SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SUMMER NIGHTS REACHED OVER A THOUSAND REVIEWS!!!!! That literally makes me squeal with excitement! Thank you guys for all your reviews!

So we're getting into the HEA now. I've gotten a few questions about how many more chapters are left. I have a few things to address, one being Jacob's potential departure from Chicago, and have some loose ends to tie up. Right now, it's outlined for an even 40 chapters with an epilogue fast forwarding 10 years, but if I feel like it's rushed or I've crammed too much into it, I may add an extra chapter. You obviously know how I write by now; it just kind of hits me and I type it out.

I completely forgot to mention this on last chapter's A/N, so if you're not reading anything else I've got going right now, here it is. If you have, ignore ;)

I'm doing a collab and a one-shot for the Countdown to Christmas--Have Yourself A Smutty Little Christmas (the name says it all, hehe). It starts posting Dec 1st and will be 24 days of lemony goodness. The intro's already been posted. If you're interested, add it to your alerts.

Here's the link: http://www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5477548/1/

The adoption info is based on the IL website. If it's outdated, I apologize...I live in IN so we don't have the same adoption laws.

A lemony scene is ahead!

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Chapter 36

Edward

Thank God for Jasper Whitlock. He'd managed to come in and convince social services to leave Aiden with us, even though we weren't foster parents or involved with the system in any way, on the basis that he'd be traumatized enough with his kidnapping from the only home he'd ever known and that he'd lived in the detrimental conditions Jane and Felix had forced upon him for almost three months. He was skittish and scared, of men in particular, and Jasper testified that he'd seen a vast improvement in him in the last two weeks that he'd been with us.

Bella had her stitches removed and was now walking around without crutches, only limping occasionally. My shoulder was still sore as hell, and I was scheduled to start physical therapy just after Thanksgiving, something I was not looking forward to.

Alice was in and out of our house constantly, working with Bella on the wedding plans. She'd found a minister and the supposed perfect spot in a small valley just outside the city. They'd picked out flowers and all the other necessary arrangements. The only thing missing was Bella's dress, and they had plans for a fitting this weekend, since it was going to be an Alice Whitlock original.

I was completely amazed at my sister's ability to throw something so big together in a span of just two weeks.

I followed Bella into our adoption lawyer's office and sat in the seat next to her, shifting Aiden on my lap so that I could see J.D. Walker clearly.

"Well," J.D. said with an easy smile. "Let's get straight to it, shall we?"

We both nodded our assent, too nervous to speak aloud.

"You both have met each and every requirement of the adoption laws here in Illinois and in Texas." I heard Bella breathe a sigh of relief. "Except one. You're unmarried. Illinois law states that couples looking to adopt a child must be married for at least a year. Now, given the circumstances, we can most likely go to a judge and have that requirement waivered. You have a wedding date set for the very near future, and will most likely be married before we can even get the paperwork processed." He waited to make sure we understood before continuing. "Now, we can go that route or I can file the paperwork so that only one of you adopts Aiden now, and then you'll need to file the necessary paperwork after you've been married for a year so that both of you are legally his parents. It's your decision."

"What's your guarantee that a judge will waive the requirement of us being married?" I asked curiously.

He cocked his head, thinking about it. "I'd say about ninety percent. You two are excellent candidates as parents for him. He's already been observed to have taken very easily to the two of you. I don't see there being a problem."

I never even had to look to Bella for the answer. It was coming off of her in waves, saturating my mind and body. She wanted us to adopt him together, as a couple and a family.

"We want to try and get the requirement waived," I said evenly.

"Very well. Give me just a moment and I'll have the necessary paperwork drawn up for you to sign. I don't see why we can't file this afternoon and maybe we can get a decision before the Thanksgiving holiday." He smiled at us as he got up and left the room.

"Oh, God," Bella breathed nervously. "I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest."

"I know how you feel," I grumbled.

"What if the judge says no?" Bella asked fearfully.

"Then we'll just start the process all over with only one of us applying to adopt him. He's ours Bella," I said comfortingly. "We just have to make it legal." I looked at her tenderly. "Surely after everything we've been through we deserve some sort of happiness. Wouldn't you think?"

She nodded yes. "You're right. It'll work out." She bit down on her lip. "Won't it?"

I chuckled. "Yes, a ghrá."

"I'm sorry, I'm just so scared we won't get approved. And the waiting is killing me."

"The wait won't be much longer," J.D. said as he came back in the room. "Most likely a few days before you hear the judge's decision. After that, he's yours. All you have to do is let the courts process the paperwork." He sat down and got a couple pens from his desk drawer. "If I didn't think you would be approved, I wouldn't let you file the appeal."

Bella seemed mollified with that answer and nodded. J.D. started flipping through the papers, explaining what each section meant and pointed to where Bella and I needed to sign and initial. As soon as we'd finished, he put the paperwork in a manila envelope and set it aside.

"Well," he said with a genuine smile, "without sounding premature, I'd like to tell you congratulations. You'll make excellent parents." His gaze flickered to Bella. "Again."

We shook his hand and thanked him, and we left feeling more at ease with the situation.

The afternoon was brisk and breezy, but not unbearable, so we decided to take Aiden to the park for a couple hours before we went home--since both of us were both off work and had nothing better to do.

I turned him loose and watch him run straight for the slide, stumbling over his feet and doing a face plant into the grass on his way there.

"Shit," I muttered, as I raced over to his side. "Hey, there, little man. You've got to be careful. Are you okay?"

He sniffled and a big tear rolled down his cheek. "No. Ai-en get boo boo."

"Ah, well, let me see it and I'll make it better," I cajoled.

Aiden held out his hand and I saw the reddened area on the palm of his hand where he'd scraped the skin as he landed. I wiped it carefully and blew on it to help relieve some of the stinging and then gave his palm a gentle kiss. I looked over his hand at his face and saw the wide grin spread in response.

"There, see? All better." I ruffled his hair. "Now, get out there and play. We'll be right over there watching you." I pointed to the bench that Bella was sitting at.

"O-tay."

I made sure he got to the play set before I turned away and walked back over to where Bella was sitting. I wrapped my arm around her and hugged her against my chest while she continued to stare wistfully in the distance.

"Bella? Baby, are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

"Yeah," she said, snapping out of the trance. "I'm fine. I was just realizing how incredibly wonderful you are as a father." I gave her a strange look. "I mean, you've always been great with Eli. And I know that both of us consider him to be ours, but it always just felt...I don't know. Like practice, maybe?" Her cheeks flamed with color. "I'm probably not explaining it right."

"Well, he's not practice, Bella. I feel just as strongly for him as I do Aiden. As I will any biological child we might have."

She shook her head with frustration. "That didn't come out right. I just worried that when we have our own children, that your feelings towards him might change. That you'd still love him, but it would be a different kind of love than you have for your child. But watching you with Aiden, I saw just how stupid that fear really was. You're their dad, regardless of how they came to you."

I nodded once. "I am. Which is the perfect segue for something I've been thinking about lately." She looked at me expectantly. "You're not on the pill anymore," I said bluntly, watching Aiden cross the bridge.

"No," she said softly. "With all the drugs they were pumping into me at the hospital, it didn't really matter if I started a new pack or not. My prescription hasn't expired if you want me to get back on it."

"I'd rather you didn't." I snuck a glance at her and saw her eyes were wide with shock. "My feelings on starting a family with you right away haven't changed, Bella. We're just doing things a little differently than we'd expected."

"Oh."

"If you don't want to take the chance of getting pregnant anytime soon, I'll understand. I'm not telling you that we have to have a baby now. I'd just...like to."

I watched Aiden tentatively walk over to another little boy and start playing in the sand with him. The scene suddenly changed, and instead of the strange boy playing in the sandbox with him, I saw Eli showing him how to build a sandcastle or helping him load sand into the back of a dump truck, both of them making puttering sounds and engine growls. The sweet sound of a baby cooing was in the background.

The proverbial happily ever after.

"Okay," she said resolutely.

I kissed her hair. "Okay."

Standing at the baggage claim at Chicago O'Hare, I thought I was going to explode with anticipation. Bella and I kept close watch on Aiden, but our eyes kept darting over to the terminal for the first sign of Eli and Charlie. Neither one of us could wait to see his lanky body come bounding over to us as he spotted us, grinning his huge smile the entire way. It had been almost a month since we'd seen him last, and as I sat there waiting for his flight to arrive, I idly wondered if he'd changed any--if his hair was longer, if he'd gotten taller, if some of the roundness of his face from his baby days had disappeared any.

God fucking damn it, come on.

And just like the way I'd pictured it, he came running over to us and launched himself into each of our arms as soon as he saw us. He started to ramble about the plane ride, then stopped short at the sight of Aiden tugging on Bella's sleeve.

"Momma?" he asked, giving Aiden a quizzical look. "Who's that?"

She smiled nervously. "This is Aiden. We're hoping he'll be your brother soon." His eyes bugged out dramatically. "Is that okay?"

"I get a brother?" he squealed. "And I don't have to wait for him to come out of your belly?"

I chuckled. "No, not this time, squirt. We're trying to adopt him."

"Adopt?" he asked in confusion.

"He doesn't have a mommy or a daddy, so Edward and I are signing a bunch of papers so we can be his mom and dad," Bella explained.

"Wow," he said in awe as he walked over to Aiden. "Hi," he said happily. "I'm Eli. Your big brother."

Christ, I thought my heart would implode in my chest with joy at that exact second.

Bella nudged Aiden closer. "Can you tell Eli 'hi'?"

"Hi," he said shyly.

Eli pointed to the car in Aiden's hand. "Do you know who that is?" Aiden shook his head no. "That's Doc Hudson. He's Lightening McQueen's friend. He's a race car, too."

With that simple statement, we blended--molded--into a family of four. I didn't expect everything would be easy--there were bound to be a few fucking ups and downs--but things as they were now, were perfect.

I watched Bella crouch down and hug Eli against her body before kissing him lightly on the cheek and playing with the two of them as we waited for their bags to be loaded onto the carousel. I sensed Charlie walk up next to me and turned towards him.

"Looks like you've gotten yourself a family, Edward."

"Yes, sir," I replied with a genuine grin.

He nodded. "He looks a lot like you."

"He does," I agreed. It was uncanny, the resemblance Aiden had to me.

"He's not somehow yours anyway, is he?" Charlie's eyes bore into mine.

I resisted the urge to fidget nervously under his stare. "No, he's not." Charlie merely arched his brow so I continued. "He turned three in August. Do the math, Charlie. I was either already in Iraq or still training to be a Devil Doc when he was conceived. Regardless, I wasn't sleeping with anyone during that time, so it's impossible. Besides, I think I'd know if he was mine or not. I had a strong enough connection to him as it was, I'd like to think I'd have an even greater one if he was my biological son." I gave him a smug smile. "And when he had his blood drawn to determine that he was in fact Aiden Corrigan, his DNA matched to the parents they have on file. Both of them."

"But you don't know who they are."

I shook my head. "No. We're not allowed that kind of information. If Aiden wants to know who they are when he gets older, then we'll help him any way we can. Until then, I frankly couldn't give a shit."

He chuckled. "You're good for her, Edward. Even if you did bring a whole slew of crazy her way."

I was thrilled with his approval. "Thank you. I'm glad you think so because I plan to be around for a long, long time."

The carousel began moving and Charlie and I went to grab his and Eli's bags. I took Eli's heavy suitcase in one hand and sat it behind us, earning a disapproving grunt from Charlie in response.

"I may be injured, but I'm not an invalid," I said casually.

"Just don't want you to screw anything up," he mumbled.

"Thanks for the concern, but I'm fine. Honestly."

He nodded as he grabbed the last duffle bag and helped me load it onto the cart. Bella took Eli and Aiden's hands and led them behind us to Bella's car. As soon as everyone and everything was loaded up, I drove us home. I looked in the rearview mirror and noticed how cramped it was in the backseat with Aiden's large car seat and Eli's booster seat; there almost wasn't enough room for Bella in between them.

It looked like I would be replacing both of our cars soon.

We spent the rest of the evening watching Aiden get acquainted with Charlie and Eli. He would occasionally revert back to the jumpy, fearful little boy he was when we first found him, but like the missing piece to our lives that he was, his niche was with us.

Bella had gotten Charlie settled into the guest room upstairs while I helped Aiden change into his pajamas and brush his teeth. Eli came bouncing in what was now Aiden's room, grinning mischievously.

"What's up your sleeve?" I asked skeptically.

"Nothing. Edward, does Aiden have to call you daddy?" he asked curiously.

"Well, eventually he will, I suppose. But I think I'd rather him call me 'da' like Daideo called his father. And he'll call Bella 'mommy' like you do. Why?"

"Shouldn't we start teaching him?" I looked at him blankly. "To call you 'da' and Mommy, 'mommy'?"

"I'm not sure. Don't you think we should wait until we know for sure we're going to be his parents?" I asked, cocking my brow.

"No. He's ours. Right Aiden?"

Aiden gave Eli a sweet smile. "Yes." I had a feeling Aiden had no idea what we were talking about.

Eli took this as a sign to continue. "Edward's your da, Aiden. And my mommy's your mommy, too. We're brothers. Pretty cool, huh?"

Aiden grinned and looked at me. "Da?"

"Yeah, buddy. Da," I said warmly, feeling the love for him surge through my veins, and kissed the end of his nose.

The mischievous grin was back on Eli's face. Obviously, the daddy conversation had only distracted him.

"Edward? Can Aiden and I sleep together in my room? Like a sleepover?" He paused for a beat. "Please?" He drug out the 'please'.

I chuckled. "It's up to your brother."

God, I loved the way that sounded.

"Want to sleep with me? We can camp out on the floor!" Eli said excitedly to Aiden.

"Yeah!" Aiden hopped up and raced out of his room with Eli.

I chuckled and started to get up, but stopped when Eli came skidding to a halt at the door way. He bit his lip nervously and looked everywhere but where I was sitting.

"Hey, brat," I teased. "Quit chewing on your lip before you bite it off." He slowly released his bottom lip from his teeth. "What's the matter?" I asked with a laugh.

"Aiden's going to call you 'da'. What do I call you?"

I almost choked on my tongue. "Um, Edward's fine."

He looked sad. "There's nothing I can call you, too?" Bella quietly came and stood behind him.

"Uh, well, I really don't know." I could feel my face heating up in embarrassment. I looked up at Bella who was silently watching our exchange with wide eyes. "Um, I-I mean," Fuck, "would your dad be mad?"

"Oh, I don't know." He looked so forlorn. I couldn't stand it.

God damn it, I hope I don't fuck everything up with this.

"Eli?" He looked up at me. "You can call me 'da', too."

He beamed at me. "You mean it?"

"Of course I mean it." I motioned for him to come to me with my hand. "Get over here."

He rushed over and gave me a hug, knocking me back and causing the nerves in my shoulder to twitch violently with pain but I didn't give a shit. Eli accepting me as his father was more important to me than my aching shoulder.

I kissed his hair and held him against me. "I love you, buddy."

"I love you, too, Da."

My heart leapt in my chest. It was one of the best things I'd ever heard in my thirty years, second only to Bella's first 'I love you'.

Bella

Edward and I put the boys to bed in Eli's room, and shut the door, listening to their giggles and chattering begin as soon as it latched. We went downstairs, hand in hand, and started getting ready for bed.

After I'd brushed my teeth, I looked over at Edward and grinned. "What now, Da?"

He turned to face me, grinning from ear to ear. "Doesn't matter. Are you tired?"

"Not really."

He nodded, never breaking eye contact with me. We stood at a standstill, just staring at each other as the temperature of the room slowly rose, making me flash with heat. I took a hesitant step closer to him and felt the electricity flow between us and my heart pummel my ribcage. His eyes darkened as he raked my body appreciatively, eyeing the little satin number I'd innocently put on earlier.

Or maybe it wasn't so innocent. It had been almost three weeks since we'd had sex and I had to admit, I was a little desperate for it, for the feel of Edward's skin against mine and the taste of his mouth...

Something inside me snapped. I didn't care that Charlie was upstairs asleep. I didn't care that Eli and Aiden were most likely still awake, playing together on the floor instead of trying to sleep. I didn't care that my leg was still tender to the touch or that Edward only had the use of one hand. I wasn't sure if it was because of the amount of time that had passed since I'd last felt him against me, or if it was because my hormones were jumping all over the place now that I wasn't taking any form of birth control. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. Because at that exact moment, I needed nothing else but Edward.

"How's your leg?" he asked, swallowing convulsively.

"Fine," I whispered.

"Good."

In one long stride, he'd closed the distance between us and had cupped the back of my neck to pull me into a passionate kiss. His lips were demanding against mine, his tongue probed deeply as his hand grazed across my shoulder and gently pushed the strap of my nightgown down. He brushed his fingers along my collarbone as he made his way to the other side, repeating the action, and smiled against my mouth as the nightgown landed on the floor with a soft whooshing sound.

I wanted his shirt off, needed his shirt off, but was unable to do anything with it since his arm was in the sling. I fisted it in my hands in frustration, moaning into his mouth as he pinched and rolled my nipple with his fingers.

He broke away, scowling, and pulled the sling off his arm in one quick movement; his shirt immediately followed it. He carefully moved his arm so that he could cup the back of my neck again and pull me into another long, insistent kiss while his other hand roamed my body, tracing the contours of my breasts and hips before he tugged at my panties and pushed them down to my ankles.

I stepped out of them just as his hand went between my legs, stroking the damp skin there. He nipped and sucked on my lips as I fumbled with his boxers, finally getting them down his hips and feeling his dick bounce lightly against my stomach.

"Counter, Bella. Now," he growled.

We turned, our lips never parting, and I raised myself up so that I was sitting on the counter. His hands pushed my legs apart while his lips broke away from mine, moving down my neck and to my collarbone, licking the skin there slowly, before continuing down my body.

"Put your feet on the counter," he murmured against my breast.

"What?"

"Put your feet on the counter," he demanded harshly, grabbing my feet and putting them on the edge of the counter.

His fingers skimmed up my legs as he looked me over, grinning wickedly. "That's much better. Now I can see you."

I whimpered and threw my head back against the mirror the moment his tongue flicked my clit, sending a white-hot streak of pleasure racing through my veins.

"Edward," I moaned, taking my lip between my teeth.

"Fucking hell, baby. You taste so good. I could do this all day," he said thickly.

"N-" My words were cut off as soon as he put his fingers inside me.

I could feel my release coming on fast and hard. I pushed into him, urging to move faster. He curled his fingers inwards and bit down on my clit, causing me to erupt into a blinding orgasm. I thought he'd let me come down, but instead, he kept working my body, humming against me and causing me to come again.

Satisfied with himself, he stood up and wrapped his arm around me, sitting me on the floor and spinning me around.

"I want to watch your face in the mirror when I fuck you," he said, pressing his dick into my ass.

I groaned and reached behind me, grabbing his waist and pulling him closer to me. "Now, Edward. Please," I pleaded.

He pushed my legs apart further and bent me over the counter as he slowly entered me, moaning indecently as he did.

I started to close my eyes but was stopped by Edward placing a quick, painless slap on my ass. I looked at him behind me in the mirror and saw the sinful grin stretch across his face as his eyes flashed darkly.

"Watch," he commanded, bending down and grazing his teeth across my shoulder.

His motions were long, fluid, as he moved deeply inside me. He gradually changed the tempo, speeding up so that I had to press my hand against the mirror to brace myself. He hovered over me, stroking my back and kissing trails along my spine, looking at us over my shoulder the entire time, as he continued to thrust in and out of me.

He shifted, pressing his chest against my back and placing his hand over mine on the mirror. Our bodies bounced together as he drove into me harder, faster. I watched him in the mirror, noticing how incredibly beautiful he was, and as soon as our eyes met, I lost it. I came quick, pulsing violently around him and felt him start to let go.

His eyes blackened and his jaw clenched as he pushed into me one final time, grinding my name out between his teeth in a shout as he pulsed inside me.

He rested his head on my shoulder, and he traced his thumb over my knuckles as we both struggled to control our breathing.

He turned his head and placed a gentle kiss on the hollow at the base of my throat where my pulse was still thrumming against the skin.

"Think we made a baby?" he asked, smiling against me.

"We'll just have to see."

"Bella! Edward!" Alice came running to the door as soon as we walked inside. "Where is he?"

"Right here," I laughed, moving out of the way so she could see Eli.

"Eli!" she squealed, beaming at him. "Oh, I missed you! Did you have fun with your grandpa Charlie?"

"Yeah. Aunt Alice, will you play Monopoly with me while Mommy and Da help Mamó cook dinner? You have to help Aiden."

"I'd love to play Monopoly with you. Go set it up in the living room and I'll see if Uncle Emmett and Uncle Jazz want to play, too."

"Yay!" Eli grabbed Aiden's hand and took off to the living room.

"Da?" she asked Edward, looking at him curiously.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I am, aren't I?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Jacob's worthless. I swear-"

"Alice." Edward cut her off harshly.

I looked between them in confusion, trying to figure out what it was I'd missed but was interrupted by Esme coming into the foyer.

"There you are," she said, relieved. "I could use a professional's help."

"Sure," I said lightly. "Lead the way."

She took my hand and looked at Edward and Charlie behind me. "Nice to see you, Chief Swan. Make yourself at home!"

We were spending the entire day at Carlisle and Esme's for Thanksgiving. The women were expected to help Esme with dinner preparations and decorating, while the men were expected to entertain the boys and watch football. Apparently, the Cullen men were huge Notre Dame fans.

The Fighting Irish--go figure.

"I know you're not a pastry chef, but I was hoping you could work on the turnovers and pies while I start everything else. The turkey's already in the oven, and I've got the timer set so we can baste it every hour." She handed me a list. "I'm sorry, I'm a mess. I'm running behind."

I wrapped one arm around her in a quick hug. "It's okay. We'll get it all finished in time."

She patted my arm and nodded. "You're right. I just want it all to be perfect. It's your first Thanksgiving with us and I want it to be special for you and Eli. And Aiden now, too. I'm also hoping Charlie feels welcome enough to join us each year." She looked at me, a little misty eyed and smiled. "I have grandkids. Thank you, Bella."

I laughed. "You're welcome. But I didn't have that much to do with it. Edward accepted Eli as his own and we both feel extremely fortunate to have found Aiden."

She dabbed her eyes with her fingers. "I'm so happy that you guys decided to adopt him. I'm not even going to push for you and Edward to have a baby any time soon. If you never do, that's fine with me."

I gave her a sly grin. "Actually, Esme, we're hoping that we would have a baby in the next year or so."

She gasped. "You're kidding!"

I shook my head and giggled. "No. I'm not really worried about when it happens, but I think your son wants it immediately. Like, wishing I was already pregnant, immediately."

"I knew I loved him for a good reason," she teased.

Esme and I continued to talk as we worked on dinner and were eventually joined by Alice and Rosalie, even though Rosalie couldn't cook to save her life. I had to constantly correct her mistakes and keep a steady eye on what she was doing so that she didn't burn or ruin anything, which eventually got on her nerves.

"All right, damn it. Bella, leave me alone or I'm not helping anymore," she said with a laugh.

"Well, if you'd quit screwing up, I wouldn't be hovering over you. I mean, damn, Rosie, how hard is it to mix a freaking pack of cranberry Jell-O together and put the diced fruit in it? I gave you the simplest thing and you still messed it up!" I giggled.

She flicked the spoon at me, splattering cranberry Jell-O all over my face.

My mouth opened indignantly and I threw my spoon at her. "Bitch!"

"All right, girls. I know you're just kidding around, but I'd rather my kitchen not be covered in maroon colored goo at the end of the day," Esme chided.

We both gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, Esme," I mumbled.

She grinned. "Why? I love the fact that you fit so nicely into the family. Just don't destroy my house."

We'd gotten everything finished just as four-thirty rolled around, which was exactly when Esme wanted to eat. Alice and Rosalie started lighting candles and getting everyone drinks while Esme started carrying the food to the huge table she had set up in the formal dining room.

I was currently working on mashing the potatoes, when I felt Edward's strong arm wrap around my waist and rub absent circles on my stomach as he nuzzled my neck.

"I'm starving," he whined. "Hurry it up."

I gently elbowed him. "It's finished, I've just got to mash the potatoes. Why don't you be the gentleman I know your mother raised and help her carry the food into the other room."

"I'm not a gentleman," he chuckled. "I'm a prick. You've told me on more than one occasion, baby."

"Ha, ha," I said dryly.

He gave me a quick kiss and snuck a potato out of the colander. I reached out to grab it away from him, but he popped it in his mouth and danced away from me agilely, snickering as he did.

"They need salt!" he called out behind him.

"Needs salt my ass," I muttered.

I whipped the potatoes and carried them into the dining room. I took my place next to Edward and no sooner than my butt hit the chair, Emmett was grabbing bowls of food and dishing huge portions out onto his plate before he passed them to Rosalie.

We all finally got served, and Edward and I focused on getting Eli and Aiden's food cut up quickly so that we could eat ourselves. Edward took one bite of his turkey and was interrupted by his cell phone ringing in his pocket. He pulled it out, intent on hitting the 'Decline' button, but instead hastily put the phone to his ear and answered it.

He put his finger in his ear to hear better, before finally getting up and leaving the room. I pushed my food around my plate, checking the doorway occasionally for the first sign of Edward, until he finally came back into the room.

As he came closer to me, I saw he had tears in his eyes. He wiped them with the back of his hand and sat down, grabbing the back of my neck and kissing me fiercely in front of his whole family.

I finally managed to get my wits back and pulled away from him. "What's going on?" I asked breathlessly.

His eyes swirled with emotion as he looked down at me. "That was J.D. The judge waived the marriage requirement yesterday and the paperwork's being processed as we speak. Aiden's officially our son."