Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: It's been a very trying month and a half. Car crashes, mysterious ailments, family drama, exhausting travel… and it's not nearly over yet.

Chapter 21

Ben's eyes jumped warily from person to person. He was smart enough to know when to keep quiet, and stupid enough to believe that Renee would actually say something that would ease the increasingly uncomfortable situation.

"Yes, isn't it great? I met him at the airport in Phoenix. It turned out that we were both on the same flight to Seattle, would you believe it? And Ben is such a gentleman, he spoke to those rude airline people and convinced them to upgrade me to first class!" Renee was practically squealing with excitement. "You wouldn't believe how much more comfortable it is to fly that way, Bella."

"Sure, mom," said Bella drily. "Such a wonderful coincidence." She didn't miss the way Ben continued to evade her gaze. "So, Uncle Ben, what brings you here to the States? Are you sure you're up to all this travelling? I thought you were planning to stay in France for a couple of months while you recuperated."

"Yes, yes," he harrumphed, swaying back and forth on the balls of his feet. "I'm much better now. Very peaceful place, as you know."

Bella rolled her eyes at his non-answer. Before she could interrogate him further, Jasper spoke up.

"That's good to know, Ben. How's your lovely wife? I think young Bella said she was planning a cruise of some sort?"

"Yes, Ben, where is Angela? I meant to ask, but it completely slipped my mind," laughed Renee, leading the way into the living room and patting the couch invitingly. Ben happily took a step forward, before encountering Bella's narrowed gaze. He quickly stepped back towards the front door.

"She's alright. Busy, you know. It was a pleasure to meet all of you, but I should leave now. Renee, I'll give you a call later today if that's ok?"

With a nod and a wave, he was gone.

Edward looked over at Bella and raised an eyebrow in question. She merely huffed and sat down next to her mother.

"What a lovely man," gushed Renee, completely oblivious to the dark looks her daughter was shooting her. "We've always got along, you know. I can't bear his wife, though… she's so completely self absorbed! Don't tell anyone I told you this, but I think she isn't faithful to the poor man."

Jasper looked from Renee to Bella's stormy face to Edward's confused expression. While at any other time, he would have truly enjoyed watching the potential disaster unfold, today he had other, more pleasant things on his mind.

Grabbing Alice's hand, he stood. "That's nice, that you get along with him, Renee. He's your sister's brother-in-law, isn't he? You've probably known him for years! Well, it's been lovely meeting you, and we should all get together… maybe tomorrow for drinks or something?" With a quick hug for Bella and a pat on the back for Edward, he tugged Alice towards the door. "We'll get going now, can't slack off work, can we? Ed, I'll see you at Sawyer's place in an hour and a half, alright?"

Alice seemed bemused as she was practically dragged out of the apartment. She didn't dwell on it long, though. They only had a little time before they needed to get to work, and neither she nor Jasper wanted to waste a moment on anyone else's drama. They practically sprinted back to Alice's place, and for the next forty minutes or so, completely shut out the rest of the world while their lips, hands and bodies reconnected.

…_ _ _…_ _ _...

"Well, your friend seemed a bit strange, Edward," Renee commented. "Dragging poor Alice along that way. Rather a handsome man, though. How old did you say he was, again?"

"Mom!" Bella cut in. She stood up and started pacing as she tried to come to terms with all the drama that had unfolded that morning. "That's completely inappropriate. Jasper isn't strange, he and Alice both just have to get to work. So do we, for that matter," she said, with a swift look at the time on her phone screen. "Now, I'm really happy to see you, don't get me wrong, but how long are you planning to stay?"

Renee shrugged. "I hadn't really planned my trip out in such detail, darling. I heard from Charlie that your Edward was in town," she paused to smile warmly at him. "So I decided to drop by. Why, is there a problem?"

Edward walked over and took Bella's hand, calming her down with a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Not at all, Renee," he said smoothly, charming her completely. "However, there is a slight logistical issue. I am here for a few more days, so we will need to book you in at a nearby hotel for the duration. Don't worry about it, though. I'll take care of everything. Now that we have accommodations taken care of," he smiled, making Renee's eyes glaze over. "I am sadly tied up all day today, but would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow? I would love to get to know my Bella's mother better."

Bella fought down her feelings of worshipful awe at the way Edward handled her mother. Renee seemed to have fallen completely under his spell, and happily agreed to his plan.

"Merveilleux," he crooned, helping Renee up from the couch, before turning to Bella with a wink. "Now, ma belle, could you perhaps look up a good hotel nearby? I can help Renee check in before my meeting. You need to be at work soon too, don't you?"

"Yes, I should…"

"Oh Edward, that's so sweet of you!" Renee cut in. "But don't worry about it, I can check myself in. I don't want to put you to the trouble."

"It's no trouble at all," Edward assured her, steering her towards the kitchen. "We have a few minutes before we need to leave. Why don't I make you a cup of coffee while Bella gathers her things?"

He winked at Bella, who gladly ran into her room and straight through to the bathroom, where she splashed cold water on her face.

"God, this has been the strangest morning," she muttered. "Please, please make the weirdness disappear."

Ten minutes later, a much more composed Bella walked into the kitchen to see Edward and Renee having what appeared to be a serious conversation. They were speaking in hushed tones, and both clammed up as soon as they saw her. Bella looked at them in bewilderment.

"What?" she asked. "Why're you both looking at me that way? Is there something..." she extended her hands to the sides and looked down at herself.

"You see what I mean, Edward?" whispered Renee loudly, trying to hide behind her coffee cup.

Edward seemed to be having a hard time keeping a straight face. "Oui, je sais. But I don't think you need to worry about her now, Renee."

Bella rolled her eyes. "What, is this about how I need to be taken care of, and have low self esteem, or whatever? Honestly, mom, I'm twenty six. Just stop, already."

"A mother never stops worrying about her child," Renee declared with a melting glance at Edward. "I told you not to go to France all alone, but did you listen?"

"If I may say so," Edward said gently, sipping his coffee, "I am extremely glad she did not listen."

Bella smirked and accepted the cup Edward had pushed her way.

"Well, sure it did work out better than I had thought, but…"

"But nothing, mom. I'm fine, I'm blissfully happy with Edward, and I'm going to be horribly late if we don't leave in the next five minutes," said Bella decisively.

Edward immediately stood and helped Renee up as well, gathering the cups and quickly restoring the kitchen to a more or less neat state. Bella stifled a laugh at his efforts and blew him a kiss from behind Renee's back.

…_ _ _…_ _ _...

"So, what were you discussing with mom anyway?" she asked, slumping back into her comfortable chair. It had been a long day.

Edward's soft laugh washed over her tired mind like a soothing balm. "Your mother loves you, ma belle. She was making sure I knew to take good care of you."

"Ah, I see. How far did she get, listing all my faults?" she asked wryly.

"Not very far, chérie," he said with a sigh. "I wouldn't let her. But now I understand better what you meant when you told me about her earlier. She does have a unique way of showing her concern."

Bella laughed a little bitterly. "Unique is the right word. And the strange thing is, I know how much she cares, but it's just… I've spent most of my life trying to do things that would make her happy. I mean, she's my mom, you know?"

He murmured understandingly, and she felt the tension seep out of her body.

"So while I'm really happy to see her after all this while, I'm also completely stressed out about what she expects of me. Why can't she just be there for me, Edward? Why can't she just be a… a mom for a while?" She knew she was whining, but she couldn't help it.

"Don't worry too much, mon cœur. You can't change people, but I'm here now, to help you deal with them. I loved my parents, but I can't say they didn't frustrate me at times," he said wryly.

"Oh my God, do you think our children will say the same about us?" she blurted out, staring wide eyed out of the window. "Edward, what if I do this to them?"

"I'll make sure they turn out alright, chérie," he said teasingly. "So, children… how about you come home now and we'll start on that right away? I've heard it might take a little practice before you get it right."

She laughed in delight, her cheeks flaming with combined embarrassment and excitement. "Really, monsieur? You can't say things like that to me when you know I still have another meeting to get through. But once I'm home…" her voice dropped seductively. "I think we should examine this matter in greater detail."

"Mon Dieu," he muttered, "I look forward to it, Isabella."

His voice gave her goosebumps, and made her breathing speed up. "Edward," she practically moaned. "You are dangerous, you know that? You've got me so worked up right now, my nipples are all nipply!"

"We can't have that," he said seriously. "Your clients might get the wrong idea. Hmm… how about we go back to discussing your mother? Hey, what was the matter with Ben this morning? You seemed annoyed with him, but I never got to ask why."

"Ugh! Talk about a buzzkill," she groaned. "Good job, sweetheart. Yeah, Ben… I have a feeling he has a thing for mom, and there's just something creepy about it. Back in France, we had a few really weird conversations, and I realized he has been… well not stalking, exactly, but just… making sure he keeps intersecting with her life, if that makes sense. And you can't tell me it was coincidence that the minute Aunt Angie went off on her cruise, he came here, and just happened to be on the same flight as mom. No way."

"Interesting," mused Edward. "I could find out more about it if you like. I mean, I am meeting your mother for lunch tomorrow. Maybe it'll distract her from trying to give me her version of the third degree."

Bella chuckled and looked up as Alice popped her head in and mimed 'clients'. "That's a great idea, actually. And now I've gotta go. See you at home in a couple of hours, my darling."

"Oui, chérie. I'm looking forward to it."

…_ _ _…_ _ _...

Renee hung up the phone with a wistful smile. She and Charlie had been on the phone for a good hour, but she could have sworn it seemed more like ten minutes.

Even though her marriage to Charlie Swan hadn't worked out, she remained rather fond of him. He had been such a handsome young guy, and well, she'd been caught up in the romance of it all for a while. But even though she had completely smashed his dream world the day she decided she no longer wanted to be a small-town housewife, he had been decent about it.

He had never once delayed paying child support, and she knew for a fact he had never maligned her in front of Bella. In fact, now that she thought about it, her friends in Forks insisted he never spoke a word against her to anyone. Neither did he date much. He hadn't changed the quirky color scheme she had picked for the kitchen cabinets, or thrown away the crazy rugs and tie-dye bedspreads she had sent him sporadically over the years. He had never tried to throw her out of his life. In fact, he had made it easy for her to live her life, and it was with a slight pang that she realized that somehow, despite their divorce, Charlie remained her anchor.

She lay back on the comfortable hotel bed, lost in thought. She liked Edward. She had been aghast when she learnt that Bella was engaged to a man practically her age, but he seemed to be a good man. It definitely helped that Charlie agreed with her assessment.

Her phone buzzed beside her and she wondered if it was Charlie calling her back for some reason. Maybe he was reconsidering her suggestion that they meet and catch up while she was in the area.

She huffed out a breath and pouted slightly when she saw Ben's name on her screen. With a sigh, she answered the call.

"Hi Ben. Oh yes, Edward booked me in at a nice little hotel… what? No, no, why would you change hotels… Ben, I really don't think you need to uproot yourself that way. Sure, we can meet for dinner. Alright, I'll see you in an hour."

She tapped the screen to end the call, then raised her eyebrows at her phone. "If I didn't know better, I'd think this man is trying to flirt with me."

…_ _ _…_ _ _...

A/N: We're back to regular updates now (unless something else catastrophic occurs).