he thinks having a child will make him miserable?"

"No mom, not at all. If that were true, wouldn't you have failed all of us? It seems to me the rest of the Cullens have been set right. How else do you explain little Sophia? Or, the fact Emmett and Rosie keep trying for a baby? Edward's the only one who didn't get on the baby bandwagon. We just need to figure out when his path in life lead him astray."

If only it were that simply. "We can't really do detective work with Edward shutting us all out Alice. I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Him shutting down is understandable. Heck, I'd even venture to say that you have to allow for some of his asshole behavior. It has to be scary to jump from 'I may hypothetically have a son' to 'I have responsibilities towards this young person.' If there's one thing I know about my brother, it is that he is a stickler for rules. In this case, Edward is required to support the child despite the fact he wasn't aware of his existence. And as upset as he is over this situation, I can't see him signing his legal rights away, especially when Bella is not around to be a part of that decision."

"I agree Alice. I can't see him taking any sort of legal action until Bella is awake and things start to return to some sense of normalcy. Maybe he won't want to deny his rights by that point." I couldn't help but wonder to myself: does it make me a horrible person if I wish he gets enough time to bond with Tony before Bella wakes up?

Shaking myself out of that line of reasoning, I asked, "So when are you flying out Alice? Your presence is certainly required at this point. After all, you were always the closest one to Edward, able to get through those defensive walls he built around himself. I have a feeling that the reintroduction of Bella has caused him to regress. You need to get him back into shape."

"I talked with Jasper earlier, and unfortunately it's too late for him to get time off for this week. At least with myself being my own boss, I can take all the time that is necessary. I can come down as early as tomorrow with Sophia. Jasper will join us by the weekend, and then we can stay through the following week. After that, we'll just have to wait and see."

"Now Mom; should we rally all the troops? I haven't shared any news yet with Emmett or Rosalie. I wasn't sure how Rose would take the news of Edward having a child and not wanting it."

Ohh, they are not going to like being kept in the dark. "I can see how that might cause some drama. But maybe it is that type of drama that will make Edward appreciate what he has, while others suffer. And who better to kick his ass than Emmett?"

Alice snorted, "I think he has to be more afraid of Rose at this point. While Emmett would use his brute strength, Rose would just go in for the kill; She'd castrate him!" I could definitely see Rose bitching Edward out. It may be just what the doctor ordered.

Things were finally starting to look up. Glancing out into the lobby, I saw the boys had returned from the restroom, and Carlisle was entertaining Tony, while Edward was nowhere to be seen. Feeling better about the situation, I thanked Alice for calming me down, and giving me hope.

"No problem Mom. After all, we all know I'm your favorite!" Like I'd ever admit to that! We confirmed some last minute details before I wished Alice a safe journey.

Heading into the lobby to claim my boys, I was ready to take on the next challenge of the day: seeing what condition Bella was in. Hearing about one's injuries and seeing them are entirely two different experiences. For Tony's sake, I can only hope she doesn't look too bad off. Keeping my fingers crossed, I prayed that we would come across a peaceful Sleeping Beauty like Alice joked about earlier.