Here's your update for the weekend. Love to mizzdee who is trying to get thru a stack of MASHward chapters I sent her, two weeks and I'll be on your turf lady!

Also, a shoutout to troberts for being review #100 on twcs, and Xox Crazy-Daisy Oxo for being review #200 on ffn.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Story is rated M for language, and lemons.

Chapter 37

BPOV

We started the morning grouting the first two bathrooms, and then we took the trim that had been painted the day before and were able to do the baseboard and crown molding in the living room and the dining room. Because it had been measured and cut before the guys and I painted it, all we had to do today was hang it, which made the process easier.

Edward and I went to Charlie's to make lunch, and throw in some laundry. We had made plans to eat with Charlie for dinner, so we could finish up the loads we were leaving there when we came back, excited to do some more work.

Edward and I hung the chair rail in the dining room and finished off the rest of the main floor, and then added the trim going down into the basement and then did the baseboards down there. By mid-afternoon, it was time to grout the other bathrooms and then Edward and I did the baseboards in the hallway and the two other bedrooms. Our final project of the day was grouting the kitchen tile and then we drove over to Charlie's again.

"I can't believe we got so much done today, when you look up these projects online they say they take most of the day, but we knocked them out so much quicker." I was currently looking over Edward's checklist of all the things we'd accomplished.

"There are two things you need to realize about those time frames on do-it-yourself sites, first, they're expecting someone with a basic knowledge of how to do things, if that. Also, those times are start to finish. If we had plain baseboards when we walked in this morning then it might have taken us six to eight hours to do the living room and dining room. But we would have been cutting, painting, allowing them to dry, and then hanging them. You guys had done most of that yesterday or a couple of days ago when they were there alone. So for us to just hang them, when one of us is a professional and has a nail gun, it takes a lot of the time out of it." Edward's hand reached across the console of his truck to take mine. "It doesn't hurt that we work so well together too."

Blushing, I squeezed his hand as we turned onto my dad's block. His cruiser wasn't there, so I happily let Edward in with me and got to work in the kitchen.

"Why don't you take some of your clean clothes and jump in the shower? Once dinner's in the oven I'm going to take advantage of the water pressure." I winked at Edward, who dug out a change of clothes and headed upstairs.

I boiled the water for the pasta and reheated the sauce I'd made and stuck in the back of Charlie's fridge the other day when I'd come over to wash our towels and sheets. I'd learned quick that it was easier to break laundry up so that I didn't have to forfeit an entire day at Charlie's doing it.

The baked ziti was thrown together and the clothes had been moved, leaving one load in the washer, which I would turn on as soon as I was out of the shower.

Edward came down and I ran up to take my turn, hoping that Charlie wouldn't get home in the meantime. I was only in the bathroom for fifteen minutes, but of course, Charlie was sitting with Edward in the living room when I came down. I added my clothes from today to the washer and started it, taking a moment to check on dinner before I did the same with my boys.

"I know you've got her best interest at heart, so I'm not going to question what you two do. Bella was an adult at the age of twelve, and that was mostly her mother's fault. But Bella has always been old for her years and it made my job easier to have a child that was being responsible. She'll keep you on your toes, Edward, I won't lie to you and say that she won't, but there isn't a better person to have on your side than my Bella." I got choked up at Charlie's praise, he wasn't one to get emotional often, and I knew that Edward needed an example of a positive father figure at the moment.

"I think you should take a lot more credit for Bella than you do. She's strong and smart, and she has a good head on her shoulders and a lot of that comes from you. My father isn't my biggest fan, but Bella knowing that you were always behind her let her push herself harder. She told me last night that she always knew you had faith in her." Charlie surprised me when he gripped Edward's shoulder after he'd finished talking.

"Son, sometimes parents see more for their children than they want, and it may take him a while to come around, but Carlisle loves you so let him come around in his own time. There's no point in trying to force him to see what's in front of him, his eyes will open when he's ready to see." I heard coughing and throat clearing, so I knew Charlie was done dispensing pearls of wisdom.

"Dinner should be ready in about a half hour," I called from beyond the archway.

"It smells good, Bells, what you cooking," Charlie asked from the living room.

"Baked ziti, I'm going to get working on the salad and garlic bread," I answered, leaving the boys to their talk.