Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Thank you to all of you who have reviewed, so it's a little late I've been sick, sorry. Also, please remember this story is not BETA edited.

Chapter Twenty-Five

I think we need to take a break.

CPOV

It had been two days since New Year and my kids and Bella would be leaving the following morning to go back to school. Edward had gone to see Bella yesterday, he came back in a very unpleasant mood but refused to talk about it. I had texted Bella, but as of yet I've had no response. Pushing the book I had been reading aside, I turned on my computer and logged onto the internet. Clicking on my e-mail, I glance down hoping to see one from my wife, sadly there was none. So, I click on compose e-mail and began to write her an email of my own.

Bella,

I am worried about you, please let me know you are okay. If you need me I will be there for you in a heartbeat.

I love you,

Your husband.

Just as I pressed send there was a soft knock at the door.

"Come in." I quickly clicked out of my email, then shutting back down my computer.

The door slowly creaked open and in walked my daughter.

"Hi," She said softly, "do you have a sec?"

"For you, of course."

She gave me a small, unsure smile as she walked further into the room eventually sitting down in the chair in front of my desk, "Daddy I have to talk to you about something." She began to play with her fingers in her lap, a habit she had when she was nervous or scared.

Several unpleasant possibilities flooded the fore font of my mind, the first being that she was pregnant.

Talking a long, deep, calming breath, I nodded, "Okay."

"I…I know you're going to be disappointed and I don't blame you but…"

Oh God, here it came.

"I'm not going back to school."

School, this was about school? I was simultaneously relieved but also incredibly unhappy. There was no way my baby girl was giving up her education, no matter the reason. Wait what if the reason was because she was pregnant?

The panic returned.

"Why?" I asked doing my best to remain calm.

"I don't want to leave Jasper," she sighed, "he has his parents and brothers, but they all work. He's going to be released from the hospital soon but he's still going to need someone to look after him until he can get around on his own."

This was about Jasper. Of course it was.

"Alice," Shaking my head I leaned back in my chair, running my hands through my hair, "There are people that can do that for him. You need to finish school."

Alice rarely cried, she was a pretty tuff cooking and it took a lot to get her teary-eyed, but there she was, her bottom lip trembling, her eyes filling with tears. "He needs me, daddy. And it's only for a short while, a semester, maybe two, and then he and I will go back to school together."

Letting out a long breath I stood from my chair and rounded my desk. "Don't cry sweetheart," I pulled a tissue from the box on my desk and handed it her, she dabbed her eyes with the tissue, careful not to smear her make-up.

"I do want to finish my degree dad, but I need to be there for Jasper. Please try and understand."

I did understand, I knew what it was like to desperately want to be with the one you loved, especially when they were hurting.

"Alright, but no more than a year, understand." I tried to sound firm, but as always I was push over when it came to my little girl and ended up smiling. She gave a small giggle before leaping up from her seat and wrapping her small arms around me in the hug.

"I promise, and thank you."

"Yes, well, just because I'm agreeing to this doesn't mean I like. You're a smart girl, Alice, I'd hate to see you throw you education away."

"Believe me, I won't. When Jasper recovers fully, we'll both head back and finish. You know he's decided to change his major."

"Really?"

"Yep", she grinned then bouncing on her toes, "from Political Science to Pre-med".

Pre-med? Well that's certainly…unexpected. Not to mention completely out of his character. Most people who become doctors do so because they want to help people and Jasper, for as long as I have known him, has always seemed rather self-centered.

"Why?"

"He wants to help people with traumatic brain injuries. Dad, he wants to be a surgeon, like you."

Jasper Whitlock wanted to be like me. I honestly didn't know what to think of that. The boy was most certainly not the arrogant brat he once was, but he was, in body, still the same boy that had very willingly black mailed me.

"So, does that mean no West Point, no military career?" There was still a possibility that he could be a doctor in the military, though by the way Alice was suddenly grinning, I was guessing the answer was no.

"No, with his injuries it would be almost impossible for him to have a military career at this point, but actually he doesn't seem to have much interest in it anymore."

"No?"

Alice shook her head and shrugged. "It's one of the few good things that had come out of this."

I would have to agree with Alice on that. The boy losing his memory has certainly had its benefits and as awful as it sounds, I like Jasper a lot more with brain damage.

XXX

BPOV

It's been almost three weeks since that fateful New Years day and in those three weeks my life has taken a much more dramatic turn then I had ever expected. Edward had come over the next day to talk to me, desperately trying to prove his love to me. I never doubted that he loved me, but after a very long in depth conversation, I realized that Edward was more in love with how I was then who I was. He had showed up on Charlie's doorstep with flowers, and a completely sincere apology.

"Please Bella, can we talk this out."

Knowing I couldn't ignore this conversation forever, I nodded. Placing the flowers down on the coffee table we both sat on the couch.

"Bella," he said taking my hand in his. "I love you so much. Tanya was a mistake, and I swear nothing happened with her after we got together."

I believed him, I didn't think Edward would have ever cheated on me, of course he probably thinks the same of me. He thought me as perfect as I had once thought him. How ironic. The whole situation made me wonder what made him fall for me in the first place, especially when he had a girl as beautiful as Tanya fawning all over him. Personally, I had had a crush on him since I was thirteen and so when he started showing interest in me, I jumped at it.

"Edward."

His eyes, which still lingered with guilt, looked deeply into my own. "Yes, Bella."

"What is it that made you fall in love with me?"

His face lit up in one of his adorable grins, as he took my hand and brought it to his lips.

"There are so many reasons," wrapping his arms around me, I settled my head into his chest as he started to list off my best qualities. "You're amazingly beautiful, to start. Your kind and loving and always think of others before yourself."

Boy did he have me wrong on that one.

"You're smart, and enjoy classic literature just as I do." He pulled me tighter into his arms and began to run his fingers through the ends of my hair. "You're not vain like so many other girls, which shows your comfortable with who you are," he went on. "So many people try to be someone their not and it just makes them seem so fake, but not you. I love you just the way you are, my shy, sweet, loving girl, whose big heart will make you the world's best wife and mother."

They were words of endearment that I had heard many times before, not all at once like that but he would say, from time to time, how he loved that I wasn't into all that fashion stuff like Alice and Rosalie or that he could have an intelligent conversation with me about Chaucer or Shakespeare.

"Then there's the fact that you are a freaking awesome cook." He added.

I gave a snorted laugh as I pulled myself from his arms. "I know, you'd probably starve without me."

Nodding, he laughed, "Or become extremely undernourished." With a soft smile he leaned in and kiss my lips softly.

"You are an amazing person, Bella, and in a lot a ways you remind me of my mom…well, before she had her little mid-life crisis and destroyed our family."

Did he really just say I reminded me of his mother?

"Esme, really?"

Grinning, he moved a stray piece of hair from my eyes, "I think that's really want first made me start noticing you. When you would come over to hang out with Alice, I started to see how much you and my mom were alike."

Well, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, Carlisle thought the same thing.

"You will be a great wife and mother Bella. I know you will." He then placed a soft kiss on my temple.

"Edward, what made you sleep with Tanya?"

A deep frown pulled to his face the instant the question left my lips. I knew he just wanted to forget the whole thing and move on, but I couldn't, for some reason I felt there was more to this.

"I was a stupid hormone driven teenage, she had been flirting with for years and I just…gave in."

Sighing, I ran my hand over my eyes, I felt a head ache coming on. "If we had never gotten together, do you think you would have stayed with her."

"I…does it matter?"

"I think so, especially since she seems so enamored with you."

Edward closed his eyes and for quite some he just sat there, most likely thinking of what he was going to say.

"Edward, why is she in love with you. What did you say to her to make her think you two are meant to be together?" I was digging here, and I could have been way off, but I had a feeling there was more to his relationship with Tanya then he was telling me.

His eyes popped open, a look of dead covered his face. Oh yes, I had absolutely hit on something.

"Please, Edward, just tell me the truth."

He swallowed hard, but nodded. "The summer I spent with Tanya…are relationship didn't completely end. We would write and call, even…even after we had gotten together."

Well, fuck!

"But I didn't cheat, Bella, I swear."

"You just lead her to believe there was more between you two then there really was?"

He hung his head, and nodded.

That was so fucked up.

"Bella, I…" he head rose, our eyes met. His mouth opened and closed a few times but nothing came out. He was struggling, whatever it was he was trying to say, it was obvious he was afraid of what my reaction would be.

"Jesus, Edward, just say it!"

"You won't like it."

"I don't care I want the truth God damn it!"

Deep down I hoped it was something horrible, as much as I cared for Edward, it had come to the point that if I had an escape from this relationship I would take it.

He took a long deep breath, running his hand through his wild hair, he finally spoke. "It wasn't until after Christmas of that year that I decided to choose you over her. I didn't tell her the truth until I visited her the next summer."

Holy shit. He wasn't just leading her on, he was actually dating both of us at the same time.

"Edward Cullen you fucking player!"

"Bella please, there was no sex involved, I wasn't cheating, I was just trying to sort out my feelings." He reached for me, but I sure as hell wasn't having it. Jumping up from the couch, I pointed to the front door. "Get out." I growled through gritted teeth.

"Bella, please, I choose you. I love you."

"I said get out!" I scream. "Now!"

After several seconds of simply staring at me, he realized I wasn't changing my mind, and left.

I knew had absolutely no right to be angry at him, I was being a complete hypocrite, but at least I'm honest about my sin, or at least to myself. Yes, sex can be a big part of a relationship, but it is possible be have one without it. I will feely admit that I was cheating on Edward before Carlisle and I had sex, but Edward seems to think that emotional affairs do not exist.

Asshole.

When he came to pick me up to take me back to school I refused to speak to him. I was still irritated. The entire six hour trip was done in near silence. When we finally arrived, I decided that it was best I say something, I couldn't just leave everything hanging in the air the way it was.

"I think we need to take a break."

He sighed, and shook his head. "Bella, please I love you, I want to be with you."

"I know, but right now…I need time to think."

"Okay." He then took my left hand placing a soft kiss on my knuckles right above my engagement ring. "Will you still wear it?"

It wasn't the ring I wanted.

"No," I said sliding it off, "but I will keep it," I then placed it in my pants pocket.

It was two days later that I finally worked up the courage to tell Carlisle what had happened.

He was disappointed in Edward, but in part he was relieved as well. His wife was no longer engaged to his son.

XXX

That had been the beginning of three very difficult weeks. I was off at college, I no longer had Edward or Alice to talk to and so I buried myself in my school work. The flu I had thought I had seemed to be never ending continued to plague me. I was still nauseous, dizzy and constantly exhausted, despite the amount of energy drinks I consumed and the twelve hours of sleep I had been getting each night. It was Edward who had suggested I go to the doctor. I may not have been spending my free time with him anymore, but I still saw him in class, he had commented a few times that I didn't look well.

So, deciding he was probably right and hoping a doctor could give me something that could kick whatever virus I had, out of my body, I made an appointment.

An appointment that would forever signify a dramatic change in my life.

I wasn't sick…I was pregnant. With everything that had been going on with my life I hadn't even realized I was late.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Not yet. I wanted to finish school, start a career, not to mention finish sorting out my personal life.

I knew I had a choice, the doctor even hinted at the possibility, but I could never bring myself to do that. It was a baby, my baby. A little part of me and…

The doctor gave me a due date of September 15th which means the baby was conceived sometime between December 19th and the 27th, which meant that although I could have gotten pregnant on my Honeymoon, it could have been after as well. So I had no idea who the father was, Carlisle or Edward.

I felt like such a slut, I had no clue who my baby's daddy was.

And then there was the matter of telling everyone.

My mom would freak, say I was too young. My dad would probably insist Edward and I get married immediately but at least Alice would be supportive and so would Rosalie.

Then there was Carlisle. I wanted to tell him first, but it wasn't something I could just do over the phone. I obviously couldn't wait until my next break to drive back down to Fork, so I decided to text him.

I have something I need to tell you but I want to do it in person, when can you come see me.

His response was almost immediate.

I will take tomorrow off and drive down there. Is everything okay, Bella?

No, everything not alright, it was confusing and difficult and I felt so lost. I needed my husband. Carlisle would take the fear away, he always did.

It will be when I have you in my arms.

A/N: Up next Bella tells Carlisle then Edward she's pregnant. Any guesses to what their reactions will be.