AN: A day for Connor and Edward to spend together, and Bella is being stubborn.

Thanks to MeteorOnAMoonlessNight, midnight cougar, and ghostreader24 for their consistent help along the way.

I read every single review and love them all, thank you to reviewers, favoriters and followers.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, but I really want to keep Edward.

Deceit and Destiny Chapter 63

Edward

Ten minutes after Bella had left for the office, Connor bounced into the room, leaping on the bed.

"Edward, we gotta get up now. I'm hungry."

I groaned and sat up, grabbing him and tickling him until he squealed for mercy. He slid off the bed as I let him go.

"Okay, let me wash up and brush my teeth, and I'll put some clothes on. Can you do the same? How about we go out for breakfast?"

"Yay! Can we have pancakes?"

"I'm sure we can. Come on, let's get dressed. Momma's put your clothes on the bed for you."

Connor raced out of the room, and I quickly washed and brushed my teeth, not bothering to shave. Pulling on a pair of button-fly jeans and a long-sleeve Henley, I walked into Connor's room to find him half-dressed.

"Did you wash and clean your teeth already, buddy?" I asked.

He nodded enthusiastically.

"Good job, Connor. Do you need any help?"

He shook his head vigorously, insisting on managing himself, which he did pretty well for a five-year old.

After finishing breakfast at one of the local cafés along the waterfront, I drove us out to the beach where we'd had our first outing. We decided to spend a couple of hours walking along the shore picking up shells and interesting pieces of driftwood, then look in the rockpools. Connor hadn't yet had a chance to test out the underwater seascope that Bella had gotten him for Christmas.

I was thoroughly enjoying having Connor to myself, when out of the blue he launched into a conversation about babies, which threw me slightly.

"Matthew says you have to be married to have babies."

"They don't have to be, buddy. Lots of people have babies when they aren't married."

"Mommas and daddies don't always live in the same house, do they? My daddy lives far away, but he used to live in our house. Are we gonna live in your 'partment now?"

"I don't know, Connor. Your momma and I haven't talked about that."

"If we lived in the same house, you could be my daddy, couldn't you?

It was a difficult line to walk, between making Connor happy and not stepping on Jacob's toes. From the man's attitude yesterday, I was almost sure he didn't care about Connor at all, though he'd spent five years as his father.

"Well, do you remember when Momma talked about babies growing from one of a daddy's seeds and one of a momma's eggs? That's true, and you know that your daddy isn't our baby girl's daddy? I'm our baby girl's daddy. But a daddy is someone who loves a child, even if that baby isn't made with one of his seeds. That makes you really special because even though your momma and I didn't make you together, I love you."

"I wish you were my daddy," he said quietly.

I sucked in a deep breath at the wistfulness I could hear in his voice, and I had to swallow hard around the lump that rose in my throat before I could answer.

"I can still be a daddy to you if that's what you want."

Connor hopped up and down beside me. "That's what I want, Edward, but what do I call you?"

"You can call me whatever you want, Connor," I said, my voice cracking slightly with emotion.

It was such a simple issue for him, but monumental for me. Unaware that he'd turned my world upside down with his simple wish, he continued to chatter about anything and everything before blindsiding me with yet another question. He was full of them today.

"Are you and my momma gonna be married?"

In my head the answer was a definite "yes" but I had no idea if Bella would even want that, especially since her divorce was only a couple of months old.

I cleared my throat. "Maybe one day, but we'll be sure to talk to you when we know, okay?"

"Okay."

He seemed to be done with questions as he sped off along the edge of the waves to the next rockpool with me reminding him to stay out of the water.

For the rest of the day he didn't ask any more questions, as if he'd exhausted them, at least for the moment. We played catch at the park, and dropped in to see Dad for a light lunch, then headed for home. The conversation played on repeat in my mind, and I needed to talk to Bella to make sure I'd said the right things.

When Bella arrived at home that evening, I could tell she had something on her mind, but despite a couple of attempts to draw her out and get her to talk to me, she was distant and distracted.

I needed to tell her about the conversation I'd had with Connor, but I decided that it wouldn't do any harm to leave it until the morning

~ oOo ~

On Sunday morning, after lying awake while Bella tossed and turned most of the night, she dropped a bombshell on me.

"I want to move back to the house, Edward. I need to start packing away our things and making the house ready for sale."

I had been waiting for her to say something, but this wasn't it . . . the decision was such a sharp change in direction that I was sure she hadn't thought it through, instead acting on instinct. Only yesterday, she'd seemed so sure about being here.

"Bella, you can do that just as easily from here, can't you?" I asked gently.

"What else can I do, Edward?" She paced across the room, finding the suitcase she'd brought with her, and laying it on the bed, open.

"I'll never be free of Jake until the house is sold," she continued, "so I need to get things moving as quickly as I can. I can speak to Didi on Monday and get her to list it, and if I'm in the house, I can use every spare minute to pack away those things I don't need. Then, I'll be ready."

It was as if she was talking to herself, and for a moment, my heart missed a beat. Pain lanced through me at the thought of her leaving, but I forced the emotion back, determination taking its place.

"I know you're used to doing things by yourself, Bella, but there's no need now," I said tenderly.

I took the pile of clothes she'd removed from the dresser in our room and placed them back in the drawer, my heartbeat slowing in relief. Taking her hand I pulled her down beside me on the bed, uttering words that were the farthest thing from what I wanted.

"If you really want to go back to your house, then of course, I'll help you, but you don't need to do these things alone anymore, sweetheart. I'm here with you, and for you and Connor. I'm not going anywhere."

"I can't ask you to give up all your free time, Edward. This is my problem, not yours."

"Your problems are mine, Bella. I love you, I love Connor, and if it's within my power to do something for either of you, then whatever it is, it's yours."

I leaned forward, holding her wrist, the doctor in me feeling for her pulse.

"I don't want to pull rank, but you need to think of the baby. I can feel that your heart rate is already faster than it should be, and the stress you're under isn't good for you or her, so let me help. Please?"

I looked at her, hoping she could see my love for her, prepared to do anything I could to help her through the next few weeks.

I could see her wavering, and continued. "We can head to the house after work every evening to do whatever you think needs doing, as long as you promise no heavy lifting and to keep the fans going. I can either pick up Connor from your mom's, or we can ask her to drop him off as she normally does. Either way, I'd like to help, if you'll let me."

After several tense moments of her silence, she gave in and sagged into my arms.

"Thank you," she said, her voice breaking. "You've no idea what your support means to me. The illogical part of me wants to run, to do something right now, but I have to admit that staying at the house wouldn't get it done any quicker. I know I'm being irrational, and you're right. I am used to doing everything by myself, and I forgot for a minute that we're in this together. If the offer is still there, then yes, I'd love to stay."

My body relaxed. I hadn't realized just how tense I'd been over the last twenty-four hours, until Bella had given in and agreed. I hadn't missed that there was no qualifying time to that agreement, and I decided to give her a little more time before I broached the subject of them moving in permanently.

She pulled back, putting her hands on either side of my jaw, and her lips met mine in a gentle kiss filled with emotions.

"I adore you, Edward Cullen, more than I ever thought possible."

~ oOo ~

Later that evening, after Connor was in bed, Bella and I settled on the sofa to watch another episode of The Walking Dead . . . her obsession.

"I need to talk to you about Connor, Bella," I said at the end of the program.

She turned to face me, and her face paled. "What's wrong?" she whispered.

"Hey, hey, nothing's wrong." I patted my lap. "Don't look so worried, nothing bad has happened. I just wanted to tell you about a conversation Connor and I had yesterday."

Bella jumped up and walked down the hall and into Connor's room, then returned a few minutes later, tears in her eyes.

"He's fine, sweetheart."

"Oh, God, I'm so selfish, Edward. Why didn't you tell me before? What if he needed me? I was so tied up in what was happening with Jake, I never even asked what you did yesterday. I'm a terrible mother."

"Of course you're not, stop worrying. I didn't tell you because you were so upset, not because I was hiding anything. Come and sit down, please."

I held out my arms and she took her seat back on my lap, looping one arm around my neck, her fingers playing with my hair.

"Go on, please. Tell me."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking. "Okay. His friend Matthew told him that you had to be married to make a baby. I assured him that wasn't necessary, and he was okay with my explanation, then jumped into asking if we were all going to live here. This is the first time you've lived anywhere else, isn't it?"

She put her hand over her mouth, her eyes welling up, but when she nodded, I carried on.

"I think he's trying to process all the changes that have happened over the last few months, and wanting to know if we're going to live here together is just part of that. Of course, I didn't say yes, but then, he . . . asked if I could be his daddy. God, Bella, he tugged at my heartstrings, but I couldn't just say yes, could I?

"I reminded him about the conversation about babies coming from seeds and eggs, then he—" I swallowed, my eyes watering. "He said he wished I was his daddy."

I had to stop for a few minutes, blinking back tears that formed in the corners of my eyes.

Bella sniffed and brushed away a single tear from her face then one that had fallen from my eye.

"That's so . . . so beautiful, Edward. What did you say to that?"

I smiled at her, then took a deep breath to continue, thinking back to yesterday. "I said I could be a daddy to him if he wanted. He was over the moon, asking me what he should call me, but I remember it was the emotion in his voice that got to me. Honestly, Bella, I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but there's nothing I want more than to be his dad as well as one to this little girl."

I put my hand on her stomach, feeling the baby kick. "I love them both so much. I didn't want to say more; it wasn't the right time, but I can't say I won't next time. Jake does not deserve Connor," I said firmly.

Bella leaned in and kissed me. "You are the most wonderful man, Edward. For a long time, all I wanted was for Jake to be the father Connor deserved. After Friday, I'm with you on this; Jake does not deserve Connor, and more importantly, he deserves you." She stopped for a moment. "I'm going to take steps to terminate his parental rights."

~ oOo ~