I am the worst fanfic writer on the planet. I just wanted to give all you guys a big, fat apology because I feel like absolute shit for leaving you guys hanging. I started college this year and have been really stressed with everything. I really have no excuse for how long it's taken me and I cannot explain how awful I feel. For those of you who have stuck with me for this long, you deserve a million dollars. Unfortunately, I cannot provide anyone with close to that amount. I love you guys though. And here's the chapter you have all been waiting for!

So many thoughts were racing through my mind. Possible situations I could find myself in soon. Each one even more horrible and heartbreaking than the previous.

What was Robert going to do now that he knew about Chase? How long was he going to stay in Forks?

I know Robert has rights as Chase's father. What if he tried to take my baby away from me? What if he stayed and tried to be Chase's father? What would that do to Edward and Chase's relationship? To Edward's and my relationship? I didn't want anyone to suffer because of this.

I know that I should have tried to contact Robert after Chase was born, even if my mother forbade me to. I could have done it behind her back if I really wanted to. The thought has even crossed my mind. So why didn't I?

That whole night, I tossed and turned. I couldn't get comfortable; though I think the discomfort stemmed more from my mind than my physical position on the bed.

I knew that I would have to sit down and have a long discussion with Robert. Alone. This really had nothing to do with Edward, no matter how badly I wanted that to be untrue; no matter how badly I wanted Edward with me when I faced Robert.

I stared outside my window into the night sky, just looking at the stars until the clock struck 4 AM and I finally found myself drifting to sleep.

*~*

I awoke the next morning thirty minutes after my alarm went off. Opening my eyes, I was greeted with the sight of my alarm clock that read 7:00 AM.

"Shit!" I cursed under my breath as I ran to my closet and threw on the first thing I could find. I only had an hour before school started and I still had to get Chase dressed and drop him off at daycare.

I brushed my teeth and washed my face in record time before sprinting down the stairs. I rushed to living room to find my mother lying on the couch in her pink silk robe and Chase sitting on the floor. My mom looked exhausted as well. She had giant bags under her red, swollen eyes and a box of Kleenex sitting amongst a pile of used tissues. Just by looking at her, I could tell she was sick. That just made the fact that Chase was up, dressed, and completely ready for daycare that much sweeter of a gesture.

My mother and I still weren't back on friendly terms since our big fallout over Chase. We weren't exactly hostile towards each other or anything, but I could tell she was annoyed about my decision and I was annoyed that she was annoyed. We spent the majority of our time just exchanging common courtesies and not really talking about anything substantial. I knew this was tough on her and I could tell she was at least trying to accept it and move on.

"Mom, you look absolutely awful! Why don't you go up to bed and I'll come home as soon as I can after school to make you some food. Do you need me to bring you some breakfast?"

Instead of answering, my mom simply patted the seat next her and smiled softly. I tentatively made my over to sit by her. Now that she had gotten Chase ready, I had a few minutes before I had to be over at Edward's. That's the beauty of living in such a small town- everything is really close to each other and it takes almost no time at all to get places.

"Honey, I heard about Robert and his family."

At the mention of Robert, I froze up. My whole body became tense and I was too uncomfortable to look her in the eye. I really did not want to think about him at the moment--or ever, really.

She seemed to notice my unwillingness to talk about him.

"Does he know?"

I couldn't tell what she wanted the answer to this question to be.

"Yes," I whispered as softly as I could.

Dead silence.

"What are you going to do?" The tone of her voice remained only politely interested and I still couldn't tell what she was really feeling.

I cleared my throat. "I don't really know. I guess I'll have to talk to…him."

She just nodded.

More awkward silence.

"So, uh…I better head over to Edward's so I won't be late. See ya," I said, still avoiding any eye contact.

My mom didn't say anything as I got Chase and headed towards the door. We both stepped outside and just before I left , I turned back and stuck my head inside the doorframe. "Oh, and thanks for getting Chase ready for me this morning." And with that I shut the door and walked across the lawn to Edward's.

I let myself in, as I did every morning now, and leaned against the door, letting out a huge sigh. It wasn't even 7:20 yet and I was already stressed.

I followed Chase into the kitchen where Esme stuffed us full of eggs, bacon, sausage, and buttered toast. She promised to run some over to my mother after I told her my mom was sick this morning.

Other than the few words I exchanged with Esme, nobody talked through breakfast. I was too tired, and my mind was on other things. And I honestly don't think that Edward or Esme knew what to say. Chase did try to grab Edward's attention quite a few times and he would oblige for a short time before getting a pensive look on his face again.

Luckily, Edward drove like a maniac and we had Chase dropped off and made it to the school parking lot with ten minutes to spare before the bell that told us to start heading to first period rang.

Edward parked and turned off the car but neither one of us made a move to get out. Edward let out a huge sigh before turning to me and talking.

"So, what's going to happen now that Robert's back?"

I turned to him and snapped, "I don't know, okay? Why does everybody keep asking me that? I. Don't. Know. Am I speaking English?" I was just so tired of thinking about it. It plagued my mind all night and I was very exhausted and cranky because of it. I just wanted to go on and pretend Robert didn't exist. I wanted Edward to take me home so we could live in our own little ignorant bubble and not worry about anything more dramatic than where we would go to eat on our next date.

Edward dropped his eyes to his hands and looked so pathetic that I felt bad.

I reached out and grabbed his arm. "Edward, I'm sorry. I'm just so stressed and exhausted. I spent the whole night awake, tossing and turning in my bed trying to figure out what the hell is the best thing to do from here. There are just so many options and so many things that could go wrong and I just don't want to deal with it. But I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

He looked up with warm eyes and squeezed my hand. "I know. I can't even imagine how much pressure is on you right now. Don't worry, I understand."

A few seconds of silence passed before Edward spoke again. "So…are you going to talk to Robert?"

I calmed myself before answering so that I wouldn't snap at Edward again. "Yeah. I'm going to try to see if I can arrange something today."

Edward just nodded. "Well, we should probably head inside. The bell just rang."

I nodded as Edward came around to my side of the car to open the door and swung his arm around my shoulder. I gripped his waist as if my life depended on it.

The day dragged on slowly. I'm pretty sure I failed a pre-cal test that I had completely forgotten about and I fell asleep in history, only to have my bitch of a teacher, Mrs. McLaney, call me out in front of the whole class, sufficiently embarrassing me. By lunch, I hadn't seen Robert at all and was wondering if he even came today, which brought on a whole new set of questions.

Where was he if he didn't come? Did he stay home? Do his parents know why he decided to stay home? Would his parents push him to decide on a certain living situation? Would they want to be involved in Chase's life? I almost collapsed in the hallway just thinking about it.

Everyone at the lunch table was quiet all through lunch. It wasn't awkward. Everyone was just too consumed in their own thoughts to even notice that nobody else was attempting to talk to anybody. I kept my hold on Edward's hand the whole time. I'm actually surprised that he didn't get mad at me for squeezing it too hard.

The rest of the day was as uneventful as the beginning, with no sign of Robert still. I was relieved and kind of disappointed at the same time. I was glad that I didn't have to face him after yesterday, but I certainly did want to get all this over with as soon as possible.

Edward tried making light conversation on the way to pick up Chase but he could tell I wasn't that into it and stopped once we got Chase strapped up in his booster seat in the back.

Once we got home, I deposited Chase in front of Barney in the living room, where my mom was currently dozing on the couch, and dragged Edward up to my room. I had been doing some thinking during the day and wanted to let him know what I decided to do. I also kind of wanted to talk about my fears with him, just so I could get them off of my chest.

I sat down on my bed and pulled Edward down beside me. He had a perplexed look on his face but I cut him off before he could say anything.

"I know what I'm going to do about Robert."

He let out a sigh and his eyes got huge. I could tell he was scared to ask me what I had decided. And I have to say, I didn't really want to tell him anymore than he wanted to hear it.

Saving him the act of actually asking, I answered his unspoken question. "The next time I see him, I'm going to ask him to meet me somewhere so we can discuss things. I don't really have any idea what he's going to want to do about this whole thing but we need to get everything decided as soon as we can."

I looked up to gauge his reaction and hoped he knew this was coming. I mean, he had to have known that Robert and I need to at least talk about things.

Edward nodded his head and smiled at me. "Yeah, that's a great idea. Would you like to do it over at my house? We can wait until my parents are gone so it won't be as awkward, but I figure it's neutral ground and maybe he won't have to find out where you live just yet."

He didn't understand. I ran my fingers through my hair before looking up to meet his eyes again. "No, Edward. I meant that I would have to do this alone. Just me and Robert."

He abruptly stood up. "No! There is no way I am leaving you alone with that boy. Nu uh. If you want to talk to him, I'm going with you, Bella."

Slamming my fist on my palm, I stood up too. "Edward, this doesn't even have anything to do with you! This is between Robert and me, okay? Having you there will just anger him. And besides, I'm not some little girl, Edward. I have been through way more than you have and I know perfectly well how to take care of myself! It's not like Robert is some rapist or anything. Leaving me alone with him isn't dangerous!"

I was completely offended at Edward's implication that I couldn't take care of myself. I was also a little pissed off at the fact that Edward thought he had the right to be at that conversation. I love him and he's a great father figure for Chase, but this isn't about that. If we had to take this to court, Edward would get absolutely no say in anything.

By this time, Edward was breathing heavily with his fists clenched and eyes narrowed. I knew that I had hit below the belt with my comment about it having nothing to do with him.

"Aaaaaugh!" he cried as he threw one of the pillows on my bed and slammed my door before storming outside and across to his own house.

I felt a mix of emotions about everything that was going on. I did feel bad that Edward had to be put in this position. I knew it must be hard for him to have Robert around but I also felt really angry at him for trying to force me to let him be there.

But I knew that if Edward came, then he and Robert would just fight and try to outdo each other and it would be way more difficult than necessary.

I mean, of course Edward would be a part of Chase's life anyway. But involving Edward in this decision would just anger Robert and get Edward roped in to something he would be better off staying out of.

I went to sleep that night (after making my mom some soup and hot chocolate and getting Chase to bed) without trying to get a hold of Edward. I figured that he would want some time to cool off and get his emotions in check for tomorrow.

The next morning, I thankfully got up in time to get Chase and myself ready with plenty of time to spare. I headed over to Edward's just like every morning but found myself very tense. I didn't know what Edward was going to say or how he was going to act. Would he ignore me? Would he act like nothing happened? Would he apologize? Would he be rude?

I figured if Esme was around, he would at least have the decency to act polite until we left his house.

I walked in the front door to find Esme taking biscuits out of the oven and Edward nowhere in sight.

"Good morning, honey! How are you two this morning?" Esme left her spot at the oven and came to give Chase and me big hugs and to kiss our cheeks.

"Morning, Esme. We're doing pretty well, I guess."

She smiled warmly at us before heading back over to put the biscuits in a dish and pour the gravy that was cooking on the stove into a bowl.

"Well, breakfast is just about done. I'm just going to run out to the garage and get some orange juice out of the refrigerator out there. Just make yourselves at home. Edward will be down soon."

From the way she spoke, I assumed that Edward didn't tell her about Robert or about our fight last night. I was grateful that he didn't because I really didn't know what I would do if she did know. I don't think I could handle all the questions that would come my way.

I sat Chase in his little booster seat in the chair and took my seat next to him. I gave us each one biscuit and smothered my own in gravy. Esme returned with the orange juice and poured us both a glass.

I had barely taken one bite when Edward came waltzing in with a blank expression on his face.

"Good morning, Mom," he chirped in an unusually upbeat voice before planting a kiss on Esme's face. She smiled before fixing him a plate with two biscuits covered in gravy.

"Good morning, Bella," he called to me in a completely detached, polite tone.

"And good morning, sweetie!" he hugged Chase and gave him a kiss on his cheek too.

"Good mowning, Dadda!" Chase blubbered happily with a mouth full of food.

So that was how he was going to play it. Esme's eyes flicked between us, but she didn't say anything, which gave me some relief.

The rest of breakfast was awkward. Everyone was silent with the exception of when Chase would try to tell Edward something and Edward would encourage him with a response.

As soon as it was over, I headed to the car and got in, not knowing what to expect, while Edward strapped Chase in the back before coming up to the front to get in himself.

We didn't talk much as he drove to the daycare and checked Chase in, but I was determined to get something out of him on the way to school.

"Edward, I'm really sorry if you think I'm being insensitive about this whole thing but—"

"Bella, I really don't want to talk about it right now. I'm trying to be okay with it, but it's going to take a while, so let's just…not talk about it." He cracked a small almost-smile which made me relax the slightest bit. At least I know he's trying to be okay with everything.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) Robert was at school. I didn't even see him before lunch, but I sure did the second he walked into the cafeteria. I looked down when he came in, not wanting to go start a conversation right away. I needed some time to collect my thoughts and decide what I wanted to say.

I watched him out of the corner of my eye while he went up to the lunch line and got his food, all the while completely ignoring me. I then watched as he paid and walked across the room to sit with Mike Newton and a bunch of his friends.

I could see Edward looking at me with a solemn look on his face out of the other corner of my eye. He had been quiet the whole day, but he was still sweet and polite. I was relieved we were past all of the yelling at least.

After going over everything I wanted to say in my head and breathing deeply for about ten minutes, I threw my food away and headed over to where Robert was laughing and acting as if everything was completely normal and I hadn't just told him I had given birth to his baby without telling him.

I stood beside his chair, in between him and Eric Yorkie, and cleared my throat before beginning.

"Um, Robert?"

He jumped slightly and turned to look at me, a grin forming on his face. I couldn't tell what kind of smile it was, but it didn't look like a joyful one.

"Bella," he said while his smile turned into a smirk.

Trying not to draw a lot of attention to us, I lowered my voice and looked directly at him, not glancing anywhere else.

"Can I, uh, talk to you for a bit?"

He glanced around at his table, smirk still in place, before turning back to and nodding.

"Yeah, sure"

I led him out of the cafeteria and out of the front doors to the picnic tables outside that no one was using seeing as it was winter in Washington. I sat down and motioned for him to sit down across from me.

And all of a sudden, all the words that I had been going over in my head were refusing to come to the surface. I could not form a sentence if my life depended on it. I couldn't even meet Robert's eyes. I sat there like a fool fiddling with my fingers and shaking my leg up and down.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" he still had that awful smirk on his face, and I could tell that he knew exactly what I wanted to talk to him about. He was trying to make this hard on me.

"Look, I understand why you ran off yesterday. I really do. But we still need to discuss what's going to happen from now on," my voice was still quiet, and I could barely hear myself.

With the same stupid gloating look on his face, he asked, "Well, what are the options?"

"Well, he's yours too. You can have nothing to do with him, or you can be a very regular part of his life. It's up to you, though."

His smile grew, "So what you're saying is that I have just as much say in what happens with him as you do?"

I nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. But if you choose to not have anything to do with him, you have to sign away your rights. You can't be there only when it's convenient for you."

He stood up and came over to my side of the bench to help me up. "Good. I've decided."

"Really?" I asked, completely shocked that he could have made such a life altering decision in such a short time.

"Yup. I'm in. I want to be there."

"Seriously?" I was a little skeptical. This just seemed very odd, and I could tell that something wasn't right.

"And as my first order of business, I don't want my son to be around that pansy boytoy of yours."

"What?! First of all, Edward is not a pansy, and he's not my 'boytoy' , and second of all, you cannot do that. Chase loves Edward, and Edward loves him just as much. Edward's like a father figure to him!"

He just laughed. "And whose fault is that? If you had told me that I had a son a little earlier, then I would be the father figure and Doucheward wouldn't even be in the picture. And I'm sure the little fact that he was kept secret from me until now is something that the court would love to hear when I battle you for custody if you don't listen to what I have to say."

Even though his words caused fear to shoot right through me, I tried not to show it. "You wouldn't do that. And even if you did, they wouldn't give you custody of him. I'm his mother."

He laughed even louder. "I'm legally an adult. I have a stable job with enough to pay for my own place. I am financially independent and I'm graduating in the spring. You've already proven irresponsible in keeping him a secret from me. You live with your mom, have no job, still have a little over half a year left in high school. Your mom barely makes enough to provide basic needs for your family and you don't even have a car or a license!"

I couldn't tell if he was bluffing, but I had learned in the past not to underestimate Robert. What he was saying made sense, and I didn't want to risk having my baby taken away from me.

"Keep him away from Cullen. You chose to lie to me for this long, and now that I know about him, I will be his father. His only father. I don't care if you want to keep seeing Edward, but keep my son away from him."

And then he stomped back inside the school, leaving me outside in the freezing rain.

Okay. It took long enough, right? It will definitely not take me six months to get the next one up, though I can't promise anything because school and work are very stressful right now. Now I would also like to say that I know nothing about custody battles, as my parents are still together. So for the sake of the story, we are going to go with my rules : ).

Compliments? Constructive criticism? Ideas or suggestions? REVIEW!

No flames though. They make me sad. : (