A/N for 2019-05-18: Many, many thanks to Eeyorefan12 for her work on this story.

In addition to being purely delightful to read, your comments are helpful too - so thank you for sharing. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of this, and hoping you're not disappointed in Rose!

~ Erin

Bella's stomach dropped. When Emmett and Rosalie had been absent at their arrival, she'd sort of hoped she might not have to encounter Rose on this visit. She'd loved Emmett like a brother, but Rosalie . . .

"You okay?" Rosalie asked Bella, sparing a quick glance for Edward.

Blinking a few times, Bella found herself at a loss for words.

"Sorry," Rosalie said, looking a little awkward. "Let's try again. Hi."

"Hi," Bella tried.

Rose moved closer. "I've been wanting to come and see you. We didn't want to overwhelm you all at once." She flicked her eyes in Edward's direction once again, one brow raised. He made no response to whatever thought she had just thrown his way.

Bella considered the Rosalie-shaped person before her. "I'm trying to understand why you care. You hated me before."

"And you wanted to throw your human life away," Rosalie said. "Hard not to scorn stupidity like that."

"That was it? Not that you didn't trust me to keep your secret?"

"Oh, that too. You were young, but time seems to have cured that problem."

"Enough, Rose," Edward said, voice full of warning.

"Why, Edward? Do you have exclusive rights to her friendship? Or difficult conversations?"

Friendship? Rosalie wanted friendship? Bella's head spun, and not because she felt dizzy.

"Congratulations, by the way." Rose said it so softly and gently, Bella felt a pang. She realized that Rosalie meant it, and obviously it meant something to her. "Three children. You're very blessed." Rosalie's smile was gentle too.

"Thank you," Bella murmured back.

"And as much as I hate to say it, Edward's right. You should be keeping yourself hydrated."

"You go to medical school too?" Bella quipped, not certain how to receive this version of Rosalie that . . . cared.

"Not recently, no," Rose said, scrutinizing her fingernails.

If she hadn't been sitting, Bella was pretty sure she would've fallen over.

"Carlisle and Edward had the most recent turns," Rosalie explained.

Taking another sip of her juice, Bella willed the nausea to disappear. It was still stubbornly in place, and with a sinking realization, she understood that it was likely to be so for several months.

"What's wrong?" Rosalie and Edward asked together.

"Ha," Bella laughed weakly. "Didn't realize vampires could hear disappointment." She shook her head. "Just another joy of pregnancy."

After drinking a little more, and closing her eyes briefly, Bella began to feel slightly less nauseated. Rose and Edward had been quiet. When she looked at them again, she was amused at the sight of their twin expressions of concern. Clearing her throat, she asked, "Where's Emmett?"

"In the garage," Edward answered with a small smile. "He's tuning up your car."

"Wai—what?" Bella asked, whipping her head up too quickly. Horrified visions of practical jokes played out on her only vehicle swam across her mind.

Rosalie scoffed. "He heard some loose parts when you drove in. He wanted to make sure it was alright." She gave Edward a dirty look.

"The car was just checked after my accident. It's fine. The body shop—"

"Didn't tighten everything the way they should have. He's just making sure it's all good. Edward is being overly-dramatic."

Bella and Rose looked at Edward.

"Emmett thinks of it as a tune up," Edward said, folding his arms in front of him. Rosalie rolled her eyes.

Relaxing a little as she watched their familiar sibling bickering, Bella settled again more comfortably in the chair. Rose's comment reminded her that the bill was still outstanding for the car repairs. The insurance had refused to pay, as the other driver was still claiming she'd hit him. "I need to go check on the kids."

When Edward moved to follow her, Bella said, "I can do it on my own, thank you."

Rose was more insistent. "Someone should stay with you. You've been dizzy."

"Sure," Bella said, resenting the intrusion, but recognizing the necessity. Falling over and hitting her head, or worse still—bleeding—was not something she wanted to risk.

There was an awkward moment where the three of them in the kitchen all seemed to be waiting for someone to make the first move to leave. Finally, Rose spoke up. "In case you two have anything else you need to finish up, I'll just wait for you by the stairs, Bella." She gave Edward a pointed look and stepped out the door.

Although she knew none of their previous conversation had been completely private, Bella waited until Rosalie was out of sight before turning to Edward.

"Thank you," Bella began, just as Edward started speaking at exactly the same time.

She closed her mouth and smiled a little.

Then they both said, "You first."

"Please," Edward gestured for her to speak.

"Thank you," Bella tried again, not sure if these were the right words. What were the right words? "For . . . explaining your . . . perspective." She wanted very much to avoid the word feelings, or anything that might dredge up more of the same. She stopped, not certain what else to say.

"Perhaps we can leave it for now," Edward suggested gently. "Everyone has been looking forward to seeing you and your children. I don't want to make this any more difficult for you."

She almost denied it—almost—but yes, it was difficult. She very much wanted to escape the fraught situation she and Edward had found themselves in a few minutes before and instead to work on rekindling her feelings of friendship with the Cullens. It wouldn't be easy but their contrite and warm welcome had gone a long way toward making amends. Bella found it hard to deny that having them nearby, watching out for her, was becoming something of a comfort to her. .

"Good idea," she said, hoping her words were neutral enough for temporary closure without her sounding flippant. Edward nodded as she walked away in search of Rosalie.

Rose showed her downstairs to where Alice and Meredith were busy at work. Meredith looked up, smiling at her mother, and then her jaw dropped. "Aurora," she whispered, catching sight of Rose.

Behind them, Bella heard a booming laugh. "Does that make me Prince Charming?"

"No," Alice scoffed as Emmett wandered in. "Prince Philip. Get your fairy tales straight."

"Hey you," Emmett said a bit more shyly, turning to Bella.

"Hey yourself," she added, smiling, accepting his very gentle hug. It was like embracing a truck.

"Rose said I had to be extra careful." His gaze flicked towards her midsection and back to her eyes. "Congrats."

"Thanks," Bella said.

In Emmett's expression were other unspoken words. The ones that said he was sorry, too.

She gave his hand a quick squeeze.

"Rose isn't a princess," Alice was explaining to Meredith, "but she can sure act like it sometimes."

"And where do you fit into that trope, Alice?" Bella quipped.

"Definitely one of the fairy godmothers," Rose supplied.

Bella disguised her chuckle as a cough.

Mer was looking at Alice, and then at Rosalie. "No," she said. "You're not one of the fairies, they're too fat." She considered this conundrum for a moment.

Edward, who had quietly joined them, burst out laughing.

Meredith looked at him quizzically.

"Sorry," he said. "Just something funny I remembered."

Bella made a note to ask what it was he'd heard, later.

Was there going to be a later? The idea had come to her so naturally that it concerned her, as if letting her guard down had come easier than it should have.

"I think we should maybe get dinner going," Alice said, eyeing Meredith, who'd gone back to tracing the lines of the paper pattern onto the fabric.

"Why don't I show you where Josh is keeping Carlisle and Esme entertained?" Edward said to Bella

"Sure," she responded, watching Meredith cling to Alice's hand. They were moving away with Emmett and Rosalie, talking about what they should make, or order in, for dinner. It was clear Mer felt like the center of attention for once, and Bella was grateful. Her eldest wasn't often, at least not in a good way, and she would let her enjoy every bit of it.

Edward's hand brushed at her back in the narrow corridor, pointing the way. The touch sent a pleasurable shiver up her spine which she tried to ignore. At the far end of the hall was Carlisle's study, where Josh had taken possession of Carlisle's medical bag and was busy playing with a heavy-handled instrument.

"An otoscope," Carlisle was saying. "It helps me look into people's ears."

Josh dropped this item, and Bella flinched.

"It's alright," Edward said, "he'd have to work pretty hard to break anything in there."

Bella wasn't so sure about that. Josh had already demonstrated remarkable skill on that front, most recently with her laptop.

"Man!" he exclaimed, seeing Edward. "Mama!" He ran to her and held up his arms to be picked up. It was still difficult with the cast but she scooped him up and settled him on her hip.

"Are you having fun, little guy?" she asked him.

"Fun," he repeated solemnly with all the seriousness of a major pronouncement, making the adults around him chuckle.

Josh was happy to skip back upstairs, this time holding on to Carlisle's hand.

Bella walked after them more carefully, Edward staying close by. As they rounded the corner, she asked, in almost a whisper, "What did Mer compare Alice to?"

A genuine grin spread over Edward's face, as he whispered back, "Her first thought was Maleficent, but then she settled on Cinderella's fairy godmother."

Bella burst into a fit of laughter. The two images were completely incongruous, but she could see how Mer would put them together.

As she and Edward arrived in the kitchen, Meredith announced, "We're having pizza for dinner!" Then she looked back at Alice, as if seeking support on this conclusion.

"Uh, I think we maybe need to eat something better than just pizza," Bella said to her eldest, and then to Alice. "Kids do need vegetables, Alice."

"They have those on top of the pizza, don't they?" she asked, frowning a little. She studied the menu.

"Yeah, but we don't like that kind," Meredith assured her.

"Oh, they do salad, too!" Alice squealed, as if she'd just found the Holy Grail.

Sighing a little, Bella decided this was not the battle she wanted to fight.

Esme, however, apparently did. "We'll have salad first, then pizza," she announced, eyeing the rest of the family.

"Oh," Bella said, "you don't have to—"

"Children need to see adults eating well, if they're going to eat well," Esme said firmly.

Bella considered this for a moment. She had the impression Esme's statement hadn't been intended for her.

Edward leaned over and whispered, "You know we're good at making it look like we're eating. Don't worry."

"Okay," she said, feeling a bit better. She knew just how miserable it was to eat things that didn't agree with her stomach, and even more what it felt like to experience her body's rejection of them later on.

"Are you going to be alright with pizza?" Rosalie asked.

"It's fine," Bella said quietly, feeling her children's eyes on her.

Rose frowned as she watched her, and there was a strange look from Alice. Bella could have sworn Rosalie was opening her mouth to speak, when she shut it abruptly. Glancing around, she saw that the men in the room were suddenly involved in another conversation altogether—something about the Mariners versus an expansion team, from what she could hear. Her face must have registered her confusion, because Edward again leaned over and spoke quietly into her ear. "Esme just gave us a very brief lecture on the nature of parenthood, and told us to keep our opinions to ourselves and stop pestering you."

"Oh," Bella mouthed, relieved. Then she smiled at him. "For the record," she whispered back, as if everyone in the room couldn't hear them perfectly, "Charlie will be heartbroken if Vancouver gets an expansion team."

She heard Emmett's groan and Jasper's "Yes!" as Edward chuckled.

For a moment, the traumatic events of the last few years were eclipsed by the memories of times like these, feeling like she was part of the family, laughing with Edward. But it was a brief reprieve. When she looked at Josh, she saw a miniature version of his father, and her smile faltered. She tried to resurrect it, but knew the result was only a ghost of its progenitor.

She found herself wondering if it was disloyal to herself—or to Matt—to allow herself to be so familiar again with the family who had abandoned her. But it was for Mer and Josh, she reminded herself. The Cullens were protecting them now, and that was everything.

The rest of the evening passed pleasantly enough. Bella kept to the safe territory of watching her children and discussing her work with Esme. She enjoyed watching the Cullens put on a show for the kids, pretending to relish their salads. To her great surprise, Josh soldiered through several bites of green leafiness. She had to keep herself from staring.

"Yum?" Josh asked Edward.

"Mmm, yum," Edward said solemnly, pretending to eat a bite of cucumber.

The pizza was an easier sell, and Josh munched through a whole large slice by himself.

"Alright little caterpillar," Bella finally said, watching him yawn. "Time to go turn into a butterfly. We're going home to bed."

"I'd like to go with you, if it's alright," Edward said.

She was about to say she'd be fine getting there but then realized there was probably a reason he wanted to accompany her.

"Emmett and Rose will follow behind us," he said. "Just to make sure he can fix any mistakes he's made with your car." Then he ducked Emmett's playful punch.

"Your car is in excellent shape," Emmett assured Bella. "Don't mind the smart-ass there."

"I never do," Bella quipped, moving to the driver's side door, lifting her eyebrows at Edward who was competing for the same space.

As if it had been his intention all along, he opened the door for her and then graciously closed it again before moving to the passenger side. She couldn't help the amused glance in his direction. "Smooth." she whispered.

He just smiled, staring straight ahead.

When they reached home, Josh was just nodding off in his car seat.

"Shoot," Bella whispered, biting her lip.

"Do you want some help getting him to bed?" Edward asked, eyeing Josh.

"Can you?" she asked.

Edward nodded, moving out of the passenger seat quickly. His fingers were light on the straps, slipping Josh free of them and then whisking him inside.

Bella followed more slowly, Mer's warm hand solid in hers. They moved quietly through their brief bedtime routine.

"Edward is really nice to Josh. He reminds me of Daddy."

Bella didn't say anything for a moment, focusing on helping Mer put her pajamas on. She smiled and motioned that they should go to the bathroom. It was odd, just having the time with her eldest. She was used to herding both children through the bedtime routine. Matt's work had been busy, and it frequently took him away on short trips out of town. In the months before his death, his hours had also increased. It had been rarer to have him home for dinner than not. Bella had gotten used to managing the bed-time routine on her own because, even when Matt had been home, it had been easier not to break the pattern with Josh. She hadn't resented him for it—not really. But it had been challenging to manage everything by herself on days she was called to teach. Matt hadn't always understood how challenging it could be.

Edward's interactions with Josh were so natural it was almost painful. They were what she wished Matt could have had with his son.

She shoved these thoughts away, focusing on Mer instead. They brushed their teeth together singing through Twinkle Twinkle twice.

Meredith was slow moving back into bed, yawning. "Story," she mumbled, and then closed her eyes, asleep almost instantly.

Bella watched her enviously. She wished sleep would come so rapidly for herself these days. But then, that was grief, or at least that was what Bella told herself. She missed Matt and felt sad that he wouldn't get to see his children grow up but a lot of the time, her thoughts were elsewhere: Frustration about money because she had let Matt talk her into using their savings for the renovations, anxiety about the health of the child growing inside her, fear surrounding the new threat posed by Victoria . . . whatever the emotion of the moment was, it was keeping her from the rest she desperately needed.

And it made a shitty mix with pregnancy.

She'd almost forgotten about Edward when she walked back into her room. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, Josh in his arms, a finger to his lips. "Almost there," he mouthed over Josh's head, which was resting on his shoulder

The stab of envy took her by surprise and was then quickly replaced by guilt.

Your husband was in that bed just two months ago.

And you haven't even washed his pillowcase yet.

She looked away, grabbing her summer pajamas and robe from the dresser, and then disappeared into the bathroom. She came back layered in both—sweltering.

Edward was laying Josh down in the playpen when he stopped abruptly, and Josh's little voice piped up. "Man!" he mumbled. His grip tightened on Edward's shirt, and Edward stood with him again, sitting back on the bed.

"It's okay," Bella said. "I'll take him. You can go."

She held out her arms, and Edward shifted to transfer him. This time, Josh's, "Man!" was louder.

She persisted, rubbing Josh's back while Edward still held him. "It's mummy, sweetie. Time for bed."

Her son answered by pressing his face into Edward's shirt.

Edward chuckled at whatever expression was on her face. "He's warm, Bella. That's all. He likes that I'm cold."

She let out a long breath. "Tell me about it." She pulled off her robe, tossing it onto the dresser.

Edward kept his eyes firmly on the boy in his arms.

Sighing, she sat down on the bed. It was just after nine, but she was exhausted. All she wanted to do was to lie down and sink into oblivion.

Seeming to sense this, Edward whispered, "I'll wait in the hall. I can put him to bed when he's asleep, if you want to go to bed yourself."

She shook her head. "I don't think you'll be able to. He gets these moods. He's going to want to be in my bed tonight."

"I can put him there, too." Edward said.

Bella wrestled with the urge to be a good parent, and the equally strong one to collapse into bed and sleep. If she could.

Rest won out. "Okay. But you might have better luck with starting there then." Bella slid over to her side, and then realized that Edward would be on Matt's side. Her breath hitched momentarily.

Be practical, she told herself. Matt would be happy that Josh was happy.

Right?

She made herself say, "Why don't you try sitting on the bed with him? It might make it easier for him to let go if he knows I'm here."

And so, Bella found herself in bed with Edward Cullen. Sort of. He sat up against the headboard, Josh curled in his arms. She tried not to think about how familiar it felt to have him there. It recalled memories of their time together in Forks, and along with them, the powerful feelings she'd had for him then.

When she woke in the middle of the night, he was gone, and Josh had nudged himself up against her. She dragged Matt's pillow towards her, inhaling deeply, finding, instead of only Matt's, a perplexing mixture of his and Edward's scents. The blend was as confused as her feelings, and she was slow to fall back asleep, trying to disentangle the emotional threads she found herself wound up in.

DISCLAIMER: S. Meyer owns Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.