Chapter 21: "Ewoooooood, it's my birthday!"

A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. This is just what they got up to in my mind.

The next morning, I pulled up at the museum, spotting Bella's car and parking a few spaces away. I'd been anxious this morning, not about spending time with Tyler, just at how much I wanted this day to go well.

I strode to the front of the museum where I could see a group of people. As I neared them, I saw Bella. She had four little boys lined up in front of her as she bent down to talk to them. They were bouncing with excitement as she spoke, but all I could see was one man, presumably one of the boys' dads, who was so focused on Bella's ass that he didn't see me approaching. Granted, she has a great behind, and in those tight-fitting jeans it looked particularly fine, but his staring was annoying me. As I walked closer, I could hear Bella reminding the boys to stay together with the adults and to be respectful in the museum.

Garrett walked up to me and nodded a greeting. As I nodded back, I saw the smirk on his face. He'd noticed Ass Starer and seemed to be looking to me to see how I was going to react. Before I had time to approach Bella, Tyler broke free from the line of little boys and ran up to me.

"Ewoooooood, it's my birthday!"

Wow! If I thought Tyler was full of energy on a regular day, it was nothing compared to today. He was actually jumping up and down, his "I'm four today" badge rattling with his movements.

"I know, kid. Happy birthday." I ruffled his hair as Bella turned, smiled at me and walked closer. I wanted so badly to kiss her, especially in front of Ass Starer, but I didn't know how she'd feel about Tyler witnessing that.

"Thanks for coming." She grinned up at me and looked like she was going to lean in for a kiss but Tyler had grabbed hold of my leg and had started jumping up and down on my shoes. Oww! That got my attention! I picked him up to stop him from breaking any of my toes, and he grinned at me, getting the reaction he wanted.

"Wanna see the t-rex? It's soooo big. It's biggerra than you. Its head reaches the ceiling, and its tail's so big you can sit on it, but Mama says I is not allowed to sit on it." He pouted slightly, reminding me of Bella's same facial expression, as I settled him on my hip and chuckled. The other adults were watching our exchange, but Tyler was too excited to notice anyone else.

"Your Mom's right, let's not sit on any dinosaurs today," I agreed as he nodded.

"Okay, but can you pick me up super high so I can see everything 'cause you is tall, and Mama can't hold me up high."

"'Course I will." Tyler's resulting grin was so contagious I grinned back at him as Bella greeted another mom approaching with a little boy.

"Tyler, Ben's here," she informed him as I placed him down to greet his friend. The boy handed Tyler a dinosaur gift bag, and it was then that I noticed quite a few more bags and presents behind Bella. She had turned and was collecting them all up.

"Want me to carry those?" I offered.

"Could you just help me carry them to my car to save lugging them around the museum? If he opens them now we'll never get inside." I took half the bags from her as she asked Garrett to keep an eye on Tyler and the other boys.

I walked with Bella the short distance to her car, placing the bags in the trunk when we got there. Once she'd deposited the gifts she turned to me, her hands finding my chest immediately, reminding me of the ways in which she loved to touch me. Her fingers fisted my t-shirt as I eagerly met her lips with my own in a soft but passionate kiss. My thumb stroked at her soft jaw line as my fingers found the hair at the back of her neck. It had been too long since we'd been intimate and right now my dick was being reminded of just how much I wanted to be with Bella. We slowed the kiss and broke apart with a sigh as I gazed into her eyes, my fingers still stroking the back of her neck as I willed her to understand how I felt about her.

"I wanted to do that earlier but Tyler…I'm gonna talk to him."

This was a good step forward for us and I was thrilled Bella wanted to tell Tyler about us.

"Do you think he'll be okay?"

"Judging by how excited he's been to see you today I'd say yes. He won't understand much. He's never seen me with a guy…" I couldn't help but smile at this statement, but Bella sighed and leaned into me, resting her head on my chest. Her hands wrapped around me and pressed softly into my back as I kissed the top of her head.

"Are you okay?" I asked, surprised by her actions.

"Yeah, just an emotional day," she said, her voice getting lost in my chest and t-shirt as she spoke. I held her shoulders and leaned back so I could look at her as I spoke. I'd been so wrapped up in thinking of Tyler today that I hadn't really considered what the day meant for Bella. She should have been celebrating her son's birth with his dad, but instead this day was probably a sharp reminder of her loss, of Tyler's loss.

"Can I help?" I offered, unsure of what else to say.

"You already are," she told me as she rested her head back on my chest. "He's getting so big," she said as my hands stroked up and down her back to comfort her.

"He is. And that's all you, Bella. You should be so proud of him."

"I am, but seeing him so grown up, it just reminds me of how long Jake's been gone." I couldn't see Bella's face to read her emotions and I wasn't sure what to say in reply. I obviously waited too long to speak because Bella stood up straight and busied herself with the presents in the trunk of the car.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talking to you about this. I'm so stupid—" She shook her head and brushed her hair off her face as I reached forward and stilled her hands.

"Hey, you can always talk to me about this. Jake will always be a part of your life, and Tyler's. Don't ever think you have to hide that around me." Bella sighed and gave me a watery smile.

"His family haven't sent a card or anything." Her statement hung in the air as she looked at me with soft brown eyes. I sensed this was the main reason for her upset. "I guess there's still time but…" she trailed off as I reached for her shoulders and held her.

"It's their loss."

"But it's Tyler's loss too," she replied, making me nod. She had a point there.

"Well then, let's do what we can to give him the best birthday ever, yeah?" She nodded and smiled as I continued. "That reminds me…" I tapped my pants pockets for my car keys and told Bella I'd be right back as I jogged the few meters to my car. I returned to Bella a minute later with a large wrapped box and a smaller wrapped gift as Bella shook her head affectionately at me.

"For the birthday boy," I announced proudly, dropping the box into the trunk of her car, squeezing it in amongst the rest of the gifts. "Can I give him this one later, at my parents?" I held up the smaller, flatter gift.

"Of course."

I placed it on the parcel shelf and it was then that I noticed a clear Tupperware container also on the shelf of Bella's trunk. Through the box I could see the finished dinosaur shaped cake complete with green icing, sweets for eyes and teeth and Tyler's name written on the tail.

"Wow, you finished his cake, it's amazing."

"Thanks," she replied with a shrug. "I was worried it looked a bit like a crocodile or a lizard, but Tyler was pleased with it." She closed the trunk of her car carefully and then moved a step closer to me, closing the gap between our bodies. Her body was now flush to mine as she rose up on her tiptoes to reach me. Her hands gently felt the stubble on my chin. I was learning that she liked a bit of stubble, she always noticed, always ran her fingers along my jaw…fuck! Her lips closed on mine and I stopped thinking. I just felt. I felt her fingers holding my jaw as I moved it in time with her mouth; I heard her moan and felt her body press impossibly closer to mine. Jesus, how was I meant to go back to a kid's party after this? My fingertips found her collar bone and my fingers stroked at the back of her neck. That was until an ear-splitting whistle assaulted my ears.

"Oi. Bells, put him down." Garrett's not so dulcet tones rang out in the relative quiet around us.

Bella and I broke apart as Garrett waved, gesturing for us to return to the others. "The boys are getting rowdy. There's plenty of time for that on your own watch." Bella's face turned a now-familiar shade of red. I grinned down at her as she bit her lip but smiled back at me.

"He won't kill me will he?" I whispered to her as she chuckled.

"Probably not today. He wouldn't want to ruin Tyler's birthday."

We returned to the front of the museum, Garrett giving me a cautious smile when he saw our now-joined hands. I noticed Ass Starer was still there; surely this guy had somewhere else to be? He looked to be slightly older than me, in his mid-thirties I guessed and was probably quite attractive to Bella.

Bella gathered the boys together now they were all here and leant over to speak to them, giving Ass Starer another perfect view of her perfect behind. He either didn't know Bella and I were together or he didn't care.

Garrett saw me looking at Ass Starer but merely shrugged.

I squared my shoulders and walked closer to Bella.

I deliberately walked in front of Ass Starer's line of sight and gently placed a hand on Bella's back. She straightened and smiled up at me as I lowered to kiss her cheek softly. I knew I had to be very careful about our PDA, especially in front of Tyler but Ass Starer needed to know Bella wasn't single anymore.

"Ready?" I asked innocently as she looked at me with a slightly confused expression.

"Err, yeah." She turned to the parents; Ass Starer included, and told them how long she thought we'd be. She said they were welcome to join us or leave and come back for their child. Given Bella was a trusted teacher and she seemed to know the parents well they all chose to leave, probably pleased for a bit of free time. I watched as Ass Starer offered Bella his phone number, 'in case of any issues'. She assured him she already had his wife's phone number, but he was quick to point out that the wife was now an ex.

"Oh, um...I'm sorry to hear that," Bella stumbled as I rolled my eyes at his obvious attempt to point out that he wasn't married. Perhaps I was being too harsh on him but he was irritating me. Truth was I was a bit jealous. He knew she had a son and was clearly unaffected. His son was the same age so he has experience at being a dad, but it amazed me how carefree he could be about this situation. Maybe I had just made a big deal about Bella having a son but looking at them now, Bella in her cute outfit making small talk with other parents and Tyler bouncing in his new looking sneakers, lighting up the concrete with the lights on the side of his shoes, I knew I'd made the right decision and I couldn't wait to introduce them both to my family later.

Thankfully the boys got restless and Bella was quick to reassure Ass Starer that Embry would be fine with her. He left, finally, and we were able to enter the museum and head straight for the Prehistoric section.

The boys raced ahead, slowing to a walk when Bella used her teacher voice to remind them not to run in the museum. I watched Tyler as he approached the dinosaur bones. He slowed to a complete stop as he studied the exhibit in front of him. His little tongue was sticking out of the corner of his mouth, a trait I now recognized to mean he was concentrating. Garrett read aloud the information displayed on the wooden placard in front of the bones as Tyler listened. He was genuinely interested in the information he was hearing, unlike some of his friends who were getting restless. Tyler tugged on Garrett's sleeve to get his attention as he pointed to the bones and asked something which made his uncle shrug.

"He's so...interested," I whispered, unaware I'd spoken aloud until I noticed Bella grinning at me. "He is," I reiterated. "He has a genuine interest in all this stuff." I was fascinated watching him as his fingers swept over the plaque and is eyes swept the room, trying to take in all the information on display.

"Yeah, he loves it here. We've been several times and he never gets bored. They should have a new exhibit for him to see today though, they were working on a few new skeletons last time we were here.

Garrett walked in front to the watch the boys who had moved on in front of Tyler, and Bella and I hung back at the end to round up any stragglers.

We then saw the sign for a new skeleton exhibit up ahead. As we rounded the corner, we were confronted with a huge dinosaur skeleton. I heard Tyler's gasp before he turned around, spotted us and headed our way.

"Ewood, I can't see his head." Tyler stood, almost on my feet, as he held his arms up waiting for me to pick him up.

"Say please, Ty," Bella reminded him.

"Peas, Ewood. I want to see his tooths, will he still have his tooths?" His eyes were bright with excitement and amazement.

"Teeth." I corrected him. "I dunno, but I hope not, he might bite me. I bet his teeth are huge." I picked Tyler up under his arms and lifted him high, ducking my head so he was sat on my shoulders.

"Whoa!" Tyler exclaimed before he laughed and shouted to Bella.

"Look how tall I is, Mama!"

"Ty? Where's my little four-year-old gone? Did the dinosaurs get him?" Bella said, looking around in an exaggerated fashion.

"No, Mama, I is up here!"

"There you are!"

"I is so tall. Ewood, will I be this tall when I'm big?"

"I don't know, Buddy. Maybe if you eat all your greens, that's what this dinosaur ate right? And he's pretty tall!" I told him, pointing to a triceratops.

"Can we see that one next?" Tyler asked, pointing to the next, even larger dinosaur in the exhibit. I walked ahead with Tyler still on my shoulders while Bella and Garrett waited with the other boys. I saw them chatting but couldn't hear their words.

We continued around the museum, Tyler still on my shoulders as he waved to his friends and Bella kept the peace between all the boys.

Once out of the prehistoric section, I placed Tyler back on the ground, rolling my shoulders to work out the stiffness in them. Bella approached me from behind and massaged my shoulder blades. Fuck, that felt good.

"Want me to help you there?"

"Yes!" I groaned as she chuckled at my eagerness. Instead she dropped her hands and held my hand as we walked. She led the way to the indoor play area where the boys ran off immediately and burned off some of their boundless energy. We found a table to sit at where we could still see them and Bella ordered some drinks and snacks that the boys devoured at a rate that would rival Emmett, and that was saying something.

I sat with Bella and Garrett as we sipped our hot drinks and chatted. Garrett checked his flight details online and I replied to a text from my mom about whether Tyler liked ice-cream. She worried too much, did any kid not like ice-cream?

I felt Bella's hand settle on my thigh under the table. I grinned over at her as her hand moved higher and squeezed, really fricking close to my junk. My eyes widened as she chuckled and Garrett looked up from his cell phone to give us a confused look.

"I don't want to know," he grumbled, returning his attention to his phone screen.

How did Bella make me act and feel like some hormonal teenager? I was an experienced man but with her everything was new and exciting again. Things I'd done before took on a new meaning and just her light touch, whether it was her holding my hand or grabbing my thigh all gave me butterflies and goosebumps. I was always aware of her body next to mine and somehow she was never close enough for my liking.

The kids emerged from the play area with sweaty foreheads and red cheeks when Bella told them it was time to leave. After ensuring all five boys had the correct shoes on the correct feet we headed to the museum lobby where they were picked up one by one. I braced myself for Ass Starer but thankfully his wife, sorry, ex-wife, picked up Embry.

"Mama, I needs the toilet." Tyler was tugging on Bella's arm as she looked around, presumably for a restroom. Shit! Did she take him to the women's bathroom, or let him go in the men's room? Should I offer to take him to the men's? Before I could answer my own internal questions Garrett spoke up.

"I'll take him. This way birthday boy."

Bella and I waited in the lobby for them to return. She was looking tired. My guess was that Tyler had woken her at the crack of dawn. I stood in front of her so she was sandwiched between me and the wall and took her hand, toying with her fingers as I spoke.

"Thanks for inviting me. I've had a fun day."

"Technically Tyler invited you," she reminded me. "I'm glad he did though. I liked having you here."

"I'm glad too. I might have lost you otherwise."

"Lost me?" She looked adorably cute as her nose and forehead scrunched up in confusion.

I shook my head in amusement. "Bella, you have no idea when a guy's flirting with you, do you?"

"Flirting. Who? You? You know I'm a sure thing right? Any time you wanna— "

"Not me!" I placed a finger over her lips in an attempt to silence her. If she finished that sentence I'd be tempted to jump her bones sooner than was actually possible given we were going, with a now-four-year-old, to eat dinner with my parents straight from this museum. She merely kissed my finger as I replied.

"That dad." Given the rest of the boys were dropped off by their moms, Bella was able to deduce exactly who I meant.

"Embry's dad?"

"Ah-hah. Well done Sherlock," I teased, trying to keep the conversation light.

"He just wanted me to have his phone number in case anything happened."

"And he wanted you to know he's single."

"I don't think—"

"Well I do think he couldn't stop staring at your ass," I interrupted as I grabbed her ass myself. Christ, she felt good. Maybe I couldn't blame a bloke for staring.

"Well you must know all the signs of getting hit on Mr. Popular," she teased as I scoffed at her while I squeezed her ass tighter at her words. She squealed, loudly, and of course that was the moment that Garrett and Tyler rounded the corner. He clocked my hands on Bella's ass immediately, but he also saw the smile on her face.

"Bells, I'll take Ty to the gift shop," Garrett told her as she tried to hide her blush.

"He'll bleed you dry in there," she objected.

Garrett shrugged. "It's his birthday."

"Gift shop!" Tyler's ears at picked up at those two magic words. "Do they have stickers?" He asked eagerly.

"Let's see, buddy. Your Mom and Edward will meet us outside when they've finished…talking," he told Tyler who was only interested in the fact that he was going to the gift shop. Bella grumbled about Garrett spoiling Tyler, but once they were out of sight she turned back to me.

"Is Garrett okay with us?" I asked, knowing that Garrett's opinion held a lot of weight for Bella.

"I don't think he'd give us time alone like this if he wasn't," she reasoned. "Are your family okay with us?" she threw my question back at me quietly as she picked at the logo on my t-shirt.

"Yes," I replied confidently. "I told you my mom adores kids. If I'm happy, she's happy."

"Are you happy?" She asked sincerely, looking up from my t-shirt, into my eyes.

"I've never been happier," I confirmed. She stretched up to place a peck of a kiss on my lips.

"Me either." I grinned at her words as she rested her head on my chest while we waited for Tyler to return.

Tyler and Garrett found us not long after we got outside. As soon as Tyler broke free from holding Garrett's hand, he ran to Bella. She scooped him up in her arms and oohed and ahhhed as he told her about the things Garrett bought him from the gift shop.

"—and this pencil, it has a t-rex on the top and a sharpener, the t-rex's tooths sharpen the pencil, Mama, isn't that cool and—" Tyler barely paused for breath as Bella listened intently to him, brushing his hair off his sweaty forehead as she held him. "—can I shows you in the car 'cause it changes color—"

"Sure, baby," Bella reassured him as she glared over at Garrett in mock annoyance.

"Ready to go, birthday boy?" She asked Tyler when she turned back to him. "Say bye to Garrett 'cause he's going on a plane, remember?"

"Uh-huh." Tyler nodded as his little face fell. His eyes looked sad as Bella passed him to Garrett. I watched as Garrett squeezed the little boy tightly.

"I love you, Tyler Swan," Garrett whispered as Tyler's little arms stretched round Garrett's neck and squeezed hard.

"My name's Tyler Jacob Swan," he corrected.

Garrett nodded. "Yes. Yes it is, little man, and your Dad would be so proud of you." Bella let out a light gasp at the mention of Jake but Garrett drew back from Tyler's tight hug to look him in the eyes as he spoke.

"Was he your friend?" Tyler asked quietly.

"Yeah. I knew him for years before you were born."

Tyler considered this as Garrett held him, letting him digest this information. "Did he like dinosaurs?" Tyler's voice was small and unsure, but Garrett grinned at him so widely that I could see the relief leave Tyler's little body.

"Yeah!" Garrett replied enthusiastically. "What's not to like about dinosaurs?"

"Well, they can eat you," Tyler informed him, his voice matter-of-fact which made us all laugh at his bluntness.

"True." Garrett tilted his head with a chuckle still in his voice. "Well, please don't get eaten by any dinosaurs while I'm away, okay?" Tyler laughed as Garrett passed him my way.

I took the little boy willingly as Garrett scooped Bella into a hug, lifting her clear off the ground in a big bear hug that looked well-rehearsed.

"I won't be gone long," he told her as she nodded into his chest.

Once he released Bella, Garrett held out his hand to me.

I shook it willingly.

"Look after them." His words were solid, not threatening, but there was a clear expectation in them.

"I will."

Garrett nodded, slapped me on the shoulder, ruffled Tyler's hair and turned in the opposite direction.

"I'll text you, Kiddo," he called behind him to Bella.

The three of us headed to our cars, me still carrying Tyler. He was quieter now, but delighted in looking at the items he'd got from the gift shop. I put him down as we reached Bella's car and he clambered into his seat.

"You're okay following me?"

"Yep." She gave me a nervous nod as I leant forward and dropped a kiss on her forehead.

"Please don't worry. My parents will love you." She gave me an unconvinced smile as I gave her hand a squeeze.

"See you there."

"See you there," she repeated with a nod.

A/N:

Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.

Thank you to my beta Lellabeth. I'm truly honored that she would give up her time to beta this little story. Any mistakes are mine because I tinker with this story all the time.

Thanks to SarcasticBimbo and Lovintwilife for giving me their time and opinions when they pre-read this story.