Stolen Dreams
Disclaimer: All recognizable things are owned by their respective owners. Yada, yada, yada.
A/N: Thank you to everything that read this week! I loved reading the thoughts of all that reviewed as well. I know that the last chapter wasn't action packed, but getting their relationship is important too. Ryan wasn't the only dream they lost. There have been some questions on the statue of limitations for kidnapping—the clock starts running when the child is kidnapped, not when it is discovered. I think this is because in most cases, those two things happen pretty close together. Also, it has not yet been proven that Ryan was truly Edward and Bella's son and that a kidnapping occurred. The courts do not move as fast as we would like them to. Family court isn't much better than criminal court. I know it feels like it is moving slowly—trust me, whatever frustration you feel, Edward and Bella feel it too.
Chapter 12
The weekend dragged on. My life had never depended on a man, and it still didn't. Life was just a little sweeter when he was around. I'd finally found true happiness, and being without the source of it was depressing.
Charlie checked in briefly on Saturday afternoon to let me know they'd officially brought Bob Gerandy into custody on kidnapping and human trafficking charges. He was being held in Forks' jail until the Feds could move him to their own facility. The Justice Department had authorized a warrant to comb through all the obstetrics records at Forks General to make sure that there weren't other mothers out there whose children were stolen from them. I couldn't even comprehend that idea.
On Saturday, an official looking yellow envelope arrived with the afternoon mail. The return address announced it as coming from a genetics lab. I laid it on the table and simply stared at it.
"Hey, did my Cosmo come in?" Alice asked as she joined me in the kitchen. She rummaged through the typical assortment of coupons, credit card offers, and bills, before realizing that I hadn't responded. She watched me for a minute. "What's that?"
"It's . . ." I cleared my throat. "It's the results of the DNA test with Ryan," I answered. My voice was shaking as much as my hands.
"Are you going to open it?"
I shook my head. "No, I think I should wait for Edward. Of all weekends for him to have to train, it had to be this one."
"No kidding," she murmured. "Can you resist that long? Because I don't think I could."
"I don't know. I mean, I just want to rip this open and see the words to confirm what I already know. But then, what if it doesn't say what I think it will, and I'm devastated? I'm going to need him here. Why couldn't it have waited until Monday?" I groaned, hitting my head against the table.
Alice sighed and laid her hand on my shoulder. "Here's what we're going to do. This afternoon, we're going over to the shop and we're going to dress up in the most outlandish outfits we can dream up. Then, I'm taking you out to dinner. Before we come home, we'll go by Edward's and get his mail. When you talk to him, you can tell him to come straight here. Tomorrow morning, you and I will head over to Pike Place Market, pick up some ingredients, and then you can make Edward a special dinner. I'll make plans with Jasper so that we will both be out of your hair."
"Thank you, Alice," I whispered. She knew exactly what I needed to keep my mind from dwelling on this envelope all night. There had been a number of nights over the years that we'd invaded her shop and played dress up. Some of our creations had even made it onto the mannequins. It was always fun and light-hearted—just what I needed tonight.
There were some ugly pieces in Alice's shop. Sadly, they sold well to the too-much-wealth-not-enough-taste crowd. We tried to match them up to make them palatable and ended up laughing in a heap on the floor, surrounded by scarves and shirts. By the time the sun had set, we'd redressed two mannequins three times each and set up a rack with suggested outfits.
The letter at home was never far from my mind, but in my heart, I knew what it said, and its presence only comforted me. It contained the truth and the pathway that would bring my family back together. Perhaps, I thought, as Alice and I rummaged through Edward's mailbox, it would even be an avenue to bring Edward and his parents some closure and healing of their own.
Edward had a matching envelope in his box, and I tucked it into my purse, before leaving the rest of his mail in a neat pile on his kitchen table. Everything else was as it should be, so we locked up and left. On the way home, Alice wheeled by the RedBox and rented a movie that we didn't actually watch. Edward and Jasper called just after we pressed play. The movie was long forgotten as we retreated to our separate rooms to talk to the men in our lives.
I didn't mention the DNA tests to Edward. He still had training in the morning, and I didn't want his focus to be off while dealing with live ammunition. I was worrying enough for both of us.
The next morning, Alice and I got bagels and coffee at one of the many bakeries in the market. On a whim, I grabbed a fresh loaf of bread and a delicious looking angel food cake on my way out the door. With all of the vendors in Pike Place, it was a good thing we'd both brought our large, reusable bags. At this rate, we were going to need them.
Alice picked up some fresh flowers, while I bought broccoli at Lee's. The fresh strawberries at Hayton Farms were so enticing, we got two packages of them—one for eating right then, and one for dessert later. Don and Joe's had some excellent ribeyes, so I added those to my bag, and rounded off our meal with some wild rice from one of the market groceries. Alice wholeheartedly approved of my meal plan, but encouraged me to stop by one of the dairies for fresh whipped cream and vanilla ice cream.
It was after one when we finished our shopping. Since the boys had sent us messages that they would return around four that afternoon, Alice and I hurried home to clean up and get the dinner I had planned for Edward and me ready. Jasper had promised Alice a real first date, so they would be out for most of the evening.
The steaks were marinating in a baking dish, and I'd just finished chopping the broccoli, when the apartment door opened.
"Honey, I'm home," Edward called playfully from the front door.
I ran to greet him.
He grabbed me securely and hugged me tightly. "Mmm, I missed you," he murmured into my hair.
I leaned back and kissed him hard on the mouth. "At least you've had something to keep you busy," I told him when we broke for air.
"Keep me busy they did," he affirmed. "Would you mind if I take a quick shower? I haven't had a chance since we ran ten miles this morning. I'm sure I smell lovely."
Frankly, I didn't really mind it. I could detect a hint of his cologne, but the natural muskiness of him was kind of a turn on. That said, if I wanted to get even closer to him later, I would prefer that he be clean. "Sure. I'll get dinner going."
He kissed me lightly again, hoisted his duffel over his shoulder, and tromped off down the hallway.
I quickly dumped the wild rice into the steamer, set it according to the printed directions, and laid the broccoli in the steaming tray above it. The vegetables would finish before the rice, but that couldn't be helped. I cored the strawberries and covered them with sugar, before sticking them in the refrigerator, and then I sliced the cake into wedges. The steaks would only require a few minutes in the broiler, but I preheated it while I waited.
The shower shut off, and I slid the steaks into the oven to cook. With any luck, everything would finish at roughly the same time and not too much after Edward came into the kitchen. Having food to concentrate on might make the opening of the envelopes much less frightening.
My luck, however, wasn't that good. The steaks hadn't been in the oven for more than five minutes when Edward strolled into the kitchen in his tight, black t-shirt and low slung jeans. Had I not been so distracted by his appearance, I might have noticed that his gaze had shifted from me to the bright yellow envelopes on the table.
"What are these?" he asked with a certain amount of suspicion in his voice, as if he knew that I'd been concealing something from him.
I faced the oven and checked on the cooking meat. "They came in the mail yesterday. I thought we should open them together," I answered.
"Bella, these are the DNA tests we took for Ryan," he said harshly. "Why didn't you open them and tell me what they said?"
My shoulders slumped. I'd thought that he would be as anxious as I was, not angry. "I was afraid," I whispered to the steamer. I couldn't face him.
His arms wrapped around my waist, and I jumped. I hadn't heard him come up to me. "Why were you afraid, baby?" he asked, his voice no longer harsh, but soothing.
"Because this is it; this is the proof that he's our son. What if we're wrong? I . . . I couldn't face that by myself. And I didn't want you to worry about it while you were shooting things, so I thought I'd make dinner, and we could do it together," I rambled.
"Okay," he said simply, backing away from me. "Get dinner ready, and we'll open them together."
That was all the encouragement I needed. The broccoli came out of the steamer a few minutes later, and the steaks followed. I shoved the bread in the oven to warm it while the rice finished, and soon, we were sitting down to a feast. Edward sat next to me and handed me my envelope.
"You know, if this says that you are his mother and I'm not his father, you're going to have some explaining to do," he joked.
I smacked his shoulder. "Yeah, because I was such a floozy," I said with a smile and a roll of my eyes. Edward and I had been each other's firsts, and there hadn't been anyone else for me until Garrett.
He snorted and ripped his envelope open. I watched as his eyes scanned the page, consuming all the information therein. I held my breath.
He swallowed three times, before turning back to me with moisture in his eyes. "He's ours," he whispered. "Ryan Cullen is our son."
Wasting no time, I tore open my own envelope and scanned the information confirming me as the little boy's mother. The fear I'd been harboring for an entire day seemed ridiculous at the moment, as if I should never have doubted what my heart had known all along.
Edward gathered me into his arms, despite the awkwardness of it. "Our son is alive," he murmured into my hair.
"I love you," I choked out through the tears that fell freely from my eyes. "I love you so much."
"I love you, too, baby."
Dinner was a lighthearted affair after that. We laughed, joked, and dreamed about our future and what we could have now that we knew our son had survived.
Edward placed a call to Dad while I loaded the dishwasher, putting him on speaker so I could hear the conversation.
"Hey, Charlie," Edward said conversationally after Dad picked up. "It's Edward and Bella."
"Hey.WhatcanIdoforyouthisevening?Idon'tusuallymeritaphonecallatseveno'clockonaSundaynight," he teased.
"With as talkative as you are, Dad, you don't merit a phone call any day of the week," I joked back.
"Thathurts,Bells.Cutsrighttothequick," he mocked. "Seriously,though,what'sgoingon?"
"We got our test results back, and you are the proud grandfather of a ten-year-old boy," Edward told him. He couldn't keep the smile off his face as he said the words.
Charlie was speechless for several seconds, and then he said with awe, "Well,damn,whatdoyouknowaboutthat?Congratulations,guys."
"Thanks, Daddy," I whispered, tearing up again. I knew that he was genuinely happy for us, and for himself.
Edward clicked it off speaker and stepped into the living room to finish the conversation. Minutes later, he returned, sliding my phone onto the countertop.
"He wants me to fax over the results in the morning for the case file," Edward said. "We'll need to send them to Aron, as well."
"I'll call in the morning and get his fax number for you," I offered.
Edward smiled at me. The happiness in his green eyes drew me in, and before I knew it, our mouths met in a passionate kiss.
"A week's too long without you," he groaned. I knew what he meant. My entire body was buzzing with desire for him. "And now I have to show you what a sexy little mother you are." He wiggled his eyebrows, and I laughed at his antics.
"Come on, Daddy, show me what you've got," I challenged, leading him back to my room.
He did. Repeatedly. All night long.
The next morning, I was naked and more than a little sore from our activities the night before. Five orgasms had a way of exhausting the body. Just the memory of the way his tongue and fingers had brought me to new heights while he recovered was enough, though, to send heat rushing through my body again. My nipple pebbled underneath Edward's hand.
He groaned. "Baby, as much as I would love to right now, I think I'm going to need a few more hours. Frankly, I'm not sure I can move."
I giggled. "I thought you were still sleeping."
"Fuck," he groaned. "I wish I was, but between your body rubbing against mine and my damn internal alarm, I've been awake for almost thirty minutes."
"No run today?" I asked.
He rarely skipped, but was already a little later than he normally allowed himself to lay in bed.
"Beautiful, if I'm too tired to fuck you, I'm too tired to run," Edward answered. He rolled onto his back and stretched. "Jasper and I will have to look over everything Ben did over the weekend, so I'll probably be late tonight."
"Do you want me to save you some dinner?" I asked.
"If you feel like it. If not, I'll get something on my way home."
I looked at his face and laughed at his disgruntled expression. "You have to get up now, don't you?"
"Yes," he whined. With a loud sigh, he sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.
I watched him get dressed from underneath the covers and eagerly accepted his parting kiss. It wasn't until I heard the outer door close behind him that I got out of bed to prepare for my own day.
As it turned out, Aron had already gotten a copy of the reports directly from the lab. He also had already gotten a call from Tia Stefano, the Cullens' attorney. With our permission, he was going to feel her out on what they were willing to offer and try to solidify our position from there. I readily granted it.
My first two patients were not such bright spotlights. John was working with me on anger management and had been for over six months. At the end of the previous week, he'd gotten suspended for fighting and refused to explain his actions or his feelings on the subject. We mostly spent the hour with me asking questions and John either ignoring me or grunting his responses. I suspected a girl was involved.
Lani, a sweet girl with OCD, had fallen back into some of her more extreme behaviors over the weekend, following an argument with her best friend. She was so frustrated with her own inability to stop brushing her hair that she burst into tears every time she touched her head with her hands.
To say that I was relieved when Lani left my office would be an understatement. I pulled my phone out of my drawer to call Edward for a dose of sanity, when I noticed my message light. It was from Alice.
U have plans 2nite. Angie will be here at 6. Meet her house.
The thought of seeing my old friend again put a huge smile on my face. Suddenly, the rest of my day didn't seem so arduous. It didn't even phase me when Kate asked to see me before I left.
"Hey, Bella," she said when I walked into her office. "I have a favor to ask."
"Shoot," I said happily, plopping down on her couch.
"I have a patient that I would like to refer to you. She's nineteen, but she recently had a child and gave her up for adoption. Now, she's struggling with post-partum depression and feeling like she made a mistake in giving up her child. I know your situation has changed, but do you think you could take her on?" Kate asked.
I thought hard about what she was asking. It would be hard to remove my personal feelings from the case, but I, better than anyone, could relate and offer her a different perspective. "We can try it. Why don't I sit in on one of your sessions and see how it goes?"
Kate smiled. "That's a wonderful idea. I'll have Chelsea make it so. Any big plans this week?"
"Other than work? Not really. One of my best friends from high school is moving to town tonight, so I'm going to help her. Edward and I may have to make another trip to Forks this weekend, but I have to wait to hear from Aron Michaels before we plan it," I relayed.
"So he's working out then?" she asked.
"Yes, he's been great. Thank you for the referral."
Kate stood, and it was clear she was giving me the out I needed to leave. "I'm sure you're most excited to get to your friend's house. Thanks for helping me."
"You're welcome." I flashed her a smile and left, surprised to find myself not at all concerned about my new patient and her effect on my own well-being.
Alice was waiting for me when I walked in Angela's door. She'd put up some crepe paper streamers and a "Welcome Home" banner. I couldn't tell who was more excited for Angela's homecoming—me or Alice. She was practically vibrating.
"Ang will be here in about fifteen minutes," she said, her eyes bright. "Do you think she'll like it?"
I did think she would like it, but even if she didn't, Angela would never let on. That was just her way. "She'll love it," I reassured my friend. "When is her stuff supposed to be here?"
"When she pulls in the driveway. For some reason, she decided to drive the U-Haul herself. She said she didn't have much and that her car wouldn't make the trip." Alice's eyes wandered over my dress clothes. "I brought you a change of clothes in case she wants help unpacking."
"You really think of everything," I mused with a shake of my head. I didn't have time to ponder the mystery that was Alice anymore, though, as the rumble of a moving van met our ears. Angela was coming down the street, almost ten minutes early.
Alice and I waited in silence while the heavy truck parked in the driveway, and then cut off. Soft footsteps, barely audible, padded up the wooden front stairs and keys rattled in the knob. Seconds later, the door swung open, revealing a tired and somewhat disheveled version of my second best female friend in the world.
"Welcome home!" Alice and I shouted together in unison.
Angela's eyes widened comically, and she laid her hand over her heart. "Oh my goodness! What a welcoming committee!" Tears pricked at her eyes. "Thank you, guys!"
We rushed forward and hugged her. For several minutes, we were just a mass of giggling, happy girls, finally reunited after so long apart.
"Do you girls mind helping me unload the truck? I know it's late and you've worked all day, but I don't want to leave my stuff in there all night," Angela said.
I smiled at her. "That's why we're here. Let me get Alice's keys and change."
"Thank you," Angela said gratefully. "I'll just order some pizzas. I guess the heavy stuff can stay in there for now, but it would be nice to have clothes and shampoo tomorrow."
"Why don't I call Edward and see if he and Jasper can come over once they finish work tonight? He said it would be late, but better late than never, right?" I offered.
"And I'll give her the tour while you do that," Alice interjected.
Angela just nodded, overwhelmed.
Fifteen minutes, a message to Edward, and a change of clothes later, I met up with Alice and Angela in the kitchen. Angela was gushing about how much she loved what Alice had done and how her stuff would fit perfectly into the new space.
While we waited for the pizza to show up, Angela, Alice and I climbed up into the back of the U-Haul and shifted the heavier pieces of furniture aside to pull out all of her boxes. Like me, Angela had a lot of books and had packed them all in small boxes to keep them from being too heavy to carry. During our third trip into the house, the pizza man showed up with three pizzas.
"One of each of us, Ang?" I teased.
She blushed. "Well, no. I thought maybe if the guys came, they'd be hungry, too. Should I have gotten more?"
Alice laughed. "No, that's plenty. They have to keep their girlish figures somehow."
"Hey, who are you calling girlish?" Edward asked, faking being offended as he snuck up behind Alice. A short, thin guy with glasses followed behind him.
Alice giggled and squirmed away when he tickled her. He greeted Angela with a hug, and then walked over to me, kissed me, and held out his hand to gesture to his companion. "This is Ben Cheney. He's our new guy. Jasper was finishing up on a few things from over the weekend, so Ben agreed to come help me carry stuff."
We all waved politely, but secretly, I wondered how that stick of a man was going to carry Angela's very heavy oak bed.
I needn't have worried. After loading up on pizza, Edward and Ben climbed into the back of the truck and made short work of getting the bed, dresser, bookcase, and desk unloaded. They stripped off their shirts while we watched and heaved each piece into the house. The years in the military must have done something for Ben, as he kept up with Edward piece for piece and step for step.
It was all we could do through our drooling to get the boxes out and into the appropriate rooms. I noticed Angela checking out Ben, despite their six inch height difference, almost as much as I was appreciating Edward's lean, muscular body.
"Well, if you ladies have had your fill," Edward called with a smirk as he jerked his t-shirt over his head, "we're about done. Ben, grab those last two boxes, and we can lock up the truck."
Angela and I both blushed deeply at being called out. Edward smirked at me as he got closer and leaned down to whisper so that only I could hear him. "I don't mind you looking, but why don't we save it for somewhere more private so I can return the favor?"
I smacked his arm, but couldn't stop from grinning.
"All right," Alice announced. "I'm taking off. I have to be at the store early in the morning, and I need my beauty sleep."
"Thank you so much for all you've done, Alice. This place looks beautiful. Edward, Bella, Ben, thanks for helping me move in. As soon as I find all my dishes, I'll have you all over for a proper dinner." Angela gave each of us a hug and walked us to our cars.
"It was no trouble, Ang. I'm just happy to have you close again," I said sincerely. I'd missed her more than I'd realized.
We embraced again, and I hopped into my car. Edward had to take Ben back to the office to get his car, and then he'd be over, so I followed him out of the drive; Angela waved good-bye from her porch. I had a funny feeling that the six of us would be spending a lot more time together.
Did that go as you expected? I mean, really, could the results have been anything different? Leave me a note and let me know.