Summer job I wasn't expecting. Full time +. I'm sure you guys want to kill me at this point. I am really sorry. Hope you believe me. I've just been so busy/exhausted.
Disclaimer: All Twilight characters and core personality traits are the property of SM. I own nothing, nor do I plan on profiting from using her work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Piper-lane made Thicker than Blood a fantastic banner. It's truly beautiful and I'm so honored that she would take the time, and her talent, to do something like this for my little story. I can't thank her enough. Take a look at it! Every time I open it, I love it more and more. Totally pretty. So exciting for me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Ms_ambrosia also made me an amazing banner, even though I know she's in high demand and extremely busy. It's so elegant and beautiful. I just love the Bella she made for us, perfectly done and very sweet. Thank you tons and tons. You have no idea how special it is to me. It's also on my profile page for everyone to look at.
Again, Nise7465 beta'ed this chapter for us. She's incredible. Updates her own ridiculously good story and still manages to look over my chapters when I spring them on her spontaneously. So a thousand thank you's to her!
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Jasper felt sickening unease— tangibly, physically ill, as he watched Cullen's jaw tighten and lips straighten into sharp, harsh lines. Blazing green eyes skimmed across the news print he had just reluctantly supplied and he was relieved beyond words that Edward's unyielding rationality made it unlikely that he would be one to shoot the messenger. The sullen young man had always been reserved, his disposition somewhat cold, but still easily likeable. Whitlock had only on a handful of occasions had the misfortune of witnessing his old med school buddy truly lose his temper; and in an individual that regularly harbored a heavy pulse of hostility, genuine anger made for an altogether unsettling outburst.
Edward's narrowed pupils dropped from line to line and the blonde winced as he recalled the words being read. The severity of each personal fact revealed correlated to near perfection with the deepening shade of seething red that spread up the young doctor's neck.
The article, to its credit, was quite mild and fluffed. Mainly a faux 'congratulatory' piece stating that the millionaire Seattle socialite was reportedly expecting baby number one with very young, new girlfriend, Isabella Swine.
Jasper had laughed, despite himself, at the misprint that transformed the stunning little brunette from a majestic bird to a mud dwelling piglet. It was either intentionally debauched by the paper's informant, or a truly tragic typo. Either way, it was shoddy journalism… but that was to be expected of the least respected section of the paper. It would work significantly in Button's favor.
More distressing was the rest of the article; that did little as to hide the identity of the informer. Aside from getting Bella's name wrong, the piece contained a plethora of questionably obtained information; from the age and birth month of Edward's new lover— Who, the article delighted in pointing out, wouldn't be out of her teens until September— to the exact predicted due date of the unborn Cullen heir… even revealing that the two were currently living together in Edward's uptown estate. This wasn't just some no-name that had spotted Edward holding hands with a noticeably pregnant girlfriend; someone had intentionally provided the author with concrete facts.
Jazz had seen this before… when a celebrity had come to the hospital and had the contents of his file leaked to the press. It had been a public relations disaster for the facility and he didn't think Ed was going to let this shit slide any easier this time around.
Edward's grip on the grey news print grew tighter and tighter, crumpling the edges of the paper in a way that threatened to rip the delicate page in two long before he finished the piece.
The blonde rubbed the back of his neck tensely, bracing himself for Breakdown 2011— not to be confused with Breakdown 2009, which occurred when Edward was called away from his shift to bail his older brother out of jail for drunk and disorderly charges.
"You didn't… eh, happen to tell anyone all that information…did you?" He hoped aloud.
Though really fucked up, it would be a lot smaller of an issue if it was just one of Edward's relatives running their mouths over cocktails at the country club, bragging about the new baby.
Broken from his trance, Edward slammed the paper on to the generic coffee table, immediately followed by the shocking bang of his fist as it pounded down beside it. Jazz was glad he had thought to lure the hotheaded man into the empty on call room before he broke the news.
"No I did not tell anyone Bella's birthday, the fact that I took an early lunch to be with her for our ultrasound, the exact due date of our baby, and that there was no sign of an engagement ring on her finger when she came in for her appointment," he growled out furiously, listing a pretty dramatic number of reasons the facts included weren't something that a member of his family would know or find pertinent. "I didn't even know her birthday," he groaned, his head tossed back in aggravation.
Instead of the overwhelming anger Jazz had been waiting for, Edward's voice was wracked with an unexpected sadness. The sound made his gut twist uncomfortably. Whitlock had always found himself heavily affected by the emotions of those around him and his best friend was no exception.
"But she works with your sister right? I mean… she could have known those things," he suggested. "said something to someone in conversation?"
"My sister has been in the Cullen spotlight since she was a teen. She knows not to run her mouth to strangers about important family matters," he snapped angrily, "The only idiot stupid enough to cross me like this is fucking my sister-in-law, and though I don't doubt for a second that she'd do it, she's doesn't have half the information everyone in fucking Seattle is getting today."
Jasper swallowed nervously and slouched back into an old recliner, the polar opposite of Edward's on-the-edge-of-his-seat posture. The guy looked like he was going to run out the door and start socking people indiscriminately.
"Come on, Bro. It's not so bad. They got her fucking name wrong," he pointed out.
Edward's eyes clouded at the thought, "Right… Swine," he hissed distastefully, "I wonder who thought that was a wise little joke," he mused with a vengeful tenor that made it clear he was going to make their life a living hell when he found out, "That'll only last as long as it takes them to figure it out and print a retraction."
The redhead suddenly crumbled, his face buried in his hands and his elbows supporting the weight of his upper body as they rested on like pillars on his knees.
"Bella's going to lose it… She's going to freak out and she's going to leave," he mumbled low into his palms, more to himself than to his audience.
The normally easy going doctor went ridged with a trill of panic, grey eyes wide.
"Button wouldn't run out on us over this, would she?" he whispered, leaning forward for the answer. Cullen shot him a glare that could scare the fleas off a mutt and he immediately corrected himself, "Eh- I mean you… She wouldn't leave you over this shit, right? It's just a stupid article."
"Button," Edward muttered under his breath with a shake of his head.
"My Bella left everything behind, her family… friends," he growled with bitter enthusiasm and Jasper knew instinctively that he was thinking about the Jake guy Button had told him about the night before, "with nothing but her piece of shit truck and a brand new pregnancy— to keep them from finding out about the baby. You seriously think she wouldn't leave my ass if being with me meant they'd all read about her in the fucking paper?"
Edward was seriously bumming Jazz the fuck out. He'd put a great deal of effort into getting the tiny girl to like him and had grown quite attached in the process. She'd even agreed to go motorcycle shopping with him, after he learned that one of the things she missed most about home was working on her old bike with her ex. He'd been meaning to buy one for months but Ed said they were death traps and refused to go with him.
She couldn't just… leave.
"I'm supposed to be taking care of her…" Edward murmured.
"So take fucking care of it, fucker," Jazz pressed like it was the easiest thing in the world, keeping facts out of major new papers, "Call up the douche bag that wrote this article with illegally obtained information and throw your weight around so she stays 'Isabella Swine'," his voice nearly cracked with a threat of laughter. Swine, heh, "or even easier, pay her off. What do those dudes make forty grand a year? You're just a Cullen brat, not the goddamn president. You could pad pockets better than any story they'd print about you."
Edward stopped really paying attention at illegally obtained information. His distress at the idea of losing the most important thing in his life was temporally channeled into rage at the vendetta he had against someone in his department.
He felt like he could easily fucking kill someone at that point.
Jasper scrambling out of his chair, surprised by how quickly his friend had made it to his feet, and darted out of the room. He nearly tripped over the low coffee table in a desperate effort to pursue.
"Hey, Ed… Where we goin'?" he asked nervously; not completely able to keep the alarm out of his voice.
Shit, Cullen was finally going to snap and strangle one of those damn nurses. Jazz tried to calculate their chance of sneaking a body into the morgue without anyone noticing, but didn't like their odds.
Edward didn't even break stride as he walked purposefully down the hall, the paper rolled tightly in his clenched fist. "Aro's office."
The Texan perked up significantly and strutted onwards with a bit of a skip in his step. That was one murder he'd willingly do time for being an accessory to.
Dr. Cullen didn't bother knocking as he blew through his boss's closed door; he was absolutely the only person in the building that could get away with doing so without receiving a lengthy reprimand about respecting administration from the shady middle aged man that had a terribly warped sense of self-importance.
The greasy haired individual behind the desk looked up with an expression of deep annoyance until he recognized his cash cow. Jasper puffed up his chest and scowled impressively, the epitome of manliness… behind the intimidating redhead.
"Edward! My boy!" Dr. Volturi greeted with a warm smile, standing in respect. He spared a dismissive glance in the other man's direction, "Whitlock," he added with a gruff nod, "What can I do for you this morning, son?"
Jazz snorted.
In no mood to play nice, Bella's vengeful protector walked forward and tossed the open paper across the expensive mahogany desk, none-too gently. "Have you seen this yet?" Edward's smooth voice questioned evenly.
Aro sat back down and looked over the first few lines before smiling, "Ah! Yes as a matter of fact I did. Not a section I typically indulge in but my wife pointed it out over breakfast."
"She can read?" Jazz questioned, managing to look thoroughly impressed. "All by herself?"
The older man bristled but didn't get the opportunity to address the insult against his trophy bride before Edward continued.
"This article was written with information taken from my girlfriend's file. There's no other possible alternative. Her birth date, address, and the due date of our baby. No one else was privy to that."
Volturi paled immediately, an impressive feat, considering the already rice paper-like complexion that stretched across his serpentine features. He leaned back in his leather chair, significantly more business like.
"That is a very serious accusation, Dr. Cullen," his throat cleared hoarsely, "There must be another explana- "
"No. There isn't," he was interrupted with ice cold impatience, "And you're going to figure out who is exposing my family to the press by the end of the day."
Aro's demeanor noticeably hardened at being made demands of, but the experienced business man maintained his composure. "Surely you know how difficult it is to prove this sort of thing… let alone weed out the individual responsible."
"This sort of thing happens when you choose the staff based on cup size," Edward snarled; handsome, intelligent and more formidable than just about anyone in the world at that moment, "But you are going to find out who did this and you're going to blackball them from stepping foot in any hospital in this state as an employee… Which is far better than they deserve."
Jasper grunted in agreement, again, several feet behind his large, fuming friend.
Aro eyed Edward warily, resigned, "And if I'm unable to do so?"
"Then I'll find the proof myself, and hand it straight over to our family attorney before I hand in my resignation.
"I don't want to put you or this hospital in a bad position, Aro, and I'm not asking a lot, but if you don't punish who ever was giving out private information on my pregnant girlfriend I'll encourage her to go to the press and let them know just how secure the medical files here are…"
Edward bluffed with no sign of his lie. Going to the media about anything would only exacerbate the situation and put Bella in the spot light. He couldn't really do anything without pushing his girl further away from him but he refused to let it go.
"Just turn them against each other, Dr. V," Jazz offered, registering the overwhelmed look on the older man's face.
He dug through a bowl of M&M's on the desk in search of all red ones, scattering other colors over the side like a child bored by adult conversation, "If they were stupid enough to talk to a reporter they were stupid enough to mention it to someone else. Tell them if they don't out the guilty party, they'll all lose their jobs. They wouldn't know loyalty if it hit 'em in the face," he laughed, thinking about the catty gals in the front office with a mild fondness. He wondered if he'd been sleeping with the enemy.
Aro nodded, sneering as his candy was brutally violated. "I'll see what I can do," he sighed.
"I appreciate it," Edward gave a quick nod, as if that man was doing him a favor instead of placating his threats, "I'm taking the morning off. I have to see my father about alternative arrangements for the duration of our pregnancy," he turned on his heel and walked briskly out of the room, leaving Aro to glare resentfully at the empty door frame.
Jasper, who was busy enjoying free chocolate that really did melt in his mouth instead of his hands, took several seconds to realize he was in his boss's office without his Cullen shaped shield. Never a good thing when the guy that cut his paychecks was so pissed his eye was twitching. He puffed himself up like a trapped animal, trying to look as large as possible to the looming predator.
"Yes," he cleared his throat roughly, "… I'll be taking the mornin' off as well," the blonde tried replicating Edward famously smooth and assured tone to the best of his ability, thwarted by his southern accent.
Aro's black eyes narrowed with rage, his face a humorous shade of puce "The hell you will, Whitlock! Get your ass back out there before I fire it!"
Jazz scrambled out of the small office, cackling all the way. He slammed the door behind himself just in time to avoid the bowl of tiny, brightly colored candies that shattered against the other side of it, level with his head.
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The large building that held the Cullen private practice was stunning. A gift to her husband and one of the first designs Esme took on after her birds had left the nest, it was a contemporary, concrete and glass, masterpiece. Even Edward, who had outright refused a position at the office on several occasions, was always awed while walking into the bright and cheerful lobby. Not only was everything immaculately clean, it had none of the institutional feel that was synonymous with hospitals.
Edward wanted to kick himself as he made his way to the reception desk. This was where he should have brought Bella to begin with, where her and their baby could receive the best care on the west coast in the most desirable practice. Carrying the head physician's grandchild, she'd be doted on constantly. He had been selfish, wanting her in the care of his own facility where she'd be close.
There was a full waiting area and several people working at the front since Carlisle shared his practice with several other renowned doctors, each with their own exclusive following of patients. Most turned to watch the handsome man enter the room, a combination of individuals that recognized him mixed with others that were drawn to his beauty and poise. He gratefully locked eyes with the only woman he was familiar with, his father's personal secretary, as she finished up a phone call.
"Edward!" Maggie squealed and bounced to her feet, employing surprising dexterity. With graying hair and deep laugh lines, she was an attractive older woman that probably would have started her retirement several years before if Carlisle didn't use the full extent of his twinkly eyed charm to guilt trip her every attempt to leave him. She was a close friend of the family and someone Edward quite liked.
Much to his embarrassment, she reached over the counter and pinched the skin of his cheek, knowing full well he'd let her get away with it.
"Oh dear, such a handsome boy but it's a miracle I can even recognize you, with how little you come to visit us," she gave him a stern glare.
He rubbed at the slightly stinging spot and tried not to look as guilty as he felt. Edward rarely visited his father's building. It most often ended in everyone showing off the state of the art equipment and a beautiful, empty office that would be his, should he choose to claim it.
He gave her his best smile and the old bag softened immediately. "I'm sorry Miss Maggie, you know how busy I get…"
She beamed, "We've heard! A baby! Edward, that's wonderful," she crooned loudly, turning several heads. "You know your father hadn't even told us? We had to read it in the paper this morning," the woman frowned, her hands on her hips with the signature posture of a displeased mother, "I don't think he wanted anyone to know that he's old enough for grandbabies. The man thinks he can still pass for a twenty year old…"
"My mom humors him," Edward muttered dryly, meeting the eyes of each eavesdropper until they looked away and went on with their business. Obviously, the cat was out of the bag, but that didn't mean he was going to allow the damn thing to run all over the place.
"We didn't even know you were seeing anyone. I'm so happy for you, hon" Maggie smiled sweetly at him, lowering her voice after sensing his discomfort with a wink.
He grinned back politely and gave a generic, but true, reply, "Bella's wonderful. The pregnancy was a surprise but neither one of us could be happier about it."
He thought he saw a look of… annoyance cross the cheerful little woman's face but it was gone so fast he second guessed himself.
"Well it's about time, dear. Carlisle's not the only one that's getting a little long in the tooth," she giggled, reaching over and squeezing his hand playfully.
Edward scowled. He was not old.
"So to what do we owe this pleasure?" Maggie hummed, plopping back down into her chair before he could voice his indignation.
"I was hoping to speak with my father, if he's available, but I also wanted to make an appointment with one of his colleagues for my girlfriend. It seems my facility isn't a good fit for her," he tried to keep the acid out of his voice but it was difficult, "Does anyone have room for us on their schedules?"
She looked at him curiously but didn't press, "Well no one in the building is accepting new patents at the moment but you must know that you're an exception, Edward," she laughed lightly, like he was asking the most ridiculous question imaginable, "I know they'd all be honored to look after her. Pick a doctor with Carlisle, then come see me, dear. I'll pencil her in."
This cheered him up significantly. If he could prove to Bella that he'd made other arrangements; safe, secure plans for her care, then maybe it would be easier to convince her she could stay without risk. He nodded gratefully.
The phone beside her started ringing and the woman waved him a dismissal as she reached to answer it. "Your dad's with a patient but he should be out shortly. Why don't you go have a seat in his office, give him a nice surprise?"
The young doctor muttered in agreement, feeling like a child that was visiting his father's work place after school, before setting off in the direction he believed Carlisle's office to be. Maggie snapped her fingers loudly before he got too far, still chatting professionally with someone on the phone, and rolled her eyes as she pointed him down a hallway on the opposite side of the room.
Edward's ears tinted pink as he tried to subtly turn completely around and not look like an idiot. He told himself that the office had been moved, but the truth was that it had been so long since he stopped by, that he'd probably just forgotten.
The room behind the door that was plated with a gold 'Dr. Carlisle Cullen' would be the envy of any professional. It was dressed with warm, masculine furnishings and a wall full of priceless art the couple had collected during various travels. Edward calculated that he could probably fit several hundred of his tiny work lockers into the lavish space and felt a small pang of jealousy.
Edward wanted it all... bad. He just wanted to earn it for himself and not by riding out that Cullen coattail.
He grinned disobediently as he sat behind Carlisle's massive cherry wood desk and made himself at home in the most comfortable chair he'd ever had the pleasure of lowering his rear into. Even toed off his shoes and kicked his feet up next to a computer and a stack of books.
There were quite a few framed photos, all of their family at various stages. Edward's lips curled when he spied a picture of Alice at her senior prom, covered in pink and standing proudly beside a terrified looking kid in an ill fitting suit. She was an overwhelming little force, even then.
One of the pictures was of Edward and Esme, right after he'd joined the Cullen brood. He recognized himself easily but all he could really see was a miserable, lost seventeen year old boy, even though his younger likeness was forcing a smile for the sake of his new mother.
He picked up an image directly in front of him and examined it closely. This one was of him and Carlisle and had a prominent position in a more extravagant frame. He and his mentor were poised together at a dinner that was thrown to honor his graduation from med school. Both men were beaming into the camera and he could remember feeling incredibly proud when the moment was frozen on film; accomplished and fulfilled but still frighteningly alone in the world, even while surrounded by friends and family.
Especially while surrounded by friends and family.
Though they seemed so foreign now, with Bella in his life and a new baby to look forward to— his very own family, just over a month ago that feeling of obligatory happiness had been his staple in youth and adulthood.
He couldn't imagine the pain he would feel if she ever left, now that he knew what it was like to have someone worth succeeding for because he wanted to and not because he felt obligated to.
"Feels good doesn't it? Maybe something you can see yourself getting used to?"
Edward's head shot up startled, and he hastily put the picture back in place as his father walked into the office with a wide, flawless smile. The imperial blonde hardly looked as though he were working at all, with only his white lab coat to covering his sharp designer button up and slacks. Edward pulled self-consciously at the scrub top he had left over his jeans. If there was one person in his life he always sought to impress; it was his father. He just hadn't had much to change into when he left work in such a hurry.
"What was that?" he asked, having not paid attention to the words but aware the other man had said something.
Carlisle glance pointedly at Edward's relaxed position behind his overly large desk, the pair of sock clad feet resting next to his pricey MacBook. He sat down across from his son in one of the few smaller seats normally reserved for patients or visitors, "Just that you look quite at home here," the blonde shrugged, but couldn't knock his smug smile. "It's nice to see you, son. You should have called and told me you were coming in. Have you been waiting long?"
"Not at all. I saw Mags on my way in. Nice lady," Edward picked up a carved stone paper weight and leaned back in the chair, throwing it high above his head and swiping it out of the air before it came down on his face.
Carlisle rolled his eyes indulgently. The boy was going to give himself a concussion. "Don't let her fool you. She's been complaining all morning about the fifty bucks she lost on an office bet."
"What was the bet on?" Edward asked for the sake of relevance, green eyes on the stone. Up, down. Up, down.
"Your sexual orientation. She was positive you were not much interested in... child making."
The rock fell into the young man's lap with a painful 'thwack'. That would certainly explain that moment of discontent when he had spoken about Bella.
"Who the hell did she bet against?" he asked, offended.
The handsome blonde beamed as he pulled a crisp fifty dollar bill out of his breast pocket and held it out proudly. No sign of shame, "Cool, right? I've never won one of these things before," he tugged the note fondly, and mused, "Maybe I'll frame it."
Edward grumbled but couldn't hold back a reluctant laugh. At least his father didn't think he was living a double life.
"So you read today's Society pages?" he skipped to his point, anxious to discuss the morning's setback with the man who always managed to provide him peace of mind and direction.
Carlisle's face turned solemn. He folded his winnings and tucked it back in his pocket. "Couldn't have missed it if I wanted to, son. The house phone started ringing off the hook offensively early." Edward looked at him questioningly and the blonde rolled his eyes, "Your mother's club friends."
The younger man winced, "I'm sorry. I hadn't thought what trouble this might cause you and mom."
It wasn't really a huge concern of his— that his parents might get some heat for his actions from their self-righteous peers, but he thought it polite to pretend.
Carlisle shook his head, "Esme's never been so popular, all those women inviting her over for the latest gossip," he joked good-naturedly, "Apart from a few sniffs about you two being unmarried, it was mostly well-wishers."
"It was someone from my office, we think. That went to the papers…"
Edward watched his father turn slightly pink, a decidedly guilty expression. "I realized as much from the content. I made the mistake of jumping to a false conclusion after skimming the headline this morning…" he mumbled, very un-Carlisle.
Edward knew what he was referring to. "I thought it was Rose too, at first, but she doesn't know any of those things about Bella and the baby. The papers and her aren't friendly either, after that mess last year," he admitted grudgingly.
The article broadcasting Rosalie's fertility problems, and interest that followed, was the result of her confiding in an untrustworthy friend and had been a humiliating blow for her. He had felt bad for the blonde at the time— now though, he was willing to chalk it up to cosmic vengeance. It was strange how he'd never let Rosalie's behavior offend him until he had a girl of his own to protect. Edward had once felt a secret kinship with his hardened sister-in-law, detesting her greed but understand her inability to connect.
"And she's been in Portland since Monday morning," Carlisle added tensely.
"How do you know that?" Edward didn't really think his parents would cut ties with his brother but he'd hoped that they'd at least give him a few days of silent treatment after the way he'd treated the new member of the Cullen family.
His father sighed, "Like I said… I made the mistake of reading only the first few lines before my temper got the best of me. I'm afraid I called your brother and started making accusations," he admitted dryly.
Edward laughed. He was still too angry with Emmett to feel badly about such a misunderstanding and was more than a little honored that his father would stick his neck out for Bella like that. The Cullen patriarch was extremely non-confrontational, especially with his children.
"You're kidding."
Carlisle shook his head, still looking as though he could kick himself for his mistake. "Unfortunately, not. Over my threats to cut his inheritance, he managed to yell that his wife had left to stay with her parents after a fight they had that night, before promptly hanging up on me."
Edward's green eyes widened. "She left him?"
"From what your mother managed to gather from her call to apologize for my behavior," Carlisle's rolled his eyes at mention of his wife's constant need to keep everyone peaceful, "It sounded more like Emmett asked her to leave. I know you don't think he was in your corner the other night… but your brother would never allow someone to hurt you, not even his wife."
"I'm not going to talk about this," the redhead declared firmly, "I have much more important priorities to concern myself with."
Truly, he'd love to see Rose and his brother divorce, if for no other reason than to see the look on the blonde's face when she realized, that despite living lavishly during their marriage, she'd be leaving the union without a penny more than she entered it with. The house, the cars… they were all in Edward's name. Emmett himself had nothing and one can not get blood out of turnips, no matter how great of an attorney daddy bought her.
"…Thank you though, for sticking up for us," he added.
Carlisle grinned at his favorite son, "Yes, well… when your mother finally ejects me from my home, I'll be looking to you for accommodations."
"Bella and I would be delighted to have you. We thought we were going to have to hire a nanny," he quipped back.
"How is she handling all this?" his father asked, almost hesitantly.
He dropped his gaze, choosing to study the grain of the desk instead of meeting his mentor's eye. Carlisle always knew what to do to keep his wife secure and happy. Edward couldn't imagine that he'd ever just be able to innately know exactly what needed to be done to keep his woman pleased the way his father did, but he hoped it was something that could be learned through experience and time.
"I haven't spoken with her yet," he admitted, suddenly uncertain. "I wanted to be able to promise her I had taken care of the situation before we discussed it."
Carlisle didn't make any terrible or sympathetic sound to suggest that he had severely fucked up so he allowed himself to relax just slightly.
"And what does that entail?"
Edward sighed, "Making sure the person that did this is held responsible, finding her a new doctor," he made a grand sweeping motion to indicated the building around him, "I need to contact the paper that make sure that her actual name isn't printed."
Carlisle did frown at that, "To assure her privacy?"
Surely, that ship had sailed.
"To assure she isn't found," he corrected under his breath, "She's only from a town a few hours away. No one knows about the child, or where she is. Both of us have been endeavoring to keep it that way."
The stately blonde refined his posture, turning his appearance from a man that was thrilled to receive an unexpected visit from a friend, to that of a father, concerned for his beloved son.
He looked at Edward levelly, "Was she abused? Afraid?"
"No," her young partner admitted. Bella showed no signs of a neglectful childhood, quick to trust and eager to connect. Everything she had ever said about the family she left behind was positive.
"So before her pregnancy, Bella was other wise content with her life there?"
Edward thought of her breakup with Jacob Black. It had caused strife towards the end, but he was safely able to guess that it was purely fear of humiliating her father— a leader in a judgmental little community— and hurting her friend-turn-fiancé that made her leave.
"As far as I can tell."
Blue eyes studied him carefully, "I can understand why an embarrassed, young girl might make the rash decision to hide away from the people that care about her… but I can't imagine why you would feel the need to encourage that."
Edward didn't much care for the accusatory edge to the other Cullen's voice. He felt his defensiveness creep up— the volatile urge to strike at the first sign of threat to his and Isabella's unconventional relationship.
"I want what she wants. Bella needed to leave the past behind her and start new. I can make that happen for her," he squared his broad shoulders against the impressive leather chair.
Carlisle brow lifted, "Son, surely you can see that isolating herself from her friends and family isn't the solution she hopes it will be," he guided hopefully.
"We've already had this conversation," the quickly souring man snapped. "Anything she needs, wants, I can get for her. No one else in the world is as eager to make sure Bella is taken care of."
"I believe it," Carlisle conceded with out backing down. He firmly believed his son's attachment to the stunning girl would grant her anything in Edward's power to provide, "You can hand Bella anything her heart desires, be her best friend, her lover… but when the baby's ready to come, and she's scared to death and yearning for her own mother like every woman that has ever visited the birthing bed, what then?"
Edward's handsome face paled.
"You can't be her mother, son. And when the two of you have your first big fight, and trust me… it'll come, you can't be the father she'll need cry to and receive comfort from until he's restored her faith in the male persuasion."
"But you can…" Edward muttered delicately, a near plea. He felt his chest ache at the idea of his Bella needing people that could coax her away from him. "You and mom, you can be that for her."
The older man softened, "And I imagine we'd be as good a substitute as we were for Elizabeth, son."
Edward's lids closed for just a moment as he adjusted to the rush of guilt that flowed through him. Even with the certain knowledge that Carlisle hadn't said it to be spiteful, he'd always felt badly about making them— Esme especially— feel as though they were a poor substitute for his real mother. He was already at the cusp of adulthood when she had passed, and he'd felt her loss terribly.
"You and Esme were never not enough," he insisted hoarsely, eyes barely brave enough to rise from his lap.
His father shrugged as though it was an already accepted fact, but took pride in Edward's rarely given declaration. The gentle leader of the Cullen family looked over his successful son pensively.
"Edward, you know your mother and I will do anything to make Bella feel comfortable in our family," he vowed without difficulty. Edward's beautiful companion was easy to love. "And I can see why you'd feel the compulsion to keep her to yourself…"
Carlisle leaned forward, meeting the younger man's gaze with resigned trepidation. He wouldn't try to force Edward to do anything that would push the boy away just when he was showing signs of wanting to accept their support and love, but it pained him to know that the Cullen's were gaining a lovely daughter and much anticipated grandchild at the expense of someone else's shattered family.
The blonde couldn't imagine the agony of not knowing where Alice was, if she was happy, safe. But he wisely suspected his possessive son wouldn't be able to empathize with Isabella's father until he held is own tiny child in his arms.
"She's a good woman, and I know you care about her and the child a great deal. I just hope you realize that loving someone means doing what's best for her, instead of what's best for you and her."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
His girl smiled brilliantly at him when he found her curled up in his library with a book and a cozy blanket she'd dragged from their bedroom, her gorgeous face alight so sweetly it nearly dissolved the effects of the irritation and worry that had plagued him throughout the day. When Bella registered his ashen, anxious expression though, she quickly set down the small paperback and stared at him with alarm.
"Edward?" she asked softly. "Are you alright?"
She didn't get up— weary from a busy day working with Alice and the light fatigue of pregnancy— instead, patting the cushion next to her in invitation. Also tired, and eager to be close to her, the handsome redhead clambered into the room and into the couch.
He didn't answer her immediately, but managed to make her giggle and relax when he plopped down and sank his head in her lap. Edward pressed a kiss onto the very bottom of her rounded belly and ran his nose gently across the hardened flesh exposed beneath the hem of her top, earning his elation and her happy sigh.
"Long day?" she guessed, scratching her dull nails across his scalp divinely.
He rolled onto his back, still partially in her lap despite his comparatively massive size, and peered up at her carefully. She didn't look nearly as upset or worried as he had anticipated… Not upset at all, in fact. Edward could admit to himself that he was a coward for not calling her earlier to make sure she was alright, but he had been petrified to hear her immediate reaction to the news. It was startling how such a small creature could have so much power over him.
"Did you see the article?" he asked, forlorn. If she had, he didn't want to wait around for the subject to come up and if she hadn't, it would be his unpleasant task to inform her.
The brunette's expression turned noticeably tight— her nervous lover was able to see it regardless of the awkward angle and his large body went ridged in fearful anticipation. He'd hoped if she'd been truly upset by the media attention that his sister would have called to give him a heads up.
"Eh, yeah I did… Alice, you know?" she said by way of explanation. Bella brushed the hair back from his forehead rhythmically, the affection as comforting to her as it was to its recipient.
"It was one of the nurses," he grounded out the information he had been given upon his return to the hospital that afternoon with restrained anger and guilt, "She didn't realize how quiet we were keeping the pregnancy and how closely they were going to quote the information she gave them. She obviously didn't think she'd be caught…
"She's been let go," he added tersely.
Jazz had made sure the woman was removed before Edward reentered the facility, avoiding a scene. The other nurses had turned on her with very little prompting. The woman had not kept much from her traitorous friends, even laughing about omitting Bella's real name, a dig meant to make the innocent female feel insignificant.
"Oh," was her frighteningly short reply.
Edward sat up to look at her, abandoning the attempt at semi-nonchalance he'd hoped would get them through the conversation with as little stress as possible. Bella's gaze was suddenly glued directly to her wringing little hands but she didn't pull away when he scooted her into his side and put a reverent hand over her swollen middle.
"Is that why you're so upset?" she whispered tentatively.
His brow furrowed, confused as to how she could possible believe that sort of incident wouldn't bother him, "Of course, Bella. A slip at my own hospital, the whole of Seattle reading about things that are absolutely none of their business," he hissed at the thought, trying to keep his anger down while he was holding something too delicate in his arms.
"I found you another doctor," he added in a quickly, "He's from my father's practice; they've been friends since college. He's trustworthy… Everyone in the building has been handpicked by Carlisle…"
He felt her nod gently against his chest, "I'm sorry, Edward. I know this must be… very embarrassing for you," she squeaked out in a tiny voice.
Edward balked. Again, the couple seemed to be on two completely separate pages because of his inexperience. He lifted a hand to cup her cheek and tilt her shy face until she was forced to see his incredulity.
"God, baby, I'm not upset that everyone knows," he corrected fervently, "I adore you, Bella, the baby too. I'm not ashamed to have you both in my life; I just can't stand the idea of someone violating your privacy like that, someone I was supposed to be able to trust."
It made him sick that strangers had entertained themselves with private information about their relationship, about their child. Even worse, was the chance that someone who wasn't a stranger at all would read it, Bella's father or her pining ex boyfriend, someone that might see the article for what it was and try to take her back to Fork's.
Her huge brown eyes peeked up, hopeful, "Really?"
"Sweetheart," he groaned, "I'd tell everyone in the world that you're mine if I could," he told her honestly. He'd never made any pretense about his feelings for Bella, even when they had been new, unexplainable, and not entirely comfortable to him. He was old enough to acknowledge a treasure when he found one, "But keeping you here, with me, is more important. I'll do whatever it takes. "
She frowned, "Why would I go anywhere else?"
Edward clamped his mouth shut quickly and did a fine job of keeping his indecision off his face. He allowed the impulse to speak to her truthfully war with his more self-serving urges. If the concern that people might recognize her from the article hadn't occurred to her, he wasn't eager to put the idea in her head and cause trouble for himself.
"I don't want you to think that I'm not capable of taking care of you," he shared half his concern, softly against her cloth covered shoulder. "If you had been with anyone else this wouldn't be an issue."
Bella shook her head to dispel the notion, horrified that he was even capable of thinking that of her after the night they spent together. She took his large hand in hers a squeezed it gently until he obliged and looked up at her.
"I wasn't safe before you, Edward. How could I possibly hold you accountable for a breach in the security I wouldn't even have, if you hadn't given it to me?" she pointed out, curling deeper into his side, as if to reaffirm that it was him that made her feel secure, untouchable.
His chest warmed with the heady sense of importance and pride that hit him every time she looked at him that way. Edward had, for all of his adult life, experienced women's glances of lust or even shallow adoration, but the weight of those liquid brown eyes when they were filled so much trust— willing to give him a stake in her life and of the most important thing she'd ever do, the protection of her child— nothing made him feel like more of a man.
He pressed the flat of his palm into the striated muscles of her lower back and she let out a low, satisfied groan. Even in the midst of a very serious conversation for the couple, the young man couldn't help but compare the sound to the beautiful little noises he had earned from her the night before.
When he had kissed her goodbye as he left for work, his every thought had been on the end of his shift, when he'd be able to come home and do everything in his power to coax her into a repeat performance. The fact that his intimate homecoming had been spoiled was another reason he wanted the nurse dead.
"I don't want your life here to require compromises," he murmured pausing for a beat to press his lips against her forehead dotingly. "This was inexcusable."
He'd worked hard all his life, done everything to the best of his ability and had seem mainly success because of it. He deserved to be able to make his girl's life perfect if that was the only thing he wanted from his efforts, but it felt like he was constantly scrambling to make up for the places he fell short.
Edward had allowed his brother to stay in his guest house for a full two weeks after Rose put his out for forgetting their anniversary, had seen his sister pass on a relationship because the guy routinely bought super market flowers instead of the pricey, florist variety. Though he knew wholeheartedly that Bella wasn't so petty, he had learned from field experience that women could be fickle creatures. With his woman currently pregnant, there was no predicting her reactions. He wasn't about to lose her over anything in his power to prevent.
She bit her lip softly, a tiny furrow between her brows as she studied him closely. It seemed very much like the little thing could pick his doubts and concerns straight out of his head.
"You're not responsible for everything that goes wrong, Edward," she laughed lightly.
"I don't want you to leave," he nearly whispered, "I don't want you to think that you'd be better off anywhere else, baby."
Her face softened with a look of such pity he flushed with embarrassment.
"I'm not going to run the moment things get inconvenient. You aren't expendable to me," she reassured him with sincerity that nicked at his unwillingness to get his hopes up when it came to his confidence in her permanence in his life. "I'm not here because it's a better option than a shelter any more, Edward. I want to be here… with you."
The shy pink of her cheeks before she hid her warm face in his chest told him that she wasn't as comfortable in admitting her attachment as her partner was, but was doing so because she wanted to make him feel secure. After the way things had ended with her ex— a relationship she had once expected to spend the rest of her life in— he could understand why she'd be more careful about believing his promises and commitment.
He let a small grin pull at the corners of her lips, forsaking the conversation's thick tenor that was making her noticeably nervous for the lightheartedness that came so easily whenever the small beauty was in his arms.
Edward tucked his large hands carefully under her thighs and lifted her tiny body onto his lap. She had on a bright summer dress— short but loose in a way she had taken to dressing to hide the swell of the growing baby while working around Alice's nosey employees. His touch felt obscene against her bare skin but after their night of love making he was unwilling to allow the physical headway they'd made in their relationship to revert back.
His love huffed lightly at being manipulated like a doll but still settled into her rightful perch.
"Is that so? What is it about me you can't live without?" he asked with a smug smile, sliding his hands along smooth skin to cup her mostly-bare bottom lewdly.
Bella's eyes grew impossibly large before she broke out with a lovely trill of laughter. "It's definitely not your unyielding subtlety." She flicked the tip of his nose.
Her punishing little finger tip hurt, though his pride refused to allow him a wince.
Edward growled playfully before leaning in and kissing the sarcastic smile right off her face.
"I thought about you all day," she confessed bashfully when the couple parted for air.
They hunched against each other intimately, like neither could independently support the weight of their own body without their counterpart. Edward never thought he'd be one of those couples, or that it would be the key to his happiness.
"I think about you all day, every day," he joked with far more truth than he'd care to admit.
She blushed appealingly for him and his hold on her backside tightened.
"I meant that I was thinking about you and me… of us, last light," Bella corrected. He hummed approvingly and she fixed him with a blazing gaze. "I was thinking that I'd like to do that again."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
It was three days later when the call came.
Bella was making a valiant effort to start dinner, keeping a sharp eye out as Edward skirted around the kitchen. Periodically, he'd sneak forward to touch the busy little female but was just as often sent back to his isolated stool with a reprimand for trying to distract her.
He even went as far as to volunteer to wash dishes in an attempt to earn his way a bit closer, but she had simply moved her preparation to the marble island on the other side of the space; on to his tricks.
Edward waited until she had put down the chopping knife and began tossing a colorful salad before padding towards her soundlessly. Before the beautiful woman had realized he'd even moved, his arms were wrapped around her waist, vice like, to prevent escape. He congratulated himself with an open mouthed kiss to her neck while she groaned.
"Edward," she sighed, "It's taking me twice as long to get anything done with you on my back like this," she muttered, disapproving, but still indulgently lifted a crouton over her head for him to sample.
Aro had given him a few days off, studiously trying to prevent a law suit, scandal, or worse… the star physician's resignation, and Dr. Cullen was using his spontaneous vacation to follow Bella's every waking moment. It had been, without doubt, the least productive, most enjoyable, few days of his life.
He chewed the bit of bread gratefully before dipping down to nip at the expanse of pale throat exposed by her messy bun.
"I'd like to see how long it takes with you on your back," the virile young man suggested in a low croon.
For all of Bella's determination to not see another box of take out in her home, she melted with a whimper of a moan under the pads of his roaming fingers.
"What about dinner?" she wavered, even as Edward felt her body begging her to react to his touch.
Any other woman would have locked herself in one of the bedrooms and refused to let him anywhere near her after the uninterrupted time the couple had spent together, but Bella was holding her own with enough enthusiasm to have turned her novice sexual status into quite the talented lover. He was certain at this point that youth and pregnancy made for an ideal physical partner.
"Chinese sounds good to me," he grinned.
She was going to stop resisting… Edward could tell by the way she stretched herself languidly back into his chest, her sweet exhale of surrender.
The horrid ring of the house phone cut through their moment like butter under a knife.
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck…" he started cursing as he felt her try to pull back, "Let the machine get it, love," he held onto her curvy hips desperately, "We're busy."
She slapped lightly at his chest until he finally released her and took a step back. "I'm busy. You're not," she corrected with a clearly triumphant laugh, "Go get the phone, Edward."
He snuck a kiss and had to sprint into the living room to find the cordless on time, buried under a pillow where he had left it when he'd canceled her engagements with Alice during the days he'd been given off.
He didn't hide his irritation at being interrupted when he answered the line with a curt, "Hello?" If it was Jasper calling to chat with Bella again, he'd kill him.
There were several seconds of silence on the other line and Edward was an instant away from hanging up when he heard masculine throat clear gruffly.
"Is Isabella Swan available?"
Edward's blood ran cold.
He instantly knew it was a trick question, highly suspecting a reporter that had not only managed to somehow discover Bella's real name, but had also miraculously gotten a hold of Edward's number. They'd call and ask with practiced nonchalance, hoping he'd unknowingly confirm the girl's name by answering without thinking. Only… the voice on the other line didn't sound anything like the smooth, confident tones of the media he had dealt with in the past. The male caller seemed gravelly, tired, and extremely unsure of himself to Edward's skilled ears.
"Excuse me?" he snapped with an artificial pulse of confusion, prompting more information but giving nothing away.
Another pause had Edward's panic growing until there was a loud sigh into the receiver.
"I- eh- listen…" the caller faltered frantically.
At that exact moment, he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he wasn't currently speaking to some benign, pesky reporter. His entire six-foot frame went numb. The gut wrenching sensation of watching a train wreck happen right in front of his eyes— devastating and unavoidable.
He almost hung up, the urge to scavenge more time was stifling, but his body seemed incapable of even that small movement.
"This is Dr. Cullen? Dr. Edward Cullen?"
"Yes," he allowed.
"This is Chief Swan from the Forks cit-" Bella's father stopped himself, both he and Edward aware that making the call sound like official police business when it clearly wasn't could bring big consequences, "I'm-This is Charlie Swan."
Before the petrified redhead could come up with a game plan, or even manage something semi-coherent, his girlfriend's father hurried on like he was afraid to be hung up on.
"A few days ago, there was an article in The Times about you. The name wasn't right, and the circumstances… they don't make any sense," Charlie breathed out slowly, a man that knew he was on a fool's errand. "But you aren't far from us and the age- it's exactly the same… Twenty in September.
"I was just wondering if there was anyway- if maybe the paper had it wrong and your Isabella Swine could be my daughter… Bella Swan."
Edward's grip on the phone was slick but white-knuckle tight. He could hear Bella Swan moving through his kitchen, could picture her strutting around happily— tiny sweat pants and little bare feet— completely oblivious that the public figure she chose as a mate had led the life she'd tried to leave behind right to her.
Charlie Swan had figured it out but was wrong about one thing. She wasn't his Bella anymore, she was Edward's, and until she wanted to go back to the people she felt she had to hide the baby from, he had zero intention of handing them over.
Without even a pang of desire to stop himself, and with no thoughts of possible repercussions, Edward slipped into a professional demeanor and continued the call as though the man on the other line was entirely foreign to him.
"How did you get this number?" he wanted to know, his tone not impolite, but audibly disinterested by the chief's previous explanation.
Edward was sure his number was as hard to get as any top celebrity and was willing to bet that the man had pulled a great number of strings to get it. Even with the power of a police officer, Charlie no doubt found the paper and the featured hospital on lockdown when it came to giving out information about Bella after he'd used his Cullen influence to choke both sources.
"I- I'd rather not say," the older man forced an uneasy chuckle, unenthusiastic about admitting his violation of privacy.
Edward didn't press, "I'm just sorry that you went through the trouble. I'm afraid the information The Times dredged up on us was all obnoxiously accurate," he lied smoothly, feigning just the right amount of indignation.
He couldn't breath during the few moments of quite that came from across the line. He half expected the man to call him out as a liar, thought fleetingly that Charlie Swan would somehow innately sense that he was a hair's breath away from his missing daughter.
But when the old police chief spoke again, it was with resignation.
The man had no reason to second guess the end of his obscure lead. "I- right. I expected as much."
Edward pretended, to himself, that he didn't hear palpable disappointment in the man's baritone voice.
"It was worth a shot," he muttered on, embarrassed, "I'm sorry for wasting your time, Doctor. I- well, congratulations…"
The male Swan hung up without another word from the man he took for an annoyed stranger.
Edward stood glued to the spot, the dial tone buzzing brutally in his ear like the embodiment of the finality of what he'd just done. He tried to feel remorse, but all he could find was an over whelming sense of relief that he'd managed to dodge a bullet that could have taken his new found purpose away from him.
If Charlie knew about the baby, she'd have someone else to take care of her. She wouldn't need the man that she'd only known for such a brief period of time if she had the support of a parent.
The thought made him ill.
Because he loved her, and he wasn't going to lose another person he loved.
The beautiful woman barely spared him a curious glance as he walked back into the kitchen, unaware that her two lives had just bumped heads in the unimpressive amount of time he'd been gone.
A few minutes of conversation, if that, and yet he had to use every ounce of his strength to hide how badly it had rattled him.
"Who was that?" she asked conversationally when Edward wrapped his arms around her, a hand on her belly as it so often was.
He rested his check on the top in her head, holding her as close as possible while hiding the gleam of guilt in his bright green eyes.
"A reporter, love. Be sure not to answer that phone until I get our number changed."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
AN: Thanks for all the support, guys. The reviews mean a ton to me so try to leave me some feedback if you have time.
Also, Nise didn't beta the last section because I didn't finish it until two seconds ago. lol So any typos in the area are all me.
Special thanks to the few of you on the Twilighted thread. You guys are too sweet.