Thank you for all the feedback. Big 'thank you' to Gaby for the beta work.

"I know I haven't seen you in a while, but this is a bigger surprise than I expected on my big day!" Carlisle joked, as he opened the door.

Bella could feel her whole face turning red. Edward huffed, strolling inside the house past his father, holding Cynthia in his arms.

"Hello! Happy birthday!" Bella leaned to hug Carlisle.

"Thank you, honey. So, what did I miss?" He stepped aside, so she could go into their home.

"We're babysitting." Bella had been under the impression that Esme had told her husband about Cynthia, but apparently, she had kept him out of the loop.

"Practice makes perfect, huh?" he chuckled, helping her out of her winter coat.

Bella cringed, choosing not to answer. Babies still scared the daylight out of her. The past week, spent with Cynthia, had cemented her conviction that a baby was something she never wanted to have. If it happened, considering the amount of sex she and Edward had…they'd face that bridge when they had to cross it.

Though, there hadn't been much sex in the past week. And it showed – especially on Edward's mood swings. Bella couldn't wait for Alice and Jasper to relieve them of their babysitting duties.

"Can't believe I've been played like this." Carlisle pointed to the living room, which was filled with birthday decorations.

"It's a nice surprise, though," she said.

"Well, I don't give a SHIT about what you thought!" Edward's raised voice came from the kitchen.

He'd promised Bella not to fight with his mom. They had discussed all morning the best way to approach that conversation in which Edward had to make his mom see that Tanya wasn't at her disposal.

"Excuse me," Bella mumbled, going to calm Edward before he ruined the day.

She found them facing each other, the whole kitchen between them. Edward was still in his winter jacket with Cynthia bundled up and cradled in his arms. Esme was standing by the stove, her hands on her hips, her beautiful face twisted into a frown.

Esme met Bella's eyes, which made Edward turn around. He placed Cynthia in Bella's arms, before storming away. She waited in tension, to hear the front door slamming, but all she could hear was clothes rustling, as Edward undressed in the hallway.

"Oh, sweetie!" Esme came to Bella, cupping her cheek.

It was only then when Bella realized, she'd started crying. She hated how her emotions got the best of her. Especially around Edward's parents. She hadn't been truthful about why she wanted Edward to make peace with his family over something so silly…in the grand scheme of things.

Bella loved his parents. They had welcomed and accepted her as she was, for which she was eternally grateful. She considered Esme and Carlisle her second parents, even though, it didn't make much sense in her head. But that feeling made her fight for their happiness…for keeping Edward close to them.

Bella appreciated Esme's effort to hold family dinner every Saturday, to keep her children close. Not many families did that.

Ever since James had returned to Santa Barbara, Bella hadn't seen him much. But they made an effort to see each other at least once a month. Bella still wasn't Victoria's greatest fan, but she'd come to accept that she was part of the family. And Ruby was as wild as Bella used to be as a child. James blamed her for all the mischief Ruby caused, which amused Bella.

"Shhh. You know how Edward is," Esme said gently, stroking Bella's cheek.

It should have been Bella making Esme feel better after her son shouted at her, but it ended up being the other way round.

Esme guided her to a chair, then helped with undressing Cynthia.

Bella wiped her eyes, watching the way Esme was babbling to the baby and realized in that moment what would make her deliriously happy. The problem was, neither she, nor Edward were ready or in a hurry for extending the family.

"I understand that the way I treated Tanya wasn't how Edward expected," Esme said.

"It's not that. I mean, I guess, that's what put fuel on the fire."

Esme shot her a confused look. "Is Edward upset because of anything else? Work?" Esme's eyes held Bella's, asking silently if they were fighting.

Bella felt a surge of anger, something she never wanted to feel around Edward's family. "It's…He's trying to deal with it on his own, like always." Bella scowled at her hands. "But his emotions are getting the best of him…on innocents," she said, returning her eyes on Esme. At the confused look she met, Bella groaned loudly. "In a few days, it will be the second year after he'd lost Angela. He's a mess."

"Oh, goodness!" Esme gasped, her eyes filling with tears.

Bella had no clue how such a date had evaded Edward's mother's mind, because it had been the trigger of his incredibly reckless and suicidal behavior back then. Jasper had once told Bella that she'd saved Edward from himself when they'd met. She was beginning to realize it, with each passing day and the more he opened up about his past.

The front door opened, bringing in Rosalie's raised voice and Elliot's wails. She was scolding Emmett over his driving.

Esme returned Cynthia to Bella's arms, one of her hands lingering on Bella's arm. "I'll talk to Edward when he calms down." Then she went to check on her daughter.

"Ella!" Cynthia tapped Bella's cheeks, making her laugh. "Yuck!"

Bella wiped her cheeks of any traces of her tears, just as Emmett came into the kitchen, carrying a tray.

"Fuck me." His eyes widened.

"Oh, God! Is everyone going to react like this?" Bella moaned.

Emmett chuckled uneasily. "Don't know how else you want me to react."

"Maybe you should use your brain and eyes!" Edward snapped from behind him, coming to Bella's side. "We're not staying," he told her.

"Edward," she protested.

"I gave Dad our gift. I'm going to chat with Rosalie, then we're leaving."

"Edward!" Bella stood up, narrowing her eyes.

He lifted a brow, amused – like every time she defied him.

"We're staying. You're going to have a civilized conversation with your mother, even if I have to tie you to the chair," she spat.

"Kinky," Emmett commented.

Edward shot him a look, then returned his green eyes to Bella. She resisted the urge to look away, knowing he was moments away from dazzling her into submission. She met his eyes, challenging him to test her. His smile widened, then he started laughing loudly.

"Have you lost your mind?" she asked quietly.

"Just imagining you tying me down," he joked.

Bella choked on her spit. That was a dangerous territory they were headed to…They had yet to test the full experience of using ropes on Bella's body. Alice had told her countless times that nothing compared to that feeling. Yet, Bella had always considered the idea as silly. Why work for hours on tying her up, only to untie her after? What did they get out of that?

"Dude, I wouldn't cross her." Emmett placed the tray on the counter. "I don't know what you did to cross Bella, but she looks ready to whip you down."

Edward doubled over in laughter, making Bella's blush deepen. If only Emmett knew…

"We're definitely staying. This proves to be an entertaining evening," Edward decided.

Bella glared at Emmett, turning on her heel and leaving the kitchen. She could still hear them laughing as she turned the corner.

Rosalie was on the couch with her mother and her baby. Rosalie glanced at Bella, then her eyes slid to Cynthia.

"She's adorable!" she exclaimed.

"Don't be fooled," Bella mumbled, sitting in one of the stuffed chairs. "She's the devil in disguise, just like her mom."

Bella had made the mistake to introduce Alice and Rosalie, which had resulted in endless shopping trips for her. Though, Bella was happy that Alice had made a new friend. To Bella, it seemed that Alice didn't have many friends, except maybe Charlotte.

"Is that any way to speak of Alice?" Edward asked, joining them.

"Seriously? After this past week…Alice is tame," Bella said.

Edward placed Cynthia's favorite plush bunny in her hands, sitting on the arm of the stuffed chair. "So tying me up is one of your fantasies?" he whispered in her ear.

Bella hid her head in Cynthia's back, wanting nothing more than to die.

"We agreed to talk about anything, Isabella."

"No way. You don't get to talk to me like that here," she retorted under her breath.

Her body had learned how to react to his Dom voice, and it would be humiliating to come on spot if he pushed her further.

"Oh, you have no idea the plans I have for you when we get home."

"To hand over the devil child?" Bella quipped, meeting his eyes.

"After," he breathed out, leaning to kiss her. It was a hot and wet kiss, which left her head reeling and her body tingling.

"You don't play fair," she whined.

"I never promised to play fair, baby girl."

"Oh, God! Stop," she hissed.

Edward's brows drew in the middle of his forehead.

"I mean it. Not here. Besides, you still need to talk to your mom."

"Way to kill a boner," he commented, straightening up. "Mom, let's talk."

Bella knew from his soft voice that this time, they weren't going to fight. She looked over at Rosalie, busy feeding her son. Bella could never understand how brave some women were to strip their insecurities and do something otherwise natural, like provide food for their baby.

"So, what did my brother do now?"

"Don't worry about it," Bella mumbled. She wasn't ready to take sides and give long explanations how both Edward and Esme were guilty, but at the same time, it was neither of their fault.

It was common for people to see other people, like Tanya, only as what they represented, and not an actual person. Also, since Esme was family, she probably believed it was okay to borrow Tanya. After Bella's talk with Tanya from the previous evening, she'd learned that hadn't been the first time Esme had exploited her.

As for Edward, he'd chosen to pour his unstable emotions over the only person who didn't deserve it – his mother. It was true, that she hadn't been tactful in asking for Tanya's help, which at the end of the day, Tanya had admitted that it didn't bother her to help Esme – it was the way she was treated while at Edward's parents' house.

Bella wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the weekend wrapped around Edward, naked, preferably. But she also wanted him to talk about the upcoming dark cloud looming over him.

As Carlisle's friends started arriving, the atmosphere was relaxed. Edward had returned to Bella's side, and had avoided his mother at all costs ever since. Bella was truly curious what had trespassed between them.

At the moment, Edward was in a deep conversation with his father and a fellow doctor, when he excused himself to answer his ringing phone.

Bella knew it was time to get ready to leave. She was eager to say goodbye to Cynthia and return her to Jasper and Alice.

Bella did her best to pay attention to what Rosalie was telling her about what Elliot had learned to do, but her eyes were on Edward, pacing in the hallway. When his smiling face turned to her, Bella returned the gesture, sighing in relief.

Edward came to her immediately after wrapping up his conversation. He placed an arm around her shoulders. "Get ready, baby." After kissing her neck, he approached his dad with a spring in his step.

"You're leaving?" Rosalie gasped. "But…the cake! We brought a nice pie."

"Sorry. We have to return Cynthia to her parents," Bella explained.

"Oh." Rosalie's smile turned devilish. "Then you can catch up on the lost time."

"You got it." Bella wasn't even going to deny it how much she'd missed Edward, even though he'd been next to her throughout the whole hellish week.

"Just be careful…or you might make one of your own."

Bella shuddered. "I hope not." She downed the last sips from her wine, placing the glass back on the table. "See you."

"Have fun!" Rosalie winked, making Bella blush.

While they got dressed in the hallway, Esme joined them. "Leaving without telling me goodbye?"

Edward jumped, startled, having his back to the stairs and not seeing or hearing her approach. "Fuck, Mom!"

She jabbed a finger into his face. "I don't care how old you are, you're still not allowed to cuss under my roof!"

"Then let me get out of the house," he said, amused. "Look, we have to meet Jasper and Alice."

"Oh, I see." Esme's eyes settled on Cynthia, her smile growing. "She's precious." Then she stepped closer and hugged Bella, careful not to squish the baby between their bodies.

On their way to the car, Edward hovered by the hood. "Did you drink?"

"Yeah. I hope you didn't." Bella hadn't kept track of Edward, since he'd spent the last few hours with his dad.

"One glass when we arrived. That's not it. I wanted to try something."

"Cynthia's still here," Bella reminded him sternly.

"Boner killer," he muttered.

"You've got a one-track mind, don't you?" she laughed, heading to the backseat of the Volvo.

Edward went behind the wheel, turning to grin at her. "Can you blame me? I've been pussy deprived."

"If I remember correctly, we found a few hours for that."

He licked his lower lip, his eyes smoldering. "Not for what I have in mind."

Bella was ready to combust by the time he started driving away.

Time to hand Cynthia back to her parents and have so much-needed privacy.