Thanks to my betas, Sherry and Paige!

"I was tied, but now unbound

My head is off the ground

For a long time, I was so weary

Tired of the sound, I've heard before

The gnawing of the night time at the door

Haunted by the things I've made

Stuck between the burning light and the dust shade

I said now I used to think the past was dead and gone

But I was wrong, so wrong, whatever makes you blind

Must make you strong, make you strong

In my time, I've melted into many forms

From the day that I was born, I know that there's no place to hide

Stuck between the burning shade and the fading light.

I was broken, for a long time, but it's over now."

-Marcus Foster-

EPOV:

"Come on, Charlie. Let daddy get you ready to see your nana."

Charlie splashes the water around him and giggles. He loves being in the water and with his collection of rubber duckies I couldn't help but buy for him. He moves around so much though, it's so hard to fucking wash him. I don't know how Bella manages to bathe him so quickly.

"Charlie, come on buddy," I practically fucking plead as I begin to wash his hair.

"No!" He exclaims with a giggle.

I sit back on my feet and stare at him. Fucking great, his new word is fucking 'no'. Of course, he thinks it's fucking hilarious, because he can't stop giggling and clapping his hands. He laughs until he begins to hiccup and then I laugh too, because he has to be the cutest thing I've ever seen. And this is coming from a man that doesn't use the word 'cute' very often.

"What did you say, buddy?"

"Da da!"

I laugh and reach down to tickle his little belly.

"No!" He finally squeals.

"Bella," I call out with a laugh. "You've got to come hear our son's newest word."

She walks into the bathroom, still clad in her pajamas and her beautiful face without a trace of makeup. God, she's so beautiful like this. I stare at her for a moment, completely dazed like I usually am when I see her, before closing my mouth, so I'm not gaping at her like a fucking fish.

"You've got to hear his new word," I say again, before reaching down to tickle my son's belly.

"No!" He squeals again, as he smiles at me.

"Oh, no." Bella giggles, before joining me on the floor next to the bathtub. "He's going to be saying that all of the time now."

"It's sort of cute," I chuckle, although I very much wish his new word could have been fucking 'yes'.

Thank God, I don't cuss around him. How fucking embarrassing would that be? I could only imagine the look on someone's face if they heard my little baby say 'fuck'. It's his daddy's favorite word, but he won't be saying it until he's eighteen. God, I'm so fucking overprotective already.

"Hurry up!" Bella laughs and smacks my butt, before standing by the tub. "I need to take my shower and get ready if we're going to make it to your dad's apartment on time."

I love it when she gets all demanding with me. It's so fucking hot.

"I can help clean you up as well. You know, to make things go faster."

"There's an idea, champ," she teases, before retreating to the kitchen to finish up her tea.

I quickly finish up Charlie's bath and give him a minute or two to play with the bubbles before I pull the plug. As much as I want Bella's naked, wet body pressed against mine, I can't take away some of Charlie's playtime. I get him nice and dry and dress him in a nice outfit Bella bought him before taking him into the living room and settling him in his baby gym in front of the TV. He loves playing in it every morning as he watches cartoons, and I love it just as much because I know he's safe while I go about getting ready myself. I flip on the morning cartoons on Cartoon Network, before seeking my girl out.

Bella's cleaning up in the kitchen, so she doesn't see me coming. She gasps as I put my arms around her waist and pull her against my body, whispering in her ear, "Let me get you all cleaned up."

She giggles and turns to look at me. "Yes, Daddy," she teases, making me so fucking hard.

Unable to contain myself, and knowing if it were up to me I'd pull her pajama pants down and fuck her on the kitchen island. I quickly pull her out of the kitchen and down the hallway toward the bathroom before I can act on my impulses. I start the shower and practically rip off her favorite pajamas, before stripping as fast as I can. I push her under the water and take a minute to appreciate how hot she looks as her tits glisten under the stream of water. My cock twitches at the sight and I jump into the shower, rubbing my erection against her soft and perky ass. She moans as I bite on her shoulder, and practically screams as my fingers find her clit. Fuck, I want her so bad I can't wait.

"Do you want me to fuck you, baby?" I ask, as I begin to bend her over.

"Yes," she moans. I barely give her time to utter the word before I have her completely bent over with my cock inside of her.

I know I have to make this quick, so I put everything I have into fucking her. My thrusts are harsh, but restrained because we don't have much room in my cramped shower. With her hands shaking on the edge of the tub and her head thrashing around, I know she loves it and she's so fucking close. Seeing her so fucking wild has me close as well. I still can't believe this beautiful, sexy woman is all mine. I play with her clit and run my fingers up and down her perfect, little folds until I feel her begin to shatter around me.

"Fuck, you're so beautiful, baby," I moan. "Come for me, I want to feel you come around my cock."

She moans my name before her pussy pulses around me, its tight muscles gripping my cock and pulling it deeper inside of her. As much as I want to come inside her warm, perfect pussy, I'm not wearing a condom. I pull my cock out and pump it in my hand until my come shoots out all over her perfect ass. Seeing her covered in my come is the sexiest fucking thing I've ever seen. I would love to cover her entire body in my come if I could. Just so I could mark her as mine and cover her with my scent. Fuck, I'm territorial.

"Let me wash you up now," I say, grabbing a bottle of her body wash.

I want my hands all over her slick body. She allows me to give every inch of her body a nice cleaning, before she does the same to mine. The water becomes cold, killing my erection, but I can't help but keep her under the stream a little longer so I can suck on her nipples, which taste just as fucking great as they look.

After our twenty-minute shower, we quickly get ready, feeling guilty for leaving Charlie on his own for so long. Thankfully, he's perfectly happy and still playing in his baby gym by the time we reach him. I don't know what I'm going to do when he can talk and walk around, because he's not going to be as easy to entertain.

We're a half hour late by the time we arrive at my dad's apartment. He smirks as soon as he sees the sated looks on Bella's and my face. My mom is standing at his side, and now that I'm seeing them together while I'm in a better mood, I have to admit that they are a beautiful couple. They look so happy together. My dad looks so fucking happy and more relaxed than I ever saw him with Elizabeth. It's nice to see.

"Bella, it's so nice to see you again," mom gushes, as she holds her arms out to greet her with a warm hug.

Bella seems surprised at first, but she is more than happy to embrace my mom. Charlie is smiling and reaching his arms out to the two women to be included in the hug as well. Bella sees him out of the corner of her eye and smiles at him.

"I think Charlie wants a hug as well," Bella says happily, as she takes Charlie from me.

Mom's face lights up as Bella passes Charlie off to her. This is the first time she has gotten to hold him. Her eyes quickly fill with tears and her smile is brighter than I've ever seen as she holds my son against her chest. Charlie seems just as happy. He smiles at her and runs a chubby hand through her hair, before trying to stuff it into his mouth. Mom laughs and pulls her hair away, before giving him a small kiss on his forehead.

I step forward, and stare down at my happy, little son. "This is your nana, buddy," I tell him with a content smile.

I know she isn't technically his grandmother, but she's going to play a prominent role in his life. Charlie is now my son, and because of that, Esme will be his nana. She has such a warmth about her, and is so loving already. She has shown me more love than Elizabeth ever did. In just the few minutes she has been with Charlie, she has shown him so much tenderness.

"Hello, Charlie," Esme coos as she rocks him in her arms.

"No," he responds with a giggle.

"That's his new word, as of today," I explain with a laugh.

"Well, that's going to be fun," she giggles. "He's such a cute baby. You were just as happy and giggly when you were little, Edward."

I smile awkwardly and stick my hands in my front pockets of my jeans. I wish I had some sort of memory of the time I was with my mom. It sucks I had to leave her at such an early age. Maybe I can ask her about photos or videos of us together. I'm sure she must have something like that. I know I have a shit ton of pictures and videos of Charlie on my phone. I always feel the need to document everything he does. I just don't want to miss anything and end up fucking regretting it.

"Well, do you guys want to head inside? We have lunch prepared?" Dad moves out of the way and ushers us inside his apartment.

It's definitely a lot fucking bigger than the one he rented for a few months while the divorce was being finalized. That one had been almost depressing, this apartment on the other hand, looked like a fucking bachelor pad. Yet, it had so much attention to detail, I knew my mother must have had a hand in decorating the place. It has a huge TV, leather couches, and even fucking foot rests.

"The place looks great, dad."

He smiles at me and gives us a brief tour of the apartment. It's so much bigger than mine. I honestly didn't know apartments could look like this.

"This is so awesome, dad. Do you plan on living here for a while?" I ask, wondering if he intended to move in with my mom.

"Well, for now." He shrugs. "I was thinking a house would be nice in the future."

"Bella and I are going to look at houses soon." My words fly out of my mouth before I can stop myself.

His eyes widen, before a giant smile lights up his face. "That's great, son!" Dad says as he slaps me affectionately on the back. "Where were you thinking about moving to?"

"Well, there was a house we were thinking about checking out," Bella pipes in. "It's nearby. My sister lives in the neighborhood, so I thought it would be perfect."

Dad smiles at me. "Look at you! Getting married and settling down. I'm so happy for you two kids."

I always thought marrying and settling down would be absolutely fucking terrifying. However, it's anything but. Bella makes everything fucking blissful.

"I can't believe it," I chuckle. "I'll have to have a party when we get the new house."

"So, you'll get the house before you get married?" He asks, without judgment in his tone.

"Well, her lease is up in a month, and I know we won't be able to plan a wedding that soon," I laugh. She wants a big wedding…. doesn't she? Isn't that what all chicks want?

"We have our whole lives to plan," Bella says, throwing me a wink.

"That's so wonderful," Mom chimes in. "I can't wait to see you getting married," she tells me with a shy smile.

My marriage will be the first major milestone in my life, and my mom will be there to experience it, which will make it that much more special. Fuck, come to think of it, I would get married tomorrow if I could. However, I don't want to rush this. I want my wedding with Bella to be fucking perfect. Just imagining her dressed in all white, walking down the aisle toward me, so I can make her mine forever…Fuck, it just makes my heart jump in my chest, making me feel like a teenage girl and not a grown ass man.

"I'm pretty excited," I tell my mom, as dad ushers us back toward the small dining room.

"Well, Bella, if you need help with anything you just let me know," Esme says with a motherly smile.

Suddenly, my heart sinks. This is going to be so fucking hard for Bella. Planning her wedding without her mom by her side. I know her mom died a long time ago, but times like this must open all those old wounds. Thank fuck, my mom can be there for her. Not that Bella couldn't do it on her own, and I know she has a sister as well, but I know the difference a 'mom' presence can make.

"Well, we have a while to think about all that. We haven't been engaged for very long," Bella says with a smile, as we sit down to eat.

Lunch flies by. I bring mom up to date on everything going on with Bella, Charlie, and myself. After all the talking she did the last time we were together, she seems relieved to just sit back and listen to me. Bella seems to take to her right away and their conversation seems so fucking effortless. I grin as I watch them, because I've really wanted them to have a good relationship.

We leave with the promise of getting together again soon. Lunch was wonderful, but fucking strange at the same time. We felt like a real family. A normal family sharing a meal together. It's something I hadn't envied in the past, but that's only because I didn't know what the fuck I was missing. This is the life I never knew I wanted, but now that I'm living it, I realize I never experienced true happiness before.

Before we leave, dad runs to his car, and returns to me with a folder filled with—what looks to be—stacks of papers and old envelopes. I give him a confused look, but I can tell he doesn't want to explain here.

He pats me on the shoulder and says, "Read these when you get home. They're important and I know they'll explain a lot."

"Sure thing," I say, as I take a quick peek at the large stack of papers inside.

Could this lead to another glimpse of my past?

A/N: So, what do you guys think? Please review?

Song- "I Was Broken" by Marcus Foster, from his album Nameless Path.