Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns these characters and the awesomeness that is Twilight! I'm just subjecting them to my fun little schemes.

Chapter 38

They got home from the hospital, using Kaley's booster seat for Robby. When they pulled up in front of the house, Bella looked back at the little boy who was all smiles when he saw the swing set. "Do you like to swing?" Bella asked him.

"Yes," he answered with conviction, as if he was vowing it.

"Tomorrow we can swing."

Robby's face lit up and Bella wondered what other little wonders could make this sad child so happy. She worried about where he would sleep, it was so late that she really just wanted to get him tucked into bed, he needed rest and she didn't have the energy to bath him. Grabbing a washcloth from the bathroom, Bella cleaned his little hands and feet with it after wiping his face. She gave him a t-shirt Kaley had gotten at a local baseball game, a pair of plain white underwear—also of Kaley's, and a pair of Kaley's gray pajama pants.

While Bella dressed him in the dark, being that he was half asleep and really didn't want to wake him with the light, Edward got to work on the pullout couch. He put clean sheets on it and grabbed a couple pillows from the linen closet. Robby still wouldn't let them really touch him, anytime there was contact with his skin he would push himself away from whoever had done it. Patting the bed, Edward motioned for him to climb in and as he pulled the blankets up over the little boy, Bella headed back to their bedroom.

A short time later, she felt Edward wrap his arms around her waist and pull her close as she brushed her teeth. She let him kiss her neck before leaning forward to spit out her toothpaste. Tears were already coming and she braced for it. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought him..." Edward began.

"No. No. I thought it was you. When they called. I thought something terrible happened..."

"I'm right here. See? Not a scratch on me."

Bella shook her head and walked out of the room, climbing onto their large king bed, she scooted under the covers before saying, "You broke a promise."

"What promise, baby?" he asked, looking concerned.

"You promised me you wouldn't try to play hero, that you wouldn't do anything stupid..."

"What are you..."

"Jazz told me you went into that house without even bothering to put on a suit. Edward, I won't sit back and pretend it's okay. If something happens to you..."

"Nothing is going to happen to me."

"Well, you just think about Kaley growing up without her father the next time you pull a stunt like that. You don't stop and think about your own health. Ever. You're not Superman, Edward."

"I'm sorry, love. I was just worried about Robby...shit!" Bella turned towards him quickly and he continued, "We never stopped by to check on Clair..."

"How bad was it?"

"Bad. If it wasn't for me hearing her scream, I would have thought she was dead."

"Come here. Talk. Tell me what happened..." Bella saw that wild look in his eyes, the one that mirrored the scared look Robby gave her. Laying there together, with a little lost boy on their pull out couch, Bella and Edward talked until well after three o'clock in the morning.

"Alright, here's the plan. Robby's still sleeping and I'm going to get him up soon. I'll bath him and go get him some clothes then we'll take him to the hospital. He still needs checked out and we need to stop and see Clair," Edward said as Bella was calling the school to tell them she was sick and wouldn't be making it in. She left out what Edward had told her about Clair, everyone would know soon enough.

"You bath him, I'll run and get him clothes. Your mom said she was going to take Kaley to school so I'm free until it's time to pick her up. Actually, why don't I make us all some bacon and eggs before we get started?"

As she cooked, they quietly reveled in the stillness of the house—that is until Robby began whimpering. Instinctively, Bella went to him and rubbed his cheek, "Buddy, wake up. Would you like some breakfast?" The boy looked at her, panic clear on his face until he looked around and saw that he was still in the same place he had gone to sleep the night before.

He nodded eagerly and Bella helped him over to the kitchen table. He still hesitated with Edward but he wasn't shaking, which was an improvement. While Kaley was a picky eater, usually refusing to eat her own food but take bites of Bella and Edward's, Robby's face lit up as Bella brought the food over to the table. Edward was looking at the newspaper but he set it down when Bella started putting food onto Robby's plate. He watched as the little boy looked at her but didn't pick up his fork.

"Honey, eat. It's yours," Bella reassured him. She didn't have to tell him twice. He grabbed the little fork and dug into the scrambled eggs. Edward watched cautiously, he didn't know how much the boy was starved but he did know that Robby could get really sick if he had too much. The eggs were gone and he started on the bacon, he tried to stab it with his fork instead of picking it up, letting Edward know he'd never eaten bacon before.

To show him how it was done, Edward called his name and picked up a piece off of his own plate. He bit into it before setting the rest back down. Robby followed the example, gulping down three pieces of bacon. When there was no food left, he eyed up the glass of orange juice Bella poured for him. He grabbed the glass, gulping down the entire thing. He burped a little then his eyes fell on the plate that Bella had brought over, still containing more breakfast food. She moved to add more but Edward reached out and caught her hand. The portion that had been given to him was the same portion Edward had and there was no way Kaley could have eaten that much. As Robby rubbed his stomach, it was as he'd suspected, Robby was sick.

"Buddy, when's the last time you ate?"

"At school," he said quietly, not making eye contact.

"Before school. What did you eat over the weekend?"

Robby shook his head like he didn't understand the question. That alone was answer enough. Looking at this broken little boy, Edward wondered what he should say. He had to break the news that his parents were dead...as well as his older brother. It didn't seem right, not here in him and Bella's happy home over what was probably the most nutritious breakfast the little boy had in years. He didn't know what was going to happen to the little one, though, and didn't want someone he didn't even know to tell him. "Robby, we have something to talk to you about. It's about your parents."

Robby eyes widened as he pushed the plate away, as if not wanting the evidence in front of him. "Sweetie, they can't hurt you anymore," Bella said calmly, getting eye level with him.

"Do you remember the fire last night?" Robby shook his head no. "Well, there was a fire at your house and they passed away, buddy. They can't hurt you. Ever." Edward watched, not knowing what to expect, but the little boy relaxed back in his chair. It was almost like he was taking a rest after a long trip.

Bella drove to the store to get him a few things. When she got there, she just couldn't resist. After lining the bottom of the cart with clothes, she found a cute dinosaur sheet set as well as a dinosaur night light. She debated on whether or not to buy them. Then muttered some expletives and threw the offending items into the cart. She wasn't ready for this and began to get upset with Edward, which she knew wasn't fair.

When she met Kaley, it was like the Earth moved. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that she loved the little girl instantly. Then she met Robby. Everything about this situation was different. He was abused, broken, disturbed, sweet, scared, and a wonderful little boy all at the same time. She didn't want this she told herself. She wanted a child of her own, a child that wouldn't turn their lives upside down. The problem? She was completely lying to herself, rather badly, and she knew it. The only thing different about this situation was that Robby needed her more than Kaley ever did.

Making her way to the toy section she found Tonka trucks and Lego blocks and tossed them into the cart as well. Her next stop was the shoe section and she grabbed four different pairs. If...when..they sent him to live with another family, at least she'd know he had enough clothes and things to start out with. She was just walking past the baby section, with the intention of picking up some more baby shampoo when she clumsily bumped her cart into a stroller display. As the pink stroller tipped over, she grabbed it and immediately became sick to the stomach.

The baby section was a very, very bad idea. Pushing the stroller back into place quickly, as if it could burn her, she found the shampoo and got the hell out of there. She pulled up in front of the house, heading in to get Edward to come help her carry all the bags in when she heard crying. Running up the stairs, she found Robby in the corner of the bathroom with Edward looking at him from the doorway. "What's going on?" Bella asked.

"I was just trying to get him to take a bath. He's terrified of me..."

Bella listened to her husband's broken tone, he was obviously not taking this very well. "Edward, he's just scared, he's not necessarily scared of you." Walking into the bathroom, Bella knelt in front of Robby. "Honey, Edward just wants to help you take a bath. Do you like taking baths?"

"No." The tremor in his voice made Bella want to vomit.

"Alright. What if you let me get your bath water ready and give you towels. We'll shut the door and you can do it yourself. How does that sound?"

Edward watched as Robby sat down on the floor. Bella turned on the water, making sure it was the right temperature before pulling towels and washcloths out of the closet by the tub. "I'll be right back," she said, though Edward wasn't sure who exactly she was talking to. She returned a moment later with a new outfit for Robby and baby shampoo.

"Here you go, buddy. We'll be in the next room. Just yell when you are done or if you need help. You can lock the door if you want to."

Before he could say anything, Bella pushed Edward back out into the hall and closed the door. Before she could say anything, Edward shook his head, "We can't do this."

"What do you mean?" she asked in suprise.

"My dad was right, Bella. We can't give him what he needs."

He watched as tears came to her eyes, surprised that this wasn't what she wanted to hear. "I thought you said he doesn't have anybody else."

"He doesn't, Bells. I'm not saying that we're going to throw him into the streets..."

"No, we're going to throw him into the system. The same damn system that turned it's back on him in the first place."

"Look, we're going in circles here. We can't let our emotions over wanting another child influence this decision, which is exactly what I think is happening. He needs to be with professionals who handle kids like him. I'm not trained for the after, I'm trained to get them away from the families. I don't know how to put him back together and I can't trust him with Kaley. I'm sorry that I thought this was a good idea. Last night, it was a good idea, but when we go to the hospital we really need to turn him over to someone who can help..."

"I'm scared for him. He's so tiny, Edward. Do you see how small he is?" Edward saw that she was shaking and tears were coming freely now. This is the woman he fell in love with, this compassionate, loving, motherly woman, and it broke his heart that he was unable to give her what she wanted...a child of her own. It shattered him as he stood there acting like he was strong. He had to keep up the facade for both of them.

"I know a few people who are on the waiting list to become foster parents. I'll pull every string I can but seriously, Bells, we are not prepared for this. Besides, what if you are pregnant? Right now. You know, it's possible..."

Bella snorted in a not-so-humorous-laugh sort of way, in a way that took the shattered heart he had and scattered the pieces even smaller. "I'm not, Edward. The sooner we realize this, the better off we'll both be."

He wanted to run, he wanted to walk away from her, take a break from the ridiculous last couple of days they'd been through. That was the thing, though, they had been through it together. He couldn't walk out on her, not now. Pulling her towards him, he held her for what had to have been ten whole minutes. The two of them just stood there, neither of them saying a word...until, "I know you're right."

That was all that needed said on the topic of handing Robby over, something that was going to kill him to do, but needed done regardless. He thought about Kaley and with Robby's unpredictable fears, it wasn't fair to her to be constantly exposed to that. If it had just been him and Bella, if they weren't trying so hard to have another child, he would have considered fostering Robby himself but it was too much right now. Stress was a big contributor of not getting pregnant and he couldn't expect Bella to handle all of this on her own while he worked all summer.

They heard the door jiggle and stood back expectantly. Robby seemed genuinely happy for the first time since Edward had met him. "I'm ready," Robby said, after taking a deep breath. Edward looked down at the little boy, absolutely in awe that no matter what he went through, the boy could keep a straight face. Edward didn't know what he was ready for, whether it was just being clean or simply surviving, either way the four year old was braver than him.

When they got to the hospital, Robby clung to Bella, scared of the big, white building. He loosened up when they found Carlisle, though he was still hesitant. Edward had called his father before they left. It was going to be a long day meeting with police, going back to take pictures of the house...seeing Clair. That one Bella was bracing herself for as well. They learned quite quickly that they were right to be afraid, the situation was worse than they'd expected. While Carlisle pulled some strings and got Robby in with a female doctor, Bella and Edward headed down to Clair's room on the lower level.

It had been ridiculously hard leaving him and the way he looked at Edward made Carlisle suggest they leave before either of them got to attached to the other. So, Bella followed Edward with tears in her eyes, as her heart was found Tyler outside Clair's room, still in clothes from the night before, with his head in his hands.

Now, Bella watched as Edward slid down to sit beside his close friend, and for the first time Bella watched Tyler Crowley cry. "I'm going to be a father, man. Clair's having a baby..."

"Congratulations, Ty," Edward said, patting his friends arm.

Bella knew something else was wrong, the expression on Tyler's face wasn't a good one. When Tyler shook his head, her fears were confirmed. "I cheated on her. Friday night..."

"Shit, Ty..." Bella heard Edward mutter before putting his head back to look at the ceiling. Bella wondered what would come out of Edward's mouth. Judging from his past with unfaithfulness, she imagined it couldn't be good. "Who was it?"

"Remember the girl from the bar? Her name is Holly. She's the twin sister of the girl that came onto you. Her name's Heidi."

"I don't really care what the fuck their names are, Ty. It could be Laverne and Shirley for all I fucking care! Why did you do it? How could you do it? Clair's been freaking out all damn week, scared you would be mad about the baby and here you are..."

"You knew? Wait. How?" Tyler asked, looking distraught.

"She told Bella and Bella told me..."

"How fucking long have you known? Why the fuck didn't you tell me? I thought she was avoiding me, wanting to break up. I thought that's why she was missing! Because she wanted to be! Not because she was fucking kidnapped!" Bella bit her lip, pissed off that he was placing the blame on Edward, and knowing her husband was king at guilt tripping himself.

"Tyler, this isn't Edward's fault..."

"You fucking knew too!" he practically yelled at her.

"Don't talk to her like that," Edward said, standing up and looking down at him. "You say whatever the fuck you want to me. You will not speak to her that way."

"Ty," Bella said quietly, kneeling down in front of him. She felt Edward try to pull her back by grabbing her shoulder but she shrugged him off. "Ty, look at me."

He had his head down on his knees, obviously feeling guilty. "She doesn't want me. She wants to break up, Bella. I don't want to break up with her. I love her."

"Then why did you do it? Those girls didn't want anything long term, they just wanted fun and that's what they got but why? If you loved her so much, how could you?"

"I thought she was leaving me. So while she was locked in a fucking shed while that asshole did...horrible...things to her, I was balls deep in some whore. Alright? There I fucking said it. She deserves better than me. She deserves some rich guy who can give her a huge house and a fancy car...and who can take care of her child..."

"Tyler, when's the last time you slept? Why don't you try to get some rest?" Bella said gently.

"Bella, I don't need rest. I need her."

"Then why are you out here instead of in there?" Edward asked, sounding slightly annoyed. Bella knew the cheating thing was really getting under his skin.

"Her dad won't let me."

"For God's sake..." Edward huffed.

"Alright, Edward, can you please go in and see Clair? You aren't helping things," Bella scolded.

He shook his head and left before Bella turned back to Tyler. "Look, she needs time to calm down and why the hell did you even tell her here? At the damn hospital?"

"I was mad at her. I know I'm a dick but I was. She hid this from me when if she had just been honest, I could have protected her! Anyway, I just kind of blurted it out..."

"You said it because you wanted to hurt her?" Bella asked, a confused and pissed off expression on her face.

"I told you I was a dick, alright?"

"Oh, Ty," Bella said, putting her head in her hands. "Alright, let's go."

"Where are you taking me?"

"I'm calling someone to take you home. I'll make sure she calls you when she gets out so you two can set up a time to talk."

Edward walked in and saw Clair on the hospital bed. She wasn't hooked up to many machines but she was covered in bruises. "Hey, Clair," Edward said gently after waving a greeting to James's brother and sister in law.

"Hi, Edward," she said, quietly. Her parents decided to walk out, figuring she wanted some privacy.

"So, I told him..."

"I know."

"He responded with 'I fucked someone on Friday'." The way Clair said it would have made Edward laugh had it been under different circumstances.

"Well, then, it's probably a good thing your dad kicked him out," Edward said matter-of-factly.

"No. It's not. We needed to talk...need to talk. I just don't know how to handle this. I don't know why I still love him..."

"We can't help who we love," he responded quietly, thinking of Robby.

"Some people are perfect for each other, though. Look at you. Bella is perfect for you. You two like never fight."

"That is definitely not true. We do fight. Everyone fights. If we didn't fight that would mean we didn't care about each other. There wouldn't be passion."

"Well, Ty and I are the most passionate couple I know."

"Alright, I'm going to be honest with you. I hate cheaters. Not only is it my worst nightmare that it will happen to me again—even though I do trust Bella, what happened before... it plants doubt in any relationship. Unfortunately, I have a shit ton of experience being the one on the other side, in the same position as you. There's a difference though. A big one. When Tanya did it, she did it because she could, because it was fun. When Tyler did it, this is just going from observations I've made, but he seems to genuinely hate himself for it. I don't know that it's definitely the case and quite honestly I'd love to beat the shit out of him for you but if you love him and want to try to make things work he might surprise you."

Bella walked in then and he watched her go over to her friend. "God, I can't believe this. I'm sorry I didn't look into everything. The first day you didn't show up I should have..."

"Stop. You have enough to worry about, Bells. Thank you for helping out with the kids. Matt stopped by a little bit ago to check on me and filled me in. So, Robby's staying with you guys, huh? I tried so hard to get to him when I heard the gunshots..."

"Clair, what the hell did happen? I mean, did you see any of it go down?" Edward asked, coming over to sit on the bed beside her.

"No...wait...the police didn't talk to you yet?"

"No. We wanted to get Robby somewhere he could rest. I'm supposed to be meeting with the chief of police in about a half hour or so. Why? What happened?"

"Edward, Thomas deserved to die but...Caleb..."

"I know he didn't make it. I wish I could have gotten there sooner..."

"He did it, Edward. He killed both of his parents and tried to burn the house down."

"Why did he go back inside? They found his body upstairs..."

"Apparently, they think he went in to get Robby but he underestimated the fire he started. He thought he could get him out in time. When he went back in the house, I guess he panicked and ran for his room. The police think he was trying to keep the smoke away by climbing under the mattress on his bed. Before he went in though, I guess that's when I heard daddy dearest and his wife run outside, yelling about the fire and Thomas called 911. Then I heard the gun shots—after the sirens went off and Caleb went back into the house. You guys found me soon after it all started..."

Bella watched in horror as Edward's face distorted and he bit out painfully, "That means...Oh God...no..."

"What?" Clair asked, a worried, sympathetic look on her face. Bella was pretty sure her face was mirroring Clair's.

"He was still alive. He was still alive when I got there. Oh my, God..."

"You were trying to get Robby out of the basement," Bella protested exactly what she knew he was blaming himself for.

"No, Bella, I ran upstairs. I was in that room. The same damn room they found him in...he was probably still alive then. I could have fucking saved him..."

Wow, I couldn't believe all the responses I got about Robby—and they were definitely mixed responses lol I'm going to do my best to make you all happy so have faith in what's happening with Robby right now. The next chapter will involve a verbal bitch slapping from Rose—to Edward, a peek at drunken Edward, and Bella—well you'll have to see :) Anyway, I should be updating tomorrow so leave me a nice review today! I know this chapter didn't give many answers to the questions I'm sure you're all dying to know but things will eventually come together. Love, LP xxoo