Authors Notes:

TGIF! So, today is my last day at work, which has me kind of bummed. (So bummed, I'm posting this from my desk. Shh!) That being said, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter, because I'd love to hear from you. I could use some happy.

My amazing beta and validator is xrxdanixrx. Without her, this story would be a mess. She keeps me on track and I love her lots.

I wish I owned it. I wouldn't have to look for a new job then. *sigh* Anyway, long note at the bottom. I'll see you down there.

Chapter 28 – Special Friends

EPOV

The anticipation of the next day had my mind racing, and I couldn't fall asleep. Thinking about the time I'd spent with Bella had me wound up, and I was anxious to see her again – to kiss her, to hold her – and the fact that she was going to trust me with Pip meant the world to me. I wanted to get to know him, too. He was a part of her, and I wanted them both in my life.

I lay in Alice's guest bed, staring up at the ceiling and replaying the events of the day. It had been one of the best, and I couldn't help but feel like they were only going to get better. The thought made me smile – even alone in the dark room. I was happy, fucking giddy even, and I wasn't ashamed one bit. Man, what that woman did to me.

At some point, I finally drifted off, but as promised, I was back at Bella's bright and early with a grin planted firmly on my face. She let me inside, and I snuck a quick kiss from my girl. My girl. Fuck, that felt good to say. Pip had just woken up and was making his way down the hall as I was following Bella to the kitchen. He was rubbing his eyes, still half asleep, as he padded toward us in his footie pajamas.

"Good morning, babycakes," Bella greeted him cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?"

"Morning, Momma," he replied, finally looking up, a slow smile lighting up his face as his eyes met mine. "Eward, you're here!" He squealed and leaped forward.

"Hey, buddy! I made you a promise, didn't I?" I asked, bending down to his height, and he nodded his head.

"You sure are a happy camper this morning." She chuckled at him then winked at me. Fucking winked. Damn, she's stealing all my moves. I had to discreetly adjust my pants, and she smirked. Yeah, she knew what she was doing. Minx.

"Edward has a surprise for you, handsome," Bella said, smiling at him as she started pulling stuff from the fridge.

"A supwise? For me? I love supwises! What is it? What is it?" he shouted impatiently, bouncing on his feet. Clearly, he'd been around my sister a good deal. She had a tendency to do the same thing when she got excited.

"What would you say about spending the day with me at the zoo? I hear it's really nice, and I could use a buddy to tag along with me. You up for it, big guy?" I asked, hoping his excitement would hold.

"Yay! I'm going to the zoo. I'm going to the zoo," he sang out, dancing around in his PJs, and I laughed. "Does that mean I don't have to go to school, Momma?"

"No, you're going to go with Edward today. But you have to be really good for him and listen to everything he tells you.

"I will, I pwomise. Can we see the elepants, Edwad? They're my favowite," he explained, looking at me with big, beautiful eyes like his mama's. There was no way I could deny him anything.

"We can go see whatever animals you want, little man. We have the whole day," I assured him.

"Honey, why don't you go to the bathroom to go potty, and I'll meet you back in your room in a few minutes so we can get you dressed?" Bella asked him.

"Okay, Momma," he answered, and turned to skip back down the hall.

"Anything I can do to help you, beautiful?" I offered, slowly gravitating toward her.

"Sure, that would be great. You can set the table. Plates are in the cabinet on the far right, glasses are to the left of the sink, and utensils are in the top drawer at the left of the stove," she instructed, pointing to each.

She had already started whipping up some scrambled eggs, and there was bacon frying in a skillet. I quickly got the dishes out and placed before moving in to the kitchen and starting on some toast. We were working well together, side by side, and I smiled, thinking it could always be that way.

"What are you smiling at?" Bella asked, bumping her hip into mine as she slid next to me to grab another plate from the cabinet above the toaster.

"I was just thinking how nice this is, how I can picture us working to get meals together every day."

"Is that so, Mr. Cullen?" She turned and leaned back against the counter, her smile lighting up the whole room.

"It is, Ms. Swan." I moved to stand in front of her, boxing her in with my arms as I placed my hands on either side of her and leaned against the edge of the counter. I gazed from her eyes to her lips, and she licked them in invitation. The quick kiss from earlier wasn't enough; I needed more. She sucked in a breath, and I slowly I moved in, mouths barely touching, when…

"Momma, hurried up!" Pip squawked, suddenly standing in the kitchen with us in nothing but a pair of Sponge Bob underwear.

"Hey, babylove," Bella said, turning to him, and I quickly righted myself, releasing her from my captivity. "I'm sorry, I'll be right there."

Pip scampered off again, and I was back to making toast, feeling like an asshole. I knew she wanted to introduce things with us to him slowly, and I almost fucked up the whole plan by not keeping my hands, or my mouth, to myself.

Seeming to sense that I was mentally beating myself up, I felt her hands wrap around my waist and her cheek against my back.

"Edward, hey. Stop! Look at me."

I tentatively turned, meeting her gaze. There was no anger or disappointment to be seen.

"It's okay. We weren't doing anything wrong. I doubt he even thought anything about it."

"But what if he did? You wanted us to ease into things with him, and what if I screwed that all up? What if he starts asking questions?"

"Babe, he's three. He's going to ask questions. And we're going to have to tell him about us eventually. Yes, I want to ease into it, but if that doesn't happen, we'll handle things. I need to go get him dressed. Promise me you'll stop worrying about this, though."

I sighed.

"Edward. Promise me," she repeated.

"Okay." I raised my hands in surrender. "I promise."

"Good." She reached up on her toes and gave me a reassuring kiss, grinned, then smacked my ass. "Now finish up with that and move over to the table. We'll be right back."

~xxx~

The breakfast we ate together in Bella's small kitchen was probably the best fucking breakfast I'd ever had, and it wasn't just because of the food. Don't get me wrong, Bella's cooking was amazing, but being there with the two of them and just talking about what our day was going to be like was so easy. It reminded me of my parents and having breakfast with them and my sister when I was younger. It was everything I never thought I needed or wanted, but with them, it was perfect.

Time flew by. Bella had to set off to work, and Pip and I had a full day of fun to embark on. So, after a long list of instructions and phone numbers, Bella walked us out to my car. I tried to tell her she should finish getting ready, but then she explained that I would need Pip's car seat. I felt like such a dumbass. Of course he still needed a car seat. He was three. I just prayed I didn't fuck anything else up.

After installing the seat in my car and showing me how all the straps and buckles worked to lock Pip safely in place, she gave him a kiss and reminded him to be on his best behavior. He cheerfully agreed, and she shut the door.

"Okay, you're all set," she said, turning and looking at me with her gorgeous smile.

"How are you not worried that I'm going to fuck this up?" I asked her. "I mean, I hadn't even thought about him needing a car seat for Christ's sake."

"You're going to be fine. Do you think I knew all this stuff when I became a mother? I can promise you I didn't. I'm still learning things. Sometimes you just have to learn as you go. Besides, he's such a sweet boy. He barely gives me any problems. And the fact that he adores you tells me that everything will be okay. He'll listen to you. Just keep your eyes on him, and you won't have any problems."

"You have way too much faith in me."

"No, I don't. I'm just making up for the mistake of not having enough of it in the past. I trust you. You can do this, baby. I know you can. Now, go have fun, and I'll see you boys later. I'll make dinner."

She started to head back toward the house as I opened my door, but quickly turned back.

"Wait," she called out.

"What's wrong? What did we forget?" I asked, worried.

"This," she said, and stood on her toes to give me another quick, yet firm, peck on the lips.

I grinned. She knew just how to make everything feel better. "Thank you. We'll see you this evening."

Smiling, she stood on the porch and waved us off. Here we go.

~xxx~

The drive to the zoo wasn't far. Alice had printed out a map with instructions for me to get there from Bella's house, and it was only about a twenty minute ride. Pip and I passed the time by talking.

"So, have you been to this zoo before?" I asked, glancing back at him in the rearview mirror. He was kicking his feet up and down happily and looking out the window. I couldn't help but smile.

"Yep. Momma said we've been to the zoo bunches of times, but I only remember going once when Nana and Pop-Pop camed to visit."

"Oh yeah? Did you see lots of animals?"

"Uh huh. We sawed giwaffes, and tigers, and monkeys. Pop-Pop liked the monkeys the best, but I like the elepants."

"The elephants are definitely cool."

"Do you have a favowite animal, Edwad?" he asked.

"Hmm. I guess if I had to pick just one, I'd probably go with the lions."

"Oohh, good one, Edwad! I can roar like a lion. See, ROOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!" he boomed, mimicking claws with his fingers.

I laughed. "That's a pretty good impression you've got there. Can you do others?"

After a wide display of Pip's animal sounds, we arrived to our destination. As I parked the car, we heard a train whistle, making us both look to see where it had come from. To the left of the parking lot there was a train station, and a train had just pulled in.

"I wanna ride the twain," Pip said. "Can we, pwease?" He looked up at me with those huge brown eyes, and he had me. Who was I to deny him? There was no way I could have, even if I'd tried. Bella's eyes had the same effect on me.

"Sounds like fun to me. We better hurry, though. It looks like the train just pulled up, and we don't want to miss it."

"Yay!" He squealed, flying out of his car seat.

"Do you think you can walk fast or do you want me to carry you on my shoulders?" I asked as I closed the door and locked up the car.

His eyes went wide. "You can do that? Momma says I'm too heavy now."

I chuckled. "I'm sure you are heavy for your mama, but she's not as big as I am. Here, stand in front of me, and I'll lift you up."

He did as instructed, and I hoisted him over my head and onto my shoulders. Light as a feather.

We made our way over to the depot just in time to buy tickets and get on the train. It was called the Forest Park Miniature Railroad, and it was a little orange and yellow train that ran along the outside of the zoo.

"All aboard!" the conductor called out, blowing the train's whistle, and soon we were off.

Pip and I were seated on a bench toward the rear, with me on the outside. I didn't want to take the chance of him falling out, especially if he got overly excited and tried to stand. It didn't last long before he was on my lap, though. He wanted to see everything clearly as we passed, and I was happy to hold him.

The train ride lasted about forty-five minutes and covered around five miles of track. We crossed over several bridges, passed a pond full of ducks, and went through a tiny forest of trees – though they were still bare – and all the while we chatted.

"Thank you for taking me on the twain, Edwad. I like twains!"

"I like trains, too. You know, we have lots of trains where I live. They run underground."

"You do? Is it where my nana and pop-pop live?"

"No, they do have them there, but I don't live in Maryland anymore. I live in New York. Have you heard of that before?"

He shook his head.

"New York is a really big city. It's a few hours away from where your nana and pop-pop live. But we have lots of trains that run underneath the city. It's the fastest way to get around."

"Faster than a car?"

"Much faster. You and your mama will have to come visit me sometime, and I'll take you. We have lots of cool stuff to see. We have a huge park in the middle of the city. It's called Central Park. There's a zoo there, too."

"Really?"

"Really. I'll have to talk to your mama first, though, to see what she thinks."

"I think she'll like to come there."

"You do?" I asked, wondering what was going on in his little mind.

"Yep."

"What would you think about it?"

"I'd like it, too. You're nice to me," he said, smiling up at me.

"Thanks, buddy. I'm glad you think so. I really want us to be good friends."

"You're already are my friend, silly." He giggled.

"Good to know, little man, 'cause I think you're pretty great, too." I ruffled his hair. "Now, what do you say we get off this train and go see some animals?"

"Yeah!" he shouted.

After getting our tickets and a map of the zoo, we spent a couple hours walking around, looking at different exhibits, until Pip decided that he was hungry. Upon checking out our options, he decided he wanted pizza. Pepperoni pizza, because it was his favorite. I loved that he was so opinionated at such a young age. The boy knew what he liked, that was for sure.

We got our food and sat down, discussing what we had liked best from our excursion thus far. Pip was still in awe of the elephants, and he really enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit – though there were only statues, and not living creatures, to observe. He was very animated when he talked, and he couldn't seem to sit still. It was fun just listening to him bounce from subject to subject as he told me about his school, movies they'd watched, his teacher, and what they were learning.

"It sounds like you really like school and you're learning a lot," I said, finishing off my slice.

"Yep. I can say my alpabet. Wanna hear?"

After singing the alphabet song to me and telling me the other things they were learning, he told me about all of his friends. Which lead to some interesting questions on his part. Questions I'd hoped I hadn't fucked up the answers to.

"Do you think Momma's pwetty, Edwad?"

"Pip, I think your mama is beautiful."

"Cause she's your fwiend too, right?"

"Of course, buddy. I've known your mommy for a long time. She's my very good friend. Why do you ask?"

"But are you her special fwiend?"

"Her special friend?" Fuck, I knew he saw us in the kitchen this morning. How do I handle this? What do I say?

"Yeah, like Unkka Emmy was to Aunt Ro before they got mawwied," he explained. Too smart for his age.

"Well, she is very special to me. I care about her a lot. Are you okay with that?" I asked tentatively. I hadn't had much experience with kids, but he seemed pretty fucking perceptive for a three year old. I didn't know what I was supposed to say. I didn't want to say too much, but I didn't want to lie to him, either. I needed Bella. I was certain I was going to fuck everything up.

"You're always nice to her and make her smile," he replied.

"I like to see her smiling and happy."

"Me, too. Daddy isn't always nice to her, and it makes her cry."

God, I wanted to kill that bastard. How he didn't see how amazing his family was and what he had lost was beyond me. The fact that his sweet, innocent, three year old son could see how badly he had fucked things up was pitiful.

"That must be really hard to see, but you know that isn't something you need to worry about, right?"

He looked up at me, sad and confused, and I fucking melted. He and Bella deserved so much more. I was more determined than ever to be the one to give it to them.

"Sometimes, grown-ups say things they shouldn't, but your mommy loves you very much."

"I don't want Momma to be sad," he said woefully.

"Me neither, buddy. But I promise you that I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that she's always smiling from now on, okay? That goes for you, too. What do you say?"

"Okay." He smiled. "I hafta go potty now," he informed me, totally changing the subject. Three year olds.

"Alright, big boy." I chuckled, shaking my head. That went better than I thought. Maybe this won't be as hard as I anticipated. "Let's throw away our trash, and I'll take you to the bathroom."

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. We saw all the animals, rode the train inside the zoo, ate ice-cream, and even shopped in the zoovenir store. Pip got a t-shirt and a stuffed elephant that he named Blue Bonnet, like one of the elephants we'd seen that day, and we got Bella a wind chime to hang on her back patio. All in all, it seemed like a success, and I couldn't wait to get back to see my girl's gorgeous face.

~xxx~

"Momma!"

"Hey, honeybunny! How was your day?" Bella asked him as he ran into the kitchen to find her. She scooped him up and hugged him tight as she looked at me and smiled.

"We rode on the twain, and we sawed all the animals. We even sawed a monkey pee-pee in his own mouf," he answered excitedly. "It was gwoss. And looked, Edwad bought me an elepant. His name is Blue Bonnet like the real elepant we sawed today."

"Wow, it sounds like you had a lot of fun." She laughed at the slew of information he'd given her. "Did you tell Edward thank you for taking you and for the gifts?"

"Thank you, Edwad!" Pip belted out.

"You're welcome, champ. Thanks for going with me. It wouldn't have been the same without you," I assured him.

"We got you a pwesent, too, Momma!" he exclaimed.

"You did? You didn't have to do that," she said, looking from him to me.

"We wanted to. Right, buddy?" I confirmed, and winked.

"Uh huh. Edwad let me picked it out," Pip told her, handing her the gift bag. "Open it! Open it!"

Bella placed Pip back on the floor and removed the tissue paper from around the wind chime.

"It's beautiful," she said, holding it up. "I love it. We'll have to hang it up outside. Thanks, guys." She bent down and gave Pip a kiss, then walked over to me, cupped a cheek with one hand, and kissed the other. "Really. Thank you."

"If kisses are my reward, I'll buy you a million more gifts," I whispered, earning a blush before she turned away. I fucking loved how I could still make her do that with just a few simple words.

"I have dinner ready," she informed us. "You two go wash up, and I'll set the table."

~xxx~

As Bella was giving Pip his bath, I finished cleaning up the kitchen, thinking. The chicken and broccoli rice casserole Bella made was delicious, but sitting and having dinner together, just the three of us, was even better. Just like when we'd had breakfast, it felt like I had a family of my own, and I didn't know how I was going to go back to New York and leave them behind. I'd only been in Texas for a few short days, but they'd managed to wrap me around their tiny fingers, anyway. How was I supposed to go back and function when my heart would be with them?

I had just turned off the kitchen light and sat down on the couch when Bella came and curled up next to me.

"He's just getting his pajamas on. He wants us to read him a bedtime story together."

"He does?"

"Hmm," she said, leaning against me, and I kissed the top of her head.

"He's such a cool kid, B. And smart. Maybe too smart." I laughed, thinking of our conversation at lunch.

"What do you mean?" she asked, sitting up and looking at me with a furrowed brow.

"Not in a bad way, beautiful," I quickly explained, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. "He just… he asked me some questions today, and I wasn't really expecting them. I hope I did the right thing by answering the way I did."

"What did he ask?" She looked worried.

"Let's just say he's very perceptive. I know that we've been worried about how he'll handle things with us, but I think maybe we've underestimated him. I don't know. You're better at this stuff than me."

"What happened?"

"He asked me if I was your special friend. When I had him clarify what he meant, he used Rose and Emmett as an example – the way they were special friends before they got married."

"Really?" She laughed.

"It's not funny!" I nudged her playfully. "It freaked me the fuck out. I told you he saw us this morning."

"You're right, I'm sorry. So, what did you tell him?" she asked.

"I told him that I care about you and want to see you happy. I asked him if he was okay with that." I shrugged.

"What did he say?"

"He said he was. He told me that I'm nice to you and I make you smile."

"You are, and you do." She leaned her head back on my shoulder and sighed contentedly.

"He also said that his daddy makes you cry. I didn't really know what to tell him about that. I just said that grown-ups sometimes make mistakes and say things they shouldn't, but I reminded him that you love him a lot. I hope that was okay."

"You said all that?" she asked, sitting up once again.

I nodded, suddenly nervous that I'd said the wrong thing.

"It sounds to me like you've got this parenting thing down, and you've only spent one day with him."

"So, I didn't fuck anything up?"

"Aww, baby, no. It sounds like you explained things just as good as I could have, if not better. I'll have to talk to him. I can't believe he asked you all that. I'm sorry if he freaked you out."

"It's okay. I was more worried about saying the wrong thing than anything. I just didn't want you to get pissed at me. Other than that, it was a breeze. You were right; he listened to me and held my hand everywhere we went. He made it easy."

"Like I said, it's a learning experience. I think you did great, though. She ran her hand through my hair and was gazing in my eyes, just about to lean in for a kiss, when Pip made his reappearance. I adored the little guy, but he was definitely the best three year old cock blocker on the planet.

BPOV

We tucked Pip in and said goodnight one last time before closing his door. Out in the hallway, Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me to him.

"Hi," he whispered softly, gazing at me with hooded lids, and I could feel the burn in the pit of my stomach.

"Hi," I replied, wrapping my arms around him, swayed by his warmth and proximity.

He bent down, weaving his free hand into my hair as his mouth pressed against mine. Soft, warm lips and pliable tongues, caressing and doing a greeting of their own.

"I missed you today," he murmured, sucking in my bottom lip and biting down gently before pulling away. "I've been waiting to do that all fucking day."

"Mmm. I've been waiting for you to do that all fucking day." I smiled, and he smirked.

"I love it when you say dirty things to me." His mouth was once again on mine, hot and heavy, our hands everywhere – needing, wanting, consuming. Before I knew it, I was pressed against the wall with Edward's hand up my shirt, panting as he licked and sucked on my neck. I couldn't help the moan that escaped me.

"Baby," I said between kisses. "Not here." Kiss. "My room." Kiss. "Ungh. Now." Kiss. My hands ran down over his chest, and I pushed him backward, grabbing his hands to pull him with me down the hall.

Still somewhat out of breath, I watched him as he entered and looked around. I shut the door and moved quietly over to the bed, anticipation doing crazy things to my heart – its beat fast like a hummingbirds wings, fluttering in my chest. "So, this is my room," I said, nervous and feeling like a high school girl afraid of getting caught with a boy in my parents' house.

"I like it. It's private. Does the door lock?" He winked, and I bit down on my lip.

He crossed over to sit next to me then turned to cup my face. "That's my job," he replied seductively, pulling my lip from my teeth with his thumb. Gah, panties drenched.

His eyes moved to my mouth, and he brought his lips to mine, sucking my bottom one in. His tongue soon peeked out seeking mine, and I quickly allowed him entrance.

Kissing Edward was amazing, and feeling his hands on me again was almost more than I could handle. He gently nudged me until we were lying down, me on my back with him mostly on top. The weight of him was welcome, one of his legs nestled between mine, rubbing me in just the right place as he left wet kisses all along my neck.

His hands once again sought purchase under my shirt, brushing softly against my stomach and working their way up. My skin prickled as he reached my breasts, his thumbs sweeping over my hardened nipples. God it felt good. He felt good.

I pulled his mouth back to mine, parting his lips and pushing my tongue past. Our tongues curled, moving together deliciously, and I could feel the searing tingle at my core. Oh, the affect he had on me.

My hands began to do their own explorations, needing to feel more of him, and soon enough, our shirts were off, and our pants were unbuttoned. Things were getting intense. I wanted him – needed him – had to have him inside me again. It had been so long, for both of us. But we said we'd go slow. This wasn't slow. This was fast. But maybe that was okay. Maybe we'd gone slow for far too long. We needed to catch up to where we should have been. We were ready. I was ready. Or I wanted to be. It was all overwhelming. But there were things that still needed to be said – things that Edward still needed to know. We had to do things right, and I needed to be the one to make them that way.

"Baby," I panted between kisses as his hand began working its way down my pants. I didn't want him to stop, but we needed to talk.

"God, I want you," he grunted, his fingers so close to where I wanted them.

"You've got me," I whispered, kissing him again. "But I need to tell you something."

"Okay, what is it?" he murmured against my neck, not stopping his ministrations with his fingers – or his tongue.

I grabbed hold of his hand to stop him from going further and pulled it up to my mouth, kissing his knuckles. He looked at me, confused, and I could see the hurt and worry forming in his apprehensive gaze.

"I want you, too, Edward. So much," I said, reassuring him with my own eyes. "But there are some things you need to know first – for this to be right."

He slowly moved on to his side, propping his arm up on the bed and leaning his head on it. "Is everything okay? Should I be worried?" he asked, looking down at his other hand still on my stomach.

"No, handsome. There's no need to be worried." I sat up and cupped his face. "I just want everything to be out in the open with us. No more secrets."

"What's going on? You're kind of freaking me out, beautiful. I thought we were being honest with each other."

"We are. It's just… Here, let me up. I'll explain it better if I can show you," I said, standing.

"Show me? Where are you going?" His brow furrowed.

"Just to the closet. I need to get something. I opened the closet door and stepped inside. Reaching up on my tippy toes, I grabbed the box from the shelf and came back to the bed, placing it in front of him.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Open it," I said.

He slowly pulled the lid off, and his eyes grew big at the sight of the contents. Pictures, notes, ticket stubs, my stuffed panda, dried flowers, my charm bracelet… all things that had once tied me to him.

Relief washed over his face as he began looking through the stuff, smiling as we reminisced about things we'd done, places we'd gone, memories we shared.

As he dug deeper into the box, he came across a bundle of letters. About a dozen of them. The ones he'd written me from school pouring his heart and soul out to me. The ones that he thought I'd ignored.

He gasped as he realized what they were. "You have these?" he asked, looking at me incredulously.

I nodded and smiled timidly, trying to gauge his reaction.

"But I thought they didn't mean anything – that you either didn't read them or just threw them away because you were angry. Why did you keep them?"

"Because they were from you. I've kept everything that you've ever given me."

"I don't understand," he said, shaking his head.

"Edward, I know you think that I stopped caring about you back then, but there couldn't be anything further from the truth. I wanted to, believe me. I wanted to forget about you – about us – and move on with my life. Yet, no matter how much I tried to let go, or how much I wanted to forget, I just couldn't.

"After everything that happened, I was sad, angry, confused, but mostly, I was hurt. The truth is, I fell in love with you, and even after all of the drama and heartache, I still cared about you. You were the standard that no other guy could ever live up to. I just couldn't let you know."

He sat there looking dumbfounded, blinking as he held the letters in his hands.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" he asked, looking up at me with clouded eyes.

"I was scared. You came back, and it was like things were moving so fast with us. You were being really sweet and wonderful to me. I found myself getting pulled back in, but I was afraid to let go. I was terrified that once I let you in again, something would happen, and you would leave. I couldn't bear that."

"So, why tell me now?"

"Because we're building something new, and I want it to last. For that to happen, we need a strong foundation, and that means you need to know the truth – about everything."

"Thank you." He smiled. "I'm a little bit overwhelmed. I don't know what to say."

"There's more," I told him.

"More?" His brow furrowed again.

"There's something else in the box. It belongs to you."

"To me?"

I reached in and pulled out a thick, hardbound journal. "Here," I said, handing it to him.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's everything."

The crinkle on his forehead deepened. "I don't understand," he replied, opening it to the first page, and his breath caught.

"I may not have written back to you, but I did reply – to every single letter. Everything that you asked has been answered in this journal. All my thoughts, hopes, fears, and feelings are written on the pages of this book. And they were all for you."

I tried not to get upset, but my emotions were taking over, and tears began to run down my cheeks.

Reaching over, Edward cupped my face, wiping away the wetness with his thumbs. "Don't cry, baby."

"I'm sorry. I'm not sad; I promise. It's just that it feels good to get this out – to finally tell you the truth after all these years. I just want to clear the air once and for all. Now that you know about the letters, I need to explain something else… about my first time… our first time together," I said, biting my lip nervously.

"Bella, you don't have to – "

"I do. I need to tell you this. You were right. I wasn't very forth coming with you about a lot of things, and I should have told you that I hadn't slept with anyone else. You deserved to know that much."

"Sweetheart, it's fine. I shouldn't have made you feel so uncomfortable about it. I know it's partly my fault for making it a touchy subject." We both looked at each other and laughed. "No pun intended," he added, smiling.

"It's okay. I was just embarrassed. I mean, I wasn't exactly saving myself for you. No offense, but I had no idea if there would even be a you and me after you'd left. However, you came back, and I had never found anyone else that I wanted to be with like that. I felt safe with you, and there was no denying our attraction to each other. I just want you to know that I'm glad my first time was with you."

"Me, too," he said, leaning over and kissing me softly. "I was an immature prick about a lot of things. I was so busy freaking out about shit all the time that I didn't stop and appreciate things the way I should have."

"We both made mistakes. Let's not make them again."

"Never," he promised, and I believed him.

"So, can I have this?" he asked, reverently running his hand over the cover of the journal.

"Of course, baby, it's yours. I should have given it to you a long time ago."

"I can't wait to read it." He smiled.

"I'm not gonna lie, it's not all happy. It's real and it's honest, but it's also from the heart, and my heart never let you go."

"Come here," he said, laying back and pulling me close. I snuggled into his chest as he held me tight and kissed the top of my head. "I'll cherish every word."

"Edward?"

"Hmm?" he replied, running his hands through my hair.

"Thank you."

"What for, beautiful?"

"For today. For being so wonderful to Pip and to me. For being you," I said, looking up at him. "I'm sorry it took us so long to get back to this point."

"I know you are. So am I. The important thing is that we got here. And I'm never letting you go."

"Good, then you can stay here tonight," I said, curling back into his chest.

"What?" he asked, leaning up to meet my eyes again.

"You said you wanted to take Pip to the park tomorrow, so you'd be coming back over early tomorrow morning, anyway. You should just spend the night."

"But what about Pip? Isn't he going to wonder why I'm here?"

"Not if he thinks you slept on the couch. Besides, he already thinks you're my special friend," I teased, "He knows we're going to spend time together."

"Would I be sleeping on the couch?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Only if you want, but I don't want you to."

"Is that so? What did you have in mind for this sleepover?" he questioned teasingly, smirking.

"You know that I want you, right?"

He grinned. "I have a pretty good idea, yes," he replied, flipping us over and kissing my neck.

"But you also know that Pip is right across the hall and – "

"It would be really hard for you to be quiet if I did the things I want to do to you," he interrupted, and my cheeks flamed.

"So, you agree that we shouldn't go any further than we already have tonight?"

"Bella, we can go as slow as you need. We have all the time in the world."

"Okay, that being said, I'd still like to kiss you some more and then fall asleep in your arms. I can wake you before Pip gets up in the morning, and you can move to the couch. But it's up to you. I'll understand if you want to go back to Alice and Jasper's."

"I love my sister, and visiting with her is great, but you're the reason I'm here right now. And just so you know, I'm not expecting anything, but if it means we get to make out some more, and I get to wake up to your gorgeous face, I'd love to stay. You can wake me up as early as you want."

I tenderly caressed his lips with mine, lingering in the taste of his sweet breath. How I got so lucky to have Edward back in my life I'd never know, but I was going to treasure every moment with him. We kissed, cuddled, and talked for several more hours, until I couldn't hold my eyes open any longer.

The night was coming to an end, and the morning would soon be upon us, but for once, I was actually looking forward to it. As long as we were together, all of my tomorrows would be perfect.

Chapter End Notes:

So, what do you think of Pip and Edward's day out? He's a smart little guy and asks some interesting questions. LOL! Poor Edward got a tad freaked out, but I think he handled it pretty well. Especially for not having any experience with little ones. :)

Then, what do you think of Bella's revelation to Edward? She really surprised him with all of that. She's been holding in a lot for a very long time. It's good that they're talking and getting everything out in the open, don't you think? After all, communication was always their downfall, so it's definite progress.

Now, if you're curious about Edward's letters and Bella's journal, you don't have to wonder for long. The last chapter posted, Dear Bella, had all of Edward's letters to her. Then, the next chapter posted will be Bella's journal, with everything she had written to Edward. I'm already working on that, so it shouldn't be long. I think they will give you better insight into what they were thinking and feeling, so I hope you give them a read. You'll have to let me know what you think.

Until next time… Love, hugs, and smooches.