Edward remained by Bella's side in the hospital, not leaving even once. It embarrassed her to have him in the room when the nurse went over the instructions for the mesh underwear and the pad as thick as her leg, but he stayed. With his help, she washed her face and brushed her hair before anyone came in to meet Quinn.

Angela and Ben came first, quickly followed by Rose and Emmett. Edward told them that was enough visitors and instructed the four of them to wash their hands before touching the baby. His strict orders made Bella smile.

"How are you feeling?" Rose asked.

"Exactly like I just gave birth, but I'm okay."

"He's beautiful, Bella. Congratulations." Rose kissed Bella's cheek, and Bella thanked her quietly.

Emmett surprised everyone by saying he wanted to hold Quinn, and Bella laughed through her tears at the sight of the burly man and the tiny baby. She had a moment to wish Emmett and Rose were her family, but then she realized they might as well be. Warmth flowed through her, looking around the room at the people she loved. There were a few missing, but it was a good start.

Ben and Angela seemed close, and Bella wondered what was going on there. They'd had hours together in the waiting room, so she guessed they'd become friends during that time.

"Can I get anything for you, Bella?" Ben asked while Angela had her turn holding the baby.

His offer made her chuckle. "You know it's okay to be off the clock for a little while."

He smiled at her. "This offer comes from a friend."

The sound of that made her happy. "Will you get me a cup of coffee? It's the only thing I can think of right now."

"Absolutely."

The other three left when Ben did, and Bella braced herself for Esme, Alice, and Jasper's visit. She held nothing against Jasper, just his wife.

Esme had tears in her eyes when she entered. Bella noticed that she made a move for Edward, but paused halfway across the room when he refused to acknowledge her presence, standing sentry by the bed with Quinn in his arms.

Alice stayed unusually silent, and that left Jasper to fill the void. "He looks just like you, Edward."

"Thanks, Jasper."

Edward made them all wash their hands, too, and then he relented and let Esme hold him. She cried some more and had to hand the baby to Alice to wipe her nose and eyes.

"His skin is so soft." They were the first words Alice uttered since walking in the room, and Bella hoped someone put a gag order on the woman. It didn't really matter who; she was just pleased that someone had the forethought to tell Alice to keep her rude thoughts to herself.

Jasper stroked the baby's cheek as he rested in Alice's arms, giving Bella cause to ponder why they didn't have any kids of their own. They'd been married for several years. Without warning, she yawned.

"Okay, everybody, Bella needs her rest." Edward held his arms out for Alice to return Quinn.

"We'll see you at the house after you're discharged," Jasper said.

"Thank you for letting me come, Bella," Esme said before slipping out.

Alice headed toward the door but apparently couldn't resist a parting shot. "Dad isn't thrilled that Ma came."

"It was her choice," Edward replied in a steely voice.

"I think he was more pissed that he couldn't come," Jasper said with a pointed stare at Alice. "At least, that's my impression."

"Feel free to tell him what he missed," Edward ground out.

They left after that, and Bella yawned again.

Gentling his voice, Edward said, "I've got him, Bella. Sleep."

"I don't know if I can, but I'll try."

But the events of the day had left her more than ready for a nap, and she slept until Quinn woke, wanting to eat. The coffee Ben brought while she was sleeping sat on the rolling table, and she nearly wept at the sight of it. Edward changed Quinn's diaper, giving her some time to sip her coffee before she was needed.

Once they made it home the following day, they had to say goodbye to Angela. Her parents were looking forward to her visiting for the remainder of her school break, but Bella knew she would miss her. It didn't help that she assumed she'd be alone with Quinn for the foreseeable future.

Edward settled the diapers and wipes in the organizer hanging off the side of the bassinet. Dumfounding her, he left one of the baby monitors in her room and took the other into his room. "If he wakes, I'll come and get him."

"Are you sure? What if he needs to eat?" It shocked her to think he would willingly wake up several times a night to help her when he still had a business to run.

"If you strictly want to do that yourself, then I can help by changing his diapers."

After staring at him for a full minute, she finally replied, "Um, okay."

For what felt like endless nights, it wasn't unusual for her to wake up and find Edward asleep in one of the armchairs. She was tempted to ask him to go ahead and share her bed instead of dragging himself out of his bed and down the hall five times a night. Apparently, his alternative was to sleep upright. It didn't seem fair, but the invitation stuck in her throat. If he turned her down, it would devastate her, but worse was the vague thought that he might agree. As fragile as her emotions were, she didn't think she could keep the required distance if they were that close physically.

Most of her days revolved around feedings, diaperings, and trying to sleep. She found herself holed up in her room for the entire first week, and it never occurred to her to utilize a different part of the house. Ben was a godsend, running down the stairs any time she wanted something and bringing her meals to her room. She wasn't quite ready to brave the stairs yet, but she knew she would soon reach that point. By the end of the week, she felt exhausted, but almost as if she had a steady routine. Quinn was developing a schedule, and she couldn't be more grateful.

One night, she startled awake at the sound of someone talking, only to realize Edward sat in his usual chair with Quinn in his arms. Bella squeezed her eyes closed again to listen to him talking to his child.

"You're the most precious thing to me. Yes, you are."

There was a moment of silence, so Bella peeked at them to see Edward dipping his head to kiss Quinn on the nose. Miniature fists rose in the air, and Edward tucked one back into the swaddling blanket, taking the other in his own and kissing the back of it.

"Is breá liom tú, Quinn. Always remember that."

At the sound of the Gaelic she'd yet to ask him about, her heart sighed, but it only brought on tears and troubled sleep.

The next time she woke, Quinn was asleep in the bassinet and Edward was nowhere to be found. After a bit of cleaning up, she decided to go down to breakfast, taking the monitor with her and hoping he'd sleep. Her body was still tender, so she gave herself time to go slow and not push her luck.

She found Edward in the dining room with a newspaper and a cup of coffee. He looked up when she entered and smiled crookedly. "Want me to ask Tyler to make you some breakfast?"

"Yes, please."

This side of Edward's personality left her walking on eggshells. It was like holding her breath during pleasant weather, knowing he tended to be a volatile hurricane with little provocation. In the hopes they could keep the peace longer, she chose to keep her mouth shut.

When Edward returned from the kitchen, Bella glanced up, surprised to see him looking past her to the doorway.

"Yes, Garrett?"

Behind her, Garrett clasped his hands in front of him and spoke calmly. "Sorry to disturb you, sir, but Mr. Cullen is making a scene at the gate."

And that was the end of the sunshine; she realized it had been the eye of the storm fooling her into placidity.

"Send him packing. Now."

"Yes, sir." Garrett nodded and left the room, speaking into the communication device in his sleeve.

Bella sat still for a minute after he left. "Are you sure you don't want to know why he's here?" she asked tentatively.

"I know why he's here."

Ignoring the harshness of his tone, she persevered. "I don't want to be the catalyst for any strain in your relationship with your father, Edward."

"You're not."

Biting her lip, she kept the next retort inside her mouth. Ultimately, there was no use fighting over something that wasn't her business. Father and son had plenty of their own issues before she came along, clearly.

"Is Quinn sleeping?"

Would she have left him upstairs alone if he were awake? Refusing to be irked by his question, she merely replied with a nod.

"I have out-of-town business to attend to this week. Emmett and Jasper will come with me, and so will Phil, Mike, and Pete. Garrett, Lee, and Eric will stay here. Don't go anywhere without your security detail."

Clenching her fingers around the edge of the table in a reminder to herself, she replied serenely. "I remember the rules, Edward."

"Good, because now you have Quinn to protect."

Besides already knowing that, the only place they would go in the near future was the pediatrician's office. She wanted to tell him not to treat her as if she were daft but kept it to herself. He was obviously in a mood after the news of Carlisle, and she didn't want to worsen the brewing tempest.

"We have an appointment with Dr. Gerandy on Wednesday, but that's it. I've cleared it with Lee and Eric."

"Good."

Tyler brought their breakfast in, and Bella thanked him. Edward ignored the man but stabbed his eggs roughly. They were halfway through their meal when Emmett and Jasper arrived.

Picking up the coffee carafe and a mug, Jasper was the first to speak. "Carlisle is at the gate."

"I know," Edward barked, scowling at him.

"He tried to convince us to let him in," Emmett commented. He smiled at Bella, then refocused on Edward.

"The men have instructions to send him on his way." Edward set his paper down and took a sip of coffee.

"They can't force him to leave, boss." Jasper took a seat near the middle of the table. Bella saw it as a peacemaking gesture, one which showed he wouldn't take sides. In her mind, he should take Edward's side as his boss and friend.

"A bullet in his brain would take care of everything," Edward muttered.

Bella kept her head down and picked at the fresh fruit on her plate. They never discussed things of a business nature in her presence; it almost seemed they'd forgotten she was there.

"Maybe he wants to meet his grandson," Jasper said mildly.

"Too fucking bad!" Edward shoved his plate aside. "He should have thought of that a long damn time ago. What, Garrett?" he shouted as the man re-entered the room.

"He won't leave, and he began making threats."

"Get rid of him by any means necessary!" Edward rose swiftly, and Bella cowered in her seat at the volume of his tirade. "Or it'll be your ass on the line!"

The baby monitor came to life, Quinn's cries soft but insistent. Bella fled the room, glad for the distraction.

She was shaking by the time she picked him up out of his bassinet. It wasn't that she didn't know Edward was a criminal; it was just that she'd never heard him speak so casually of violence before. More frightening was the fact that he so readily threatened his father's life and Garrett's.

"Shh, baby boy, it's okay."

Taking a second to feel around the front of his diaper, she decided that wasn't the reason for his tears. Instead, she settled down in the chair with him, pulling over the breastfeeding pillow she used. His puckered lips as he rooted around made her smile.

"Were you woken by Daddy's shouting? I wouldn't think you'd hear it all the way up here," she murmured.

Once he was suckling away, she picked up the book she kept on the side table and tried to focus on it, but it was no use.

"What do we do, Quinn? We follow the rules and keep our heads down, I guess. We're innocent in all this, aren't we?" Smoothing the ruffled bits of hair over his ears, she watched his eyes drift closed again. "We'll make it work. We have to."

That was her only choice, for her and her baby. For all she knew, they were in the line of fire but, hopefully, they were only in the background. She wondered what sort of danger Edward faced on a daily basis, then decided she would rather not know. It was easier to pretend everything was safe and secure if she didn't allow herself to dwell on the bad stuff.

Sighing, she stared out the window at the gray sky and wished she could see Jake and Leah. A sudden restlessness came over her, making her wish she could leave, just go and visit Port Angeles. It might be out of the question to take a short trip, but she wouldn't know unless she asked. Rules and regulations had come naturally to her throughout her life, and yet it was different in that house, different with Edward in charge of her every move. It wasn't like following the teacher's directions so she wouldn't get in trouble in school, it was potentially life or death.

At that thought, a shudder ran through her. "What did I get us into?"

Is breá liom tú~ Gaelic for I love you.