BPOV
True to her word, Dr. Westen released Andy the following morning, leaving Edward more than a little relieved. Proof of this being the fact that he hadn't put Andy down or passed him off since signing all the final paperwork. We were currently on our four-hour trek back to Forks, and upon Edward's constant insistence, Andy's car seat was conveniently positioned between the two of us in my truck cab. Kudos to Edward for figuring out how to fit a modern car seat into this ancient thing.
I wasn't about to protest though, I loved spending time with my boys, and Andy seemed to be enjoying the ride as well, gurgling and cooing at all the odd sounds my engine was sputtering every few minutes. We popped a CD in and Edward was singing all of the songs to his son, albeit loudly and very off key, but it was adorable nonetheless.
About half way through the ride we stopped for gas and snacks. Edward insisted on purchasing an oversized bag of Hershey's chocolate chips, claiming that the sale price was "Too good to pass up." Yea, sure Edward.
Not that i was complaining, Andy was definitely on board with the idea, as he had been patting the side of his seat for the past thirty minutes, making little fists and loud noises until Edward would fork over a chocolate chip.
"You've created a monster." I informed, giggling as Edward proudly handed over another morsel. I held my palm upward in the hopes of procuring my own treat, which Edward obliged to by dropping half the bag into my hand.
"You're going to give me cavities." I chided, scrunching up my nose at the obscene amount of candy before shrugging and proceeding to pop the entire handful into my mouth.
Classiness be damned, Andy wasn't the only chocolate fiend in the car. Edward chuckled, shaking his head.
I smiled sheepishly, well, as best as I could around a mouthful of sticky chocolate and lifted a hand to graze the top of Andy's warm head. Andy sighed, my gesture seeming to successfully distract him from the half empty bag of chocolate. He cooed at me, reaching up playfully to pull at my fingers.
I giggled at his antics, dropping my sight from the road for just a moment to plant a wet kiss on his forehead.
"Bella!" Edward whined, dabbing at Andy's forehead. "Don't slobber on my son!" He teased, his eyes and voice filled with mirth.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "What, I just want to protect him from cooties." He informed, shrugging his shoulders in nonchalance. I stifled a snort.
"Uh huh, sure. You're not usually one to protest my kisses, Edward." I pointed out and his cheeks darkened just the slightest.
That's what you get for teasing me.
He threw another fist full of chocolate into his mouth, and I rolled my eyes.
"Your daddy is silly, Andy. I promise, I don't have cooties." I reassured the screeching toddler who just smiled obliviously up at me. "Bellda, Bellda."
0000
We made it back into town around two thirty, successfully dodging the remainder of the school day. Not that that was ever our intention...
Either way, we immediately made our way to the Cullen house as Andy was beginning to get fussy. Apparently my truck was only so amusing.
"Can you take him upstairs and give him his medicine while I switch the car seat back into the Mercedes?" Edward asked me upon parking. I nodded, unbuckling my seat belt and turning to the antsy toddler, releasing him efficiently from his straps and pulling him to my chest.
Although the doctor assured us that Andy was all but cured, we weren't going to take our chances. In Carlisle's professional opinion, although I'm sure the cautious grandparent side of him played a part in the diagnosis, Andy was still not yet back to 100 percent and therefore we should give him lots of fluids and putting him down for extra long naps. We were instructed to keep him on the medicine for the next forty-eight hours, giving him a shot of the unappealing looking pink stuff three times a day.
"Come on, dude, let's get you changed." I suggested, bouncing Andy slightly as I made my way up to the stairs, the gesture made in an attempt to keep him calm, at least until Edward joined us. His daddy always seemed to be able to calm him no matter what. It was a gift neither I, nor anyone else in his family possessed or understood. Esme insisted that Emmett was a god-awful handful as a child, and that Edward was lucky to have a well-behaved boy as they came few and far between.
I, of course, knocked on wood after that statement, not wanting karma to bite us in the ass when Andy was our age. A rebellious teen sounded so much less fun than a terrible toddler.
And yes, I was thinking of myself as part of Andy's future now. Charlie's hesitations shot to hell, I was going to be in this little boy's life as long as Edward wanted me to be. I knew that the both of them were it for me, at least, Edward was it for me. I wouldn't mind having more children when I was older.
I trotted lightly up the stairs, Andy's little head resting in the crook of my neck and his little hands fisting the material at the front and back of my shirt. He was so damn cute.
"Come on, sweetie." I announced, twisting open Edward's bedroom door and kicking my shoes off my feet. I sighed, sinking my naked toes into the plush carpet as I padded my way toward the closet and Andy's changing table.
After we got him all cleaned up and changed into a soft pair of cowboy PJ's, I carefully measured out half a teaspoon of the medication into a plastic spoon contraption, sticking the end in Andy's mouth and allowing the sticky, syrupy goop to slide down his throat.
Ick. I hated taking medication.
Andy didn't seem phased, only interested in playing with the feet of his onesie. He skillfully, and in true baby fashion, bent his entire torso over and impressively encased the entirety of his big toe into this mouth.
"Someone's teething." I remarked, a happy calm settling over me when I heard the bedroom door shut behind me and felt Edward's arms wrap around my middle. "Maybe, but I'm pretty sure he's just weird like that." Edward explained, smiling hugely as his son continued to maul his foot off.
"Is that safe?" I wondered aloud, giggling a bit to myself. Edward shrugged. "He usually stops before blood is shed." I laughed, mentally remarking on the 'usually' portion of that comment.
Edward turned his face, his lips pressing lightly to the side of my face. The scruff of 48 hours or so scratching at my sensitive skin. "Go shave, cave man." I remarked, quickly turning my own face to press my lips to his. He smiled around my mouth, his hands suddenly moving lightly over the exposed skin of my hips causing me to issue a shriek of embarrassing giggles.
"Edward!" I protested, swatting at his hands. "Stop!" I whined, wiggling my way out of his grasp and locating myself on the other side of the room. I had somehow managed to procure a pillow during my run and had it defensively positioned in front of my body.
I felt so threatening in that moment. Bring it on Edward.
He raised an amused brow at me, turning and picking up his equally amused toddler and setting him on his hip.
"Now, now, Bella. You wouldn't hit me with a pillow would you? Not when it could accidentally hurt Andy." His voice sounded so innocent. Oh, he was good.
"You don't fight fair, Cullen." I informed sullenly, carefully stepping past him and making a beeline for the door. "I'm off to spend some quality time with Alice and Rosalie, who don't use their children against me." I stuck out my tongue, tossing his pillow back onto the mattress.
"Alice and Rose don't have children, Bella." Edward pointed out, but I just shook my head. "That's where you're wrong, Eddie." I teased, feeling triumphant at the sneer I was awarded with. "Emmett is as much Rosalie's child as he is Esme's."
Edward scoffed, but chuckled nonetheless. "Touché, Swan. You win this round." And with that I was off, sprinting down the hall and to the stairs. I took one flight in three steps, worried about retaliation or, God forbid, sneak attacks from one Edward Cullen.
I was at Alice's door in record time, knocking feverishly and when an amused Rose answered the door I squeezed myself through the narrow opening and twisted the knob into 'lock' position.
"Uh... what's up James Bond?" Alice questioned, her tone completely and understandably amused.
"Nothing, just taking extra precautions incase the enemy decides to retaliate." I was smiling widely, completely aware of my silliness.
"The enemy being?" Rosalie pondered.
"Child wielding boyfriends." Alice and Rose nodded in unison as if they knew exactly what I was going on about. "He uses that boy as an excuse to get out of any fight. It's a low blow if you ask me."
I located a bag of open Doritos on the floor and proceeded to grab a handful. "I know," I started. "I can't very well participate in an all out pillow war if the other team uses a child as a shield. I call bullshit!" I ranted, smirking around a mouthful of powdered cheesy goodness.
"You should win by default." Alice suggested and the three of us agreed that if ever Andy should unwillingly become subjected to pillow fights or competitions of the like the opposing team shall win by default.
"Cheers!" I shouted, holding up half of a chip and toasting the other girl's snacks. We all laughed at our antics. Pausing for a few moments to gather ourselves.
"That was fun." I commented, reaching around to grab a soda from Alice's pink, yes pink, mini-fridge. Alice nodded her head, gesturing with a flick of her wrist to gather drink for her as well. I obliged, tossing the carbonated liquid her way.
"Equal parts fun and strange. Seriously, Swan. Are you sure Dr. Westen didn't mistakenly give you the drugs?" I shook my head. "Ha. Ha. Ms. Hale." I deadpanned with a roll of my eyes. "I'll have you know, I'm completely sober." She nodded, simply reaching into the chip bag for another round of snacks.
"If this is you sober, m'dear...I'm not entirely sure I could handle you as a drunk." Alice teased and I gave her an annoyed glare. "Whatever." I finally spoke.
Rose and Alice looked at each other with a smirk before, in unison of course, mocking me. "Whatever!" They spoke in horrible renditions of my own voice.
"You two are mean." I pointed out, they both shrugged. "Love is pain, darling." Alice reminded me, blowing me a kiss after which she completely lost herself in a round of giggles. I was sure it was the caffeine that had caused it.
After Alice had gathered herself back together we sat in amused silence eating our food and smirking at each other. It was moments before Rosalie broke the silence.
"How you holding up kid?" She wondered. I smiled.
"Pretty well, I think." I supplied, feeling my cheeks heat as flashbacks of Edward's arms around me and his lips pressed over mine flooded my subconscious. I sighed and Alice gave me a happy smile.
"My brother is so smitten with you." She pointed out, clapping her hands in a funny, Alice-like gesture. "Agreed." Rosalie said, tossing her hair over one shoulder. "You're both so in awe of each other. I swear Edward thinks you're the reason the sun rises and sets." She concluded.
"All hail, Bella! Master of the universe!" Alice chimed in, her high voice dropping an octave and a half in order to mimic her brother's tone. It was funny as hell.
"Shut up. Jasper and Emmett fall all over themselves to make you two happy as well." I reminded. They both smiled, nodding to themselves. "We do love our boys, don't we ladies?" Alice asked. Rose and I both nodded.
"It's so nice that Edward makes you happy, Bells. You're a different person when he walks into the room. I swear your smile swallows your face." Alice giggled, I rolled my eyes. "He does make me happy." I agreed, thinking about all the wonderful things he's done and said and all the experiences and trust we have shared and built. All of it done together.
"I love him a lot." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I wish Charlie would see that." I mumbled to myself, but Rosalie caught on, giving me a sympathetic smile.
"You wanna talk about it?" She wondered, moving a hand to awkwardly rest on my shoulder. The gesture was comforting nonetheless. I shrugged in response.
"Not much to talk about really. He just seems so dead set on the idea that I'm not mature enough to handle a relationship with Edward." I rubbed at my arm self-consciously. "I mean, if my own father doesn't trust me it just... it made me rethink a lot of things." Alice's eyes widened.
"Rethink? You mean... you're having second thoughts about dating Edward?" She gasped, the words coming out in shocked spurts. I gave her a halfhearted shake of the head.
"No. I mean, not anymore, at least. Edward and I talked about it, and honestly, at this point I've realized if I have to pick over making my dad happy versus making Edward happy...than I would choose Edward every time." Alice gave me a sad smile.
"It's seems really unfair, the situation he's put you in is just so... unnecessary. I mean, I love my dad... but if he ever told me I wasn't ready to be in a relationship with Jasper I would have freaked." Alice admitted, her honesty helping to lift my sullen mood.
Rosalie nodded her head as if to agree.
"I guess. Charlie also hinted that I was holding Edward back, like my presence in his life was adding all this stress and pressure to him. I didn't want to believe him at first, but even the idea of hurting Edward, and me being the cause of it. It was just... torture." Rosalie nodded, her face knowing. I was pretty sure she was recalling our conversation in the pediatrics wing a few nights ago.
"You talked it out with Edward. Right?" Alice questioned, her tone completely serious. "Of course." I answered with a nod. Talking with Edward was what I needed for clarification on the subject. If Edward felt that I had been a burden, I would have walked away for his sake. I would have been completely dysfunctional and entirely miserable, but I would have done it.
But thankfully, Edward thought the idea was as heinous as I originally perceived it to be. My only worry now was that he would change his mind and realize later that maybe our relationship wasn't a good idea.
I sighed once more.
"Are you going to talk to your dad?" Alice wondered, I nodded hesitantly. "I'm gonna have to go home at some point." I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts. "Part of me hopes that talking it out will make him see reason, but he's just so damn stubborn. I worry that he'll listen with deaf ears and issue me some kind of ultimatum." I shifted uncomfortably, stretching out my left leg that had fallen asleep sometime in the last few moments or so.
"I know that I need to apologize to him, because I was rude with ignoring his calls and making him worry and such. But, he also needs to apologize to me for flying of the handle and being unnecessarily rude to Edward. If he had concerns he should have come to me so that we could hash it out in a more private setting." It was also completely uncalled for that he sent Jacob to come get me, as if I wasn't capable of making my own decisions.
I huffed in annoyance, picturing the black brace that adorned Edward's injured hand.
"He doesn't respect my opinions or wishes... that's what hurts the most." I admitted, feeling very small all of a sudden. For the first time in weeks I thought of my mother, tears prickling at the backs of my eyes. She would have been happy for me, happy that I had found someone who cared for me as much as she once had. I have no doubt in my mind that Renee would have invited Edward in with open arms. She was my best friend, she knew me better than anyone else.
Part of me understood that the Cullens were now filling that role. The people in my life who knew me better than anyone else... and it was a complete comfort to realize that I had them to go to if things ever went wrong.
"I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself, Bells. You are being extremely mature about the situation. I'd read my father the riot act if he ever acted so out of line in front of Jasper, and I'm sure Rose would do the same for Emmett." Rosalie nodded immediately. "You haven't experienced the silent treatment until you've pissed off one Rosalie Hale." Alice remarked, Rose shrugged but nodded.
"Thanks for the warning." I answered, playing into the lighthearted air the conversation had seemed to take on.
"If anything happens and you feel like you need a place to crash, my room's always open. Although I'm sure Edward would put up a good fight when it came to sleeping arrangements." I blushed, but nodded gratefully.
"Thank Alice, Rose. You both have been so amazing... you've helped me so much, I don't know what I would do without you." I admitted, a lonely tear falling down the side of my face.
Rosalie and Alice 'awed' in unison, both of them lunging for me and tackling me into a group hug.
Things would turn out okay.
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A/n: This chapter was short and silly, but I think the story needed some comic relief. So... you people are amazing for all the reviews and hits I've received, it's so overwhelming. Really, thank you all so much!
Alrighty, so this week I'm off to college! I move in to my dorm on Thursday, so I'm gonna move this weeks update day to Wednesday and I think I'm gonna cancel the Sunday update, but just for next week. I just need to get my bearings in and then it will be back to normal updates! :)
This story is coming to an end, and it's been an incredible journey writing this with all of you. There will be about... three more chapters and an epilogue. I don't think I will post a sequel, I don't think the story needs one.
Have a great week, see you Wednesday :)
~Lauren