Ben

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-thank you for the kind reviews on this story and for patiently waiting for updates. I don't know why but I found this chapter super-emotional to write…

Chapter Twenty-Four-Charle and Bella, Esme and Luka, Emmet and Rosalie and Rosalie and Jacob

Seeing the disappointment etched on Charlie's face made Bella's heart fail. He was more upset then she could ever have imagined about being kept in the dark about Luka. He hadn't interrupted once when she told him. Somehow his stony silence was worse than if he had asked a million questions.

"Dad, say something, please?" Bella begged.

Charlie avoided looking at her as he rose from his seat at the table and turned his back on her. He reached into the fridge and pulled out a beer. Bella didn't even realise he still had any. She hadn't seen him touch a drop of alcohol since Ben had first come into their lives. She watched as he snapped the lid off the bottle and returned to sit at the table. To her surprise, instead of drinking it, he placed the bottle in the middle of the table and glared at her.

"You trusted me enough to know that I would lay off the beer, but you didn't trust me enough to tell me about Luka." He stated bitterly. "Do you know how much that hurts, Bella? I thought we were beyond this!"

"Dad, I'm sorry." She faltered. "I just…"

"What, Bells?" Charlie finally exploded. "What excuse can you make, huh? You trusted everyone else with this information instead of me. Jake knew. His friends knew. Hell, even your ex-boyfriend's family knew before me! I am Ben's father and yours. I should have been the first to know, not the damn last!"

Even as Bella's brain tried to construct a thousand plausible reasons as to why she had kept him in the dark, she couldn't fight the shame making her cheeks burn. Charlie was right. He should have been the first to know. No bullshit excuse she came up with would ever make up for that betrayal.

"I want to see him." Charlie said abruptly as he grabbed the beer bottle and chucked the contents into the sink.

"Luka's still recovering. Maybe in a few days." Bella hedged.

"I want to see him now, Bella." Charlie stated firmly.

"But Ben's asleep. We can't…"

"Jake can stay with Ben. You're going to come with me to the Cullens right now so we can bring Luka home." Charlie snapped at her. "I won't have that poor kid under the same roof as that fucking ex-boyfriend of yours. There is no way Edward Cullen is going to sink his claws into you again by…"

"Dad." Bella interrupted him hastily as she stood up and blocked his path to the door. "Luka isn't at the Cullens."

"But you said…?"

"No, you misunderstood me. He's with Esme. In her apartment."

"What? Why would she have her own apartment?" Charlie frowned.

Bella sighed heavily. She really didn't want to give her father a run-down of Esme's marital problems, but if he insisted on seeing Luka then she hardly had a choice. "Esme has left Carlisle." She confessed.

The wind was completely taken out of Charlie's sails. That was the last thing he had been expecting her to say. Dr, Cullen and his wife had always seemed to have the perfect marriage. They had fostered all those teenagers-his daughter's creepy ex included. "Jeez." He muttered. "I had no idea."

"Its been kept on the down low." Bella looked at her father pleadingly, hoping that this fresh knowledge would stop him going over to Esme's apartment and demanding to see Luka. "Let's just wait until…."

"No can do, kiddo." Charlie's expression was hard again. "I'm sorry the woman is having marriage problems but I'm still going over there."

"Ugh, you are so stubborn!" Bella scowled.

"It's a family trait." Charlie retorted as he grabbed his jacket and pulled it on. "You tell Jake where we're going. And I need the address." He finished pointedly.

"Can you at least let me call ahead to war…to tell Esme we're coming?" Bella asked irritably.

"Fine." Charlie conceded as he snatched the cruiser's keys off the hook by the door.


Ashen faced, Luka shivered as he waited for Esme to take his temperature. He watched a slight frown mar her smooth forehead as she studied the result. Luka had been rendered speechless when he had first awoken to find this stunning beauty was nursing him. She had introduced herself to him, telling him her name and then explaining to him what had happened to him since he was last conscious. Even though he was unusually wary when it came to strangers, something about her heart-shaped face, her billows of soft caramel hair, and her soft and gentle manner, put him immediately at ease.

"It's going down." Esme said with a warm smile. "You'll be on your feet in no time. And you'll be able to see Ben."

"Thank you." Luka whispered hoarsely.

"You are very much welcome." Esme replied as she passed him a sparkling glass of water and a straw. "You must keep your fluids up, Luka. If you feel well enough, I can make you something to eat as well."

Luka was overcome with gratitude at her kindness. No one had ever taken care of him before. He was always the one doing that. He tried to contain his emotions as he placed the straw on his lips and took a sip of water. The cool liquid was soothing as it slid gently down his burning throat. He took a few more sips before passing the glass back to Esme.

"Do you think you could manage something to eat?" She asked.

Luka nodded, still not trusting his voice to express how thankful he was for her kind attentions. He basked in Esme's smile as she patted his hand gently. "I won't be long." She promised.

Luka flopped back down on the heaped-up pillows and closed his weary eyes. For the first time in his life he felt safe enough to relax. If this was a dream, he didn't want to wake up from it.


Esme wasn't entirely surprised when she got the phone call from Bella telling her that Charlie was determined to come over and see Luka for himself. She knew there was little point in putting the visit off. Charlie Swan was a determined guy, and she could completely empathise with his hurt feelings at being kept in the dark. She returned to Luka's side, carrying a selection of food that she imagined he might like. He was like a kid at Christmas as he stared at the food in delight. Esme hated to take the shine off the moment, but it was imperative she inform him about Charlie and Bella's imminent arrival.

Luka's grey eyes shimmered like the rare rays of light bouncing off of pebbles on a cloudy day. They were beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Esme wondered if he had inherited his unusual eye colour from his mother, seeing as Ben had inherited his from Charlie. She gave him a reassuring smile, telling him he had nothing to worry about.

"Charlie is a good man, Luka. He's been amazing with Ben. And Bella is with him, too. It's going to be fine."

Luka had only a faint recollection of the brown-haired angel and her huge boyfriend who had rescued him from the streets. He mainly remembered her eyes; they were a deep chocolate brown like Ben's.

"I'll be right here with you, Luka." Esme promised him. "You'll always have a home here with me for as long as you want it."

The grey in Luka's eyes turned almost silver in surprise at Esme's offer. "You'd let me stay?" He said wonderingly.

"You wouldn't be the first child I've fostered." Esme said tenderly. "I'll look after you, Luka." Her expression became troubled as she looked directly into his eyes. "But there is something you should know about me first before you make that decision."

"I don't care what it is. I want to stay if it means I can be near Ben." Luka answered eagerly.

Esme was brimming with love and affection for this boy. If her own child had lived, she imagined he would have grown up as selfless and brave as this one. It had been an impulsive offer on her part, and there was still Charlie and Bella's reactions to factor in, but something deep inside Esme told her that her existence had been leading up to this moment. She instinctively knew that she could trust Luka with her secret.


The air was thick with the smell of sex. Rosalie and Emmet had just finished an energetic lovemaking session. After leaving the Swan's house Rosalie had wanted to burn off some of her frustration and Emmet had been happy to oblige. Her long, lustrous blonde hair spilled over his broad chest as she stared broodingly into the distance. Emmet played with the fingers of her left hand, a huge smile on his face. He was so ready to go again, but one look at Rosalie's face told him that she was somewhere far away. His smile disappeared to be replaced with a frown.

"What's going on?" He demanded.

Rosalie propped herself up on his chest and glared at him. "Nothing is going on."

"You've got that Bella pissed me off look on your face." Emmet said. He had seen it too many times before in the past. "What has she done now?"

"You wouldn't understand." Rosalie muttered irritably as she disentangled herself from Emmet's arms and slid gracefully off the bed.

"Try me." Emmet was also used to Rosalie's moods. It wouldn't take her long to spill. He pulled her back onto the bed and into his arms. "Come on, Rosie. Don't keep it to yourself."

"Don't call me Rosie!" Rosalie snapped at him, but she nestled against him all the same. "You might as well know. Everyone else does."

Emmet frowned. "You mean I'm the last to know?"

"Don't get all worked up, Em. I only just found out myself." Rosalie turned to kiss his full lips. He placed his large hand on the back of her head and deepened the kiss.

Rosalie was the first to pull away. She placed her forefinger over his lips as he tried to reach for hers again. "I thought you wanted to know." She said to him.

"Shoot." Emmet fell back against the pillows, pulling her down with him.


Emmet sat on the edge of the bed, his normal good-humour missing. Rosalie knelt behind him, her beautiful face a mask of impatience as she waited for him to speak. "Say something then, Emmet!" She demanded.

"So, you blew me off to go see this kid again." He muttered.

"It wasn't like that." Rosalie put her hand on his shoulder but he shrugged her off. "What is wrong with you?" She questioned in annoyance.

"I'd do anything to make you happy. I'd give you the world." Emmet shook his head, rising to his feet. He turned to face Rosalie. His shoulders slumped and his eyes cast down in a mournful gaze. "But I can't give you what you want the most. It kills me."

Rosalie hadn't expected this reaction from him. Emmet was totally dejected. She slid off the bed and walked over to him. She tried to reach out to him but he brushed her off again. "Em, you've always given me what I need."

"But not a kid!" Emmet admitted as he raised his head to look her directly in the eyes. "You've been somewhere else ever since you found out about the kid. This boy…Ben… or whatever his name is seems to have you under some kind of spell. You've been ignoring me, pushing me away so you can sneak around to spend time with him and his dad. You're pissed at Bella because she's got everything you want and can't have." He accused. "You're never going to be able to have a kid, Rose. You're never going to be a mother. Why are you torturing yourself like this by attaching yourself to this boy? Bella's right to be worried. You're already too invested."

His words were like a slap in the face. Rosalie backed away from him, her golden-brown eyes filled with pain. She turned away from him and began to dress quickly.

Emmet was regretting his harsh outburst. He reached out to her, but one blazing look from her sent him reeling. "Rose." He whispered in anguish.

"I thought you knew me." Rosalie said sadly. The desolation she felt was all-consuming. "I can't believe how wrong I was."

"Rose, I'm sorry." Emmet pleaded. "Let's talk."

"I think you've said enough." Rosalie responded bitterly before sweeping out of the room.


The last person Jacob was expecting to find on the doorstep when he answered the door was Rosalie Hale. The ravishing blonde had her hair scraped back in a tight ponytail on the top of her head. Her face was scrubbed clean of makeup. She wasn't bothering to hide her devastation. She felt emotionally bankrupt. There was nothing left to feel, nothing left to say, nothing left but the empty void that enveloped her mind in swirling blackness.

"What are you doing here, Blondie?" Jacob asked curiously.

"I wasn't trying to steal him away I promise." Rosalie mumbled. "You don't believe that, do you?" She raised her eyes to meet Jacob's and he was taken aback at the pure vulnerability shining in them.

Jacob sighed as he stepped aside and motioned for Rosalie to come inside. He had experienced enough of Bella's heartbreak over Edward in the past to recognise it in another. Rosalie was emotionally beaten down and extremely fragile. Whatever had happened since the last time she had been at the house had completely broken her.

"Bella's not here right now, but you can wait for her." Jacob offered awkwardly.

Rosalie nodded as she drifted past him into the lounge. She perched on the edge of the sofa and hung her head, squeezing her eyes shut in anguish as the painful memory of her confrontation with Emmet took root in her mind. Emmet had always been her shelter. He had drawn her in with a sweetness she'd never found in a man before. She thought he was the only one who truly understood her, but his hurtful words had proved the exact opposite. He had broken her heart. A dry sob erupted from her throat and she put a hand over her face to in despair.

"Damn!" Jacob muttered under his breath. Looking at the broken blonde was a sore reminder of the way Bella had been when she was grieving for the end of her relationship with that asshole, Cullen. Now here he was watching the same thing all over again with Cullen's adopted sister. Oh, the irony! He sighed, knowing from experience there was only one way to deal with this.

Jacob sat down beside Rosalie on the Swan's sofa and took her hand in his while she grieved.

A/N-thanks for reading!