Chapter 29: I'd muttered the words before I could think of the implications but the implications were written all over Bella's face.

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.

"So, you and Bella…a weekend away…" Emmett was waggling his eyebrows at me as I sipped my coffee.

"Yep. To meet her dad…with a four year old," I deadpanned.

"Oh, yeah. Suddenly it's not so romantic."

"Tell me about it!" I joked.

"But things are going okay with you two? You're not going to break her heart and leave her as a spinster cat lady who's too emotionally traumatiszed to teach my kid and then he'll end up a high school dropout with no future and you'll be to blame."

I looked at Emmett like he'd grown another head during his speech. "Errr, no. Besides, she's only teaching Seth until the end of the year, right?"

"Yeah, true. She's by far his favorite teacher he's ever had though."

"Well he'll still see her around outside of school."

"Good. Maybe she'll be Auntie Bella rather than Miss Swan," Emmett teased as I glared at him.

"I'm not getting down on one knee just yet." I scoffed. "I think we'll move in together first," I mused out loud.

"Awww, Eddie. Look at you all grown up, taking about living with your girlfriend and not running away at the mention of marriage." Emmett clapped me on the back like a proud parent.

"I think I need to meet her dad this weekend before thinking about rings. He sounds like a pretty protective father and his job involves carrying a gun so I don't want to get on the wrong side of him."

"Hey, don't let him put you off. You know Rose's parents took years to come round to our relationship."

"That's 'cause you knocked their princess up at nineteen when they had plans for her world domination!"

"Yeah, well, they dote on Seth so I don't really see what their problem is. Anyway, just be honest with Bella's dad. As soon as he sees how genuine you are about Bella and Tyler he'd be a fool not to be pleased."

"Thanks. I'm not worried, I just want things to go well. Bella doesn't have much family so I really want to get on with her dad."

Emmett patted me on the back as I turned to leave.

"I'm sure you will. Let me know how you get on," he replied sincerely as I nodded at him before leaving.

ooooooOOOOOOoooooo

A little while later I pulled into Bella's drive and popped the trunk of my car. I had a small holdall packed with my belongings for the trip, but there was plenty of room for Bella and Tyler's bags.

Before I could enter Bella's house, the door opened and Tyler struggled down the driveway, dragging a large bag behind him.

"Hey, buddy." I ruffled his hair in greeting as he continued to struggle. "Do you want a hand with that?"

"Nope. I is strong."

"I know you are, but let me lift it into the trunk." As the bag was about the same size as Tyler, he relented and let me to lift the bag before I turned and scooped him up, giving him a big hug as he squealed and wriggled.

I saw Bella coming down the driveway, pulling a suitcase and carrying another bag. Jeez, I was learning how it wasn't possible to travel lightly when traveling with kids.

When she reached us I drew her into our hug, kissing her cheek and relaxing now that I was with her, knowing we'd be together for the whole weekend.

After we parted I lifted Bella's bags into the trunk as she turned to her car.

"I'll just get Ty's car seat."

"No need," I told her proudly as I opened the rear passenger side door and Bella looked inside my car.

"You…you got him a car seat? For your car?" She sounded more surprised than I expected.

"Yep. I spoke to a really helpful guy in the shop and he assured me it was safe and he even fitted it for me…" I was stopped in my tracks by Bella's lips crashing onto mine.

"Thank you for thinking of us," she whispered as we parted.

"I'm always thinking about you," I replied. I loved surprising Bella and showing her how serious I was about our relationship.

She grinned before turning to Tyler. "Are you ready to go, baby? Edward's fitted a car seat in his car, just for you."

"Cool. Is there any space for my dinosaurs?"

I chuckled of course Tyler was more bothered about his dinosaurs than the new car seat.

"Yeah. There's plenty of room. Have you been to the bathroom?"

"Of course, Mama." Tyler was bouncing up and down with excitement, his hair flopping in his eyes as his dinosaur Bartholomew moved up and down in his arms. Wow, he had a lot of energy. This might be a long trip!

After a few minutes, we were on the road and after a few hours Bella was directing me along the last few streets to her dad's house. The trip had been uneventful. Tyler had chatted non-stop for about the first hour then he calmed down and managed to do some coloring. Now that we were nearly there he was getting excited again.

When Bella told me to turn onto the driveway in front of a white washboard house I knew we were here. I parked behind a police cruiser and turned off the engine.

"Good. He's home," Bella remarked. I would have thought it was standard for Charlie to be home when his daughter and grandson were visiting but Bella appeared to be pleasantly surprised that he was actually here.

I stepped out the car and stretched my tall frame, stiff from the drive, while Bella helped Tyler out of his car seat. As I did so, the front door of the property opened and a gruff-looking man headed towards us. His facial expression was dominated by this thick moustache but as soon as he saw Tyler his smile lit up his face and he sped up.

"Hey, Bells." He hugged his daughter and kissed her check before bending down and scooping up Tyler.

"Is this my little grandson? Jeez! When did you get so big?"

"See, Mama. I tolded you I'm not a baby," Tyler said to Bella, making Charlie chuckle. "Hey, Gramps, are we going fishing?"

"We sure are. How about after some dinner you can help me sort out my fishing gear and then we can go on the weekend?"

"Okay," Tyler agreed with an enthusiastic nod of his head.

While this conversation was going on I rounded the car and stood next to Bella.

"Dad, this is Edward," she announced as I held my hand out. Charlie shuffled Tyler onto one arm and took my outstretched palm, shaking it rather vigorously.

"Hello," he greeted.

"It's really nice to meet you," I replied genuinely.

"Gramps, Ewood's not very good at fishing, can we teach him?"

"Sure. A man needs to know how to fish."

"Dad." Bella's voice held a warning as Charlie rolled his eyes.

"Come on. Leave your bags for a minute, let's get some dinner. You must all be hungry."

A few minutes later we were sat in Charlie's small kitchen as he served up pie and vegetables. Bella looked from her plate, to her dad, and back again.

"You…cooked?" She sounded so stunned, she made me choke on the water I was drinking as Tyler swung his legs nosily under the table.

"Well, ummm, Sue made it this morning for us."

"Oh." Bella still sounded surprised while I made a mental note to ask her about Sue later. "It's delicious," she added as we all tucked in and Charlie changed the subject rather abruptly.

He was quick to ask me about my job and I think he looked suitably impressed when I told him about mine and Emmett's business. I couldn't be sure though, as he seemed to be a man of few words and his thick moustache made it hard for me to read his expressions.

"So, that must keep you busy, running your own business. Do you have much spare time?" Charlie inquired as Bella started to protest at her dad's questions.

"Well, I'm here on a Friday afternoon instead of being in the office so I love the flexibility my own business gives me."

"Huh." Charlie was quiet and I wondered if I'd been too smart in my reply. "Good. I'm glad you have the right priorities."

"Ewood's always at our house Gramps," Tyler chimed in. "He has lots of time with me and Mama."

"Oh, he does? How do you feel about that?" Charlie asked Tyler as I held my breath for the little boy's answer.

"Good. We builded pirate ships and forts, but he always makes me clean my teeth, yuck!"

Bella and I grinned as Charlie nodded. "Good. Well, I hope we don't meet any pirates when we're out fishing."

ooooooOOOOOOoooooo

After eating, Tyler insisted on seeing Charlie's fishing equipment, so while they were gone Bella and I unloaded the car and arranged our bags in Charlie's one spare room. The three of us were all sleeping in here and while it would be a bit of a squash, I was just glad I wasn't relegated to the couch.

"This is weird," Bella announced as she flopped on the bed and looked around her room.

"Being back?" I asked, abandoning my open suitcase and sitting next to her.

"Yeah. It's all the same, but I'm so different." I ran my hand up and down her thigh.

"A good different, I hope?" I asked softly.

"Yes. I was in such a mess when I left here, Edward," she confessed as she dropped her head to my shoulder. "After Jakes funeral, Charlie wanted me to move back in but I couldn't do it. I couldn't be in this town without Jake."

"I know it can't have been easy, but you seem to have built a great life in Seattle, for you and Tyler."

She nodded, but still looked sad. "Yeah, being back here is just reminding me what a mess I was when...after..."

"Well you seem to be doing alright now."

"I'm doing better than alright with you here. I hope my dad knows that too. I know he's not overly talkative but, trust me, if he didn't like you, you'd be on the couch."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I got that impression."

There were heavy footsteps on the stairs and Tyler flung himself into the room. I instinctively removed my hand from Bella's thigh. Tyler had seen Bella and I sit like this many times but it was a good job I'd done it anyway as Charlie followed Tyler into the room. He looked from Bella, to me, and back again before speaking.

"Errr, we're done. I don't think we'll be on for fishing tomorrow though, the weather isn't looking good, probably Sunday morning is better, if that's okay with you?"

"Sure, dad."

"I wanted to go tomorrow," Tyler argued.

"I know but Gramps knows what he's doing. I don't want him taking you out in bad weather. We've got all weekend, Ty." Bella ruffled his hair as he flopped down on the bed, sticking his lower lip out in a classic sulking pose. That was until he did the most almighty yawn.

"Jeez, Ty. That yawn was like a dinosaur's!" I teased while he laughed. I tickled his belly as he rolled around on the bed laughing.

"I think you need some sleep, little man," Bella told him.

"I don't wanna sleep here on my own, Mama," he grumbled.

I couldn't blame him. He was in a strange room and would be here on his own until Bella and I came to sleep.

"I'll stay with him," I offered. "You go and catch up with your dad." Bella looked surprised but nodded her head slowly.

"Thanks." She leant forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "His pajamas…"

"Baby, it's fine. Ty and I will work this out. There's only one place his stuff can be," I joked as she laughed.

"Okay, sure. Thanks." She stood and hugged Tyler goodnight, before turning and heading downstairs with her dad.

Tyler and I navigated our way through pajamas, teeth cleaning and bedtime stories with no problems but once I turned the light off and the room plunged into darkness he asked me to sit with him. As I sat on the bed and stretched my legs out, Tyler molded his body to the side of mine and closed his eyes. I knew he didn't usually go to sleep this easily, by now I'd witnessed many of his bedtime protests but, this time, I think he was genuinely tired after a long day.

I too closed my eyes and the next thing I knew Bella was stroking my hair off my face and whispering in my ear.

"Hey, sleepyhead."

"Huh? What time is it?" I grumbled.

"It's late, let's get some sleep."

I stood up groggily, used the bathroom, ditched my contacts, jeans and t-shirt and crawled back into bed, under the covers this time, spooning Bella who was in the middle of me and Tyler.

"Sorry." I mumbled. "I didn't mean to fall asleep, I wanted to get to know your dad. I know we have the rest of the weekend but…"

"Edward, we have the rest of our lives," Bella told me softly as I grinned in the dark.

"True. Very true."

ooooooOOOOOOoooooo

The next morning, we woke to a note from Charlie telling us he'd been called into work but would be home by lunchtime. Bella didn't appear to be surprised by this but she did seem slightly nervous when we sat down to breakfast, just the two of us as Tyler had already eaten and was now glued to cartoons on the TV.

She nervously wrung her hands together before she spoke.

"I want to...I think I should take Tyler...to see Jake. He's old enough now. It might help him understand his reality a little better."

I nodded and gave her what I hoped was a supportive smile. "Of course. I was expecting you to take him, Bella." Her words hadn't surprised me. I'd assumed she would go to Jake's grave and probably see his dad, Billy, too, but I wouldn't push that second point right now.

Bella looked relieved at my words. "I can drive you if you need. I don't want you driving upset." She looked at me thoughtfully for a few seconds and then nodded.

"Good thinking, thanks."

About twenty minutes later we piled into my car. A somber looking Tyler suddenly looked so small in his car seat. Far too small to be visiting his father's grave. His little feet were dangling off the edge of his car seat and his chin was lost in the bulk of his thick winter coat.

I was overwhelmed with a need to comfort him. I wanted to hold him and try and make him smile, but I knew this was Bella's call. She needed him to visit Jake and I understood why. Once she'd settled herself in the front passenger seat, I reached across and squeezed her hand softly before starting the car, cranking up the heat, and setting off.

Other than Bella's directions the car ride was quiet, another indicator of the destination ahead. I was so used to the noise that accompanied Tyler wherever he went. He was always chatting or singing or making the noises that dinosaurs made when they ate each other, but today I didn't hear a peep out of him. So much so that I checked the rear view mirror several times to see if he was still awake.

I turned left and right when instructed by Bella until I saw the sign for the cemetery up ahead. The car tires crunched on the gravelly surface as I pulled to a stop near the entrance gates. There were no other cars about and an eerie quiet settled over us when I turned the engine off.

"Take your time." I squeezed Bella's thigh as she gave me a watery smile and nodded. She unclipped her seatbelt before opening the door and letting a cold gust of wind in. She pulled her coat closer to her body before she reached into the back of the car to help Tyler out. Once he was ready she held his hand firmly as they disappeared through the gates, their silhouettes getting smaller and smaller as they walked off into the distance. I saw them heading towards a large tree at the far end of the field, but lost sight of them after a minute or so of watching.

I rubbed my hands together for warmth and sighed into the quiet that surrounded me. I drummed my hands on the steering wheel but realized that was not going to keep me occupied for the rest of the time that I had to wait. I pulled out my phone and checked emails, more to give me something to do than a need to keep up to date with emails that I'd read only that morning.

I then called Emmett. We'd gone a while without talking which was unlike us. Em even called me most days on his honeymoon. Rosalie wasn't too happy about that, but he'd reasoned that as they were already married she was stuck with him now.

"So how was meeting her police chief dad? Has he shrunk your balls yet with threats of harm if you hurt his daughter?" What a nice greeting, thanks, bro!

"Not yet, but there's still time."

"Lucky you. What are you up to today?" Emmett asked, I could hear him shuffling around, probably in his office, as he spoke.

"Bella and Tyler have gone to see Jake. His grave…"

"Oh." The shuffling stopped and Emmett was silent.

"Yeah. I'm sitting in the car waiting for them. Bro, I don't know what to say or do here."

"There's no right or wrong, Ed. Just look after her and Ty."

"Em, I've never dealt with anything like this before. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing!" I felt wildly out of my depth, thinking of Bella hunched over a gravestone and Tyler visiting a cold headstone instead of a real live father.

"Take their lead I guess," Emmett suggested.

"But...Ty's so small." My voice cracked with my words as I paused and held the bridge of my nose as I took in a deep breath.

"He's got you." I nodded at Emmett's words even though he couldn't see me over the phone. "Yeah?" he checked at my silence.

"Yeah. Of course," I added hastily.

"Well, you're awesome, just like me, so he can't go too far wrong with you around," Emmett complimented.

"Thanks, I think!"

"So, has her Dad banished you to the couch or are you still getting some action?"

"Em!" Trust him to turn a serious conversation into a joke in one sentence. I knew he was doing it deliberately but my silence made him laugh.

"Ha ha. I get the picture. You need to move them in, bro, get your alone time every day. Trust me, you'll get way more action when you're living together."

I won't pretend I hadn't thought about it, but Emmett talking so causally about Bella and Tyler moving into my home was surprising to me.

"Err, yeah. Hopefully. One day. I mean soon…one day soon…" I mumbled as Emmett laughed again. "Anyway…" I ran my hand through my hair and tried desperately to change the subject. "How's the Johnson account coming on?"

Emmett was happy to talk work with me while I half paid attention to him, half kept my eyes glued on the spot where I had last seen Bella and Tyler as I waited for their return.

Emmett then had to go to a meeting but I didn't mind, we'd been talking about twenty minutes, so I was hoping it wouldn't be long until they were back.

Sure enough, about a minute after I hung up I saw Bella appear in the distance. At first it looked like Tyler wasn't with her but as she got closer I realized she was carrying him on her hip, his head resting on her shoulder. As they approached the car I stepped out and opened the back door for her to drop Tyler in. He looked solemn as Bella buckled him in his seat before she closed his door and turned to me.

I could tell she had been crying but she gave me a small grin before her head fell onto my shoulder and I engulfed her in a hug.

"I'm glad you're here," she whispered into my neck.

"Me too." I stroked her hair, wanting to ask her how she was but I didn't want to pry. Before I could speak she stepped back and straightened her shoulders.

"Can we get out of here?" she asked as I nodded.

"Sure can."

Bella checked her phone as we set off. She then looked back at Tyler and squeezed my thigh as I drove.

"Do you want to grab some lunch?" I asked, making her nod furiously.

"Can I have a milkshake, Mama?" Tyler piped up in the back of the car.

"You can have whatever milkshake you want, baby," Bella told him.

"Double chocolate?" he asked, a note of disbelief in his voice.

"With extra sprinkles," Bella confirmed as Tyler sounded pleased for the first time today.

Bella directed us to a small diner on the outskirts of town and we settled in a dining booth while she told me how this place was a haunt for her in her high school days. We placed our orders with a rather over friendly waitress before I fished in my pockets for some quarters which I gave Tyler for the gumball machine he was eyeing up.

As Tyler happily ran off to the corner of the diner I turned to Bella.

"I can see why it's hard for you being back here. Everywhere must remind you of Jake."

She nodded. "It does. But I want to move on now, with you," she told me genuinely. She reached across the table with one hand and and held my hand, stroking over my knuckles as she spoke.

Her actions gave me courage. "Move on with me, or move in with me?"

Jeez! I'd muttered the words before I could think of the implications but the implications were written all over Bella's face. She looked stunned. Her coffee cup paused halfway to her mouth, her fingers stoped moving on top of mine and her eyebrows shot up her forehead.

"I…you…you want us to?"

I laughed, her question was absurd to me. "Of course I want you to!"

"With Tyler…he's…he's hard work and…I…"

I grinned at her. Over her shoulder I could see Tyler trying to open his gumball machine toy. His little tongue was poking out the side of his mouth as he concentrated in the sphere in his hand. When the ball popped open his face filled with a grin so familiar to me that I smiled myself. I knew he could be hard work. I knew he was still adjusting to mine and Bella's relationship, but I also knew what an amazing kid he was.

"Think about it," I told Bella, knowing we were out of time to talk as Tyler climbed back into the booth seat.

"Ewood, I gotted a motorbike, look." I tore my eyes from Bella and looked at Tyler's outstretched palm.

"Cool, let's build a ramp." I grabbed the menu and laid it flat, noting the fold which made it stand up slightly off the table, the way Emmett and I used to do when we were kids.

Tyler played with the bike and menu until our food arrived while Bella and I grinned silently at each other.

After eating I offered Tyler a dessert, which made his eyes light up, a welcome sight after the morning he'd had. Once we'd ordered, he set up his ramp again and made motorbike noises rather loudly.

Bella leaned across the table, smiling at me.

"You're spoiling him," she warned me.

"Good." I took in Tyler's smile and felt a weight lift from my shoulders. "I intend to always spoil you both."

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.