I don't own these characters. They are the sole property of Stephenie Meyer. I only borrow them. No humans are permanently harmed through my actions, though I do confess to harassing, annoying, torturing, and exasperating them – just because it's fun. I make no money from my little stories, sad day. I only play in the sandbox, I didn't build it.

Author's Note: At last...

Chapter 37: New Lives

Bella's POV

The day passed by at an agonizing pace. Cassidy seemed to know I was useless and used every trick in the book to get her grandparents to pay attention to her. It worked. Finally, Mom and Dad went home and Edward's parents kept us company.

Every time I looked at a clock I noticed only the smallest amount of progress. At every moment, I tried to imagine where Edward was and what he was doing.

Edward is boarding his plane. He would be nervous, shifting from foot to foot, but trying not to look nervous.

Edward is flying. I wondered if he had anyone to talk to, or if he was sitting there alone, wondering what the future held.

Edward is looking out the window at the clouds, hopefully thinking about me and Cassidy. Maybe he would even pull out the picture of us he kept in his wallet. Maybe there was an old lady sitting next to him and she'd ask him about the picture…and he'd smile and tell her that it was a picture of his wife and daughter and that he was joining the Army for us.

Edward's plane is landing. He'd be in St. Louis now, half a country and yet a world away. I wouldn't touch him for three long months. He wouldn't hold Cassidy or me for a long time. How would we survive?

Edward is on a bus going to Ft. Leonard Wood. He'd probably be surrounded by other guys who were going there too. Surely he wasn't the only one going to Ft. Leonard Wood at the same time. What was it like on that bus? Quiet? Rowdy? Would he be able to text me? My phone stayed silent, so I was guessing not.

Edward is arriving at the fort. He was theirs now; he belonged to the Army.

Edward is…

It was there that I lost the thread of my conjecture. What was Edward doing? Was he there? Would he be allowed to call? Sgt. Mann had said he would, but he also warned us that the Army was in control of every small aspect of Edward's life now, from when he used the bathroom to when he used the phone.

Then my cell phone rang and I almost dropped it in my haste to answer it.

"Hello? Edward?" At first, all I could hear was a lot of yelling and a confusing mixture of voices.

"Aw, baby," I finally heard him say. "God, it's so fucking good to hear your voice." He sounded tired. Beyond tired, he sounded exhausted and overwhelmed. "I'm here." I heard more yelling in the background. "I can't talk long, and I don't know when I'll get to call again. You'll be getting a letter from the Army soon, giving you my address. I'll write to you as soon as I can, but I don't know-"

"Time's up!" I heard a loud voice boom in the background.

"Gotta go, babe," Edward rushed. "Love you, love Cassidy!"

"I love you, too-" But there was nothing but a dial tone.

Edward was gone.

~RFL~

The next few days passed by very, very slowly. I kept my cell phone with me everywhere I went, even in the bathroom when I showered. I kept it right there on the vanity, turned up all the way so I wouldn't miss a single call. Cassidy was as out of sorts as I was, fussy and restless. I was sure she missed her Daddy. Edward had been the center of her world, even more than I was. So I started doing all the things that Edward had gone with her, trying to bring us both a little closer to him.

When she woke up in the morning, I carried her downstairs and made her bottle, sitting in Edward's favorite chair to feed her. I even sang to her, though my voice probably sounded like frogs croaking compared to Edward's smooth tones. She seemed to enjoy it anyway. On the third full day alone, I bundled her up in her car seat and we went to my parents' house.

My mom was running down the stairs before I even got Cassidy out of her car seat. "How's Edward?" she said. "Have you heard from him?"

"Not since that first day," I answered, knowing I sounded like a petulant child. I couldn't help it. I was petulant, and childhood wasn't so very far away.

Mom cradled my face in her hands and brushed back my hair. "Oh sweetie," she murmured. "This must be so hard for you." Then she hugged me hard. "But I'm so proud of you…of both of you!" I wanted to ask her if she had been drinking. Of course, since Cassidy's birth, she had mellowed considerably.

"Come on," she said. "You go inside. It's getting a little chilly. I'll get the little missy out of the car. You go on."

I trudged up the stairs and was soon in my father's embrace. He smelled like gun oil and peppermints and I found the mixture oddly comforting. I fought against the urge to cry like a little girl, but he seemed to sense it anyway and hugged me even tighter. "You doing okay, little girl?"

I nodded, even though I wasn't. He gave me a rueful smile and I knew my father had seen through my subterfuge, as he usually did. He kissed the top of my head and escorted me into the house. I heard Mom talking to Cassidy, telling her what a beautiful girl she was. Whatever my mother's feelings about the pregnancy had been, she was turning out to be a spectacular grandmother.

Mom told me to sit and relax while she puttered around the kitchen and Dad and I sat at the kitchen table, Cassidy happily settled on Dad's lap. I watched the two of them interact with my daughter and had to smile, because you'd never guess by looking at them that Cassidy had arrived years ahead of schedule and had been the ultimate in unexpected blessings.

"Are you keeping yourself busy, kid?" Dad asked.

I laughed and nodded toward Cassidy. "Uh, yeah, whether I want to or not."

He smirked. "Well besides that. I meant, are you doing anything for yourself?"

I just sort of stared at him.

Dad cleared his throat and looked at my mother, who just nodded. "Well, your mom and I have been talking…" He looked down at Cassidy. "And I know the deadline for registering for classes has passed, but your mom sat down with Mrs. DiGorgio and they sort of uh…they pushed your records through and you've been accepted to take some online courses…if you want."

"But classes have already started," I said, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Mom sat down and took my hand in hers. "Yes, most of them have started, but there are some classes that only go half of the semester and there are still openings in those." She smiled at Cassidy. "I realize that Esme and Carlisle are there to help you with the day to day stuff if you need it. But even though I work during the day, I'd be happy to watch our girl in the evenings so you could study or whatever." She brushed her knuckles over my cheek. "I think the time will go by faster if you have something that's just for you. But if you don't want-"

I hugged her so tightly that she stopped talking. "OH!" It was all I could say. I thought that taking a class or two might be just what I needed. With online classes, I could still make sure that Cassidy was getting my full attention, and with four willing grandparents to help, I was sure we could make it work.

Mom laughed and squeezed me back. "See," she said, looking at my father. "I told you she'd like the idea!" But of course, she was crying too by that point.

Dad shook his head and watched the two of us blubbering like idiots. "And your mom and I want to pay for the classes. I know you and Edward want to do this on your own, but this would really mean a lot to us. You'll want to be paying for your own stuff as soon as Edward's out of boot camp, I guess. But we'd still like to help with education expenses. We'd planned to do that all along anyway."

"Oh, Daddy," I said. "Thank you…so much. You don't know what this means."

Dad looked down at Cassidy, who was drooling all down her onesie. "Yeah, kiddo, I think we do. Besides," he added with a wink. "We've gotta do the patriotic thing and support our troops…and their families."

And cue the waterworks. Again.

~RFL~

On Sunday night, my phone rang – finally – with Edward's ring tone. "Edward?"

He sighed and laughed, though even through the phone I could hear his exhaustion. "Yeah, babe, it's me."

I breathed and cried all at the same time, which wasn't easy. "How are you?" I laughed. "I miss you. I love you."

"I'm surviving. I miss you too. I love you, babe. So much…" He took a deep breath. "Is Cassie okay?"

"She's driving me crazy," I answered. "Missing her daddy like mad."

Another shaky laugh from Edward. "God, I miss her like crazy too." I heard voices in the background.

"So…you don't have privacy for phone calls?" I guessed.

"Not yet," Edward answered ruefully. "You don't get shit in the Army until you earn it."

"Ouch."

"Tell me about it," Edward said.

"So…what's it like?" I asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said. "Let's just say that the Army has a procedure for everything we do, from how we hold our cups at dinner to how we wash our balls."

"What?"

"I'm telling the truth," Edward insisted with a laugh. "Ain't that right, Whit?"

"Whit?" I heard a voice yell agreement in the background.

"Whit was on my flight here," Edward explained. "He ended up in my company. Can you believe that?"

"I'm glad you know someone there," I said. "Well…kind of, I guess."

"Ah hell, now we're Army buddies," Edward said. "We're stuck with each other for life!"

"Fuck that shit!" I heard a voice yell in the background. I assumed it was Whit.

"Anyway," Edward continued suddenly. "I don't have long. Drill Sergeant is giving us the signal. You'll be getting a letter from me soon. I'll call when I can, but we can lose our phone privileges when someone fucks up." His voice turned sour. "And someone always fucks up."

"Oh," I said. I had wanted to put his mom on the phone, or his dad. I wanted to maintain this tenuous connection for as long as I could, and hearing that it was almost over was like a punch in my gut.

"Yeah, I know," he said softly. "I feel the same way." Then he laughed softly. "Oh, and there'll be a text coming through soon before I get my phone taken up." There was a long pause. "I love you, Bella. So much. Give everyone my love, but save most of it for you and Cassidy. Tell her that Daddy loves her and misses her. Don't let her forget me."

"I will, and I won't," I babbled. "Shit, I mean-" He laughed.

"I understand," he whispered. "Gotta go. Love you."

"Love you too," I said, and then the phone went dead. I stared at it for a while and was so surprised by the text tone that I almost dropped it. It was a picture. I opened it and wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh or cry.

It was my Edward, making a goofy face. But he was bald – or at least next to it. They had shaved off all that beautiful hair and I wanted to cry. He already looked thinner, and there were dark circles under his green eyes. But his smile was the same one I'd fallen in love with. I saved the picture.

I fell asleep that night with the phone under my pillow, replaying every word he'd said to me, every single inflection in his voice.

We would make it through this.

We would.