Stolen Dreams

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I own this. Capiche?

A/N: I laughed at almost every review this week. Almost every single one of you hates Tanya and think she's up to no good. Poor girl has been so maligned in the fandom that she's the evil one. Never mind that it was Irina that almost got them killed. LOL! Any way—I know you've all been looking forward to this.

Thank you to everyone that took the time to review last week. With 1488 reviews, I'll uphold my promise to give a special teaser to 1500. I'll also pass one out to 1550 and 1600. Dare to tell me what you think. Please! I love hearing from you.

JenRar is my very awesome beta. She makes my words readable and my world go round.

Chapter 23

Holy crap. That was Tanya? Edward had admitted that she was an attractive woman, but that didn't even come close to covering it. The woman standing before me could have been a Playboy centerfold. My self-esteem was inching downwards, though I was fairly sure even Elle McPherson would have felt insignificant here, and I took a small amount of comfort from that.

Edward had been clear to me that he hadn't really wanted to marry her, but that he was willing to do so until their careers had taken different paths and neither was willing to sacrifice for the other. But now, she was here. Did that mean that she'd realized what a mistake she'd made in letting Edward get away? Where did it leave me, especially in regards to his parents, who were staring at this strange meeting with no small amount of interest?

I tried to step back and look at things from a third party perspective, and what I saw made me laugh. Elizabeth looked worried, almost to the point of being sick, as her eyes darted between Edward, Tanya, and me. Ed was watching Edward's reaction with interest. Tanya seemed oblivious to the turmoil, smiling pleasantly and stepping forward to engulf Edward in what seemed to be a warm hug. Edward was frozen in shock and didn't move to return Tanya's embrace.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" he finally stuttered out when she released him from her clutches.

The way she touched him so familiarly made my stomach roll unpleasantly. It reminded me that she knew him as intimately as I did. I also couldn't tell, other than his stiffness, what he really thought about her presence here. Was he uncomfortable because she was here, or was it because I was here to witness their reunion?

"Well, I heard through the grapevine, meaning straight from your parents to mine,"—she chuckled nervously—"about what happened, and after seeing the news Friday night, I thought you might be able to use a hand."

He blinked a few times, and a grateful smile took over his face. "Thank you."

I didn't understand how she could help, and I wasn't entirely happy with the thoughts that sprang to mind when I considered just how Edward's ex-fiancee might want to help him. It didn't help that I was standing here on the outside of their family circle, watching this all unfold. Briefly, I wondered if I could call Alice and Jasper to come get me, because I doubted if five of us could fit comfortably in Edward's car. I doubted if I would feel comfortable even if he drove a mini-bus at this point.

"Bella?" Edward called to me, his voice concerned, as if it wasn't the first time he'd said my name.

I gave him a weak smile and took the hand he'd stretched out behind him.

"Bella, this is Tanya Fielding. Tanya, Bella Swan."

"It's wonderful to finally meet you," she said with her hand outstretched.

I took it and shook firmly.

"You, too," I murmured with as much of a smile as I could muster.

She gave me an understanding look, and then cleared her throat. "Unlike theirs, my hotel had an available van to shuttle me over, so I shouldn't keep them waiting longer than necessary. There's a restaurant in the building—perhaps we could meet for dinner and talk?"

"That sounds great," Edward answered with an appreciative smile.

I wasn't sure I agreed and wondered how I could get out of it, or if I even needed to.

"Six-thirty, then, like usual? You have my number. Just call when you're on your way to The Plaza." She gave us a jaunty wave and strode off through the terminal and out the doors.

I just stared in shock after the woman that had just made a dinner date with my boyfriend in front of me. Ed and Elizabeth wheeled their suitcases past me, walking toward the door to the parking garage.

"Bella, you coming?" Edward asked, pulling me out of my stupor.

I shook my head to clear it. "Yeah, sorry."

He took my hand and led me through the lobby, following the same path his parents had taken. "I'm sorry. I had no idea she was here."

"And if you had, you'd have taken me home first?" I snapped.

"What? No," he responded, looking at me oddly for a moment.

Before he could say anything else, though, his mother hollered to him, asking which way to go. He groaned and told her that if she would wait for us, we'd all walk there together.

The ride to the hotel was tense. Elizabeth asked how Ryan was, and Edward told her that he was fine, but didn't elaborate. Ed asked a few questions about Gerandy's trial, but since neither of us knew the specifics, that conversation died quickly, too. Thankfully, the hotel wasn't far, and they didn't expect us to wait for them to check in. After bidding them goodbye, Edward drove straight toward my apartment.

It was like neither of us knew what to say, so we said nothing. I was angry and wanted to lash out at him. When he parked in front of my building, but left the engine idling, it was as if all the fight left me in an instant. Clarity like I'd never known washed over me, and tears pricked at my eyes.

"Are you not coming up?" I asked in a small voice.

"No, I have to go check in with Ben and Jasper if I'm going to be tied up all night," he responded with a sigh.

I swallowed heavily. "Oh. Will I see you tomorrow then?"

Confusion settled over his features. "Why wouldn't I see you tonight?"

"Seriously?" I asked, my earlier pique at being shunted to the side making itself known. "You're going on a date with your ex-fiancee, which is going to keep you 'tied up all night,' and then you want to come over and sleep in my bed? I don't think so." A couple of tears spilled down my cheeks, and I reached for the door handle, determined to get out of sight before I let my emotions truly go.

"Bella, wait," he said softly, his hand reaching over and grabbing the arm closest to him.

I stopped, but I didn't turn.

"Please look at me."

I swallowed a couple of times to suppress the emotions that were warring within me, before I turned my head slightly to see his expression. Instead of the apology I expected to see there, I only saw worry and sadness.

"Did you really think I was going to dinner without you tonight?" he asked somewhat incredulously.

I shrugged. "It didn't seem like I was actually invited."

"Oh, Bella," he whispered. "I wouldn't do that to you. When I accepted her invitation, it was for both of us." He stared at me for another second and seemed to come to a decision. He turned off the car and took the keys from the ignition. Within seconds, he was standing in front of me with my overnight bag, holding out his hand.

"Let's take this inside where it's a little drier."

With some reluctance, I placed my hand in his and rose from my seat. We walked together into the house, but when we got to the living room, I positioned myself in the chair so Edward couldn't sway me with his touch. I wanted answers and to understand.

"Did they do this on purpose? Bring her back into your life, I mean?" I blurted out before Edward could even take his seat.

He looked pained, but shrugged, acknowledging that he didn't know. "My parents don't hate you, Bella. I've made it as clear as I can to them that you are the only woman I see in my future. They accept that."

"Really?" I asked skeptically. "This is the second time they've shown up unannounced, and they brought your ex-fiancee with them this time. How am I supposed to see that as anything other than them trying to sway you away from me again?"

Edward tugged on his hair, clearly agitated. "While I'm sure they had something to do with her not informing me of her visit, I really do think she's just trying to help. Tanya's not a bad person, Bella, and I'm glad she's here."

"And how exactly is she going to help us?" I snarked.

Her presence had really put me on edge. It wasn't so much that I felt inferior, although I did to some extent, but this woman had been a huge part of Edward's life while I wasn't there, and I suspected that there were lingering feelings he wasn't admitting. They might not be comparable to what he felt for me, but that didn't negate their existence.

He sat down on the edge of the couch as close to me as he could be. Gently, he took my hands in his. "I never told you what Tanya does, did I? She's a whiz in public and media relations. In New York, she worked for . . . I don't remember. It was a large firm on Wall Street. When she moved down to Virginia, she joined a media relations firm out of Washington, instead of working directly for one company. If anyone can help us with the reporters, it's her."

"You think she flew all the way across the country just to help us deal with the media storm surrounding our son?" I raised my eyebrow at him, because there was no one, other than Edward or Alice, that I would do that for. If she was willing to do so, their bond must have been stronger than I gave it credit for.

"I don't know, Bella, but that's all she's getting," he said wearily. "Now, I do have to go check in with Jasper and Ben. If you don't want to come tonight, fine, just let me know. Otherwise, I'll be back at six." He stood and walked toward the door.

His words looped through my mind, and I tried to make sense of them.

"I love you, Bella," he said as he left.

The closing of the door echoed through the empty apartment, and I felt so alone.

"Alice, I need you," I choked out when she answered my call.

She told me she'd be right here and hung up immediately.

By the time she arrived fifteen minutes later, I was a blubbering mess on the couch. I knew it wasn't just Tanya's arrival that precipitated it, but the stress of the entire situation that had been like a ticking time bomb in my chest, waiting to explode at the slightest provocation.

"Oh, honey, what happened?" Alice cooed as she tugged me from the chair and onto the couch, where I could lay with my head in her lap like we'd always done.

My retelling was convoluted, of that there could be no doubt, but I got it all out at once: the Cullens, the little time we'd gotten with Ryan, the Masens, Gerandy and how I felt about the trial, and Tanya's reappearance in Edward's life. Alice listened patiently, rubbing her fingers through my hair as I talked and calming me immeasurably. Over the last few months, I had expressed some of it to Edward, but now as I let it all out, I realized how much I'd held inside. It was freeing to finally let it all go.

Alice was pensive when I finally stopped talking, and she sighed heavily. "Do you want me to comment with my true thoughts, or do you want me to make you feel better?" she asked.

"I'd like your thoughts," I answered, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

She sighed again before she spoke. "I've talked to my mom about this a little—of course, it's the talk of the town—and she says that from everything she's seen and heard, the Cullens are good people that adore Ryan. They've spent ten years as his parents, loving him and raising him. I saw firsthand how hard it was on you to believe you'd lost him. Can you imagine how much worse that would be after ten years instead of nine months? Edward would move heaven and Earth if it would make you happy, and I suspect that Carlisle would do the same. In this case, though, he's already seen how devastated Esme was after a few months and knows that she might never be the same if she loses the boy she sees as her son. I would never want to see you like that again, and I can only imagine that it would have broken Edward to have seen it the first time.

"As for the Masens, forget about them. If Edward isn't concerned, you shouldn't be, either," she decided.

"But Alice, I don't want to be the cause of strife between them," I argued.

She shrugged. "You aren't. They are. Edward gave them the terms. If they choose not to live by them, it's their fault."

I had never stopped to look at it that way. I conceded her point. "And Tanya?"

She scrunched up her nose, and I giggled. "Well, you won't be able to get a good measure of her unless you spend more time with her. For God's sakes, you shouldn't let her be alone with your man. I don't think he'd leave you for anything, but you won't know her intentions unless you give her a chance to show you. Maybe she really is here out of the goodness of her heart."

I snorted, because I just couldn't believe that. She'd had Edward ready to marry her, and she'd given that up. Either she was an idiot or was just biding her time—absence makes the heart grow fonder and all of that.

Alice's solution was to make sure I looked stunning for dinner tonight. It took a while, since I'd spent a couple of hours crying my eyes out, but the end result was fabulous. My trusty little black dress hugged my curves in all the right ways, and the black heels Alice dug out of my closet made my legs look a mile long. At least she wouldn't tower over me. Alice insisted on a smoky look for my eyes and loose curls for my hair. I pinned the sides back, though, and she grinned in approval.

Six o'clock came and went with no sign of Edward. For someone that was usually so punctual, a remnant of his military training, his tardiness was glaring. When ten after came around, I wondered if, after our discussion earlier, he had decided to go without me. Or perhaps he hadn't wanted me there all along. That, however, was unlike Edward, so I dismissed it. He'd never left me waiting without a word. I dug around in my clutch for my phone to call him, now concerned that he'd been in an accident of some sort. My call went to voicemail.

Five minutes later, at twenty past six, there was a knock on my door. I swung it open hastily to reveal Edward standing in front of me in his dress uniform.

"I'm sorry I'm late. This afternoon has been . . . nevermind. You look lovely." He gave me a warm smile that thawed the ice in my chest a little. "Are you ready?"

I smiled wanly, but nodded and closed the door behind us. "Am I dressed appropriately?" I asked. I knew my dress was nice, but his full military uniform was usually reserved for black tie occasions.

"Yeah, you look great. Does my uniform look okay? I haven't had it pressed since our reunion . . ." He trailed off as he looked at my expression.

"Your uniform looks fine. You look very handsome," I responded, my voice sounding flat in my ears. Why in the hell is he asking my opinion on how he'd dressed up for another woman?

"Is it too much? You always like seeing me in it, so I put it on. I left my good slacks at the office, and Jasper spilled something red on them over the weekend. He promised to replace them if it doesn't come out, but that didn't do me much good while I was getting ready. I tried on my suit, but it doesn't fit anymore; the jacket was too tight. It was either khakis or this, and I thought you'd like this better," he rambled.

"Edward," I said loudly to stop his babble. "Did you dress up for Tanya?"

The look on his face said it all for him. It was a combination of disgust, incredulity, and shock. "What? No, I put this on for you."

"Okay," I said simply. I wasn't sure where Tanya was going with this meeting, but doubting Edward wasn't going to get us anywhere, even if I still felt a little uneasy.

"Okay?" he asked.

I sighed. "Yeah, okay. Let's just go to dinner and get this over with. I want you to remember this the next time I ask you to do something you aren't comfortable with."

He laughed softly. "I'll remember that the next time we run into one of your exes."

"Because we're ever going to run into Garrett." I snorted at the thought of Edward being anywhere that Garrett would frequent.

"Hey, it could happen," Edward defended, throwing the car into reverse. He sent a text, presumably to Tanya, before pulling into traffic.

Garrett had been fond of hanging out at poetry readings and beatnik bookstores. The idea of seeing Edward sitting on a bean bag pouf, surrounded by gauzy curtains, made me laugh out loud. "No, Edward, I don't think you'd ever be anywhere that Garrett would be."

He conceded the point with a nod, but didn't comment. He seemed a little nervous about our meeting. While I wasn't sure if he was anxious about seeing Tanya again, or having Tanya and me together, I decided that I would be myself and see how the evening went.

Tanya was waiting for us at a table in the lobby restaurant. If she was surprised to see me, she didn't let it show. She hugged Edward lightly and shook my hand. "Bella, it's good to see again. I'm sorry we didn't have more time to talk at the airport. I also must apologize. I thought Ed and Elizabeth had told you that they were visiting at least."

Edward grimaced. "No, they didn't tell us about their visit or yours. In fact, it's becoming kind of a habit with them."

She frowned. "I'll talk to them about that. It won't look good going forward, especially if you are out of town when they show up."

"I don't understand. Why wouldn't it look good?" I asked. "What do his parents have to do with our custody case?"

Tanya smiled at me, but it wasn't condescending like I expected. "Nothing at all. Edward's relationship with his parents, or yours for that matter, won't hold any sway with the courts. In the court of public opinion, however, it will matter. The media buzz surrounding your case has only begun, and like it or not, they will try this case in the media."

I blinked. Repeatedly. The thought that the media would parade our personal pain around for everyone else in America to pass judgment on had never occurred to me.

"It's hard to hear, I know. That's why I came. This is what I do." Tanya laid her hand over mine and smiled sympathetically. After a moment, her business-like demeanor returned. "Now, I know part of this story, but it seems like there's a lot I've missed. I need to know everything."

We ordered first, and then began our tale, starting with Ryan's birth. On occasion, she would interject with a question, but mostly, she listened and made notes. When we finished, she took a full drink of her wine and let out a deep breath.

"Okay, I do have a couple more questions. Edward, you said that your dad offered Bob Gerandy money to convince you to give up the baby, right? Did he ever pay him?"

"I don't . . . I don't know. They both said that he offered the money, but neither ever said that he paid it," Edward answered, his brow furrowed.

"We need to find out," she stated baldly.

Edward nodded. "I'll call him tonight."

"Lastly, what were your long term plans had Ryan been left with you?" she asked.

"Why does that matter?" I asked, frustrated.

"It doesn't. Someone will ask, though. As I said, the court of public opinion is much different than a court of law. It also will have absolutely no bearing on your custody case, but it could have bearing on Gerandy's criminal case," Tanya answered.

"How?" I asked.

Tanya shrugged delicately and explained, "Twelve normal, everyday people make up the jury. They are told to set aside their preconceived notions and only judge him by the facts presented in the courtroom. Let's be realistic, though. That doesn't happen. They're going to bring in what they've already seen and heard about the case and supplement the facts with it. Gerandy's lawyer is going to do what he can to present you as irresponsible teenagers that had no way to raise a child without depending on the welfare system and your parents to justify his actions. If the jury already knows that you were intelligent, hard-working kids with a plan for your future, they are less likely to give his justifications any credence."

"That makes sense," I agreed. "We were going to spend the summer in Forks with our parents for support, and then go to University of Washington in the fall. I had planned to pursue a degree in early childhood education. We were going to find some childcare, which our parents had agreed to pay for, and we were both going to get part time jobs."

Edward chimed in. "I was looking into business and the sciences for my field—I hadn't decided yet, but I figured that both of those would give me a career that I could use to support my family. Our parents had agreed to help with whatever we needed, but Bella and I were determined to do as much as we could on our own."

"Good. That's good," she said while she wrote, but it didn't seem like she was fully paying attention. Her next question confirmed it for me. "And how would you say your relationship is now?"

All of my earlier ire returned full force. Was she seriously using the media as a way to interrogate us about our current relationship? Before I could respond and tell her exactly where she could shove her questions, Edward placed his hand over mine in my lap and answered for us.

"Very strong and fully committed. We are in the process of buying our first home." Simple, and to the point.

"And yet, you aren't married, or even engaged," she pointed out needlessly.

Edward shrugged. "A ring doesn't solidify what I feel for her. And I don't want anyone, especially Bella, to feel like I asked her to marry me as a reaction to the custody hearing or Gerandy's trial."

I heard the words loud and clear. Really, I did. But the meaning I heard behind them wasn't. In my heart, sitting here across from the woman Edward had proposed to, I heard, "I'm not ready to make her my wife. What we have is enough. I'm not ready to make that kind of commitment."

"Excuse me," I whispered thickly, laying my cloth napkin on the table and rising from my chair. Edward glanced at me with concern, but I didn't pay him any attention as my eyes scanned the room for the restroom. As soon as I found it, I was off like a shot. I couldn't stay with the two of them anymore.

As I'd expected, the bathroom was clean and exquisitely appointed. It was also, thankfully, empty. After locking myself in one of the huge stalls and barring the door, I sat on the toilet and tried to compose myself. It took longer than I expected. I was torn. Should I let him deal with her on his own while she was here and back off, letting him figure out what he really wanted? Or should I fight for him and subject myself to her company and deal with the pain it brought, not knowing what he would choose?

Try as I might, no grand epiphany came to me there in the Plaza bathroom, so I finished my business and stepped out of the stall. The sinks were wide in front of me, with baskets of personalized towels for me to dry my hands on. I wet one and rung it out until it was damp to blot over my face without ruining my make-up. As I pressed it to the back of my neck, the bathroom door opened, and Tanya walked in.

"Are you all right?" she asked sweetly.

I couldn't detect a false note in her voice, but the nasty one inside my own head, muttered, "Wouldn't you like it if I wasn't?"

"Yes, sorry," I murmured, looking away.

We were quiet for a few moments, both leaning against the sink and not really looking at the other.

"He's different with you," she finally said softly.

Her statement caught me off guard, and I turned to look in her eyes. "What?"

She chuckled, mostly to herself. "It's always been you, Bella; surely you know that." Her eyes were sad. "Even when we were together, he wasn't all there. He never gave me all of him, and I know why now. He gave you his heart and couldn't give me what he no longer had. Believe it or not, we talked a lot about you and Ryan. I always hoped that he would be able to leave you in the past, but when he told me that he and Jasper were moving to Seattle, I knew that he hadn't let you go. That's why I didn't go with him. I figured that if he truly loved me, he'd either change his plans and stay with me, or he'd come back. He never did either."

I shook my head, denying her words. "But your career was there, and you didn't want to leave it," I insisted.

She snorted softly. "That's what I told him. I could have gotten a job here in a heartbeat. He wasn't coming here to start a new life for us, though. He was coming to find the one he'd lost. He did, and I've never seen him happier. I'm sorry if I bothered you with my questions out there. I just wanted to know if he'd gotten off his ass and done what he's always wished he had when you were kids."

"He told you that he wanted to marry me when we were kids?" I said, disbelieving.

"Yeah, when we first started dating and had the past relationships talk. Just . . . make him give you a better proposal than I got. Really, I don't know what I was thinking. That should have been my first clue," she lamented.

Suddenly, I felt a strange kinship with this woman that moments before I'd wanted to bury in my backyard. "What did he do?" I laughed.

She sighed and gave me a look. I could see her fighting her smile and tears of . . . laughter? "It was the saddest thing ever. I'd been expecting a proposal, because his mom told me that she'd taken him ring shopping, so when he took me to dinner, I was practically bursting at the seams. But then he paid the bill and left like nothing was supposed to happen. I followed him to the car, and we went back to his apartment. He changed his clothes, flopped down on the couch, and turned on the TV. After screaming at myself for getting my hopes up, I changed out of my dress and joined him on the couch. We sat there, not speaking for like twenty minutes. Then, he muted the TV in the middle of the show and shifted his body to face me. He rubbed the back of his neck and dug around in his pocket for this little black box. He put it on my knee and said, 'Well, if we're going to get married, I guess I'm supposed to give you this first.' When I asked him if that's what he wanted, he said, 'Sure, why not.' That was it. Most unromantic proposal ever."

By the time she finished her story, we were both laughing.

"I swear, if he doesn't do better with you, call me, and I'll come kick his ass," she said through her chuckles.

"We'll make it a party," I promised.

She smiled at me kindly, all traces of our earlier shared amusement gone. "I really am here just to help you, Bella. I want him to be happy, and he is. Finally. If you think I'm out of line with something I ask, just tell me. I swear I've got a reason for asking, and I'll tell you what it is. I'll do my very best to make sure that, that . . . baby-stealing asshole rots in prison and that everyone in America knows you and Edward are the best parents for that little boy."

She was so sincere, so honest, I couldn't doubt her for a second. "Thank you." It was for so many things, but there weren't enough words.

Tanya seemed to understand and leaned in to give me a hug. "You're welcome."

Better? See, she's not the evil genius you thought she was.

Recs for the week: And Yet They Shine by Chicklette—the Cullens aren't vampires, they're gods. It's fantastic and almost complete.

Full Circle by JenRar—it's AU and wonderful. Give that beta of mine some love.

Little Green and Easybella by BettyGefecht—Autistic Edward is so fantastic. Read this. You need it.

I have lots more, so if there's something you want to read genre-wise, let me know.

Thank you for reading and I'll see you next week!