(A.N. Bow down to my wonderful BETA. She literally got this back to me in less then two days. INCREDIBLE! Seriously.

Other then that I hope the wait wasn't horribly long. I took a trip to visit some family recently which took three days of writing away. Sorry. But I had fun so I'm not too sorry.

Thanks for all the reviews. I am happy to report that this story is moving along nicely and should be seeing some form of action(in the most tame sense of the word) within the next few chapters.

The play list should have some new songs on it so check it out. Thanks again for the wonderful reviews. REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!)

Disclaimer: Not my characters.

Edward's POV

"Thanks again." It was about the third time I said it, and Rose looked annoyed by my incessant thank yous. She came on such short notice to watch Isadora for the night, while I went on a date with Bella, that I was groveling at her feet in thanks. "Sorry. I don't mean to keep saying that. I think I'm nervous."

"Why?" she asked indignantly. "You have dated her before. You guys are a couple, right? You've had . . ." She looked down at Isadora who was picking out a book before going to bed, then looked back at me, and whispered, "s-e-x, right?"

I chuckled at that, glancing at Isadora to make sure she really didn't hear our conversation. She was busily rummaging through her books while humming an unrecognizable tune to herself. That definitely wasn't a conversation I was hurrying to have with my daughter.

"She doesn't know about my real mother at all," I said, glancing by her question.

Rose looked up at me in shock. "But your mom is coming to the party this weekend, isn't she?"

I nodded while Isadora flung her hands in the air at the word 'party,' yelling, "POTTY!"

"It's party, honey," Rose corrected with a smile. "'Potty' and 'Party' mean two very different things. And ladies don't talk about their time in the potty."

Isadora listened with rapt attention as Rose spoke, nodding her head with her eyes wide. She tried pronouncing the word a few more times before we decided to have her call it a celebration instead of party.

"So you're telling her tonight?" Rose asked again as we exited Isadora's room after she was put into bed. "I can see why that makes you nervous."

"It's just a kind of big part of my life that really doesn't matter much to me. It's just the way it is, you know?" I shrugged and tied my tie as I spoke. "Esme is my mother any everyway other then sharing blood. To me that's more important. I love and respect my real mother for sending me to Esme when she couldn't take care of me, but she isn't a staple in my life. It's not usually something that comes to mind when I am telling a woman about my family."

"Well just tell Bella that. That was good." Rose slumped back onto the couch and started flipping through a magazine. "Now go on your date. I promise to keep Isadora safe. She won't be throwing any wild 'potties' on my watch."

"Thanks. . . ." I cringed when she glared at me. "See you later, Rose."

The whole drive over consisted of me over thinking and rehearsing what I would say, how I would bring the subject up, and trying to guess what her reaction would be.

Bella was a smart, calm, well-balanced adult. She would understand. I knew that, and I knew that she wouldn't break things off because of this, I just felt like it was too soon to have our first fight. I didn't want to fight with Bella, and I feared that that's where this conversation may lead.

"You look great," I said automatically when I caught my first glimpse at her. She always looked stunning, but our date night always really impressed me. She was always so well put together, and classy, and utterly sexy.

"Thanks." She smiled her stunning smile at me and I was pretty sure my heart stopped for a moment. "I like your tie."

I tugged on it self-consciously and said my thank you, before ushering her out of her apartment and to the elevator. "How's Italian food sound?"

"Incredible!" she said happily as she pushed her purse further onto her shoulder. She walked closer to me and grabbed my hand and I was so ecstatic we were past the really awkward stage. "Although you have yet to kiss me. I am finding that a little offensive."

"I'm very sorry about that," I said brushing some hair behind her ear and leaning down enough that our lips barely touched.

I kissed her lightly which she returned along with pressing her body further against mine. What was I to do? I am a man! I pulled her even closer and turned her so she was against the elevator wall and deepened the kiss. She groaned lightly against my lips and images of our last night spent together came flooding back into my mind. All the times I have heard her make that exact noise before and then the door dinged open. Someone cleared their throat behind us making Bella jump and hide her face in my chest.

"Getting off?" he asked. I turned and smiled civilly at the attendant who was smirking at us.

I nodded. "Yes, thank you," I said politely.

Bella stifled a small groan keeping her face buried in my chest and hidden when the man said it, obviously understanding the double meaning to the man's words. I laughed lightly and pulled her out of the elevator with me keeping her face hidden until we got outside.

"That was so embarrassing." She sighed and leaned into my side. I wrapped my arm around her and we proceeded to walk down the street to the restaurant that was only a few blocks away. It was nice to take in the pleasant weather while we could and walking always gave us more time together.

"I didn't mind so much. It was rather like bragging for me." I smiled down at her when she scoffed at me and hit me lightly in the chest. "What? It's true. That man had to be jealous that I had you in my arms. I rather liked it."

She rolled her eyes a looked ahead again. "Well at least you can find the silver lining in this situation. I seem to get embarrassed a lot when around you."

"Really? What other time?"

"I don't know," she said sarcastically. "Maybe having your mom show up early in the morning, with me in the kitchen wearing one of your shirts, after I just spent the night with you? I'm just glad she was so sweet. It definitely wasn't the most ideal way to meet your mother."

With that my problems from earlier came flooding back into my mind make me flinch slightly. I ran my hand through my hair self consciously and truly hoped I wouldn't be upsetting her too much about waiting until just three days before Isadora's party to explain things to her.

"Are you alright, Edward?" She asked after a few moments of silence. "I was only joking. Kind of. It was embarrassing but I didn't mind so much."

"No, no. Don't worry." I smiled at her and stepped to the side, opening the door to the restaurant for her. "Shall we eat?"

The conversation picked back up, but it was obvious that I wasn't hiding my worries all that well. She kept looking at me like she wanted to ask what was wrong and I just kept looking at her wanting her to smile again. Halfway through dinner I bucked up.

"I probably should explain something to you?" I said abruptly as she took a bite of her food. Her eyebrows shot up at the sudden change in my voice and topic change, then set her fork down and folded her hands in front of her, ready to listen. "I didn't mean to keep this from you. I just never really thought to tell you, or anyone, for that matter. It's no big deal, and it's so second nature in my life, it doesn't seem to be a big deal, but I imagine you will find it a big deal."

"Edward." Bella reached across the table and laid her hand gently over my own, giving it a small squeeze. "Just tell me."

"My mother will be attending Isadora's party this weekend." I started and watched as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Well, I assumed Esme would be attending. Emmett said I would get to meet your father as well."

"No, I mean my birth mother." Her eyebrows pulled further together as confusion etched thickly across her face. "You see, Esme isn't my mother and Emmett isn't my brother. Carlisle, Esme's husband, technically isn't my father either. They're Emmett's parents."

"I don't quite understand, Edward. What do you mean?"

Bella's POV

I was taken aback, to say the least. Edward just told me that the embarrassing morning I met his mother actually was an embarrassing morning with a woman who wasn't actually his mother. I thought I had gotten that part of the relationship out of the way. I mean, meeting the mother of the man you're dating is always difficult, much in the same way as meeting the father of a girlfriend is for a man. Mothers and sons always have a certain bond that makes you feel like you are stealing their boy away from them. As un-ideal as Esme and my meeting was, it still went incredibly well.

"Are you alright, Bella?"

"Just confused," I said shaking my head in an attempt to clear it. I didn't feel like I should be mad about this, but in a way I was a little upset. It was unfounded, and I certainly didn't want my first fight with Edward to be over something that I knew from the beginning was a silly thing to be mad about. "Could you, um, explain?"

"Well, my father left my mother a few years after I was born. I don't have a real memory of him except for a few small snippets. It tore her up. They had been high school sweethearts. Apparently, I look a lot like him. It hurt her to see me, so she sent me to live with her best friend from college and her family. She did what she did because she knew it was best for me." He breathed out a heavy breath and stared straight into my eyes. "Esme and Carlisle took me in with open arms. Emmett and I grew up together as brothers and they treated both of us as their children. My mother comes for Christmas most years, and calls bi-weekly to catch up. She's a good mother, considering."

"Wow. That a lot to take in." I sat back in my chair and stared at my plate. "That's . . . wow."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just didn't want you going into the party only to get blind-sided." His eyes turned pleading when I just nodded while I tried to comprehend everything. He reached across the table, just as I had earlier and held onto my hand tightly. "I take what we have going on very seriously, Bella. I am fully committed to having a relationship with you."

My ears perked at that and I looked up at him. "A relationship?" I asked trying not to smile like a fool. "So we are in a relationship?"

"I'm sorry. That was presumptuous of me," he said looking defeated and taking his hand back. I grabbed it before he could fully retreat.

"I'm just glad to have the confirmation," I said smiling. "I had actually been wondering about that. It's nice to finally know."

His smile was radiant as he brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it softly. "I'm still sorry I didn't tell you the rest of this earlier."

"It's your business to tell when you're ready," I said with a shrug. "I'm just glad you told me before the party. I wouldn't have been happy with you if you had waited that long, but from the sounds of it, this is something very personal. I'm honored you chose to tell me."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Can I ask you something?" I said with a smile. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Anything."

"Where is your father now? Do you ever talk to him?"

"He died a few years back. About a year before Isadora was born." He looked me straight in the eyes as he spoke now. He had made himself so nervous through the beginning of our night thinking about telling me all of this. I was just happy he was getting more comfortable. "Other than a sizable chunk left to my mother, he left all of his money to me. He was pretty well off. I actually used my inheritance to start up my music store. That's why Tanya and I split. I moved here and she stayed. It's also the main reason she didn't tell me about Isadora. She didn't want me to give up my dreams for her."

"That was very mature of her," I said, shocked my how caring Isadora's mother sounded. I had always had mixed feeling about her before I knew the whole story. I thought she just kept Edward from his daughter. It was nice to know that she had honorable intentions, even if I didn't quite agree with them. "So I get to meet your real mother this weekend, huh?"

"Yup. You ready for that?"

"Sure," I said adopting a wicked grin. "But since I am meeting your father, for all intents and purposes, and two of your mothers this weekend . . ."

"You already met Esme, remember?" he said as he took a drink from his water.

"That just means you will have to meet my father soon." He looked at me in surprise at first before his smile reappeared.

"I'm fine with meeting your father," he said unfazed.

"Did I mention my father is the police chief of the town he lives in?" His eyes went wide then and his brow furrowed. I smiled, glad I got him a little nervous.

Our date went even better after everything was out in the open. I felt closer to Edward for sharing his situation with me, and was just thankful he didn't send me in with zero warning.

Our night ended up back at my place. Apparently Edward got to stay here for the night. Rose offered to generously watch Isadora for him for the whole night witch left us the whole night to get him acquainted with my apartment.

Jaspers POV

"At least make him sit."

Alice didn't even look up when I spoke. She just continued feeding Kolbe more food from her plate. Kolbe was really enjoying me being in a relationship with Alice. He ate better than he ever had before, and I could say nothing about it. Alice held something very important in her grasp that only she had. Sex. She could take it away at a moment's notice, and quite frankly, what's a little people food to a dog. Nothing really. It was easier to just pretend it's not happening, or join in so he doesn't completely switch over to the dark side.

"I think he likes me," Alice said happily, her smile radiant. She about killed me when she wore my shirts and nothing else like she was at the moment. Seeing her tiny, perfect little legs poking out of the bottom of the shirt plus the loose fabric of my old concert tee didn't do much to conceal her upper half. It was a huge testament to her smile that I wasn't completely and utterly distracted by the rest of her at the moment. "Ha! I know that smile! No way, Jasper. We barely slept last night and I am generously sharing my breakfast with your doggy here. I am not up for another round yet."

I smiled wider and pulled her over to me, nuzzling into the crook of her neck and drawing in a long breath. Alice had a wonderful smell to her. Indescribable, but calming. Whenever I had a bad day at work, I hug her and breathe her in, and I am completely calmed instantly. Her presence alone makes my mind completely forget about any troubles.

"I love you, Alice Brandon," I sighed into her skin. "Even if you are trying to sway my dog's affections."

"I can't help it if he likes me better," she said with a giggle. "I'm just very likable. Everyone likes me."

"I'm sure the food you give him has nothing to do with it."

"Jealous much?" She sat up and put her plate on the coffee table before turning and facing me. "I have to go get ready for work."

"Let's be late again," I groaned, and smiled mischievously at her.

"My god, man!" she huffed with wide, incredulous eyes. "How in the hell can you do it?"

"I probably can't, but I am willing to try." I smirked and hoped she would take the challenge. "And if I can't then we should stay home all day so you can console me with cuddling, and a little heavy petting."

"We can't miss anymore work," she groaned as I played with the hem of her shirt.

"We haven't missed any work since we started dating," I informed her, and was surprised at how true the statement was. "We could take a day off, you know? Just us for a day."

"Not with how often we go in late." She had a point, and I could barely find anything to argue it with.

"But I don't want to," I said barely.

"Nope. It's Friday, and Isadora's party is tomorrow. I am really excited. Bella and I are going shopping for her present at lunch today." She glared at me and pointed her finger at me warningly. "You are trying to keep me away from shopping, Jasper. That is never okay."

"I hadn't realized, Alice. Please forgive me."

She smirked and kissed the tip of my nose. "I'll think about it."

Alice's POV

"So, the woman who showed up at Edward's apartment the morning after your last date, that Isadora called Grandma, and caught you flouncing around the kitchen in Edwards tee-shirt wasn't actually his mother?" Bella just shook her head and pursed her lips. "Wow. That's crazy."

"Yeah. I mean, I did notice how he called her by name, but I just thought that was some weird thing about their relationship or something. And Emmett and Edward don't really look alike." She turned thoughtful and stared off at the ceiling of the toy store we were in for a second. "I should have figured it out."

"Yeah. You should have," I said sarcastically. "I mean from what you just said, I definitely would have thought that his real mother is barely in his life because she gave him up, so instead he lives with her best friend from high school, 'cause it hurts her to much to be around him. Get real, Bella."

"Well, I should've have known something was up."

"Yeah, maybe. It's a strange situation." I played with some kind of Barbie display before turning on my heel and looking at her. "Do you have something fabulous to wear to meet his real mother?"

"No, not really." She shrugged and started weeding through a rack of cheap toys that had no purpose at all. "I mean, I have stuff picked out to wear but nothing like that. Nice pants that are also loose and comfy so I can play with Isadora and the other girls, but still make my butt look nice for Edward. And a shirt that hold the same purpose. Nice, and form fitting to look a little more than casual and send Edward over the edge, yet still stretchy and cozy. It has to be multi functional."

"What about a nice cocktail dress?"

"Alice, it's a child's party. There will be no cocktails. There will be playing and goofing around, and as much as I want my first impression for Edward's real mother to be an up skirt shot of my goods when the girls knock me over, I think I'd rather stick with pants."

I nodded and secretly agreed, though I wouldn't voice that out loud. "Well, I suppose Esme is the one you really need to impress."

"Yeah, but I would love if his real mother liked me too. And I am meeting Esme's husband at the party. So that's like meeting his father."

"What happen to his real father, anyways?"

"Died," she said bluntly and I stared at her in shock. "That was my reaction, but he never really met him, except for when he was little before he left. Apparently the man was completely void from his life until he died."

"What do you mean?"

"He left him a lot of money. That how he bought the music shop." She sighed and looked at me. "Usually, kids that go through these kinds of things grow up to have some serious emotional baggage. I mean, most people would have serious abandonment issues to have not only your father leave, but have your mother give you up right after, for whatever reason. It makes me wonder if he is really as well balanced as I thought. But all he keeps saying is how much he respects his mother for making the right choice by sending him to Esme's."

"Maybe he's just perfect," I said with a shrug. I doubted it, but who knows. That guy is pretty flawless looks wise. "I wouldn't dig to deep with that though. That could seriously push him away."

"No, I know. I wouldn't." She picked up a princess set and smiled, before turning and showing it to me. "What about this? She really likes princesses."

"I thought she liked giraffes." I said confused.

"She likes both."

"Strange kid."

"If we could only find some kind of giraffe-princess outfit. That would be perfect."

"Again, I say strange kid."

"No. Well, kind of, but, my god, that girl is so well-behaved for her age. She hardly ever argues, and I have only seen her cry maybe twice. And she's smart. Not superhuman smart, but still. And you should see her with Edward." Her eyes got all dreamy like she was in her own dream world. "She is so in love with him, and he barely see's it. He's too busy absolutely adoring her. He's such a good father. It's yet another thing he's incredible at."

"Wow, you're falling hard."

She looked startled as she came back to reality. Her eyes looked at me confused before she shook her head and smiled lightly.

"I really like him, but I refuse to get my hopes up." She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly not once making eye contact with me. She was such a liar. "I want it to work, and I think that it could work, but I know how these things usually work with me and guys. He's too perfect. We're having to good a time. I'm sure my luck is nearly out."

"Don't be such a pessimist," I abolished and hit her arm lightly. "You have to believe thing will work out."

"I'm just going to play this by ear."

"Right." I cocked my eyebrow at her and crossed my arms. "Well, after your done buying his daughter loads of birthday presents, inviting your long time friend and her daughters to stay with you, so they can attend said boyfriend's daughter's birthday, and just overall being smitten with the guy, maybe you should really think about getting serious with him. Cause, really, right now, you act like you barely like him." I smiled at her and she stuck her tongue out at me, displaying our maturity level to the rest of the store. It suddenly made sense that we were having so much fun shopping for a child's birthday party.

(A.N. Click the pretty button and tell me what you think!)