Edward

I pull past the gates, waving hello to the security guards at their post, and into the driveway of my parents' house and cut the engine. There's a car that shouldn't be here; Jasper's obnoxious, red Audi R8 Spyder is parked almost sideways as if he's either fucking high again or doesn't care. Maybe it's both. All I can do is shake my head.

The truth is, I haven't seen him much in the months since Bella left Boston. His weeks of recovery were followed by his all but complete disappearance. Da assured me he was being punished for his actions, but I was beginning to have my doubts. Especially when I heard from Ma that Jasper took a trip down to the Hamptons on the family boat, without the wife, about a month ago. I keep questioning Da, but he never gives me any specifics, just that he's handling it.

With a huff, I get out of my car and head toward the house, not looking forward to the confrontation that I know will come if I see Jasper. Using my key, I open the front door, cautiously peeking my head in, listening for sounds of shouting or fighting. When I think the coast is clear, I walk inside and search out the boss.

I find her in the kitchen, doing what she loves most; making something to feed her family. When I see that's it's cookies, the kid inside me lights up. She spots me as I step into the kitchen, and her smile lights up her eyes. "Edward, a stóir, how was your trip?" she asks as she walks over to me, her arms open for a hug.

"Not long enough," I admit, taking her into my arms.

"Aww, you really like it over there, yeah?" she asks, looking up at me.

"I do," I say with a nod before I release her and find a spot to sit at the counter. "Why do you think I insisted on spending so many summers and holidays there as a kid?"

She reaches over to pat my cheek. "Well, that's where you were born. Maybe the place calls to something inside your soul, yeah?"

"Maybe," I say with a shrug. "I know I wouldn't be opposed to spending more time there."

Ma just hums in agreement.

"So, I saw Jasper's car out front. Has he been here long?"

With her back to me, the exaggerated movement of her shoulders as she takes a breath tells me she is trying to calm herself. "Your brother has been here for two days. Apparently, there are some things even Alice won't tolerate, and she threw him out."

"What has he done now?" I ask, expecting something catastrophic.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I'm pretty sure Alice caught him with another woman," she says with a sigh. "I don't really understand their relationship, Edward. They're constantly at each other's throats, and they've not been faithful to each other, probably from the beginning. So, I don't know what made this time any different. When he showed up on our doorstep, he was as high as a kite. His pupils were so big, I couldn't see the blue in his eyes." She turns to look at me, and the weariness is evident on her face. "He's my son, and I think deep down, I still love him; I hate him for the things he's done, but I still love my son. But even that love has its limits." With another deep inhale of breath, she continues, "I just don't know what to do anymore. I thought after everything that...happened, he'd straighten up and start acting like a Cullen, but..." The hopelessness in her voice breaks my heart.

There's a small part of me that wishes he'd broken his neck on his way down the stairs that night; that he'd either be dead or a cripple, unable to hurt anyone else. But, no, he's alive and well, and there's not a fucking thing I can do about it unless Da gives his approval.

Straightening her shoulders, she looks into my eyes and I can see she's ready to move on to a more pleasant topic.

"So, how is our sweet girl doing?"

I can't help but smile. "She's doing really well. Her schooling is moving right along, and she looks really good."

"So, things are progressing okay, then?" Out of habit, to protect the whereabouts of Bella and the baby, not saying her name in open spaces like the kitchen has become a common occurrence when others could be milling around.

"Yes, things are moving right along," I say with a smile.

"Moving?" she whispers.

I look behind me to make sure the coast is clear before turning back to my mother. "Yeah, I got to feel it."

"Oh, Edward, that's amazing," she says with her hands on her cheeks. "I wish I had made the trip with you this time."

"Well, I'm sure she'd appreciate a visit from you. I know we're planning on spending Easter there, but maybe you could make a trip that way before then. She'd love to see you."

"And I would love to see her too. I'll try, but I have to wait and see how things are going to play out here. With Emmett going back to school, I'm the only buffer between Jasper and your Da. And believe me, they need a buffer."

"Where is Emmett? I thought he said he'd be around today."

"Well, he was. But Jasper and your father started in on each other first thing this morning, and he took off. I think he said he was going to see Rose."

"So, is Da home?"

"Last time I checked he was in his study."

"I'm just gonna go..." I say as I snag a bite of the cookie dough she's working on. I run from the room with a smile on my face as she tries to smack me with the towel she grabs from her shoulder.

"Oh, scram, will ya!" she says with a laugh.

My smile lingers until I reach Da's study, the door closed as usual. I knock and am soon told to come in.

"Edward, how was your trip?" he asks while shuffling through paperwork on his desk.

"It went as expected. I was able to tie up all the loose ends with Liam, so things are all set to start next week." I take a seat in one of the armchairs and cross my ankle over my knee, relaxing into the leather.

"Good. And how was Bella?" he asks, finally looking up at me.

"She's doing well. She's moving right along in school, and she seems to be taking good care of herself."

"And Maggie? She's making sure Bella has what she needs?" I smile at Da's need to care for Bella, even from thousands of miles away.

"Maggie is taking very good care of her. They get along well, and she keeps on top of her about her schoolwork."

He absentmindedly nods his head. "Good, good. And the baby? Things are going okay there?"

"Yeah, she's almost six months already."

"Well, the rest of it will fly for her. I'm sure your mother will want to visit soon."

I smile, thinking of what Ma and I discussed just before. "I'm sure she'd like that; both of them. Bella misses her. Have you decided if you're going to try to be there for when the baby's born? I know Bella would want Ma there."

"We're going to try-" Da's words are cut off by the abrupt opening of the door. A wild-eyed Jasper bursts into the room, his clothes sleep rumpled.

"What the fuck did I just hear?" He's breathing heavily, and his hand is still gripping the doorknob.

"Something you weren't supposed to hear," Da says in a deceptively calm voice. "Were you lurking the halls again, listening to things that aren't your feckin' concern?"

"If that bitch is pregnant, it sure the hell is my feckin' concern!" The door slams just before I'm on my feet pushing back my charging brother hard enough to make him stumble.

"Watch your mouth!" I yell, pointing my finger in his face. "You call her a bitch again, and we're going to have a problem!"

"Well, she is! If she hadn't been such a tease-"

The words are barely out of his mouth before I'm swinging. One good hit knocks him off his feet, and he stumbles backward onto his ass.

"Do you still not take responsibility for what you did?"

"What? Responsible for her walking around here in a bikini, leading me on like that? And now, what? She's pregnant? Fuck no, I won't be taking care of some little ankle biter I don't want."

"Don't want? Don't want?" I ask, my voice only getting louder. "You think Bella wanted this? You think that little girl wanted-"

"Enough!" Da's booming voice silences us both, our chests heaving in anger for one another. "Jasper..." he says, shaking his head, a mocking smile on his face. "Jasper, you have no idea the damage you've left behind from your fuck up, do you?" The silence stretches out for a moment as he collects his thoughts. "All the other times, there was someone I could pay off, some way to get you out of whatever it was you'd gotten into. But this time? No, you've really gone and done it. But, don't worry, I've done what I can to clean up this mess, too. Bella isn't your concern."

"If she's carrying my baby, she sure the hell is!" He scrambles to his feet, wiping the blood from his cracked lip.

"And what the hell are you going to do about it, Jasper? You will stay away from Bella and my grandchild."

"Your grandchild? No! No," he says, shaking his head. "She needs to get rid of it. Have it taken out, give it away, anything, but she can't keep that baby."

"She can, and she is! That child is a Cullen, whether you like it or not, and it falls on my shoulders to make sure it's provided for since it's my fault my son is a monster."

"Monster," Jasper scoffs. "Maybe, but I sure as fuck won't be doin' anything to take care of that brat once it gets here."

"Don't worry; if I have any say in it, you'll never lay eyes on that child, or Bella ever again, for that matter," Da says with conviction.

"Are we done?" I ask him, ready to get the hell out of here. Just the sight of Jasper makes me sick.

"Yeah, we're done."

With my father's dismissal, I'm downstairs giving Ma a kiss goodbye, out the door, and in my car as fast as my legs will carry me.

The stress of dealing with my brother has left me a bundle of nervous tension, and I know just how to get rid of it. As I pull around the driveway and out to the street, I push the button on my phone and ask Siri to make a call for me. When Heidi's voice flows through the speakers, it's a welcome sound for once.

"Hey, baby. Am I going to see you today?"

"I was hoping I could stop by now if you're home?"

"Sure. I'm here, so head on over."

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

I make it there in eight.

It's late April now, and things are beginning to take shape. The sounds of saw blades and hammers are the soundtrack around here these days. The progress on what will eventually be Cullen's Pub has been good. The contractors have been right on schedule, and I hope to be open in about eight weeks. The renovations of the building have so far gone off without a hitch. Having people working in the city offices to push through the permits helps too.

"Mr. Cullen, I need you to sign off on a few things so we can place some of the orders." Timothy has been a godsend for a manager. Even before we're open for business, he's taken charge of things and only brings to my attention items requiring a signature or if something needs to be changed.

"Yeah," I reply, taking the stack of papers from him.

"Oh, and there was a call for you here a few minutes ago, but I couldn't find you at the time."

"Really? Someone called here looking for me? Did they leave a name?"

"No," he says with a shake of his head. "No name, just that she was a family friend and that it was urgent. She said she couldn't get you on your cell."

Pulling it from my pocket, it's dead. "Damnit. I forgot to charge it when I got here this morning. And she said it was urgent?"

"Yes, sir, and she sounded a little anxious to find you."

"Thanks, Tim. I'll go find the goddamn charger I left here."

I make my way back to what will eventually be my office. It has a small desk and a phone but not much else. I plop into the seat and rifle through the drawers looking for the charger I left here and pick up the desk phone to call Ma.

Spotting it, I plug it into the outlet, then my phone and wait for it to light up. It's so dead the screen only shows me the empty battery icon. I lean back and wait for it to charge enough to check my messages.

When there's finally enough juice to unlock it, there are four text messages, and four missed calls...all from Bella. My heart is in my throat trying to beat its way out of my body. Scanning through the texts, they get progressively more urgent.

Edward, please call me.

As soon as you get this, please call me.

I really need to talk to you, it's urgent.

The last one turns the blood in my veins to ice.

Edward, Jasper has found me. Please call me as soon as you get this.

I slam down the desk phone, and close the messages on my cell, quickly dialing Bella's number. The international call takes a moment to connect, but it feels like an eternity.

"Edward? Oh, Jaysus, you need to get here quick. Bella's gone into labor." I'm surprised when it's Maggie who answers her phone.

"What? It's too soon! She's got almost six weeks to go!"

"I know, but the midwife says there's no stopping it. The doctors have been in and out of here trying to slow things down, but nothing is working. She's been asking for ya."

"How long has she been trying to reach me?" I look through the desk drawer once more, until I find a power bank. Switching the charging cable, I quickly leave the room as Maggie tries to explain, as I run for my car.

"For hours, Edward. She tried your phone several times, even your parents. She tried every number she had, but no one was answering. By the grace of God, she had the one you just gave her for the Pub, so it was her last resort. I'm guessing that's how you finally got the message?"

"Yeah," I say as I peel out of the lot, heading toward home. "I've got some calls to make, but I should be there in about seven or eight hours."

"Well, I'll tell her, but she won't be happy about it."

"I know, Maggie, I'm not happy about it either. Trust me, if I could get there any faster, I would."

We say our goodbyes, and I make a call to Jimmy, asking him to make sure the jet is fueled, to file a flight plan, and have the pilot meet me in an hour.

As I'm throwing things into a duffel, my phone rings. Not looking at the display, I expect it to be Maggie or possibly even Ma, so I'm shocked to hear Heidi's voice when I answer.

"So, what time are you picking me up tonight?"

"Shite," I mumble. "Heidi, I'm so sorry, but something came up. I've got to go out of the country for a few days." What I don't tell her, is I completely forgot we had plans for the evening. Once I spoke with Maggie, I couldn't think of anything other than reaching Bella.

"Again?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. This was really unexpected." I grab the last of my things, and head for the door.

"Yeah, yeah, you're always sorry. It's always something, isn't it?" she asks dejectedly.

"I don't know what you want me to say, Heidi. It's important, and I don't have a choice; I need to go."

"All right, I'm sorry for being a brat. I just... I miss you."

I sigh. The conversation I had with Bella back in February runs through my head a lot these days, so I know I'm not giving Heidi what I should; either a commitment or an end to what we're doing. This started out as something fun and easy, but these days, it's not feeling like it. Knowing I can't offer her the same, heartfelt sentiment, I give her what I can and attempt to reassure her. "We'll get together when I get back, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. I'll see you soon then."

"Goodbye, Heidi."

"Bye."

I decide to make a quick stop at my parents, just in case, they're there. I know Ma would kill me if I left for Cork without at least trying to find her. As I walk through their front door, I can hear her yelling down the hall.

"No, Carlisle, I need the brown bag. The black one won't hold everything."

I'm met with my father's amused expression in the foyer, the requested brown bag in hand. He certainly doesn't look the least bit concerned that his son showed up in Cork and found Bella.

"I take it Ma called Bella back?"

"She did. Just got off the phone with Maggie, in fact."

"And did you know that maggot of a son of yours found her? And that's probably the reason she's gone into early labor?"

His expression changes before my eyes; from amusement with my mother's frantic packing, to murderous.

"No, I did not know that. How did you find that out?"

"From one of Bella's texts. I have voicemail messages she left me, but I haven't had a chance to listen to them. I know absolutely no details, other than he found her."

"Okay," he says with a nod. "I'll make a few calls and find out how the fuck he got over there, let alone found her. Jimmie knows not to allow him to take the jet, so he must've flown commercial."

"That's what I was thinking. The fact that the jet is still here tells us that much."

Ma's hurried footsteps interrupt our conversation, and she hands me her bags. "Here, go load these up, and you can drive me to the airport. I called Jimmy already, and he said you had already contacted him?"

"Yeah, and they should be ready to go when we get there."

Ma and Da exchange kisses and promises of keeping in touch, and he and I exchange words of reassurance of getting to the bottom of what happened before Ma and I are back on the road, headed to the airport.

After listening to Bella's heart-wrenching calls, I'm emotionally spent with nowhere to direct my anger. So I swallow down an Ambien and sleep; it's fitful, but I sleep. The flight is smooth, with little turbulence, so I don't wake until it's nearly time to land. I spend the almost hour before we touch down pondering the possibilities of how he found her. The fact that he was able to so easily tells me he must've had help. But, from where, I have no idea. It also tells me she isn't safe there alone any longer.

When we finally land, it's nearing two a.m. Jimmy has a car waiting for us when we disembark, so we're able to drive straight to the hospital. After punching in the address, the GPS tells me it's less than a five mile drive, so we're there in less than fifteen minutes.

We find a parking spot and rush into Cork University Maternity Hospital, stopping at reception,wherewe're greeted by a smiling face. "How can I help you?"

"We're looking for Isabella Swan. She was brought in with premature labor, and we were asked to come," I say with my hands laid flat on the desk.

"I'll just have to call down to the-"

"No, we don't have time," I insist, probably a little too forcefully. I take a calming breath, and try again. "Please just tell me where her room is."

"I'm sorry, sir, I can't just tell you where a patient's room is; that's against hospital policy."

Any other time I'd be grateful that the security is adequate. Now? No. Now I'm ready to start banging down doors until I find her.

"Grand! We'll be there in just a moment. Yes, thank you, Maggie." I overhear Ma before turning around to look at her, and she's grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "She's in the high dependency unit, room three." Peering around my shoulder, with a saccharine sweet smile, she asks the woman at the desk, "Could you please direct us?"

Rushing as quickly as we can, we find her room, and I can hear her wails from outside the door, and it brings me up short. I don't know if I want to be in there for this part.

With the door partially open, Ma turns to me. "Well, aren't you coming?"

"You think she wants me there for this?"

"Edward, she's been asking for you from the beginning; of course she wants you in there."

"Okay," I say, blowing out a breath.

Walking into the room, it's dimly lit except for the lights where the midwife needs them.

"All right, Bella. Next contraction, I need you to give me another good one."

"I don't think I can," she says, her head cradled in Maggie's arms.

"Oh, Bella, yes you can. You're the strongest girl I know," Ma says, trying to encourage her as she walks to her bedside.

"Esme?" Bella sounds surprised, but more so, relieved.

"Yes, a leanbh, you're doing so well."

Bella's eyes scan the room until they fall on me. "Edward," she says in almost a whisper. "You came."

"Of course." My feet move without thought toward her bedside, and my hand finds hers just as another contraction seizes her body.

"Oh, God," she says through gritted teeth.

"That's it, Bella. Push." Through counting, breathing, shouts of encouragement, teams of specialists and nurses all fill the room, and soon, we hear the words we've all been waiting for...

"It's a girl."

The moments between those words and the baby's weak cries are the longest of my life. But looking down into Bella's tired, but bright, brown eyes, I know everything is going to be okay.

A/N: Big thanks to Fyrebyrd, Gabby1017, Life and Death's Lullabies, and TheMetroDad for pre-reading, and to my beta, SunflowerFran, but please remember, all mistakes are mine.

If you haven't yet, check out my entries in the Age of Edward contest, Dominion, and Laid to Rest. It was so great to be part of one of my favorite contests! They were each chosen as a Judge and Validator's pick! They've now been posted to my profile, so if you were following them on the contest page, be sure to follow them here, because any future notifications will go out from my page. Dominion will be continued, for sure, as soon as I get some other projects underway.

For exclusive weekly pics and teasers, come check out my Facebook group, Sunshine Fics. Thank you all so much for all the love you've shown this story. I may have missed a few replies last week, so I apologize if I didn't reply to yours. Please know, I adore each and every reader and review!