Nothing's gonna hurt you, baby

Nothing's gonna make you cry

I'll be damned if I ever let another hand

Wipe your tears before they dry

~ Halsey, Wipe Your Tears

BPOV

I was no stranger to sleepless nights. I spent my college years overworking myself and studying through the night. I moved on to working myself to sleep once I started at Newton & Cheney. Then, my affair with Edward meant I spent as many nights as possible with him keeping me awake in a much more enjoyable way.

Now, I spent a majority of my nights in Edward's bed and while he still had a habit of keeping me up too late, I also slept better next to him than I had ever slept alone. My body had become too used to a good six or seven hours of sleep which meant working through the night on my phone on Ashley's couch had me practically dead on my feet.

I groaned under my breath as I pulled into the driveway. There were cars littering the area, parked in front of the garage where I had intended to park Edward's car. After all of the drama from the dinner last night, then my night spent on Ashley's couch, I had forgotten that Masen and Lucy were having a birthday party with their friends today. One that apparently started at nine in the morning.

I parked Edward's car off to the side, my head turning as I heard my name out of the open car window.

"She's half his age, it's no wonder he left his wife for her. She could have waited in line, though. Let the rest of us have a turn."

My eyes locked on a group of three women. All probably in their early forties, each with an impressive diamond on their ring fingers.

"I'm not half his age," I mumbled to myself. It was the easier part of her comment to focus on, considering the let the rest of us have a turn part made me a little enraged. I grabbed my heels and clutch off of the passenger seat and got out of the car. I didn't bother to try and be quiet, but the women were too preoccupied with their discussion to realize I was well within earshot.

"He does seem… satisfied. I've never seen the man smile so much. She must be letting him do just about – "

The woman talking, one of the three that were very obviously married, stopped as I walked past them toward the front door.

"Oh, don't let me stop you from discussing my sex life," I snapped, not stopping as I passed them by and unlocked the front door.

I didn't bother to look back, quickly locking the door again behind me and dropping Edward's keys on the side table where he kept them. I dropped my shoes in the corner by the stairs, walking slowly down the hall toward the kitchen in search of Edward.

He was leaning against the counter, coffee cup in hand, looking every bit the stressed father with a house full of teenagers.

"Hi," I sighed, dropping my clutch on the counter and heading right to his side. I grabbed the coffee cup from his hand, taking a sip. While I usually preferred my coffee to consist mostly of cream and sugar, his black coffee might give me the shot of caffeine that I desperately needed.

"Hey," he smiled, pressing his lips to my temple. "Everything go okay last night?"

I shrugged. "As okay as it could have, I guess. Thanks again for letting me take your car."

I took one more tiny sip of his coffee, wincing at the taste, before I handed the cup back to him.

"Of course. Is Ashley okay?"

"Yeah. Well, mostly. Her boyfriend is an asshole. And I'm hoping after today he's going to be an ex-boyfriend that I don't have to deal with anymore. She wasn't actually charged with anything, though, so that makes my job a little bit easier." I took a deep breath and wrapped my arm through his, my head falling to his shoulder. "How was… the rest of the dinner?"

I felt Edward tense up, but before he could answer a stampede of feet started stumbling down the stairs.

I never got along with teenage girls when I was one, so coming face to face with about ten girls, all dressed in matching bikini tops and sarongs of different colors, sent me into a bit of a fight-or-flight mode.

"We're going to the pool!" Lucy shouted, obviously assuming her father wasn't a few feet away from her in the kitchen. "Oh, sorry. Hi, Bella! You can come hang with us by the pool if you want too?"

Her offer seemed sincere, which made me feel a little bad that it sounded a bit like torture to me.

"I have some work to do, but maybe later," I told her with a smile, glad that seemed to placate her as her and her friends started to file out the door.

"Ouch," Edward mumbled.

"What?"

"I was told I was only allowed in the backyard if someone was drowning."

I snorted. "Were you banished from Masen's party, too?"

From the periodic shouts, I assumed he and his friends were in the basement.

"Yes," he sighed. "Only because last year I beat them at pool and they're all sore losers."

I chuckled, shaking my head and begrudgingly pulling my arm out of Edward's to grab my clutch. "I should go shower. Then I have to try and make getting arrested at a house party not seem like a bad thing."

I turned around and pressed a kiss to Edward's cheek. "Thanks for never getting arrested. It makes my job a lot less stressful."

Edward grimaced. "I did once. When I was sixteen. Sam was having a party while his parents were out of town, someone's older brother bought them beer. I guess I wasn't arrested, but I was driven home in a police cruiser."

I frowned up at him for a minute. "That's okay. A party busted for beer and a party busted for heroin are very different."

I left the kitchen with one more kiss to Edward's cheek. I dropped my shoes in the closet, stopped to plug my phone in on the nightstand, then heard the scratch of dog nails on the bathtub floor. Rounding the corner, I found Lady curled in a ball in the tub.

"Hey," I sighed, stepping in and sitting on the opposite side from her. She quickly pranced over, plopping herself in my lap. "You don't like big crowds of people either, huh?"
I pressed a kiss to her fluffy head, petting her until both of us were relaxed. My eyes were about five seconds from drooping shut when Edward walked in.

"I brought you a coffee more suited to your tastes," he said, setting a cup down on the counter before coming to kneel beside the tub where Lady and I sat huddled in the corner. "She didn't seem to like all of the chaos. I brought her to the bedroom and she immediately went for the tub."

I chuckled. I had no idea where her love of the bathtub came from. It was nice that she had a safe place, though. Even if that meant if I ever wanted to actually use the tub I had to clean out the dog hair first.

I turned toward Edward as he scratched Lady's ear, my voice quiet and hesitant as I finally got to ask what I wanted to. "What happened at dinner?"

Edward let out a sigh. He stood up, and I had a moment of panic that he was just going to walk away and not answer me, but then he motioned for me to scoot forward and settled himself in the empty tub behind me.

It was an odd arrangement; Lady curled up in my lap with Edward's legs sprawled out on either side of me. It was cozy, but we probably painted quite the odd picture.

Edward took another deep breath before he started. "I think the only time Irina's parents have ever somewhat liked me is when they found out I was willing to stay with her until the kids were eighteen. They live for their social standing, and had to move to rebuild their reputation in New York after Irina got pregnant. A divorce after eighteen years of marriage is more than expected, though, so it wouldn't cause them any trouble.

"They're never actually invited to dinner. Irina doesn't care to see them, the kids know they don't care about them, they just come to make it seem like their putting in an effort.

"You were invited because the kids wanted you there."

As he spoke, as his story got more jumbled and off track, I could hear the frustration in his voice growing.

"As soon as you left, Mel, Irina's mother, made some comment asking me how I could put the kids through a divorce and I just… lost it. Her question was a little more colorful, and full of insults directed toward you that I'm not going to repeat, but it made me realize I was just… done with the whole fucking thing."

I pressed my lips together, waiting for him to go on. He didn't seem quite finished.

"I'm done trying to make everyone else happy. I did it for sixteen goddamn years and they have the audacity to say I – " Edward shook his head, calming down just a little bit. "It's you and me and Masen and Lucy. That's it. That's all that matters to me."

"And Lady," I added as she plopped herself down on the opposite side of the tub, probably overheated by now under all that fur.

"And Lady," Edward said softly, pressing his lips into my hair. His arms tightened around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder. "I don't know what I would do without you."

His words made my chest tight, because I said the exact same thing to him not too long ago. While I wanted a few hundred more details on the fight, it seemed to be a sensitive subject.

Instead of asking more questions, my arms wrapped around his, holding him tighter against me. "It's a good thing you don't have to, then."

I let myself relax for a few minutes, just long enough for me to nearly fall asleep against Edward's chest. When I tried to stand up, steel arms locked around my waist to keep me in place.

"Are we just going to stay in the tub all day?"

"Just a couple more minutes."

True to his word, after a few more minutes Edward helped me up, both of us climbing out of the tub. I immediately took a large sip of my lukewarm but delicious coffee.

"Wait," I said, stopping Edward in his tracks as he turned to head back down to check on the parties. I pulled my hair over my shoulder, turning my back to him. "Will you unzip this?"

I regretted my question as he slowly lowered the zipper down my back. He let the fingertips of his free hand drift down my spine as he went and if it wasn't for the loud splash that came from the backyard I would have pulled him into the shower with me.

…Closure…

I took a few extra minutes getting ready, just because the house was full of teenagers. I pulled on one of my trusty grey Tonight Show t-shirts and a pair of black jean shorts that had much more substance to them than the ones I bought at the Santa Monica Pier. I dried my hair for a minute before I got tired of it and pulled it back into a simple braid.

Once I was acceptable I grabbed my work bag and pulled my phone from the charger to head down stairs. Lady followed me, sticking right by my ankles as I walked. We found Edward in the living room, computer in his lap.

I leaned down to press a kiss to his cheek as I walked by him, my eyes reflexively scanning over his computer screen.

"You didn't actually google most expensive mattresses… did you?"

He shrugged as Lady and I made ourselves comfortable on the other end of the couch. "I wanted to see our options."

"Our option could be the perfectly good mattress you already have upstairs."

Edward waved me off. "You're supposed to change your mattress every couple years."

"I'm pretty sure its eight years."

"Well, I've had that one for seven so we need an upgrade anyway."

I did my best not to roll my eyes. Furniture shopping was much more difficult than I thought it would be. Mostly because Edward had a buy whatever you want kind of attitude and I about had an aneurism when he sent me a coffee table that cost seven-thousand-dollars to look at last week. Needless to say, I had yet to use the little black card he gave me.

"I have a question for you, before you get to work," he said tentatively, setting his own laptop aside as I pulled mine out.

I kept the computer closed in my lap, turning to face him on the couch. "Is it about a ten-thousand-dollar mattress?"

My favorite crooked smile tugged at his lips. "No. It's work related."

"Oh," I gasped. I wasn't expecting a work question. "Okay."

"Do you really think I'm Oscar host material?"

His question surprised me. For one, he didn't seem all that interested in it when it was brought up at dinner last night. For another, he seemed more self-conscious about my answer than I would have liked.

"Of course," I said softly. It seemed very obvious to me, how much better his show and material had gotten in the last year. "Your show is doing really well, Edward. You shot up to the second most watched late-night program in the last six months. Even with the few, you know, hiccups I might have caused. People send you offers all of the time, you've just told your entire team to always reject them."

"What kind of offers?"

"You get about twenty offers a day to be the spokesperson for products. Half of them are shit, but everyone gets those. There are high end brands that will pay you seven figures for a twenty second cologne ad that'll simultaneously expose you to a new market that'll turn on your show."

Edward sat there, small smile on his face as he looked at me.

"What?"

"You're cute when you talk about markets and figures."

"I'm just saying," I sighed. "You could do a lot more, if you wanted. I have a whole new appreciation for your anti-Hollywood attitude, but that doesn't mean you have to close yourself off from new opportunities. I got an email from the SNL booking agent the other day, asking if you'd be interested in hosting again."

"Really?"

I nodded.

Edward was quiet for a minute, before he slowly nodded. "Okay."

"Okay… you want to do SNL again?"

"Yeah. It was quite the trip last time," he said, a smirk tossed in my direction.

I ignored the sudden burning in my cheeks. "And you'd do a sponsorship… for the right product or brand?" I asked, knowing I was pushing my luck.

He hesitated, but nodded. "For the right product or brand."

"Oh," I gasped, surprised he actually agreed. I opened my computer with a smile. "My job just got much more exciting. What's the name of that car that you keep in the back? The fancy one that you don't let anyone touch and you wash once a week?"

Edward blinked at me, seemingly in shock. "It's an Aston Martin."

Even as I started researching the company, I felt his eyes on my screen. "If you get me any kind of deal with Aston Martin, I'll marry you on the spot," he blurted out, sounding too much like me when I lacked my verbal filter.

I giggled, turning toward his wide eyes and slightly slack jaw to hold my hand out to him. He shook it in a bit of a daze. "Deal."

Even with the sounds of both parties floating through the house, it was easy to get a few hours of work in. Edward sat on one end of the couch, periodically checking on the kids while he perused furniture online.

My peaceful workspace went to hell a minute after Edward headed downstairs to check on Masen. The back door slid open and a dozen or so girls filed in. Most of them headed to the kitchen, but Lucy hopped over and knelt by the coffee table in front of me.

"Manicure?" she asked, holding up a couple bottles of nail polish.

"Oh, sure," I smiled, sliding down to sit on the floor beside her. My nails were already naked, thanks to me picking off the pale pink polish I had on last night as I tried to figure out what to do with Ashley.

As soon as I agreed, Lucy grabbed my hand and went to work. I didn't pay much attention to what she was doing, my eyes drifting from her group of friends absolutely destroying the kitchen to her sitting on the floor next to me.

"I'm sorry about your dinner last night," I told her quietly.

She shrugged. "That's actually the most exciting birthday dinner we've ever had. It would have been more fun if Grandma let Grandpa punch Mom's dad."

My eyes widened. "Carlisle was going to punch him?"

"Oh, yeah. Uncle Jasper pulled Dad away before he could do anything. But then Grandpa came out of nowhere."

I wanted to push her for more details, but I also didn't want to dampen her mood. I'd have to call Alice to get more details.

"There," Lucy said a few minutes later. "You needed something more fun. You always choose a neutral."

I smiled down at the hot pink that now covered my nails. It definitely wasn't my usual choice. But it did seem summery. "Thanks."

"Hi, Mr. Cullen," a sugary sweet voice floated across the kitchen toward us.

Lucy pretended to gag. "This is why I keep him away. Half of my friends have a crush on him. It's gross," she groaned, hopping up and heading to the kitchen.

I sat back, blowing on my freshly painted nails, and watched Edward weave his way through the party to get back to the couch.

…Closure…

"Home by eleven," Edward stressed, looking down at his kids with his stern dad face that always made me laugh.

All three of them were in the kitchen, and I gave them their space and stayed on the couch in the adjoining living room. The hoard of teenagers that had been roaming the house all day were crowded outside, dividing themselves among the few cars ready to take them all to dinner.

I watched as Masen and Lucy gave Edward nearly identical pouting faces.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Fine. Midnight."

"Thanks, Dad!" they both exclaimed. Lucy reached up and pressed a kiss to his cheek, while Masen rushed off after a fist bump.

"Have fun," I told them with a wave as they rushed off.

Edward plopped himself back on the couch beside me as soon as the door slammed shut.

"Finally. Quiet," he sighed, rubbing his temple and running his fingers through his already messy hair.

"It wasn't that bad," I shrugged. Yes, I spent most of the day working on the couch, but Edward spent most of it with me, too. He checked on everyone every once in a while, but nothing disastrous happened. Which was unusual for us.

"No, it wasn't. Birthday parties from the ages of about five to twelve were fucking torture. This was fine."

I chuckled, shaking my head and turning my attention back to my computer screen. I had given up working for the night, and ended up scrolling endlessly through Pinterest looking at coffee table after coffee table.

As I thought of the big empty house that I needed to fill with furniture, my conversation with Edward about buying said house flashed through my memory.

"Why did you say you wanted my name on the papers… just in case?"

It was when he called me to say he bought it. We bought it. Whichever. "Even if you didn't put any money toward it, which you did, I'd want your name on the papers, just in case."

I wasn't sure what I expected his answer to be but the way he sat up, obviously tense, made me nervous.

Edward turned toward me, trying to soften his face but unable to erase the seriousness from his expression. "In case anything happened to me, it would be in your name."

I frowned at him, my brain taking a full minute to process his explanation.

In case anything happened to me.

Every horrible outcome that could possibly end with Edward gone and me all alone in a big empty house flashed through my mind, making my stomach twist and turn.

"Nothing is going to happen to you, though," I snapped, mostly at myself to try and dig my mind out of the spiral I suddenly found it in.

"No," Edward said softly. "I just wanted you taken care of if something did."

His explanation didn't help as much as I figured he thought it would.

I snapped my computer shut, tossing it on the coffee table in front of us. My lungs started to lose the battle with my suddenly heavy breath, unable to catch up.

"Hey," Edward's voice broke through the ringing in my ears, his warm hand cupping my cheek and turning me towards him. "It's okay. Nothing is going to happen."

My jaw tensed at his words. If nothing was going to happen, he didn't need a just in case plan. My eyes scanned his face, going over the curve of his nose to the shadow his eyelashes left on his cheeks.

"You can't let anything happen to you," I breathed out.

"I won't."

I leaned forward to press my lips to his, hoping it would calm me down, but it had the opposite effect. I ended up straddling him, my fingers buried in his hair to keep him as close as possible.

"Bella," he breathed out when my lungs begged me for a moment of air. "Love, I – "

"Please, stop. I just – " I shook my head. His reassurances weren't helping. My fingers squeezed his shoulders, reminding myself that he was here. With me. Mine.

I could feel his eyes on me as I actively avoided meeting his gaze. Instead I focused on the way I could see the muscles in his neck tense as he moved and swallowed. Eventually I gave in, seeing his forest green eyes searching my own face for some kind of answer.

I had no answer. Other than that I had no one to talk to or confide in or love my entire upbringing, and now that I had that I refused to lose it. And the mere mention that it could happen sent me a little over the edge.

Edward nodded, whether it was to me or himself I wasn't sure, but then his lips were back on mine and his hands firmly gripping my thighs as he stood. I let his warm hands on my legs and steady heartbeat against my chest attempt to center me.

When my feet hit the floor in his bedroom, I only allowed for enough space between us for me to tug his t-shirt over his head. I was only on the ground for a minute, though, because as soon as my hands started tugging at his belt he lifted me up again, settling me in the center of the bed underneath him.

Firm hands grabbed mine, fingers intertwined tightly against the comforter as he pulled away from my lips and stared down at me.

"Hey," he sighed, eyes on me.

I squeezed mine shut.

"Hey," he repeated, his voice firm this time.

I opened my eyes slowly, no choice but to meet his as he hovered over me. "You can't leave me all alone again," I said, the words coming out before I knew it.

Edward shook his head "I won't."

"Promise?" I asked quietly, knowing all too well there was a lot of shit that could go wrong where that had no control over.

"I promise."

I squeezed his hands, still intertwined with mine, feeling a little bit better. My panic slowly started to dissipate as Edward ran the tip of his nose down the bridge of my own; as he pressed gentle kisses across my forehead and cheeks, up until he made it to the corner of my lips.

"Better?" he questioned softly.

I nodded, and he freed my hands as one of his reached up to cup my cheek.

"I'm sorry, I – "

I shook my head, my free hands digging into his hair and pulling him back against me for a firm kiss. My legs wrapped around his waist, keeping our bodies as tightly wound together as I could. I felt it, the moment he gave up trying to talk or apologize. His weight settled over me, one of his hands sliding down my side until it hitched my knee higher around his waist.

He didn't stop me this time when my hands went to his belt, but he did have to stand quickly to get rid of his pants himself because my hands were too jittery to get anything undone.

Edward's hands were firm and smooth, easily tugging my jean shorts down my legs and getting the rest of my clothing out of the way in the blink of an eye. His hands intertwined with mine again, pressing them firmly into the bed above my head. I gasped as he entered me, my eyes squeezing shut as I wrapped my legs tighter around him.

"Eyes on me," he grunted, moving slowly in and out.

I kept my eyes on him the whole time. On the deepest green eyes that could never be perfectly replicated, on the tuft of copper hair that fell over his forehead, on the sweat that eventually left a sheen across his skin.

He swallowed my cries as I came, his tongue dancing with mine as he groaned out his own release. I had no actual memory of it happening, but I ended up sprawled across his chest, Edward on his back with his fingers drawing lazy patterns into my back.

"Love you," I breathed out, burying my head against his shoulder.

Edward pressed a kiss to my neck. "I love you, too."

…Closure…

"He stole my teeth," I groaned, stumbling into the elevator. Edward's arm was firm around my waist, keeping me upright as I leaned against his shoulder.

"I know," Edward said, lips pressed into my hair. "I'm sorry."

"This is why I don't go to the dentist!" I shouted, my voice coming out much louder than I intended. "They pull your teeth out even though they're fine."

"Your teeth weren't fine," Edward interrupted, sounding frustratingly calm. "All four of your wisdom teeth were impacted."

"I think he was lying."

"He wasn't. I saw the x-ray."

I frowned over at him. "Whose side are you on?"

"The side that gets you out of constant pain."

I rolled my eyes, stumbling over my own feet as Edward carefully led me out elevator and toward the front door. My head was fuzzy and my mouth even fuzzier what with all the cotton a nurse had shoved in there. Every time I swallowed the taste of blood shot down my throat and made me want to throw up. All things that wouldn't be happening if Edward had let me continue avoiding the dentist.

Things had been fine. Good, even. I survived Coachella with Masen and Lucy. They came home with big smiles and excited, though relatively tame from what I saw, stories for their father, while I came home with a migraine and the relief that I had once again been responsible for them and everyone survived. Edward was booked on Saturday Night Live for the season finale at the end of May, and I was still trying to decide on the best way to go about his new openness to actually having a publicity strategy.

Our new house finally had a few pieces of furniture in it, after I told Esme one afternoon at lunch that I had absolutely no idea how to decorate a house and she had her interior designer make a few suggestions. I had no idea how to plan a good flow to a house, Edward constantly chose the most expensive option because he assumed that was the best, so we were a bit of a mess when it came to decorating. It looked a little less deserted these days, though.

Then, I was accosted one night as I flossed my teeth because apparently I flinched every time I got near the back of my mouth. I had to admit that I was, essentially, teething because my wisdom teeth were coming in, which was embarrassing enough. I then had to admit that I had an irrational fear of going to the dentist and had avoided the place as much as possible. It wasn't a good night for my self-esteem.

It was also a bad few days for my constant avoidance of our age difference after Edward's children gave me advice on getting my wisdom teeth removed because they had both gotten it done a year ago.

"Watch your head," Edward said patiently, helping me plop myself down in his car.

I grumbled to myself after he closed the door, my head falling back against the headrest. I watched him talk to a nurse, who apparently had been walking with us the whole time. He took a bag from her and shook her hand with a smile before quickly getting into the car beside me.

"Thanks for driving me," I mumbled. I reached up to pull the annoying cotton out of my mouth, only for him to quickly push my hands back to my lap.

"You're welcome," he smiled, grabbing my hand and keeping it tight in his.

I watched him as he drove. Noticed every little frown he made when someone cut in front of him or when he got stuck at a red light. He looked at me every few minutes with a crooked smile that kind of made me feel like I was floating.

"Why haven't you proposed?" I blurted out, not an ounce of embarrassment at my question.

Edward's brows shot up, his head turning in my direction as he slowed to a stop at a red light. "Why haven't I proposed?"

I rolled my eyes at his question that he stole from me. "Yes. I told you on Valentine's Day that I didn't want to wait to get married and now… all I do is wait." I let out a deep sigh, going on with no provocation. "I mean, it's not going to look great from a PR perspective because then there are going to be dozens of stories about me being pregnant or a gold digger or whatever, but I don't really care anymore. I just want to put on a pretty dress and walk down the aisle and be your wife."

I frowned to myself. "The title of your wife has been abused in the past, but I promise I won't do that. I don't care about the money or big houses or fancy cars. I just like you. And want to marry you. But you haven't asked. Which is kind of annoying."

I sighed, my eyes darting over to Edward. His hand squeezed mine, and he had a bright smile on his face as he chanced glances over at me while he drove.

"You're very chatty when you're high," he said through his smile.

"I'm not high."

Edward chuckled and shook his head. The bright smile turned into a relaxed grin as he kept speaking. I tried to pay attention to the words, but his hand squeezed mine every few seconds and it was incredibly distracting.

Once the car was parked, he helped me out just as he helped me in. I followed him through the front door, not realizing it wasn't his house until Esme appeared in front of me.

"Everything go okay?" she asked, kind smile on her face as she gently rubbed my forearm.

"No. Edward let the dentist steal my teeth."

Edward and his mother made the same face when they were trying to hide a smile, I realized, as she pressed her lips together.

"Why don't you come sit down, sweetheart?"

Edward led me through the entrance and living room, plopping me down on the sofa. He tucked a blanket around my lap, and some stray hair behind my ear. "I'm going to get your meds, okay?"

I nodded, falling back against the couch with a sigh. I wasn't sure if the high I was apparently on was starting to fade, or if I was just an exceptional downer, but I watched Edward through the crack in the kitchen door and realized there was absolutely no one else in the world who had ever taken my care so seriously. He was reading pill bottles and comparing them to the paper the nurse had given him. I even saw Carlisle wander by and help.

"No one has ever cared about me that much," I mumbled, the words popping out of my mouth in synch as they ran through my mind.

"You have a lot of people that care about you now."

The words were quiet, but took me by surprise. They shouldn't have, because I watched Esme sit beside me as Edward went to organize my new pill collection.

My eyes met Esme's; a nearly perfect replica of Edward's, and I knew she was right. I felt more comfortable sitting here beside her than I would if my own mother was beside me. I'd call her or Carlisle a hundred times before I ever called either of my own parents in any kind of emergency.

"Why don't you lay down, dear? You look exhausted," Esme said quietly, pulling a pillow from beside her into her lap.

It took the tiniest amount of coaxing to get me to lie down, my eyes falling shut immediately.

A/N: Who doesn't love a little bit of (mostly) fluff? Hope you enjoyed this one, see you next time!