A/N:

Before we proceed I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who've read, followed and reviewed the first chapter. I'm really amazed by all the love this story has received and wanted to let you know how much this means.

Also, I'm forever grateful to my beta, Sunflower Fran and to my pre-reader, kbroughts, who both help me a lot and their feedback leaves me smiling.

Now lets see how Edward, Bella and baby Anthony are doing.

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Myths and legends ran through my mind like two streams of light, one dark and the other bright. Those tales that were as old as time were all I could think about as I stood there by the outdated bathrooms with the girl I loved so much and always will. I stood there, frozen in place, just staring at the boy who was said to be mine.

There were legends I had heard throughout my years of male vampires strong enough to have sexual relations with human females without harming them. These sexual encounters between two different species ultimately resulted in pregnancy.

There were also myths about the half-vampire babies. Some of these tales had seemed like something right out of a horror movie with a rapidly growing fetus that would be born with a full set of teeth and razor-sharp fingernails. The fast-growing child would untimely kill the mother when it was ready to be born, biting, and clawing its way out of the human female who loved and carried it for six months.

Other stories almost seem magical; about supernatural babies that were beautiful beyond reason. They were said to grow faster than normal, be very intelligent, and could easily pass for humans. Their diet was supposed to be closer to ours as they grew into a child. They were venomous and some half-vampire babies had talents while others didn't. It was also said they stopped growing at age fifteen when they no longer needed sleep and could enjoy immortality the way a full vampire does.

As I thought about why I knew a lot about hybrid children, as they were known in my world, I was mentally cursing at myself. The reason I knew about hybrids was my father. He claimed he knew twin, half-vampire children, a boy, and a girl, who were the very talented off springs of his friend Aro from Italy. I never met Alec and Jane, which were their names, and never took the legends of hybrids seriously. I had always regarded these stories to be old tales that were meant to scare young male vampires, such as myself, out of having sexual relations with human females.

Oh, what a fool I was.

Having never given much thought to my father's second-hand memories on this topic, I never took the truth behind the hybrids seriously.

Obviously.

But now, looking at the petite toothless baby in the infant seat, his unique scent filled my nostrils. It was neither vampire nor human but a combination of the two that smelled very sweet in a non-edible way. That, plus the fact that Bella was in front of me, alive and human. I now knew exactly which of those fables were true. I also came to realize that I should have taken some condoms when they were passed around the tenth-grade Sex Education class that Bella and I both had in Forks. I was offered free contraceptives a week before Bella and I made love, and I was an idiot for not taking even one. At the time I didn't believe I needed any.

Obviously, there was physical proof that I did.

The living proof that I was fertile and capable of procreating stared at me with wide, curious eyes. He moved his tiny hands around and kicked his little feet that were covered in gray Mickey Mouse socks.

The way he looked at me made something inside of me change. I didn't know what it was, but I knew something was definitely different. I wanted to hold him, yet I couldn't move or speak. We could only stare at each other.

'He's too still. Can vampires go into shock?' Bella wondered to herself.

I wasn't sure how I was able to hear her inner monologue, and I didn't care. It was amazing.

From the filter of her mind, I took in my own appearance. I was as still as a statue; my eyes were glassy as I gazed at the beautiful green-eyed child. The expression on my face - that was paler than usual - was wild and unreadable. To put it mildly, I looked sick.

"Edward, are you okay?" She asked, putting her warm hand on my arm. Her touch felt good and I craved more.

Reluctantly my eyes looked from the baby to Bella. Her chocolate brown eyes locked with mine and I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding.

"The legends are true." I breathed the words, so low and light.

"What?" Bella asked.

I didn't think she heard me since I didn't speak loud enough for a human to hear, and I was grateful for that. But it seemed that my son had picked up on what I said. He moved his little head in my direction and I understood that like me, he had hearing byond humans.

"He's really mine?" I avoided her questions with one of my own. My voice was raw and sounded like I had been screaming for hours on end.

Bella dropped her hand from my arm, the separation, even as small as it was, left me feeling empty. She stared at my chest rather than my eyes now. Her teeth dug into her bottom lip the way she always did when she was anxious. Tears filled her eyes, and sadness painted her features as Anthony cooed and the static filled my mind.

With static that only I could hear, I no longer was able to use my talent or hear her thoughts. Therefore, I wasn't exactly sure what caused her mood to shift.

Not until she spoke that is.

"Yes, Edward, he is." Her voice broke. "Before you deny him just know that you're the only man that I've ever been with."

There was an ache inside my hollow chest that was brought on by what she said. She had obviously misconstrued the words I spoke.

"Bella," I spoke her name softly as I placed my right hand under her chin, gently raising her face so her eyes would meet my gaze. "I meant no harm by my words. I'm not denying anything, especially him."

A hopeful expression painted her face. "Then what did you mean?"

I was not expecting her to say that. I really wasn't sure what I meant; I couldn't exactly explain why I said it. The only thing I was sure of was I didn't mean it like how it sounded to her.

Her eyes were locked with mine; I let my hand drop from her face. I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to think clearly. She was waiting for an answer, and I knew I needed to give her one.

"I only asked because I'm having a difficult time processing this." I paused, trying to choose each word carefully. "A minute ago, I had no idea you were in Oregon. I was here having dinner with the rest of the drama club from my high school," - I waved my hand in the back of the restaurant, where the rest of the drama club was - "Then out of nowhere, I bump into you and get the news that I'm a father. It's a lot to take in."

'Does that mean he wants to be in Anthony's life and be his dad? What will that mean for us?' She silently wondered to herself.

There was a hopefulness in her mental tone that made me not want to disappoint her. I knew right then, and there I wanted to live up to her expectations she had of me ... be the man that Bella and my baby needed.

"Like I said, it's a lot to take in," I repeated my words once more.

Bella nodded her head.

Suddenly, an image of a white plastic stick sitting on a sink counter in the bathroom at Charlie's house flashed across her memory, making its way to me. Before I had time to make sense of her thoughts, they fizzled out; my mind became silent once again. I couldn't even hear static at the same time the baby let out a little cry.

Not sure what was happening with my extra hearing, I began to rub my temples with my middle finger and thumb the way a person with a headache might do. I definitely had to speak to my father about this once I went home, among other things. I never had problems with my talent before. So, why was this happening now?

I hoped he would have answers for me.

"Understandable," Bella said sympathetically. Anthony cried a little louder and she began rocking the infant seat gently by her side. The motion began to soothe him, quieting him a little. "I felt the same when I saw two pink lines on a pregnancy test."

Her words made the venom in my veins run cold as I connected the dots. I concluded that I now knew what the image she had been thinking about earlier was; a pregnancy test. There was an ache in my chest right where my dead heart was. She had to deal with that alone because I left.

I stopped rubbing my forehead.

On its own accord, my hand reached out to baby Anthony. My fingers lightly touched his cheek; his crying stopped as he looked at me. His chubby little cheek was smooth and warm, a lot warmer than Bella's skin, but that was to be expected according to what I knew about hybrids. I lightly pinched his cheeks, first one and then the other, before I dropped my hand.

I looked at Bella, who was lovingly gazing at me. The love that shone through her eyes was nothing that I deserved. It made me ashamed about what I had done.

"When did you find out? How far along were you?" The words slipped through my lips; my voice was low and pained.

"I was thirteen weeks." She answered, still rocking the baby in the infant seat. He was quiet and I guessed he enjoyed the movement. "Seeing those two pink lines was even more frightening than when you left. But," She took a deep breath. "I guess it was time for me to grow up and quit mourning over our relationship."

"Grow up?" I asked numbly, and she nodded yes.

Her words stabbed me like a knife. She was sixteen when I left. She shouldn't have had to grow up; to put away childish things and raise a baby on her own, though that's exactly what happened as a result of my actions.

Without another thought, I closed the distance between us; my arms encircled her waist. I felt her free arm wrap around my back as she buried her face in my shirt. I kissed the top of her head, breathing in her heady scent.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that alone. If I knew you were pregnant, I wouldn't have broken up with you. I never wanted to in the first place. I would have found a way for you to move with me since I couldn't stay in Forks." Every word I spoke was the absolute truth. I kissed the top of her head again.

"Really?" She pulled back to see my face.

"Yes."

"Why did you break up with me? I understood why you and your family had to move, but why call it quits after all those times you said forever?" She asked, her voice heavy.

A million answers to her questions danced around in my head. I could say I wanted to give her a chance at a normal human romance, a shot at a human life without a vampire hanging around, putting her in danger every minute of every day. Or that a long-distance relationship would complicate things and wouldn't be the same. Though all those things were true, I knew none of that was good enough to say. Quickly another reason popped into my mind. It was something I had never thought of saying until now.

"I'm seventeen. Sometimes I don't think about the long-term effects my actions will have or who I will hurt without meaning to." I spoke honestly.

"Young and dumb?" She giggled.

I smirked but did not disagree.

"That's unfortunate." She said in a light tone as her arm became tighter around me.

"It's definitely not ideal, but I'm willing to make things right for the three of us if you're willing to give me a second chance." I hoped she would though this was her choice.

Always her choice.

'That sounds nice. But will he leave again?' Bella's mental tone was full of worry. 'What if he doesn't stick around. What if...'

At that very moment, my extra hearing gave out...again. I could no longer hear what she was thinking. My mind became filled with static while sadness washed over me, and I held Bella close. The proof was in her mind; she didn't trust me. Of course, she couldn't. I had broken the trust she once had for me, caused her pain, and left her pregnant. I was a horrible creature to do that to an innocent angel. I did not deserve forgiveness but to burn in hell.

"I already forgave you, Edward," Bella uttered the words I didn't deserve.

"You did?" I asked as our hug came to an end and the sound of our baby's crying filled the air, drowning out every other noise.

"I did. But we still have a lot to talk about before we decide anything else. I need to know I can trust you." Bella said, looking frantic as the baby's crying became more intense. I wanted to help but wasn't sure how.

"I understand," I said, feeling a little sad.

It was obvious Anthony wasn't going to quiet down no matter how many times she rocked the carrier back and forth. It was quickly decided that I would hold the carrier so she could take him out since she said he probably wanted to be held. That's exactly what we did while people that passed by the bathrooms gave us odd looks. Whether the strange looks were from our screaming munchkin whose face was as red as a tomato or because we were having a meet and greet by the bathrooms, I really wasn't sure. Not being able to tell what people thought since I couldn't use my talent for some unknown reason was very different for me. It was also irritating.

It didn't take Bella long to remove Anthony from the infant carrier which she then handed to me. I gladly accepted it while I admired how beautiful she appeared to be with a baby cradled in her arms. He looked comfortable laying her arms, yet still, he cried.

"Why don't we get out of here and go talk somewhere more private?" Bella suggested.

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I'll be posting another chapter next week.