Esme Cullen

After a long evening, I managed to get Edward asleep and laying in his new crib. I collapsed into my own bed and fell asleep quickly. At 2 o'clock in the morning I was awoken by the cries of a baby in pain. I scooped him into my arms and cradled him to me as I grabbed a bottle of medicine from my bedside desk. Carefully climbing down the stairs, I bounced him in my arms and tried to sooth him.

"It's okay baby. I've got you. I know baby. I know it hurts but I'm getting you some medicine. Shhhhh."

Of course he didn't quieten down. I made up a bottle of milk and put three drops of the medicine into the bottle before shaking it up. It took a while to get him to take the bottle, but he finally did.

"Bells? Is he okay?"

Turning around, I saw a worried Charlie standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Yeah. He's fine now Dad. It's just his gums flaring up. The doctor said that they would hurt for a while until his first few teeth have come through properly. It's hard to hear him in so much pain."

"I know Bells. You wouldn't want to wish pain on any baby."

He stepped forward and cupped the top of Edward's head and soothed his forehead with his thumb.

"How often do you do this?"

"Do what?"

"Get up in the middle of the night."

Looking up at his worried expression, I flicked my eyes straight back down to the fragile baby in my arms.

"Almost every night now. Between his gums hurting, him overheating and him being hungry, he's up most nights. There's not much you can do though. I don't mind though. I'd do anything for him."

"I know you would Bells."

We both watched Edward sucking on the bottle with his eyes closed until he'd finished. I placed the bottle down and held him up over my shoulder. After burping him I cradled him back in my arms and rocked him until he fell back asleep.

"He looks so much like you."

"I know."

"Beautiful."

My eyes flicked to his and he had a small smile on his face. This was the father I'd missed when I was growing up. He pecked my forehead and then Edward's before heading back to the stairs.

"Esme Cullen will be here at seven, so she can introduce herself. She's a very kind and caring woman so you don't need to worry about anything Bells. I trust her, so you can too."

"Okay Dad. Go get some more sleep."

"I'll see you in the morning Bells."

"You mean later?"

He chuckled slightly and nodded as he began to climb the stairs. I was left in the kitchen with a sleeping angel in my arms. School starts at 9 which is earlier than in Arizona and I was going to have to get used to it. It was a little daunting starting half way through the year let alone on a Tuesday.

By the time I got back to sleep, I only had another three hours of sleep on top of the three hours from earlier. I was up at 6:30, getting ready for the day and making a shopping list to get groceries after school.

Charlie was already downstairs when I went down and gave me my car keys and house keys. He'd also gotten me a doctor's note to excuse me from phys-ed, so I'd finish with fifth period at 3pm instead of at 4. He left soon after for work and I was left to a quiet house.

I wanted to get Edward ready for the day before Mrs Cullen arrived because that way I would feel safer leaving him with her all day. He didn't wake up when I was changing his diaper and I was glad. There was always a struggle to get him to sleep during the right hours as he would always wake in the middle of the night. Once I had him dressed though, he woke and squirmed about a little.

"Morning little Ed. Mrs Cullen is going to be caring for you today, so you need to be a good boy."

Tickling his tummy, he giggled and clapped his hands in front of his face. There was a knock on the front door and I lifted Edward into my arms. I slowly descended the stairs as I called out to the person at the door.

"I'm coming."

As I opened the door, I came face to face with beautifully pale woman with warm light brown eyes. Her face was heart shaped framed by caramel brown coloured hair. Smiling widely, her eyes lit up when she saw me, or more likely little Edward.

"I'm Esme Cullen. It's so nice to meet you Isabella."

I held my hand out for her to shake and she did but looked a little put out.

"It's just Bella. Come in Mrs Cullen."

"Please, call me Esme."

Nodding, I stepped back and let her step inside. She held her hands together as she took in the house. I closed the door and led her into the kitchen.

"Would you like something to eat? A drink?"

"A coffee would be nice."

"Sure."

Swinging Ed onto my hip, I set about making both of us coffee and making up a bottle of milk. She looked as though she wanted to say or do something but stopped herself and let me get on with it. When I'd given her a mug and poured mine into a flask, I sat at the small dining table with her. I waited until the little baby was drinking his milk before looking up at Esme.

"You're very good at this."

I automatically blushed and looked down.

"I have to be. Edward's only got me."

"My son's called Edward too. Well, I adopted him."

"I've always loved the name."

Looking up at her, I gave her a small smile.

"He's a good boy. I'd say he's quieter than most babies but when he wants something he'll be really loud. Once he's been fed he'll normally sleep afterwards but you need to wake him up after an hour. He'll never sleep at night otherwise. He's still on milk at the moment and the cupboards got enough for today. I'll get some more after school so will be home around 4. He takes a while to burp so you…"

"Bella?"

As I'd looked back down whilst talking, my eyes flicked up wide open.

"Calm down. Take a breath. Everything will be alright. I read the document you'd sent so I know what to do. I promise that little Edward will be perfectly fine when you come home."

I let out a breath I'd been holding and nodded. She was right. Everything would be fine, and I had to learn to trust. If Charlie could trust her then I could.

"Sorry. I've never been far from him for more than a couple of hours let alone a whole day of school."

"I understand Bella. You can ring at lunch if you want and I'll tell you everything we've done so far. I'll take pictures and send them to you throughout the day, so you can see that he's alright."

"No, it's okay Esme. I've just got to learn to trust you."

She nodded before sipping at her coffee. I looked down to see an empty bottle and a tired looking baby. Holding him over my shoulder, I started to burp him, and Esme watched carefully. When I'd finished, I cradled him back against my chest as he fell asleep.

"Can I hold him?"

I was reluctant to give him over but when I looked into her soft eyes, I nodded and held him out to her. Slowly, she took him into her arms and rocked him gently. With a hawk eye, I watched every move she made until she gave me a reassuring smile.

"It's okay Bella. If it becomes too much just let me know and I'll hand him back to you. I'm not going to push you too far on the first day."

"No, I'm fine. I trust you'll keep him safe."

"Why don't you get yourself ready for school?"

"Make yourself comfortable in the living room. If you want, at some point today lay him in a clump of cushions on the floor and you can explore to house. You can go in my room as most of Ed's things are in there too but the door furthest from the stairs is Charlie's and you can't go in there. Help yourself to the kitchen but there isn't much in there at the moment I'm afraid. Charlie seems to live off take out and the diner."

"I'll make do Bella. Don't worry about me."

Pecking Edward's forehead, I backed out of the kitchen and ran upstairs. All I had to do was tidy up a couple of things and grab my bag for school. I ran into the living room and stopped when I saw Esme cradling a sleeping Edward.

"As his teeth haven't come through yet, he likes to chew and suck things, especially fingers. If you don't want him to suck your fingers, give him one of the chew toys in his cradle upstairs and make sure he doesn't chew anything like stuffed animals or pillows. His immune systems not great so he's quite susceptible to illness."

"Okay. What about his gums? You said in your e-mail that his gums were hurting him."

"Yes. They don't usually during the day but if he is screaming a high pitched wail and crying, his gums are hurting. There's some medicine in the kitchen by the microwave. Put three drops in a bottle of milk shake it well and make sure he drinks as much as possible. It stops his gums from hurting but it also puts him to sleep. He'll wake up naturally after half an hour or so."

I sat down beside her and cupped the back of Edward's small head. Pressing another kiss to his forehead, I scooped him back into my arms as a lone tear fell from my eye. I stood with him in my arms and turned away from Esme. This moment was between Edward and me.

"I love you baby and I'll be back as soon as I can. Esme's going to look after you until I get back. I love you baby and I'll miss you."

After pecking his nose, I handed him back to Esme and turned away from them. If I looked at him again, I would never leave. I took a deep breath and lifted my bag.

"I'll see you later Esme."

"Have a good day Bella."

I grabbed my coffee and ran out of the house. I didn't trust Esme yet, but I had confidence that she would keep Ed safe. That was enough for now.