Chapter 43 - Going Home

BELLA

The night seemed extra-long, and it didn't help that the baby was keeping me up. I called Momma D, and she did give me a few tips on how to keep Elizabeth awake. She was sleeping in four hour stints now, so that was an improvement. I was a little better rested than before, but I wanted to look like I could handle things on my own when my dad showed up. As I looked now, well, I looked like I needed some major help.

Edward came in and brought me some breakfast. I pulled him over and kissed him lightly, thanking him. He really was a sweetheart. "You seem together this morning," I told him.

He let out a choking laugh. "No, I've just accepted that I'm going to die today."

I pushed my tray over and pulled him down next to me. "You're not dying today. I won't let my dad hurt the father of my baby."

"Fine, but um, you mind letting me hold her when he gets here?" he asked.

I just shook my head at him. "Fine," I finally conceded.

I took a few deep breaths. I was an adult. I was responsible, I was a mother. I took another deep breath. That fact alone was a bit startling. I was a mother. It was unbelievable and amazing at the same time. I kept looking at my daughter, loving her more than anything, but at the same time, wondering when this babysitting job would be over.

I heard some scratching at the door, and Edward walked over and let Max in. He had grown so much. I was surprised when he remembered me. He seemed confused by little Elizabeth. He was always trying to climb up the side of her basinet to get a better look at her. Luckily, it was loaded down with baby supplies on the bottom, and that kept it from tipping over.

Edward picked up Max, scratching his head. "Hey, little man, momma's busy." He walked over and sat next to us, so Max could watch me care for our daughter. It didn't escape my notice how Edward relaxed with Max in his arms. I was right from day one; they were a good match for each other.

It was all too soon that Esme was coming to get us. Carlisle had just returned from the airport with my father. My father, who I had not seen for months. I cradled my daughter close to me, and Edward held onto Max tightly, forgetting that he had wanted to hold our daughter when facing my father.

Carlisle was talking to Charlie, telling him that we would be headed back in a few days and that there was no need to get a room at a hotel, that there was plenty of room in the house.

I stepped silently into the room, but my father sensed me immediately, and his stern face seemed to soften, when he saw I was holding my daughter. He looked so pained and looked away. He turned and walked away from me, heading down the hall to the guestroom that Carlisle had just given him directions to. It was in that moment I wished he would have stopped and yelled at me. His silence hurt more than anything else right now.

Edward must have seen my disappointment and shocked us all by going after my father. "What the hell? Your daughter has been waiting to see you? Don't you want to see your granddaughter?" he snapped.

My father turned and glared hard at him and said, "I don't want to say anything I'll regret." Then he disappeared into his room.

I burst into tears, causing little Elizabeth to start crying as well. Edward came over, wrapping his arms around us and kissing my head softly. "Just give him time. He'll see how amazing our daughter is, and she'll melt his heart."

The next morning, I woke to the slamming of a drawer. I sat up to see my father squishing the last of Elizabeth's clothes into a suitcase, and mine was packed next to it. He looked up at me with an unhappy expression. "Get your baby, we're going home," he said and walked out of the room with the suitcases.

I jumped up and ran after him. "What are you talking about?" I asked, as he threw the suitcases into the back of a waiting cab.

"We're leaving now, get your baby," he said walking past me.

"I'm not leaving," I said sternly.

He turned and looked at me hard. "Yes, you are. I'm not leaving you here with that idiot who provoked Barone."

"He's not an idiot."

"Yes, he is," Charlie snapped, as he packed up Elizabeth's diaper bag. I think I was a little shocked that he knew what went into one.

"Take the tray up to Bella, dear, she usually wakes about now," I heard Esme say in the kitchen.

I turned to see Edward walking out. "I'm not leaving, and you're not taking my baby, either. We're not going anywhere without Edward."

Charlie slammed the diaper bag down, shocking me. "Do you know what you've done?" he shouted at me. I didn't ever recall him raising his voice, and it scared me a little. "You will stop your childish tantrum and get you stuff together now! We're leaving. I don't give a shit where that bastard ends up, but if he shows his face in Forks, he'd better pray I'm not armed. NOW GET IN THE CAR!"

"NO!" I was shocked to hear Edward speak up. "I will not let you talk to her like that or boss her around. She's an adult and a mother. She will leave when she's good and ready. If she wants to wait for the movers, then so be it. I will not have you talking to her like that!"

"You will not…" Charlie shook his head and stomped over to Edward. Edward glared back just as hard, not budging. "You've got a lot of nerve talking to me like that, boy. I have a mind to call Barone and have him take care of you once and for all!"

"Daddy, no!" I had never heard my father speak like that. "I love him!" I ran over, stepping in front of him. "I'll go, just don't hurt him, okay, I love him."

My father closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He turned away and grabbed the diaper bag. "Get your baby," he said one last time and walked out.

"Bella?" Edward sounded so pained.

"You're coming to Forks in a couple days anyway, right? This way we get out of harm's way faster. Maybe Elizabeth will work her magic on him. He can't hate you, Edward." He pulled me into his arms, and I realized I was crying.

"It's going to be okay. It'll just be a couple of days. I'll be there as fast as I can. The movers are coming tomorrow, and we'll be on the next flight out of town once they're done. You already know where we live." I took in a shuddering breath, and he leaned down and kissed me softly. "See if you can convince him I'm not such a bad guy."

I laughed brokenly and kissed him again. "We'll miss you, travel safe and find us fast."

"Always."

Apparently, flying was not something Elizabeth enjoyed. She cried most of flight, not endearing herself to my father at all. The woman behind me suggested breastfeeding to help her little ears, and Charlie outright blanched at the idea. I got up and moved to an empty row and fed her in peace. Thankfully, the woman was right, and Elizabeth settled down for the last hour of the flight.

My father didn't speak to me the whole drive back from Seattle to Forks. I didn't try and engage him in conversation, either, because I didn't know what to say to him. We drove up to our little clapboard house, and I took Elizabeth from her car seat, taking in a breath of home for a first time in months.

She was relieved to be out of the seat and in my arms again. She opened her little eyes, trying to take in the sights around her, as I walked inside with her. My father took our things to my room and came back down, standing awkwardly, watching my daughter look around his home.

"She looks a lot like you," he finally said, and I noticed him glance at a picture of my mom holding me as a baby.

"Yeah, I think she has a lot of mom in her, too," I said.

He looked at the floor, taking in a deep breath. "You both have a lot of your mom in you," he said wistfully. "I'm gonna order us some dinner," he said and walked out of room.

That night, I lay down with my baby girl in my old bed and wondered how Edward was doing. I missed him terribly.

EDWARD

I was working my butt off. I packed up all that I could. Esme wanted to pack the fragile stuff herself, because the movers had broken a few things in the last move. She had us busy, and I couldn't help but pace like a madman, when it finally came time to go to bed. Bella was gone. I looked at the little pink bassinette and frowned. My daughter was gone, too. I needed to be back with them. Max meowed at me, and I took him down to the kitchen for some food.

Carlisle was sitting there, looking over a list of to do things in Esme's handwriting. "So, what do we have left?" I asked.

He looked up at me and pulled out his keys. He started taking one of the keys off. "I'm sending you to Forks to open the house up and air it out. We'll need it stocked with food and necessities like toilet paper and soap as well."

"Really?"

"Yes, Esme doesn't want little Max to get caught up with the movers here, so you two are leaving in the morning before they get here."

I looked down at Max and smiled. He was a lifesaver, and he didn't even know it. I didn't think I would have handled another night without Bella, as I was well in to this one and doing horribly. When Carlisle slid the printed-out boarding pass to me, I couldn't help but smile. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "You keep your distance from the chief, not Bella and your daughter, just the chief," he said looking at me over his glasses.

"I know."

I picked Max up and ran up to my room. I would do my best to fall asleep. We were going to see our girls tomorrow!

The flight was long, much too long, but my chest seemed to loosen the closer I got to Bella. I rubbed it with the palm of my hand, and the little old lady next to me offered me a Tums for my heartburn.

"I don't have heartburn, I'm just going home to my girl, and I'm excited."

"Oh, how sweet," she said. "Your wife is lucky to be married to a man who misses her."

I blushed lightly. "We aren't married."

"Well, you'd better do it quick, or you might end up missing her a whole lot more," she said, and I let her words roll around in my head. She was right, with the likes of Demetri hovering around her, and her father wanting to keep us apart, I needed to stake my claim. They were my girls! No one else's!

I knew there was something I had to do before I got to Forks. Once the plane landed, I rented a car and looked up a few jewelry stores on my phone. I was getting my girl a ring. It took me longer than I wanted. I hated that my pickiness was keeping me from my girl, but I just had to get the right one for her. I did finally find it. It was perfect and beautiful.

I went speeding down the highway, craving to be close to my girl again. I had half a mind to ignore the red and blue lights that flashed behind me when I crossed into Forks. When I saw it was Chief Swan, I realized it would probably be best for me to keep my mouth shut. I knew Carlisle had told me to avoid him, but what the hell was I supposed to do now?

When he saw it was me, he glared down at me, as he wrote out the ticket. His eyes darted to the cat carrier in the seat next to me and then the bag from the jewelry store sitting on top of it. He narrowed his eyes at me, as his face turned dark red. "I told you to stay the hell away from her!" he growled.

I tried to think of an answer to calm him down, but I decided to keep my mouth shut and not justify his empty threat with an answer. That or maybe he scared the piss out of me, as I realized he was wearing his gun.

"I'll give you ten seconds to turn this car around and get the hell out of town, or I'm taking you in for assaulting an officer."

"But I didn't…"

"You will, and I'll make it look like it wasn't self-defense," he threatened.

I wouldn't be able to get to Bella if I was stuck in jail, so I just nodded and turned back up the road, heading out of town.

BELLA

My dad came home steaming mad, and I wondered what had happened. He usually wasn't so angry. Of course, it was my mother who had tempered his hot head, and now she was gone. Little Elizabeth took one look at him and started crying. "Don't glare at the baby, Daddy," I said turning her away from him, as she whimpered pitifully.

I heard him let out a big sigh.

"What's wrong? Is there a troublemaker in Forks?" I asked.

"I'll say," he grumbled.

I turned back, looking at him surprised. Forks was the quietest place on earth. "What's going on?"

He looked down and away from me.

"What's going on, Dad?" I asked really starting to get worried.

He shook his head, "Nothing, just don't worry about it."

"Are we safe? I mean should I be checking the windows to be sure they're locked?"

He let out a huff, annoyed by my worry. "No, I said just let it go!"

"Why are you so riled up then?" I asked.

"Because I ran into Edward Cullen!" he growled, and my heart stopped.

My eyes darted to his gun and up to his face. "You didn't."

"No, I told him to leave town," he snapped.

"Daddy, he's Elizabeth's father. You can't tell him to leave town!" I was getting pissed. "I'm an adult, Charles Swan, and if you want to stay a grandpa, you'd better start acting like it."

"I didn't ask to be a grandpa!" he shouted at me.

That was enough. I grabbed my purse and diaper bag and walked out of the house.

"Where are you going?" he shouted after me.

"Home!"

Thankfully, I had Elizabeth overdressed and wrapped in blankets. I was a bit chilly myself, as I headed out the door, walking the familiar route. If Edward was back, I would know where to find him.