Assumptions Chapter 26

Rush

BPOV:

Flying these days was never easy but flying with a baby was damn near impossible. And very, very stressful. By the time we made it to Seattle we were exhausted and Abby was wide awake, having spent most of our two flights fast asleep. I worried that Edward was never going to be able to get her to sleep tonight.

As we approached the baggage pick up we found Emmett waiting for us. Emmett grabbed Abby out of my arms the second that we got to him, "It's my turn to play the great uncle that spoils his niece rotten and fills her with junk food before sending her back home!"

"Hah! You've always been a lot worse than me about that stuff. How many times has Rose yelled at you because you fed Bree something sugary and got her all hyper at bedtime?"

"I plead the fifth on that one," Emmett said, with a boisterous laugh.

Emmett finally handed her back to me when our bags arrived so he could help Edward lug them out to his car. And by his car, I do mean his police cruiser. I was suddenly fourteen again and being picked up at the airport by my dad.

The drive from Seattle to Forks felt like it was taking forever. Emmett wouldn't shut up. I was trying not to be cranky but I didn't get much sleep last night because Edward didn't sleep last night. He stayed angry over what Tanya had been doing and tossed and turned for a couple of hours before finally getting up and going over to what I had taken to calling 'his chair' and turned on the TV. I gave up sleeping at that point too and rolled over to face him. I laid there for a long time just watching him stare at the TV without actually paying attention to what was playing. I didn't think that he realized that I was awake until he started talking to me.

"I feel like a failure as her father."

"Why? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah, well, I didn't do anything right either. I brought her back and left her here only to be dumped off on strangers."

I got up and walked over to him and sat down on his lap, "Did you know that Tanya was doing that?"

"No. But I should have realized it. There were times that I'd call and she would be with a sitter.

"Edward. You thought she was at work. A lot of parents have to work and leave their kids with a sitter. Most don't leave their children as much as Tanya was apparently leaving Abby and don't get me started on how I just can't comprehend how any parent can their child away in favor of a promotion and a boyfriend, but I am kind of glad that she did. It means that Abby will be with us where she will be loved and cared for all the time."

"I know you're right. I just keep thinking of all the horrible things that could have happened to her. One of those people could have just taken off with her and we would have never seen her again."

I wrapped my arms around him and just held him since I had no response to that. It was true, and a real possibility since it was doubtful that Tanya was doing any kind of background check on the people that she left her daughter with. It was shocking that this behavior was coming from a cop.

Emmett dropped me off before taking Edward back to his apartment. Edward told me that he was going to change his clothes and then Abby then he would meet me at his parent's house. I ran into the house, grabbing a dress out of my closet and then running into the bathroom to freshen up. I dressed, put on some makeup, and ran a brush through my hair and was out of the house within twenty minutes.

I did end up beating Edward to the party. I let myself into the house and found Esme in the kitchen. She ran to me the second she saw me and grabbed me into a hug, "Oh darling, welcome home. I was surprised that you two didn't call last night. Did Tanya give you any trouble?"

Esme released me and returned to the kitchen where she was putting the final touches on a meat tray. "Um…no… um…we didn't actually see her."

Esme spun back around to face me, confused, "What do you mean?"

"I think we should wait until Edward is here and after the party to talk about this." I pleaded with her.

"It's going to piss me off, isn't it?"

"Yes it is. Bella's right, we should talk about it later." I smiled and turned to see Edward and Abby standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Esme wiped her hands on her apron and walked over to pull her granddaughter out of Edward's arms. She did give him a kiss on the cheek as she absconded with his child, so at least there was that. I walked over to the counter and continued to work where Esme left off. I finished the tray and turned back to see Edward and Esme in a quiet discussion about something. I waited for a minute, not wanting to intrude on them before they were done and turned back to me.

"Thank you so much Bella, you are such a dear," she said to me while handing Abby back to Edward. "You two go on outside and say hello to everyone and I will bring out a fresh pitcher of lemonade."

Edward took my hand with his free hand as soon as we were outside and led us over to where everyone was sitting and talking. Most of the people there were surprised to see Edward carrying his daughter. Forks would always be Forks and everyone knew the custody arrangement that had existed between Edward and his ex-wife. So, naturally, I had figured that everyone would have known why he and I had taken off to New York.

Rose stood up and came over to me and grabbed me into a hug. "We didn't tell anyone that we didn't trust to keep it to themselves. Esme was afraid of jinxing it." I laughed but completely understood. That was why I never typed the title of my book or even acknowledged it until I was ready to send it to Kate.

I stepped back from Rose and walked around to where Angela was sitting. I leaned down and gave her a hug from where she was relaxing. Michael had told Edward days ago that Angela was getting close and I did hope that it would be soon for her sake because she looked miserable, and the way that she kept shifting around in her chair showed just how uncomfortable she was.

I took the empty chair in-between Angela and Rose and they both wanted to know if our trip to New York went well, but luckily neither of them pressed me for many details. I changed the subject by asking where Emmett was.

"Oh, one of his deputies is sick so he's filling in. He told them that he'd be there as soon as he got back from picking you guys up in Seattle."

"Now, I feel bad that he had to drive all that way when he had to go to work after."

"Don't worry about it, he'll be fine. He didn't get the call until after he'd left to get you, anyway, or we'd have sent Carlisle to get you." I still felt bad about it, but I let it drop as Esme and Carlisle walked out of the house carrying some trays of food.

EPOV:

As soon as I got into my apartment I changed Abby and got her settled on my bedroom floor with a toy while I changed my clothes. Then I sat down on my bed and called a number that I still knew by heart. I called my lawyer, Jason, and asked him if we could meet sometime tomorrow. I told him a little about what was up, and he told me that he would stop by on his way to his office in the morning. I sighed as I hung up the phone. Jason was a good guy and a favorite attorney of most of Forks. He was also the lawyer that had handled Charlie's will and was still putting the final touches on transferring Charlie's estate to Bella.

I was still sitting there on my bed, thinking and brooding (as my mother would call it), when Abby crawled to me and used my knees to pull herself up so that she was standing. I couldn't believe that she was already nine months old. I was glad that I'd had her for the first six months of her life but I now regretted handing her over to Tanya for the last three. She knew that I loved Abby and I would have gladly kept her. I just didn't understand why she kept her if she didn't want her. I picked Abby up and pulled her into a tight hug. I had to stop this train of thought or I wasn't going to make it to the baby shower. I had never been to a baby shower before Abby, but Mom and Rose threw me one. I was embarrassed as hell at first but by the end I was glad that they did, because I ended up getting so many great things that I hadn't even considered that I'd need with a baby. I knew that Mom and Bella had decided to make this one coed as well to include Michael. I thought it was a good idea.

I grabbed Abby's stuff and carried her down to where I had my car parked down the street from my shop. I was going to have to find somewhere closer to park. We'd had a nice summer this year with a lot more sunny days than we were used to, but it did rain a lot and we did get ice and snow in the winter. I didn't want to have to carry her too far in bad weather and slip and have her get hurt or get sick from the damp weather.

I walked into my parent's house and smiled at the sight before me. I loved that Bella was so close to my family. I almost laughed when Mom snatched Abby from my arms. Emmett did it too, and I was sure that the same thing was going to happen the second that I saw Dad and Rose. None of them were happy when I had to take Abby back to New York. In fact, Charlie even asked me if I was sure that I didn't want to sue for custody. I didn't then, but I did consider it. I was so terrified of losing my daughter like Charlie lost Bella, but ultimately I believed that Abby needed to be with Tanya too, and the even split was the right thing to do. I never dreamed that I would so wrong about that.

I told Mom that we would discuss New York later. After Bella walked away she asked if we were ok, if we'd had a fight. I told her that we hadn't but she wasn't convinced. She said that we were both so tense that there was obviously something bothering us and if I didn't want to talk she wouldn't push me, but she was there for me if I changed my mind. Then she sent Bella and me out to the party.

I was able to put everything aside and relax for the rest of the party. As I sat talking to Michael and Dad I turned to see Bella holding Abby. She had fallen asleep in Bella's arms. Funny, in the time that I had known Bella I had never even considered her in a maternal role, but she looked so natural sitting there with Abby in her arms.

When lunch was over we had decided it was time to present Michael and Angela with their presents. We walked them around the side of the house and surprised them with the car that was packed tight with gifts. Just as I knew they would, they tried to argue with Bella handing them over the car, but Bella stood firm. She just didn't need it anymore because she had the truck that Charlie bought for her and they needed a safe and reliable vehicle for the baby. After quite a bit of discussion, and tears from Angela, Bella finally managed to hand the title and keys over to Michael. Angela was walking around the car peeking in the windows. Mrs. Newton, Mrs. Webber, and Bella walked over to her and opened the back door and started pointing things out to her. Michael walked over to join them when Bella called to him to bring the keys so she could open the trunk. The trunk had an assortment of clothes and packages of diapers and wipes in it. Angela was straight out bawling as she sorted through the clothes and toys and everything that she had registered for, and many things that she hadn't.

Dad and I and few of the other men that were here wandered back into the backyard while Angela and Michael sorted through as much of the gifts as they could without actually unpacking the car. It was almost an hour later when everyone was finally back in the backyard and Mom carried out the cake. Abby was awake again and back with me. I was feeding her some of my ice cream and she was absolutely loving it. I was a little afraid to give her some of the cake. I was going to have to ask Mom about what foods were appropriate for a baby her age and what I should avoid for a while yet. I didn't know a whole lot about babies.

I was completely exhausted by the time the last guest left the party and Mom walked out and finally sat down. I took a deep breath and told them that Tanya had been leaving Abby with a series of sitters and rarely caring for her herself. I told them how we'd found her with a neighbor who'd told me that there were times that she'd have Abby for days, and Tanya would only show up at the house if she knew that I was going to be calling to talk to Abby. Mom and Rose were out for blood by the time that I finished recounting everything that Zafrina had told us. I was glad that I had gotten her address and phone number before we left. I was going to have Jason contact her about testifying on my behalf when we went to court.

We all stayed and ate leftover sandwiches and salads from the party for supper while we talked some more about how I was going to file for full custody. After we were done eating Bella and I started to help clean up, but Mom shooed us off home, telling us to go get some sleep since we'd had a really long day. I was grateful as I could barely keep my eyes open anymore. I asked Bella if she needed to stop by her house to get a change of clothes before we went back to my place and was surprised when she said that she felt it was better that she just go home, "It's your first night having Abby home. You two need this time alone together. I have a few things that I need to do at home anyhow. Take me home and go spend some quality Daddy-daughter time with her and I will be over first thing in the morning."

I kissed her several times before I let her get out of my car and waited until I she was in the house before driving off. As soon as I got home I gave Abby a bath, and got her in the pajamas before laying a blanket on the floor and playing with her. Tomorrow I would have to start thinking about legal issues and hiring help, but tonight I was just going to enjoying having my baby home with me.

A/N:

Happy Friday. I'm posting now because its ready to go and I have a busy day tomorrow. Thanks to Sweetpea123 for being an awesome beta, but I did change quite a few things after she sent it back to me so any mistakes are mine.

Did any of you read 'Lover at Last'? I'm a huge fan of the brothers. There was one part that made me gasp out loud. Unfortunately, I was at work at the time and several people came to see if I was alright. If you've read it, I love to have someone to discuss it with.

I have found and become obsessed with a music group called Mumford and Sons. I just love their music. I was literally listening to "I will wait' on repeat the entire time I was doing my final edit and revision on this chapter tonight.

Reviews will get a teaser. I'll see everyone is two weeks!