Stolen Dreams

Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight. I own this. Let's leave it that way.

A/N: Thank you. Your reviews and kind words have buoyed me this week. Slowly, but surely, I'm getting accustomed to my new schedule and I hope that I'll be able to write again by this weekend. JenRar is the best beta in the world. Give her some love.

Chapter 30

Sunday was a restful day full of painting, laughter, and games. And though it was the first time we'd ever woken up together and spent the day as a family, it felt right and . . . normal. Part of a weight that had held both Edward and me down was lifted as we finally got to be the parents we'd always wanted to be. I knew that this was only the first step and that it wouldn't be easy, but I found that I looked forward to the challenge.

Monday morning dawned early. Edward went for his run while I got ready for work so that one of us would be home with Ryan at all times. Edward even had my coffee and breakfast ready for me while Ryan slept in. It took all my strength to walk out the door and leave them behind, though.

"Hey, Zafrina, you got a minute?" I asked, poking my head in her door.

She checked her watch. "For you, I have three. What's up?"

"Do you think you can do Ryan's session Friday afternoon? I know you talked to Jacob, his regular therapist, but I don't want to skip too much when we have him." I sat on the couch usually reserved for patients.

"I don't see a problem with that. I'll call Jacob this afternoon and see if we can find a time that will work for both of us. He wants to listen in if he can—if you're all right with that, of course. If not, I'll send him my notes as he's doing for me," she answered. "For the summer at least, we'll be seeing him the same amount, so it only makes sense."

I nodded. "As long as that is okay with you, I'm fine with it."

"Good. I'll let you know as soon as I talk to him, then. How did the weekend go?" she asked with a sly smile.

I couldn't contain my grin. "It was great. He tested a few boundaries, but I kind of expected that. It was so good to have him home. I didn't want to leave this morning."

"I'm so happy for you. You know I'm here if you need to talk."

I nodded and she motioned for the door. Chelsea was there with her coffee and announced the arrival of Zafrina's first patient. When she said three minutes, she'd meant it.

"Thanks, Z," I said, slipping out of the room and into my own office to start my week.

~SD~

I was so thankful to go home at the end of the day, not least because I got to see my boys. I was exhausted. My patients had tried my patience to its very limit.

There was music playing loudly when I came in, but Ryan and Edward were nowhere in sight. I dropped my briefcase by the door and flicked off the stereo. I didn't hear any protests, so I trudged up the stairs to see who I could find.

Ryan and Edward had painted the trim while I'd been gone, and the room looked almost ready to go. They'd even cleaned up after themselves, which impressed me more than I would ever admit. Neither of them was inside, though the window was open to air out the fresh paint smell.

Across the hall, I heard the faint sounds of water running, indicating that Edward was in the shower. I poked my head into the guest room and found a freshly bathed Ryan sitting on his bed with a book.

"Hey, Ma!" he said excitedly. "Did you see it?" His eyes lit up.

"I did," I told him, trying to match his enthusiasm. "You guys did a great job. I didn't know your dad could paint that well."

"He doesn't," Ryan informed me. "He cussed a lot and said it was a good thing we had the drop cloths."

I laughed, some of the tension leaving me. "That sounds about right. What else did you do?"

Ryan shrugged. "Not much. He worked on his computers some, but something wasn't working right, so he gave up. What's for dinner?"

Trust the ten-year-old to think about food. "You and your dad didn't cook?" I asked, somewhat crestfallen.

Ryan shook his head. I knew they'd been busy all day, but we had an unspoken rule that whoever was home first cooked. And I was too tired to do so.

"I don't know, bud. Let me go talk to your dad." I heaved myself off the mattress, mostly to fight my urge to lay down on it and not get up. Ryan picked his book back up and I walked into our bedroom in time to hear the water shut off.

Edward swung the bathroom door open wearing only a towel around his waist. "Oh, hey, I didn't know you were home already."

I let myself fall onto our bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Yeah, I'm home. How was your day?"

"Ryan and I had a good time painting. The room's done if you want to look at it," he said as he rummaged in his drawers for clothes.

"I saw it." I tried not to let my irritation about dinner pervade our conversation, but dammit, I was hungry. "Anything else?"

Edward shut his drawer with enough force to rattle the dresser. The trinkets and frames we had on top wobbled and a couple fell over. "My VPN connection into the server isn't working right, and I can't access most of our classified files. I'm going to have to go into the office tonight to get it straightened out."

He seemed particularly perturbed about this, though I couldn't see why. I turned my head so I could watch him. "I thought that was the plan this week. You were going to work the night shift so you could be home with Ryan during the day."

He frowned. "We don't have a lot going on this week that's going to require night work. The cell we're tracking is in Argentina. Jasper, Ben, and I worked it out so I could just work from home, but I can't get that to work. I didn't want to spend every night away from you."

"Oh," I said quietly. He'd tried to rearrange things so he could be home with me and Ryan, and I was being a bitch. "Did you want to eat before you left?"

"Fuck!" he yelled. "I forgot to make dinner. Sonofabitch! I'm sorry, baby."

"It's all right," I muttered, letting go of the last of my irritation. It wouldn't do either of us any good and wouldn't put food on the table. "I'll go make something."

"Nah, let's just order in. You look exhausted," he said, sitting down next to me.

"We can't," I whispered. If it was just us—any normal night—we'd grab some take out and eat in the living room. But it wasn't just us anymore.

Edward's shoulders sagged for a moment in understanding, and then a determined look settled onto his face. "Yes, Bella, we can. He can eat pizza or Chinese just like we do. We won't make it a habit, but for tonight, we're ordering in. You change, and I'll handle dinner."

Despite my better judgment, I went with it. I was too tired to argue, and I really didn't feel like cooking. Ten minutes later, clad in sweatpants and a t-shirt, I walked into the kitchen to see Edward tossing a salad and Ryan sipping on a Dr. Pepper at the kitchen table.

"What did we settle on?" I asked, dropping into my own chair.

"Pizza," Ryan said with a grin.

I laughed under my breath, and Edward shrugged unrepentantly. "It'll be easier to eat on the go," he said. "And the guy said he'd have it here in twenty minutes."

The guy did not over-promise. Twenty minutes later, Ryan and I were sitting in the living room with pizza and bowls of salad, watching some cartoon about brothers that create a roller coaster that goes all over town. It disappeared before they could get into trouble, though. As far as modern cartoons went, I thought it was pretty good. Ryan laughed a lot, though he kept up a running commentary on what was going to happen next.

Edward had grabbed three pieces and left almost as soon as the food was delivered. He told me he'd call and let me know what his plans were, but I didn't expect to see him before morning. For the first time, I was alone with my son, and I had no idea what to do with him.

"Do you want to play a game?" I asked tentatively.

Ryan shrugged. "Sure. What games do you have?"

I went over to the hall closet and scanned the boxes of games on the shelf. It was already after seven, so I didn't want to choose something long. "What about Uno?" I called over my shoulder.

Unbeknownst to me, Ryan had followed me to the closet. I jumped when he spoke from directly at my back. "I like Uno. Oh, and you have Jenga! Can we play that, too?"

I laughed. "Sure, buddy."

I reached up into the closet and pulled both games down. We walked together back to the table, and I started shuffling the Uno cards while Ryan built the Jenga tower. It was quiet for awhile as I dealt our hands and we placed the cards on the stack.

Ryan broke it by asking for something I never expected to have to tell my son. "Will you tell me about when you found out you were pregnant?"

I almost choked on the drink I'd just taken. "Um, sure," I answered when I'd composed myself. "I was terrified." I laughed. "Your dad and I were planning to go away to college together. We had our whole lives planned out, and a baby didn't fit with that. That, and I had to tell my dad."

Ryan laughed. "I bet Grandpa Charlie was really mad."

"He was." I nodded with a grin. "But he asked us what we wanted to do and told us that he would support our decision. We went to the doctor and heard your heartbeat. After that, there was no way we were letting you go. Edward and I changed our plans from going to school on the East Coast to attending the University of Washington, so we could be near our families. We got ready to have you. I will never forget when I got to have an ultrasound and we saw you for the first time." Tears filled my eyes as I remembered.

"Uno," I said, interrupting my tale.

Ryan played again, and I went out.

"Aw, man!" he cried. "Rematch."

This time, Ryan shuffled and dealt while I told him about how much we'd loved him even then and how we'd named him Ryan.

"What was my middle name going to be?" he asked.

"Anthony, like your dad," I told him. "Parker's good, too, though."

"They love me, you know," he said. "Mom and Dad have been really good parents."

I gave him a sad smile. "I know. And I know that you love them, too. That's okay, Ry."

He waited a minute before he played again. "Did it make you mad that I told the judge that I wanted to still live with them?" he asked meekly.

"No, Ryan, it didn't make me mad. I wish that you could live with us all the time; I wish that you'd never been taken from us in the first place, but I know that wouldn't be fair to you right now. There have been a lot of changes in your life in a really short time. We can wait while you get to know us."

He let that absorb for a few minutes while he crushed me in our second hand of the night. "Can we play Jenga now?" he asked as I counted up the seventy three points in my hand.

I agreed and let Ryan pull the first piece. In the end, he knocked it down three times to my one. We put the games away together, and he got ready for bed. I didn't figure that he had to be up early for any reason, but I wasn't about to let him get used to staying up all night at our house.

"Do you mind if I call them before I go to bed?" he asked as I tucked him in.

"Nope. Tell them I said hello," I answered. "Light on or off?"

He thought for a second. "Off. That way I don't have to get out of bed."

I flicked it off. "Night, Ry."

"Night, Ma. I love you."

"I love you, too," I whispered, my throat thick with tears.

~SD~

Our routine continued this way through Wednesday. Edward was a little surlier than usual where work was concerned. Something had gone wrong with the internet installation, and he had to have them back out to take off some type of speed choker and anti-hacking device. He wasn't getting much sleep, either, because he had to be awake with Ryan during the day and he was up all night for work.

My phone rang mid-morning on Thursday. "Ma, can I please come and hang out at your office this afternoon?" Ryan whispered into the phone.

"Ryan, what's wrong?" I asked, instantly alarmed.

"Nothing? I just . . . Dad's really tired and he's doing everything he can to stay awake, including turning the air down as low as it will go and blasting rock music through the house. He won't go to sleep if I'm here," Ryan told me. "Please."

I checked my calendar and saw that my next patient wasn't for at least thirty minutes. I grabbed my purse and my keys and jumped up. "Yeah, sure. Grab a book or something to do, though. I'll be there in a few."

"Chelsea," I said, stopping at her desk on my way out, "tell Andrew Hipman that I'll be right back if he gets here before I do. I have to go pick up my son."

Her eyes widened, and she nodded rapidly. I didn't wait for a response.

Fortunately, we lived close to the office. As Ryan had said, the house was freezing and espresso filled the coffee pot, the pungent scent wafting through the house. Ryan and Edward were racing against each other in some video game, and they seemed to be having fun. I wondered where Edward had been when Ryan called me.

When the race ended, Ryan jumped up and grabbed a book bag he'd left near the end of the couch. Edward looked strung out.

"Hey, baby," he said, confused. "What are you doing home?"

I shrugged, trying to play it off until we could talk later. "Just came to get Ryan. He's going to hang with me the rest of the afternoon."

Edward raised his eyebrow, but at a swift look from me, refrained from commenting. I stepped over to him and kissed him lightly. "Get some sleep, sweetheart. You've got to play soldier this weekend, and you can't do that if you've only had a few hours of sleep. I love you; I've got this."

He started to protest, but then yawned. "Thank you," he whispered against my lips just before he kissed me goodbye.

"And turn up the air," I hollered as I walked back out to the car.

Ryan giggled beside me. "Thanks for coming to get me. We were having fun, but I know he's so tired. I tried to tell him to take a nap, but he wouldn't do it," Ryan informed me.

"It's fine, Ry. I'm sorry things didn't run smoother this week for you." It was killing me that we were having trouble providing stable, day-to-day care for our son.

"It's cool. I'd be at the community center if I was at home, and this is so much more fun. Hey, did you ever sign me up for that camp you found? The one at the zoo?" Ryan asked.

I smiled. "I did. You'll go the next time you're here."

That seemed to please him, and he chattered for a little while longer. When we got to the office, I set him up in the breakroom with some snacks and his bag of goodies, and I returned to my office in time to call in Andrew, who was more than understanding, only five minutes late.

Ryan was extremely patient and only wandered from the breakroom once. Luckily, I was just making case notes and he was just checking in. Kate, Zafrina, and Chelsea all visited with him, and they seemed as enraptured by my son as I was by the end of the day.

"I know he's got good genes, Bella, but that boy has been raised well," Zafrina whispered. "I deal with kids all the time, and they are never that kind and polite."

"He's a pretty great kid," I agreed, glad that he was so worthy of praise and a little dismayed that I hadn't had anything to do with it.

She gave me a sad smile, as if she knew what I was thinking. "He'll still be here tomorrow afternoon, right? Jacob and I scheduled him for three-thirty."

I nodded. "I'll make sure Edward drops him off by then. They usually have to leave around four for their weekend exercises, so it should work out perfectly.

"Thanks for doing this," I told her as I gathered up my stuff for the night.

"It'll be my pleasure, especially with a kid like him," she told me.

Ryan met us at the door, and she ruffled his hair on the way past. He gave her a put-on "hey," but he was grinning ear to ear.

On the way home, Ryan and I decided to make tacos for dinner. They, apparently, were one of Ryan's favorite meals, and I always thought they were fun to eat.

The house was silent when we walked in and substantially warmer than it had been. I left Ryan in the living room while I climbed the stairs and peeked into the master bedroom. Edward was curled up under the blankets, the perfect picture of peaceful repose. He looked so much younger like this, without the weight of the past dragging on him.

I carefully closed the door, deciding to let him sleep for a little while longer, at least while we cooked dinner.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Ryan had gotten the ground beef out of the freezer and was holding the head of lettuce when I walked in. I pointed to the cutting board that was still out on the counter and then ran the sink full of hot water to thaw the meat. While the meat transitioned from a block of ice, I got out the tomatoes and the cheese. While I cut up the vegetables, I showed Ryan how to grate the cheese, and we worked side by side, chatting about the book he was reading.

"Ryan, can you get the tortillas out of the drawer in the fridge?" I requested as I browned and seasoned the meat.

He got them out and laid the package on the counter. I told him how to wrap them and put them in the microwave to heat. He struggled a bit with the wet paper towel, but was pleased with himself when he got them out and they were warm and flexible.

Edward still hadn't come down, and dinner was ready. I checked my watch; he'd been asleep for six hours or so. "Go get your dad up, please," I told Ryan.

He got a mischievous look on his face and ran for the stairs. Moments later, I heard Edward shout and Ryan laugh. It was a magical sound.

We ate our tacos, and Ryan told Edward about his afternoon at my office. He said he couldn't wait to go back.

"You'll get your chance tomorrow," I told him and then turned to Edward. "Zafrina scheduled his appointment for three-thirty. Can you drop him off before then?"

"Sure. That's good timing, since we have to leave at four," Edward agreed.

Ryan looked back and forth between us with his brows creased. "What appointment?"

I wanted to be aggravated that neither Esme nor Jacob had mentioned this to him, but I was his mother and should have done so as well. "When you're up here, you'll get time to talk to Zafrina. Mr. Black will be on the phone with you, too."

"My therapist?" he asked.

"Yep. Since you're here for two weeks at a time, we wanted you have someone to talk to," I answered, keeping my tone as casual as I could.

"Aw, man. Do I have to?" Ryan whined.

"Yes," Edward and I answered together.

Ryan wrinkled his nose, but didn't complain. Instead, he returned to eating his third taco.

After we all finished, Edward cleaned up the kitchen since we had cooked. Ryan set up the game system again so we could play Mario Kart. He seemed to need some play time with his dad, knowing that Edward would be gone for several days. Edward humored him and did his best to lose a few games.

At bedtime, Ryan once again called Carlisle and Esme after telling us good night. They didn't talk long, and he fell asleep soon after, his soft snores filtering into the hallway.

"You guys going to be okay without me this weekend?" Edward asked quietly, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.

I leaned back against him and nodded softly. "I think so. It'll be nice to spend some time together, just me and Ryan. Besides, we're going to have to get used to doing this."

"I'll tell you what I'm not used to," he whispered huskily into my ear. "I'm not used to having to hold back. I don't think I can wait anymore."

I grinned, knowing exactly what he meant. "What did you have in mind?"

"Think you can be quiet?"

"No, but I'll try," I said, a slight laugh in my voice.

Edward pushed me toward the bed, turning and locking our bedroom door behind him.

"Strip," he ordered.

Just the tone of his voice did bad things to me. I shivered in anticipation and slowly unbuttoned my shirt. Once the last button was free, I slid the shirt down my arms and tossed it across the room. I reached behind me and unzipped my skirt, letting it fall to the floor and pool at my feet. Edward's gaze grew more and more heated, ratcheting up my own desire.

When I reached up to unhook my bra, Edward held up his hand. "Stop. Let me."

He stalked toward me and stopped only inches from my body. Without touching my skin, he unclasped it, and then he placed his large palms on my shoulders and slowly slid them down my arms, taking the bra with them. Jolts of desire coursed through me, and I arched toward him without conscious thought.

"God, you're beautiful," he whispered huskily just before he bent down and captured my lips with his.

We hadn't been together this way in what felt like so long. Between getting the house ready to move into and Ryan's presence in the house, this side of our relationship had fallen by the wayside. Needless to say, I was more than ready to resurrect it.

"You're wearing too many clothes," I murmured against his lips.

My hands finally got the messages from my brain and began fumbling with his belt buckle. Edward let me work on his pants while his hands never stopped roaming around my body.

Once I got his belt undone, the button fly on his jeans was easy. One pull, and all the buttons sprang free. I couldn't even wait to get the jeans down, though, and reached into his boxers where he was hard, waiting for me. As I wrapped my hand around his erection, Edward's hands stilled for the first time and he let out a low moan.

"Does that feel good?" I whispered.

His head fell back onto his shoulders. "You have no idea." He seemed to remember that my breasts were still cradled in his hands, and he rubbed his thumbs over my nipples.

"I might have some clue," I groaned. I sank back onto the bed while Edward wrestled with the rest of his clothes. It didn't take him long to join me.

We didn't hesitate from that point. We could have taken it slow and savored each other's touch, but we both seemed to feel the same sense of urgency. For the first time ever, we were making love with a child down the hall, and he was old enough to understand what was going on if he decided to get out of bed. I also wasn't in the mood for waiting. It had been long enough, and I wanted him. Immediately.

Edward ran his fingers over my clit, making sure that I was ready for him. There wasn't much doubt. He groaned when he felt how wet I was, and then, he knelt between my legs and pulled my hips toward him, thrusting into me in one sure stroke.

I had to remind myself not to moan loudly like a wanton whore. He was hitting me in just the right spot inside and massaging my clit with his hand. I tweaked my nipples, eliciting a grunt of pleasure from Edward. His eyes, which had been vacillating between where we were joined and my face, stuck firmly on my hands playing with my chest. His pace picked up and threw me over the proverbial cliff without warning.

This time, I couldn't stop the sound coming out of my mouth. Edward immediately leaned forward and kissed me hard, muffling my moans with his mouth. His pace became more erratic while he was leaning forward, and in a few rapid thrusts, he groaned and stilled, his own ecstasy washing over him.

Edward's arms gave out, and he collapsed on top of me. I loved feeling the weight of him on top of me like this. Somehow, it always made me feel closer to him afterwards.

"I love you, Bella," he mumbled into the pillow.

I laughed. "I love you, too. Now move. We have to put pajamas on just in case."

He grumbled a bit, but followed me into the bathroom where we finished getting ready for bed. "How did you know to come home earlier?" he asked while brushing his teeth.

"Ryan called me. He said that you wouldn't take a nap with him here and that you were really tired," I answered.

"Oh, hell." Edward looked crestfallen. "I was trying not to let him know how tired I really was. Guess I didn't do such a good job."

"It's okay. He was fine at the office. We are going to have to figure something else out for next week, though. You can't keep going like this with just a few hours of sleep a night," I scolded lightly.

He turned to face me. "Bella, I probably would have been fine if I'd gotten a few hours of sleep a night. Until this afternoon, I hadn't slept since Monday night. At all. But you're right, this isn't going to work long term. Everything should be fixed now so that I can work more from home when Ryan's here."

I closed my eyes and shook my head, knowing that nothing I said would change the fact that he hadn't gotten any sleep. "Edward, honey, you can't do that anymore," I told him as we climbed back into bed. "It's not just you now. We have a child to worry about. What would Ryan and I do if we lost you when you hit a tree because you were too tired? What if Ryan was in the car with you?" I'd heard about too many accidents over the years caused by drivers that were overly tired and weren't able to get out of the way or course correct fast enough. It was one of the hazards of being the Police Chief's daughter.

"I know, baby. I know," he said, somewhat exasperated. "We'll figure it out."

Somewhat mollified, I curled into his arms, savoring the hard planes of his chest against my back. Knowing that this feeling would have to last me for two more days, I fought sleep until the exhaustion pulled me under.

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