A/N: There's a lot of legal jargon in here, and while I spent a lovely afternoon researching restraining orders, I had to take some creative liberties as well. Please, no legal lectures needed for the things I got wrong!

Everything's gonna be alright

Everything's gonna be okay

It's gonna be a good, good life

That's what my therapists say

~ Bebe Rexha, I'm a Mess

BPOV

I had a fair amount of clothing options hanging in Edward's closet, had tried on a majority of them in the half hour I had been standing here, but none of them felt right. I didn't feel like wearing a dress and jeans seemed too casual but then a skirt felt too formal. Which led to Edward finding me sitting on one of the plush grey benches in the closet, staring at the wall.

"You okay?" he asked softly, sitting next to me.

I shrugged, tugging at my fingers in my lap. "I don't think I'm handling the whole lawyer thing very well."

"I can call and cancel if you want?"

"No," I said too quickly.

My clothing dilemma was just a distraction, I knew what I wore didn't matter all that much. But, it was easier to think about than whether or not the lawyer coming over would believe anything that I said.

"What if," I sighed, chewing on my bottom lip before continuing. "What if he thinks I made everything up, too?"

I kept my eyes on the wall in front of me, feeling Edward take a deep breath beside me. I frowned when he stood up, my attention turning toward him as he went and started rummaging through one of the drawers on his side of the closet. Before I could say anything, he came back over with a plain black CD case in hand.

"This is the security footage from the theater, the night… they were there."

My frown deepened as I stared at the disc.

"Jenks has been our family lawyer since I can remember. He's a good man, and a good lawyer. He'd believe you without the footage. It might make it easier to get a restraining order with it, though."

I fought against the nearly overwhelming urge to snap the flimsy plastic case in my hand. Which I knew meant, as much as I was dreading the process, I needed to do it in order to be able to move on.

"How long have you had this?" I asked quietly.

Edward shrugged. "Since the morning after it happened."

The ring of the doorbell just about made me jump off of the bench. Edward stood up, pulling me with him and cupped both of my cheeks.

"It'll be okay. I promise."

It was silly of me to always believe him when he promised me everything would be okay. I was more than aware that there were things out of his control, things he couldn't promise no matter how much he wanted to. His promises always made me feel better, though.

I quickly pulled on an olive-green t-shirt and a pair of well-loved jeans as Edward went to answer the door. I kept the disc in my hand, and forced myself to put one foot in front of the other as I headed downstairs.

"Mom," I heard Edward hiss as I got closer to the first floor. "You don't need to be here. Please, drop it."

"Edward, if you're calling Jenks it's because something is wrong and I – "

"It was for me," I interrupted, taking the last few stairs down and ending up beside Edward.

They were all still gathered in the doorway, Esme and the man I had to assume was Jenks standing outside while Edward had a firm grip on the door handle.

Jenks looked to be in his late forties, maybe early fifties. His hair was blonde, slicked back a little, and his eyes a green nowhere near as enticing as Edward's. He was in a suit that probably cost around five-thousand-dollars, but he didn't give off an arrogant vibe most people wearing the same would have.

"I'm sorry you were worried. I asked Edward if he knew a good lawyer and…" I hesitated, not sure if I had it in me to explain the situation more times than I already had to today.

"Are you okay?" Esme asked, none of her worry disappearing after I told her Edward was fine.

"Mom, it's – " Edward started, but I didn't let him get too far.

"It's okay," I told him, giving his arm a squeeze. He let the door fall open, Jenks and Esme walking through.

"Isabella," Jenks said with a smile, holding his hand out. "Jason Jenks. Edward said you needed some help?"

I shook his hand, trying my best to give him a smile in return. "Just Bella."

"You two can take the dining room," Edward said, motioning down the hall and toward the five-person circular glass table I knew was waiting.

Jenks went ahead. I assumed he had been here before and knew exactly where he was going. I took a couple steps after him, Edward quickly following me.

"You can tell her," I told him softly, my eyes drifting to Esme still standing in the doorway.

He started shaking his head immediately. "If you don't want people to know – "

"It's fine," I interrupted. "She's worried about you, and if you don't tell her the truth she's going to assume it's worse than it is."

My childhood wasn't something I wanted to broadcast to everyone I knew, but I also knew taking the step of getting a restraining order was going to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak. People would find out, hopefully just a small number of them, but it was more than I would have ever wanted. Esme, and subsequently Carlisle, finding out was hardly the worst-case scenario.

Edward looked frustrated, but his face softened when I squeezed his hand. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

I nodded, stretching up on my toes to press a kiss to his cheek before I turned and headed for the dining room.

Jenks was already seated at the table, a notepad in front of him. He gave me another warm smile as I sat down across from him. Lady appeared at my side, sitting down beside my chair with a sigh.

"So, what can I do for you, Bella?"

I took a deep breath, digging my nails into my palms as I spoke. "I need a restraining order against my step-brother. My parents, too, if I can get one. I don't really know the requirements for them, though," I blathered on, stopping myself before I got off topic.

Jenks nodded, not showing any emotion other than curiosity as he took notes. "Let's start with your step-brother. What did he do?"

"Sent me to the hospital a few dozen times from the ages of eight to eighteen," I said quickly, deciding being as blunt as possible might make the process move along faster.

There was no gasp, no pitiful look, nothing as Jenks nodded and continued to write. Some people might have thought it a rude reaction, but I appreciated it. I wasn't telling him for anything other than his legal help, and that was all he was going to take away from the situation. It allowed me to dig my nails out of my palms.

"You're twenty-three now, correct?" He asked, and I nodded. "He hasn't hurt you since you were eighteen?"

I was about to agree, then my eyes caught the disk I had set on the table. "He showed up at my work a few months ago and nearly broke my nose. This is the, uh, security footage," I said, sliding the disk across the table.

He nodded, taking more notes before asking me a few other questions. They were never about the validity of what I was saying, but general questions about the situation. The extent of my injuries, how often they happened, things like that. He gave nothing away, either, on whether or not I could actually get the restraining order or not.

"Now, about your parents," he said, flipping the page on his legal pad. "Were they aware of what was going on?"

"I told them both," I said, attempting to keep my voice from weakening. "My mother didn't care and my father didn't believe me."

After a few more miscellaneous questions, Jenks was quiet for a minute as he looked over his notes.

"You have a very strong case to be granted a domestic violence restraining order against your step-brother," Jenks said evenly. "We can file the paperwork Monday, and you'll likely be granted a temporary restraining order until the court date, should the judge accept the case. It shouldn't be more than a month away. He'll be served the papers in Florida and given the opportunity to answer to the allegations, a chance to say his side of the story and appear in court here if he wants."

I frowned. "I have to go to court?"

I didn't know much about the process of getting a restraining order, and hadn't bothered to look it up in the past few days. I was kind of hoping it was a magical process where I didn't have to go to court or sit in front of a judge or anything, though.

"Yes," he nodded. "Shouldn't take long, an hour at the most. You have physical evidence. Hospital records and the tape should be more than enough to corroborate your story and prove he's a threat. Especially if the last altercation was only a few months ago."

I nodded as he went on.

"Taking action against your parents would be more complicated. If they never physically harmed you or verbally threatened you, you're not going to get a restraining order against them. They could very easily be charged with child neglect, though. You're within the statute of limitations and it sounds like there is enough of a paper trail to make your case."

I chewed on my bottom lip. I knew the odds of a restraining order against Charlie or Renee were slim, but I didn't expect him to say I had a case to press charges.

"The sentence isn't horrible, typically a year in county jail. But, it's something. That being said, you could also press charges against your step-brother if you want to go through that process as well."

I nodded, the onslaught of information overwhelming. I wasn't sure I wanted to go through the process of pressing charges against Charlie and Renee. I hated them. Would love nothing more than to have them face some kind of punishment, but it wasn't going to solve any of my problems. It would probably only create more problems once word got out about the whole thing.

Pressing charges against Tyler sounded much more appealing.

"What are the odds that my step-brother would get any kind of punishment?" I asked quietly, even though I knew they weren't good. As fucked up as it was, I knew even with the video and the restraining order and hospital records, if I took Tyler to court it would probably cause me more trouble than him.

Jenks nodded solemnly. "Probably not great. He might get a little time, though."

"Can the restraining order… is it public knowledge?" I asked.

"Most are," Jenks said. "Because you were a minor at the time of the indiscretions, I think we'll be able to keep all court proceedings sealed, though."

"Can I go ahead with the restraining order and still think about what to do about my parents?"

"Of course," Jenks said, a kind smile on his face. "The statute of limitations on a child neglect case can go up to ten years. You've got time."

"I think," I sighed. "I'd like to go ahead with the restraining order, then."

My nails were back to digging into my palms. My bottom lip was lucky to be in one piece, and Lady was long gone after my bouncing leg got too annoying for her.

Jenks nodded. "I'll file the paperwork Monday morning. As… unfortunate as the situation is, you have a strong case in court, which should make this process easier for you."

"Thank you for your help," I sighed, forcing my body to relax. Then the topic of payment crossed my mind. "Do I pay you upfront, or – "

"Oh, no. Everything is taken care of already," Jenks said quickly, packing up his things.

Edward and Esme walked around the corner, so I didn't get to ask any more questions about it. I stood up from my spot as Jenks did the same, my muscles feeling like I had just run ten miles instead of sat in a chair for an hour.

"It was lovely to meet you, Bella," Jenks said, coming around to shake my hand again. "I'll keep you updated on our progress."

He said his goodbyes to Edward and Esme, before the three of us were left in the dining room.

Edward was next to me before I could say anything, rubbing a soothing hand up and down my arm. "You okay?"

I nodded, smiling up at him. I was more okay than I thought I'd be after the meeting. Almost better than okay. My eyes drifted to Esme, standing to the side with red eyes and a Kleenex clutched in her hand.

"I'm sorry for interfering in your business," she told me sincerely, looking like she was on the verge of a new round of tears. I wasn't sure what kind of reaction I expected from her, but I wasn't sure if this was it.

"It's okay," I told her.

She started shaking her head, looking like she was going to argue, but then settled for wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. Nothing like the few gentle ones I had received from her in the past.

"If you ever need anything," she whispered against my hair. "Absolutely anything, you come to Carlisle and I, okay?"

My chest constricted immediately, as soon as I realized she had reacted the way any loving mother would have when Edward told her about my upbringing. Not only that, but she was offering me the love of a mother and father that I had never had. Seemingly without a second thought about it.

I knew we had a pleasant relationship, Esme and I. I could hold a conversation with her without saying something stupid and genuinely enjoyed her company. She gave me the emerald that was currently hanging around my neck, and had been nearly every day since. She very nearly bought me a car after my outburst on Thanksgiving.

I just didn't know that was what a mother did, how they acted. Because I had never experienced it.

Instead of telling her I was fine again, or that she didn't need to worry about meddling or deflecting in any other way, I felt my own arms tightening around her. "Okay."

Esme pulled away with a gentle smile, pressing a hand to my cheek before turning toward Edward. "I'll leave you two alone, now," she sighed, pressing a kiss to Edward's cheek before making her exit.

Edward and I ended up on the lounge chairs in the far corner of his backyard. They overlooked the canyon right below his house, and the city in the distance. He was quiet, sitting in the chair next to me. I could feel him watching me, but I kept my focus on the twinkling buildings in the sunlight and the soft fur underneath my fingertips. At least until I could focus.

"I have to go to court," I sighed. "To get the restraining order."

I saw him nod in my peripheral vision. "Are you still going to do it?"

My answer was immediate. "Yes."

"Good."

The bite in his voice took me by surprise. My head turned toward him, and I watched as he tried to control the obvious anger he had growing inside him. I figured it was best to give him all of the information at once, in case there was more fuel to be added to the fire before I tried to put it out.

"He said I could press charges against all of them. Charlie and Renee might get a year or so in jail, but… Tyler… probably wouldn't get much more than a slap on the wrist."

I swallowed back some bile in the back of my throat. I didn't say his name much. Maybe it was a stupid little thing, but saying it out loud always made me a little nauseous.

In the corner of my eye I watched Edward run a frustrated hand through his hair half a dozen times.

I left him to come to his own conclusions while I tried to organize my own thoughts. Jenks had said I had time to think about what to do regarding Charlie and Renee, but I didn't want it hanging over my head. I wanted to get the entire situation behind me as quickly as possible.

"What do you think I should do?" I asked Edward quietly. "About Charlie and Renee?"

There was no point in trying to press charges against Tyler. He was a privileged white man playing minor league baseball who could do no wrong in anyone's eyes. It would only dig up more trauma if I went down that road.

Charlie and Renee were a different story though.

I looked over at Edward, realizing he hadn't answered yet. The frustration and anger were clear on his face, his hands were in fists in his lap and he didn't seem to be able to look in my direction.

"I don't think I can give you unbiased advice on the situation," he gritted out. "They all… they disgust me. I would put them all through hell if it meant they got any kind of punishment for –"

He shook his head, his eyes finally meeting mine. "You're not that vindictive, though. Putting them in jail, no matter how long it was, it wouldn't make you feel any better, would it?"

I shook my head. I wasn't sure what it was going to take for me to ever feel better about the whole thing, but I knew pressing charges wasn't it. It would solve none of my problems. The damage was already done.

"I just want them to leave me alone," I whispered, my voice cracking involuntarily.

Edward stood up, quickly situating himself on the lounge chair behind me. His arms were tight around my waist, his hands grabbing mine and giving them a firm squeeze. He pressed a kiss to the back of my head.

"Then, you get the restraining order," Edward said quietly, his arms tight enough around me to feel like they were holding me together. "You can change your number, so Charlie doesn't have it anymore. The new house… it has a gate and more security cameras than you can imagine. They won't get near you again. I promise."

It was another one of those promises. The ones I knew he couldn't keep no matter how hard he tried. I took comfort in it, anyway.

…Closure…

"So, which one is Lauren?" Ashley whispered to me as we walked out of the conference room late Monday morning.

"Um, blonde to the left," I muttered, seeing her sitting in her office down the hall. "Why?"

"She handled a few things for me while you were out of town. Did you know she hates you?"

"Yes," I chuckled, taking a quick detour to my office to grab my bag before walking toward the elevator with Ashley. "How do you know she hates me?"

"Oh, she made it very obvious. Everything you've ever done for me is wrong, according to her."

I rolled my eyes, stepping into the elevator and pressing the button for the parking garage. I could accept the fact that Lauren might not agree with my own strategies, but flat out telling another person's client that was crossing a line, even for her.

"Did she tell you that you should be on the cover of every magazine imaginable, doing every talk show, and over exposing yourself to the point where you go insane?"

"Basically."

I had never noticed it before, not until Renata pointed out why exactly Lauren and the other publicists did what they did, but their perspectives on the job were now very obvious to me. Lauren tried to over expose her clients to make more money. Eric did what needed to be done and very little more. Alistar was very by the book and hadn't adapted to any more modern ideas.

They were all excellent at their jobs. In this town you could find a hundred different people that would be on board for each of their strategies. It just wasn't the way I liked to do things.

"Do you want to be doing more?"

I knew she didn't. I liked to think I knew Ashley and how she wanted to work her career fairly well at this point. Still, if what Lauren had said had interested her in any way, I'd try to make it work.

"Oh, not at all. I think things are going good… don't you?"

Ashley's career was better than good. Her album was still selling at an impressive rate when selling albums wasn't an easy thing to do. She had been asked to open for a few different summer tours and do a handful of festivals as well.

"It's going to be good," I assured her, stepping out of the elevator.

"Don't go out of town and leave me with her again… okay?"

I smiled over at Ashley, her own car pulling right up to the elevator for her to get in. She was young and had more pressure on her than any other eighteen-year-old could imagine. She didn't need Lauren convincing her that her entire plan for her career was wrong just because she didn't agree with it.

"Okay," I nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Ashley smiled and hopped into the car, and I walked over to my own. I was parked on the UCLA campus not twenty minutes later. The walk was very familiar to me, but felt entirely different now than the hundreds of times I had walked through the student center before.

I felt more out of place as I ordered Rosalie and I lunch than I had when I went here, which was saying something because I never felt like I belonged then, either. I spotted Rosalie quickly, her nose buried in a book at a small table off on its own.

"Look at you," I chuckled, dropping a Styrofoam container of Chinese food in front of her. "Studying."

Rosalie was a smart woman. She had a business degree, but rarely did I ever see her study when we were in school. Part of it was because she didn't need to, and part of it was because she was fine with barely passing grades. That didn't seem to be the case now.

"You know what the worst part is?" she asked, grabbing her fork and angrily taking a bite of noodles. "I like it."

"No," I gasped, setting my phone on the table and taking a bite of my own noodles.

"Yeah. Which means eventually I'll have to admit to Emmett that he was right. The man already has a big enough ego, Bella."

I chuckled. "It's good that you like it, though."

"I guess," she sighed. "But how did he know I'd like all of this when I didn't? I mean, if you had told me four years ago I'd be excited for an anatomy class I would slap you across the face."

"Maybe because he loves you and understands you?"

"It's just… intense sometimes, you know? That he knew me better than I knew myself."

Rosalie, for the buckets of confidence that she exuded on a daily basis, was also just as insecure sometimes as the rest of the world. I was one of the very few people who ever saw that side of her.

"I think that's the best part about being in a relationship," I shrugged, popping a piece of orange chicken in my mouth and watching as Rosalie cocked her head to the side. "It's nice having someone know you that much."

Rosalie looked at me, wide eyed for a minute before smiling and shaking her head. "It took you a month to tell me where you were from."

I rolled my eyes, getting her point immediately. "Three weeks."

"Practically a month."

My phone rang, Edward's face popping up on the screen. Rosalie told me to go ahead, her eyes falling back on the book in front of her.

"Hi."

"Hey. Do you have a minute?"

"Yeah, is everything okay?" I questioned, wondering if this was work call or a personal call.

"Yeah," he sighed, and I could practically hear a smile in his voice. "I just wanted to tell you that we're in escrow."

I was quiet for a minute, frowning down at my food. "What's escrow?"

Edward chuckled over the phone. "The time between the sellers accepting our offer and us actually signing the papers."

My frown quickly turned into a smile. "You bought the house."

"We bought it, but, yes."

"Oh, you're very mistaken if you think I can afford a sixteen-million-dollar house."

I made a lot of money now. Enough to be able to afford a nicer place than what Rosalie and I had now if I wanted, but I liked living with her. Still, it was nowhere near what even a down payment on that place would have been.

"You told me to put your money toward the house, and I did. Your name will be on the papers. We should be able to sign within the month, and its ours."

"I…" I stuttered. I had told him to use the money towards the house, and I meant it, but I also knew that money wasn't mine in the first place. "I mostly said that so you'd stop trying to give it to me."

"Well," Edward sighed, doing a very bad job at hiding his laugh. "Now we've got ourselves a house."

"Edward," I grumbled. "You paid for the house. You don't have to –"

"It's ours, Bella," he said softly. "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 frowned. "In case of what?"

"We'll talk about it later, okay?"

"Okay," I sighed.

We ended our call a few minutes later, Rosalie looking up at me as I put my phone down.

"What?"

"Apparently I'm in escrow on a house."

"Holy shit," Rosalie muttered, taking a bite of her chicken.

"Yeah," I nodded, pushing my food around in my container. I wasn't sure what the just in case meant, and I felt a little odd at having my name on the papers of a house I definitely didn't contribute in buying, but I also couldn't wipe the smile off of my face if I tried.

"I want more details on this house thing, but I have a test in an hour so it'll have to wait until Friday."

I frowned. "What's Friday?"

"Alice invited, or kind of demanded, we go out with her to some bar Friday night. I might have forgotten to tell you. You can go, right?"

"Sure," I nodded, knowing if Alice was involved saying no wasn't really an option. I genuinely enjoyed Alice's company, too, and I hadn't been spending enough time with Rosalie. My last choice of venue would have been a bar, but I could tolerate it for a while.

I left Rosalie to her studying a few minutes later. I was scrolling through my emails as I walked down the hall toward the door, coming to a stop when I heard my name called from beside me.

"Isabella Swan?"

I smiled, seeing one of my old professors walk toward me. She had taught a few of my higher-level marketing courses I had taken my last year here.

"Professor Michaels," I smiled. "How are you?"

She never answered me. She eyed me up and down for a minute before sadly shaking her head at me. "You had a lot of potential," she sighed. "It's a shame you wasted it."

She was walking past me down the hall before I could speak.

Story's out, I thought to myself, taking a deep breath before getting out of there as fast as I could.

…Closure…

I collapsed in the front seat of my car, a myriad of emotions all fighting for dominance in my head. Usually, after a therapy session I was upset or confused or mad or a jumble of all three. Rarely did I ever feel better about myself afterwards. Today, I did.

I told Doctor Stanley about the restraining order and apparently that was a big gold star for me. It was a long time coming, and Doctor Stanley seemed impressed that I went ahead with the step seemingly without over thinking it too much. I had been holding on to all of the trauma my childhood had caused me, and that restraining order was the first step I had taken in a long time to try and let it all go.

My good mood was improved even further when I saw Edward's name flash on the screen as I pulled out of the parking lot.

"Hi," I beamed, even though I was alone in the car. Edward's answering greeting was nowhere near as exuberant as mine. "Is everything okay?"

"There's a boy coming to my house for dinner."

I took a minute to try and figure out what exactly that meant, but I came up empty. "Um, what?"

"A boy. Coming over for dinner. Because he wants to date my daughter."

"Oh," I sighed, doing my best to keep from chuckling. "Is it Ethan?"

"Yes. Ethan," Edward grumbled.

"You have to at least give him a chance," I said softly. It wasn't my business, and I knew how protective he was of his kids, but I also felt a little sense of loyalty to Lucy. Who I knew would be petrified if Edward got too protective at their dinner.

I heard Edward let out a large sigh over the phone. "I know you just got out of your appointment, and if you don't feel up to it I understand but… do you want to come over for dinner? Maybe keep me from strangling the kid?"

It made me a little sad, how hesitant he was to ask me. Which made my answer quick. "Okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I just need to change and I can be there in… forty-five minutes."

We ended the call quickly after that. Once I got home I put some food down for Lady while I changed out of my work clothes into a comfortable pair of jeans and a slightly oversized but too comfortable to resist navy blue sweater.

I grabbed Lady's leash, taking her for a quick walk around the street before letting her hop in the back seat of the car. I didn't like leaving her at home alone, especially after I spent the entire day at work, and she was becoming a little obsessed with Edward. Not that I could blame her.

She even recognized the house, a high-pitched squeak coming from her as I parked in his driveway. There was no other car around, which I assumed meant Ethan wasn't here yet. I dropped my phone in my bag and went around to grab Lady, who immediately bolted out of the car and headed straight for where Edward was waiting at the door.

"She likes you more than me," I chuckled, smiling down at the two of them as Edward greeted her with nearly the same amount of excitement as she had shown.

"She just doesn't see me as much," he shrugged, standing up when Lady went to investigate the rest of the house. Warm hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me against him. "Thanks for coming."

I smiled up at him, pressing my lips just underneath his chin. "I didn't want anyone getting strangled."

A slightly strained chuckle came from Edward as he grabbed my hand and led me to the kitchen. He poured me a glass of wine without a second thought. I sat at the counter for a couple minutes and watched him fumble around the kitchen, his frustration at the situation very obviously messing with his head.

"Do you need some help?" I asked quietly, after he dropped two onions on the ground.

Edward sighed, leaning over the counter across from me. "I need my children to be six, not sixteen."

I gave him a small smile, stretching my hand out to unclench the fists his were in.

"She's sixteen. She should get to date. I just… I know what a sixteen-year-old boy thinks about on a date and it makes me want to lock her in her room until she's in her twenties. I should have looked into the kid when you told me about him. I thought I had time, though, then she came home and asked if he could come to dinner and she looked so happy I couldn't say no. But, now I don't have time to do a background check and – "

"You don't need to do a background check," I interrupted. I could sit there and listen to him worry about her all day, because he was a good dad and cared about his kids more than anything and it was one of the many things I loved about him, but the background check was a little unnecessary.

Edward scoffed. "Oh, I'm doing the background check."

"You don't need to do a background check because I already did one," I finished, staring down at our intertwined fingers for a moment or two before looking back up at him.

"You did?"

"I mean, not a full police background check. That seemed a little unnecessary considering he's a minor. But, I, you know, might have looked into him a little bit after Lucy told me about him."

It was an accident. Kind of. I was working late one night after she told me she had a crush on a kid named Ethan in her class and the next thing I knew I had scrolled through all of his socials and his parents' and knew nearly all of their holiday traditions thanks to his mother's Facebook page.

Edward's face was a mix of surprise and… bewilderment, maybe, as he stared at me. "You looked into him?"

"Um, well, yeah. I wanted to make sure he wasn't another Derek. He isn't, at least he doesn't seem like it. He plays just about every sport you can, depending on the season. He's got an older sister at UCLA, which is where he's planning on going, too. I couldn't tell about past girlfriends, if there were any the pictures were probably deleted but – "

I was cut off by a kiss, quick and hard as Edward came around the counter to hover over me. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I smiled, glad he seemed a little less worried now.

"Oh, good, you're here," Lucy sighed, walking around the corner with Lady happily prancing alone beside her. "When we were at the animal shelter Sunday you had your hair in this pretty braid that somehow like, wrapped around your head and then the rest of your hair was down. Do you think you could help me do that?"

I gave myself three seconds to internally cheer that we had gone from Lucy calling me a bitch under her breath to her asking me to help with her hair before I nodded and had her take the seat in front of me. I also made a mental note to buy something for Rosalie as a thank you for her teaching me how to do just about every braid imaginable years ago.

I secured the last pin in her hair just as the doorbell rang. Lucy hopped up, straightening her blue sundress before quickly walking to the front door. My eyes drifted over to Edward, who looked like he couldn't decide between whether he was sad or angry or frustrated. Probably how I typically looked after a therapy session.

I walked over and wrapped my arms around him, squeezing as tight as I could. "She'll be okay," I promised before I could stop myself. It wasn't a promise I could keep, but it made the stress seem to dissipate as his arms wrapped around me.

Lucy walked around the corner, Ethan beside her. Based on my research, I knew he was just a few months older than her and already seventeen. His brown hair was on the curly side, his eyes a darker shade of blue than Lucy's. He was tall, too, hovering over Lucy who wasn't on the short side herself.

"Mr. Cullen," Ethan said quickly, holding a hand out to Edward across the island. "It's nice to see you again."

"Ethan," Edward nodded, very formal and very unlike how I knew him to be. I gave his free hand a squeeze.

"And, this is Bella. Dad's girlfriend," Lucy added.

"It's nice to meet you," Ethan said with a smile.

"You, too."

Edward would be furious, but he seemed like a nice kid. He had obviously dressed up for the evening, wearing a button down and some nice slacks. He seemed to have better social skills than I did, though the bar there wasn't very high. His cheeks were even tinted red, which I took to mean he was nervous about the dinner, which meant he wanted it to go well.

Lady, ever the socialite, came running around the corner and started sniffing at Ethan. "I didn't know you had a dog," he smiled, reaching down to pet her.

"She's Bella's," Lucy smiled. "But, she's here a lot. Her name is Lady."

Ethan laughed as Lucy told him the story behind her name. Lady, in what I decided was a show of solidarity, left Ethan rather quickly and came to sit right in the middle of the kitchen next to Edward's feet. A couple minutes later Edward accidently dropped a piece of chicken on the floor right next to her.

Dinner came together quickly after that, and eventually I was sitting at the table beside Edward with Masen, Lucy, and Ethan. Masen, always seemingly unfazed by everything, smiled at me as he sat down.

"Sorry everyone hates you again," he said very nonchalantly.

"It's okay," I shrugged. "I'm getting used to it."

Thankfully, my run in with my former professor was the worst interaction I'd had since the story leaked. I still got stares from all of my co-workers and Lauren liked to huff every time she saw me, but it was nothing horrible. Still, there were new stories and rumors every day, just like when the last picture leaked.

Edward sighed, giving my hand a squeeze underneath the table. He warmed up eventually, asking Ethan a few questions as the dinner went on. Thankfully, he managed to make them easy, simple questions like what sports he was playing this year and how his parents were.

I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes when I found out Edward had known Ethan since he was about eight. He knew his parents, had seen them all at school events over the years. Still, he had wanted to do a background check on the poor kid.

I observed for most of the dinner, answering a few questions when they were tossed my way, but I didn't want to get in the way of the interrogation. I watched Edward soften question after question, and I was pretty sure I saw the moment he realized he had to let go of the tight grip he had on his kids' childhood.

"Hey," I whispered, nudging his leg with my foot until he looked at me. "You're a good dad."

He gave me a small smile and squeezed my hand that he had kept a tight hold of all throughout dinner.

I was also pretty sure that was the moment I decided I'd give him just about as many other babies as he wanted. Maybe it was because he'd had sixteen years of practice, but he was so good at it, being a dad. He cooked them dinner nearly every night and he had them in a school that cost as much as some colleges and they adored him nearly as much as he loved them back. I knew he hated every minute of sitting there and watching Lucy and Ethan talk and laugh but he sat there with a smile on his face because he knew she was happy.

More babies weren't to replace Masen and Lucy. But, I wanted to be part of the experience this time.

I just about jumped out of my skin when my phone rang from the kitchen, still lost in my own little world.

"Sorry," I mumbled, running over to turn it off. That was the plan, until I saw Jason Jenks' name flashing on the screen. I answered the phone quickly, retreating to one of the guest rooms and quietly closing the door behind me.

"Hi, Mr. Jenks."

"Sorry to bother you, Bella. I just wanted to let you know that the judge approved your case and you have a court date scheduled for two weeks from this Friday."

"Oh," I gasped. "Okay. Is there anything I need to do before then?"

"No, I've got it all covered. We'll meet a few days before and I'll walk you through what to expect on the day. Right now, you've got a temporary restraining order. If your step-brother ever gets near you before then, call the cops and they'll have it on record."

"Okay," I repeated. My stomach dropped at his scenario, even though I knew he was only telling me so I'd know what to do in case of an emergency. "Thank you, Mr. Jenks."

"Of course, Bella. Have a good evening."

I gave myself a minute to myself, reminding myself that even though I was dreading the court process, it would hopefully be worth it in the long run. I must have spent more time locked in the guest room than I realized, because the table was cleared and Edward and Lucy were talking in the kitchen when I walked in.

"Thanks, Dad," Lucy mumbled against his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Just… be careful, okay?"

"I will."

"I love you, you know."

"I love you, too."

Lucy ran off quickly after that, saying something about needing to call Elise. Edward caught me leaning against the doorframe when he turned back to the kitchen.

"Hey. Everything okay?"

"The judge took my case," I shrugged. "I have a court date two weeks from Friday."

Edward grabbed my hand, pulling me against him. "That's good," he said tentatively.

"Yeah," I murmured. "I just want to get the whole thing over with."

"I know," he sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "Thanks for coming over tonight."

"You're welcome," I smiled, thankful for the change of subject.

"You could spend the night if you wanted."

I looked up at him, brows raised. "It's Wednesday."

"It is."

"You said we should start with weekends."

"We did."

I rolled my eyes, equal parts annoyed and thankful for his lack of concern over the things I thought were worthy of sleepless nights of anxiety.

"I'd have to leave early."

Edward smiled down at me, hands warm on my waist. "Just like old times."

I intended to laugh, but then his warm breath fanned down my neck and his words sent memories of late nights and early mornings through my mind and I was a goner.

"Okay."

A/N: Sorry about the wait on this one. My anxiety got the best of me for a while. Hopefully this surprise Tuesday update makes up for it!

Also, my stories are up for a few TwiFicFandom Awards! Round 1 voting is open until Feb. 28 and you can vote for me once a day on their site in the following categories if you feel like it :)

All Time Fic (Dark Paradise), Drop Everything Fic (Easy), Empire Records (reputation), MY EMOTIONS (Easy), Potential Best Selling Author, Veteran Author.

Wouldn't have any nominations without all of you reading this, so thanks for everything. See you again soon!