BPOV

"Sweetheart, would you rather Carlisle and I pick them up?" Esme asked for the tenth time since Edward and I came back downstairs.

I smiled and wrapped my fingers around her hand. "No, Esme, we need to tell them ourselves, but thank you for the offer."

"Okay, well, if you're sure," she mumbled. "I'd better go check on dinner."

Letting her hand fall to her side, Esme shuffled into the kitchen. She worried about us, the boys, everyone in our family. I managed to sleep for a couple of hours before Edward woke me up. It was time to pick up the boys from school, and somehow we'd have to tell them that our house was gone. That everything we'd managed to collect after we became a family was gone. Bile crept its way up my throat. It felt like we were stuck in a nightmare, scrambling for anyway out. Only, there wasn't one. Our house was gone, and with it, everything we owned.

"We'll be back in a little while," Edward said, clearing his throat and breaking through the awkward silence that followed Esme's exit.

"Okay," Charlie replied. "Be safe."

Edward tightened his arm around my waist as we headed back out to our car. We weren't in a hurry to pick our sons up today. Other than needing to make sure they were okay, that Renee's reach hadn't gotten to them yet, I was dreading this moment. Both Alex and Anthony were good boys, loving and generous. They didn't deserve to lose everything just because my mother decided she wanted to be back in our lives — if that was really why she was here. She'd made herself clear when she told me that I'd be better off giving Alex away rather than raise him myself. She never did have faith in me. Maybe that's why she couldn't stay long enough to really be my mom. She didn't love me enough.

It took Edward almost half an hour to make the drive from his parents' house to the boys' school. He parked behind Jasper's truck from his construction company, but didn't climb out immediately. He knew, just as I did, that the minute we stepped out, our friends and family would be bombarding us with "I'm so sorry" and "If we can do anything." The sentiment was nice, but it was also annoying. Unless they knew how to reverse time and stop the fire from ravaging our home, they couldn't help.

"I love you," he whispered, bringing my hand up to his lips. "Don't ever forget that I love you, baby."

"And I love you," I replied. "Let's get this over with."

With a heavy sigh, Edward nodded his head and climbed out. I'd barely managed to push my door open when he was there, holding his hand out to me. I laughed, slipping my fingers in with his and allowing him to help me out of the car. He was silly and over-protective, but he was mine. All mine.

Edward and I walked over to the set of glass doors, where every pair of eyes turned to us. A rush of arms wrapped around the both of us. Rose was weeping, unable to get anything other than a few sobs out of her mouth, as was Kate. Angela only used one arm due to the wee baby she was cradling to her chest. Jasper seemed to be the only one who wasn't blubbering.

"Oh, you guys, we are so sorry," Angela whimpered, pulling back. "If Ben and I can do anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks," I murmured, knowing this would be the standard response for a while. "We will."

"I can't believe this happened," Rose cried, covering her mouth with her hand. "Your house!"

"Yeah, we can't either," Edward grumbled, clearing his throat. "But at least we weren't home."

"Thank goodness for that," Jasper added.

I looked over at him, cocking an eyebrow. "Jas, what are you doing here? Ivy is in Alice's classroom which is in the back?"

"Oh, um," he started, shifting nervously from one foot to another. "I just thought that you might need me or something. I mean, I know I can't really say anything that makes it better, but . . ."

Before he could finish I slipped my arms around his waist, burying my face in his chest, and cried once again. Jasper wasn't one to push himself on anyone. Out of all the Cullens, he never got in my face when Edward and I first started seeing each other. It was only one of the reasons why Jasper and I were such good friends. He knew firsthand how overwhelming being welcomed into the family could be.

"Oh, um, okay," he mumbled, slowly bringing his arms up and hugging me back.

"Thank you," I whimpered.

"You're welcome," he whispered.

The bell rang signaling the end of the day and I pulled away from Jasper, doing everything I could to wipe the tears from my face. The boys, particularly Alex, would see them and it would automatically put them on edge. I didn't want that. This was going to be hard enough without adding my inability to keep myself together for more than five minutes.

As they usually were, the boys were the last ones to come out with Mattie, Elliott and Anna right next to them. Alex and Anna were still "boyfriend/girlfriend." Though, that didn't really mean anything more now than it did when they were in kindergarten. None of us saw it as a problem since we were very careful about limiting any time that they were alone. If anything, it was inspirational to see them able to hold onto the feelings that bubbled up inside of them. Both Alex and Anna had old souls. Who knows, give them twenty years and they may be welcoming their own child into this world.

"Mom, can Alex come over?" Anna asked Angela.

"Not today, sweetie," Angela murmured, giving me a small frown. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Fine," she muttered, her cheeks turning pink. Anna looked at Alex. "I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah, okay," Alex murmured.

Clearing her throat, Angela placed her hand on Anna's shoulder and shuffled over to their car. Rose hugged us all, trying her hardest to keep her tears from pouring down her face and dragged a confused Elliott to their car. Jasper didn't say anything before he walked into the school. I suspected he was off to reassure Alice that the world hadn't crumbled and we were doing okay. Or as okay as one could be when they'd lost everything.

"You know, I feel like having some ice cream," Edward said. He turned his eyes to mine. "Doesn't that sound good?"

I nodded, even though the thought of ice cream had my stomach churning. "Delicious."

"Can we get a double dip?" Anthony asked, nearly giggling from excitement.

"Anything you want," I replied, a tremor filling my voice. Edward slipped his arm around my waist, tucking me into his side.

The boys didn't seem to notice that I was barely keeping myself together. They turned and ran over to the car, jumped into the backseat, and put on their seatbelts.

"How do we break their hearts?" I whispered.

I don't know," Edward replied. "I — I just don't know."

Edward brushed his lips against mine before we joined the boys in the car. The drive to Malcolm's Ice Cream Parlor was tense and awkward. We'd found the small shop about a year ago when we got lost trying to find this new Thai food place that had just opened in our area. We never did find that place; instead we stopped in and drowned our sorrows in bowl of homemade cookies and cream. From that moment on, Malcolm's was our little secret, where we went when we needed time together as a family. Now, it would be the place where we broke our sons' spirit. Today, they'd learn that shit happened no matter how hard you tried to keep it away.

Parking in the front, Edward cut the engine and sighed. I was the only one that heard it. The boys were too busy jabbing on and on about their day at school, and how they'd been learning about chemical and physical changes in science. I barely was able to keep my whimper inside when Alex stated that a log burning was a chemical change. Your house burning into nothing but ash was, too, yet I didn't feel the need to share that little detail with them.

We headed inside. The boys ordered two scoops: one vanilla and one chocolate. Edward went with cookies and cream, while I went with strawberry. I didn't really want any, but it was better than just sitting there letting the events of the day weigh over me. We settled at one of the tables in the back, enjoying the few minutes of peacefulness while we ate our frosty desert. For these few moments, everything in our lives could be as they were.

However, like all good things, the end came sooner than we wanted. The boys tossed our trash into the bin and stood next to us, waiting for us to get up.

"Boys, take a seat," Edward said. "Mom and I need to talk to you."

"Um, okay," Alex muttered, sliding into the booth across from us. He and Anthony shared a look before Anthony joined him. "Is everything okay?"

"No," Edward replied, slipping his hand into mine. "No, it's not."

"Are you getting divorced?" Anthony blurted out.

"What? No, of course not!" I scoffed. "It's nothing like that."

Their faces filled with relief. I wasn't sure why they thought Edward and I would be divorcing, but this wasn't the time or the place to have that discussion.

"Okay, so what's going on?" Alex asked.

"There's no easy way to say this," Edward told them. He brought my hand up to his lips. A tear slipped from his eye, down his cheek, and onto my knuckle. One of the things I loved the most about Edward was that he didn't try to hide his emotions — not from me or our children. "Our house caught on fire this morning. It's been completely destroyed."

Alex and Anthony looked from him to me, before falling back into their seats, shock and devastation on their faces.

"Everything's gone?" Alex asked.

"From what we could tell," I whispered.

"But, our toys? Our clothes?" Anthony huffed. "Everything?"

"We won't know for sure until the Fire Marshal lets us sort through it all, but from what we could tell, there won't be much — if anything — left." Edward sighed. "Guys, it's going to be okay."

"How can you say that?" Alex dragged his hand over his face, fighting to keep his tears back. Unlike Edward, Alex had a hard time with anyone seeing him upset. He wasn't one to wear his emotions on his sleeve. "We're homeless!"

"No, we're not," Edward insisted. "For right now, we'll stay with Nana and Papa. I guess, we'll have to start over or something."

"B — but," Anthony stammered. "It's not fair!"

"I know, honey, it's not," I cried. Reaching across the table, I took both of their hands in mine. "But no matter what happens, we're together. You two, me and Dad, we're going to be okay."

"But what about the baby?" Alex groused. "Where is the baby gonna live?"

"The babies won't be here for a while. We have time to figure out where to go from here. But right now, we need to make sure that we remember that no matter what happens we're together."

"You don't understand," Alex huffed. Snapping his head up, he glared at me. "Did you say babies?"

I smiled. "Yes, I did."

"But what does that mean?" Anthony groused.

"It means, son," Edward started with a laugh, "that instead of one baby, we're having two babies."

"I knew it!" he cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "I told you!"

"Yeah, you did," Edward chuckled.

While Anthony smirked over being proven right, Alex fell back in his seat, a frown curving downward on his lips. "We were making something for the baby, or babies, but now it's gone."

"You're talking about the project you've been working on in your room?" Edward asked, lifting an eyebrow. The boys nodded, solemnly. "What to tell us about it?"

Alex sighed. "We wanted it to be a surprise, but I guess it's too late for that."

Anthony shifted in his seat. "We were building the baby a cradle."

"But you started it before we told you that there even was a baby," I said, looking between them. "Why would you do that?"

The boys shared a look before turning back to me and Edward. Alex took a deep breath and said, "They told us to."

"Who?" Edward before I could get the word to process.

"Sarah and Brody," they murmured together.

With those two little words, the air felt like it had been sucked out of my lungs. I didn't doubt them. Edward and I had experienced our own encounters with our departed loved ones. But hearing the boys talk about having dreamed about them had a shiver running up my spine.

"Oh," I whispered, leaning back in my seat. "What — what did they tell you?"

"I don't know," Alex muttered, his cheeks flaming bright red. "They said that everything was going to be okay and that we shouldn't waste any more time."

"Yeah, and they made us promise to be good brothers. They said the baby needed us," Alex added.

"How does the cradle come into the picture?" Edward asked, tightening his grip on my hand. There was so much I wanted to ask them, but the words were stuck in my throat.

Alex sighed before leaning forward and placing his elbow on the table. "In the dream, Mom was kneeling next to a cradle. It was really pretty. She was singing to the baby. I looked up at Brody and he told me she used to sing to me like that."

"I sang to you every night," I wept.

He nodded, turning his eyes away and looking out the window. "We thought you might do the same with the new baby, but now the cradle is gone."

"Well, maybe, we can make a new one," Edward suggested. The boys turned to him, smiles springing up on their faces. "I mean, I'm not a master craftsman or anything, but we could try making the babies a cradle, or two as the case may be. What do you say? Will you let me help?"

"Um, duh," scoffed Anthony. "Grandpa tried to help, but he spent more time cursing about hitting his thumb with the hammer."

"Yeah, Grandpa and tools isn't a great combination," I snickered. "I don't like that you hid this from us, but I do love you both for taking this challenge on."

"We weren't really doing very good with it," Alex admitted. "One side was shorter than the other."

"Did you measure them before you cut them?" Edward asked, laughing.

"Measure?" Anthony cocked an eyebrow. "With what? We used our shoes, but we couldn't find Alex's shoe when we started on the second piece, so we used Grandpa's."

"Yeah, that's what Grandpa told us to do," Alex added.

"Oh, my darling, what I have told you about listening to Grandpa?" I brought my hand down to my side while I laughed so hard I had tears. Good tears for a change.

"Not to," he muttered.

After a few more minutes of idle chit-chat, we left. It was a relief to know what the boys had been doing inside of their room for the last few weeks, even if it was disturbing that they had taken on such a task with zero supervision. I cringed just at the thought of how many times they'd used saws without someone keeping them safe. However, seeing as we'd already had a long day, I chose not to press the issue right now. We had enough to deal with. A feeling of déjà vu crept over me when Edward pulled our car up at his parents' house. I loved Carlisle and Esme, they'd taken Charlie, Alex, and I in and welcomed us to their family without a thought, but I didn't want to live with them. I wanted my home.

Edward slipped his hand into mine as we followed the boys up the front walk and into the house. I wasn't surprised to see Jasper, Alice, Rose, Emmett, Charlie, Sue, Carlisle, and Esme sitting on the couches when we came in. I could hear Elliott and Ivy in the playroom. The boys hugged their grandparents before taking off down the hallway to join them. They were stronger than I'd been. I admired them.

"How'd it go?" Esme asked, scrambling across the room to me and Edward. "I've been so worried."

"It went as well as can be expected." I shrugged my shoulders and allowed her to drag me over to the couch. She practically pushed me down. Edward took the seat next to me, slipping his hand into mine. He needed to be close to me, too. "They were devastated, of course." I turned and faced Charlie. "You're in trouble, old man."

"Me?" he exclaimed, his eyes flying open. "What'd I do?"

"They told us about the project," I explained. Charlie's mouth opened and he fell back on the couch. "Yeah, we know all about the cradle and how you were helping them. They could have gotten hurt, Dad."

"They wanted it to be a surprise," he muttered, the edges of his ears flushing bright red. "I didn't let them hurt themselves."

"No, you were too busy busting your thumbs with the hammer," Edward snickered, causing everyone to laugh. Everyone, but Charlie, of course. "But it's okay because the boys and I are going to start over and make the babies the best cradles, and we'll do it together."

"If you need any help . . ." Jasper trailed off in mid-sentence, scooting to the front of the couch. "Wait, did you say cradles? As in more than one?"

Edward grinned. "I did." Tightening his grip on my hand, he added, "Bella and I are having twins."

For a moment, nobody said anything. Then Esme gasped. "Are you serious?"

I looked over at her, seeing the tears begging to fall down her face. "Yes, Nana, you're getting two new babies to spoil."

"Oh, my darlings," she wept, pulling Edward and I into her arms. "What a blessing."

"They are," I agreed. "But now, we have to start completely over and I don't know what we'll do. We have two babies coming, and we're basically homeless."

"No, you're not," Carlisle scoffed. "You're staying here."

"Yeah, we are," I muttered, scrambling out of Esme's arms. "And I don't mean to offend you, Carlisle, but this isn't our home. Someone torched our home, and now, we have to start over. The boys' baby pictures, their baby books . . ." I shook my head, struggling to keep my tears from falling for the umpteenth time today. "We became a family in that house, and now it's gone."

Wrapping my arms around my torso, I crossed the living room and started up the stairs, leaving everyone staring at me. I walked into Edward's old bedroom, and crawled on his bed. A moment later, I felt the bed dip as Edward climbed on behind me, nestling me against his chest and holding me as I cried myself to sleep once again.