Edward must have picked up his car without stopping in to say, "Hi," and I was equally relieved and concerned when I didn't heard from him for the rest of the week. Apparently I wasn't concerned enough to call him though. I enjoyed my Cullen Free time by stressing out about what his absence could possibly mean. What if Carlisle died? Would it be horrible for me to feel relieved? Would we have to go to the funeral? Would anyone want us at the funeral? What if they all blamed me for his death. What if he lived and he hates me? No, he probably died. Is it horrible for me to be relieved (and repeat another 10,000 times). I even caught myself spacing off at work, which is not the best idea when you're cleaning people's teeth. Luckily no patients were harmed during my paranoid obsessing.

One night after work, I finally heard from Edward.

"What's going on Edward? Is your Dad ok?"

"He's stable. He's recovering. It's going to be about six months before he can go back to work. But he's out of the hospital."

I felt relieved. Mostly because I didn't have to feel guilty about killing the man. And I guess it's good that Edward's Dad hadn't kicked it.

"Well, that's pretty good news, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. Things were a little touch and go for a while. But he's doing much better. Esme has a nurse helping out at the house, and they seem to have it all under control."

"Did Esme have to take time off work?"

"Yeah. But it's ok. She's been grooming her assistant to take over. So that's handled."

"Well. That must be a relief."

(insert awkward phone silence here.)

"So…." I said.

"Bella, how would you feel about Owen meeting my parents?"

"Oh!" I said. That surprised me. Not that it should have, it'd been in the swirl of questions and regrets swimming in my head over the past two weeks. "Um…."

"I just thought I'd ask. Esme saw Owen briefly when you were at the hospital. She was in shock at the time, with all that was going on, but she asked me a few days ago."

"What about your Dad? Does he want to see Owen? Would it be too much stress for him?"

"He…he wants Esme to be happy. And Esme wants to see him."

"Oh."

"You could be there if you want."

"I don't want to go to your parent's house, Edward."

"It doesn't have to be at their house. They could come to Seattle, or we could meet them at a restaurant."

"Owen at a restaurant is kind of like asking for trouble," I said, smirking as I imagined him tossing rice gleefully onto the floor of whatever glamorous overpriced place Esme picked to dine.

"What about a park?"

"Edward, I really don't want to see your family."

"Oh. Ok."

"But I do want him to spend time with you."

"Oh. Ok." Edward replied, sounding more hopeful.

"I've actually been totally obsessing about this. I don't know what to do. Maybe you can help me come up with a solution?" I asked.

"What's bothering you, Bella?"

"I don't want to be with your family. I'm sorry, but I really don't like your Dad. At all. And I don't know if I want Owen spending a lot of time with him. I know your Dad loves you, and that he is mostly a good man, but I also know he doesn't like me."

"He likes…," Edward got in before I cut him off.

"It's ok, Edward, I know he doesn't. It's cool. I understand where he's coming from."

"Bella….."

"Anyway, I don't know if I want someone who I'm so at odds with spending lots of time with my son. Owen isn't old enough to understand this situation. I don't even understand our situation. I don't want him getting any ideas that he's not good enough or that he was a mistake."

Edward was silent.

"I just think it'd be best if he didn't spend a lot of time with your parents."

"Ok," was his quiet reply.

"But if you want to take him to see just his Grandma Esme, I understand."

"You mean by myself?"

"He's obviously pretty comfortable around you. Maybe you should take him on an Edward/Owen/Solo test run first. Like on a walk to the park or something. And then if that goes well, you can take him to meet your Mom. As long as it's a short, close trip. You know, just in case things don't go well."

"Oh Bella," Edward replied. I could hear the emotion in his voice.

"Oh Edward," I joked back. "Don't get too excited. He might throw a huge fit in the park and you'll decide you're not ready to handle the joys of a toddler on your own yet."

Edward laughed, "I don't think he could do anything to make me feel like that."

"Sure, we'll see," I joked back. "But you have to promise to return him in perfect condition at the end of the day," I added, only slightly kidding.

"Of course, Bella. I'll take perfect care of him. I won't let anything happen to him. You can trust me."

"I know."

"So when is Owen free for a park date?" Edward asked.

"You know us, Friday through Sunday. Pick a time."

"Friday at ten. I'll pick him up."

"Don't you have work?

"I'm the boss. I can take a morning to take my son to the park!"

"You're the boss?!" I asked. "When did this happen?"

"It's not a big deal. I used some of my trust fund to buy a lab. It sounds more impressive than it is."

"Sure, whatever, Edward. No big deal. I should ask Alice about it, she'll give me the low down."

"You should. Speak to Alice, I mean. Not ask her about my career."

"Yeah. So Friday then?" I asked, abruptly changing the conversation. "Ten is actually perfect. That'll give you plenty of time to play before he needs lunch and his nap."

"And if it goes well, what would you think about me taking him to meet Esme on Sunday?"

"I guess….I think that'd be fine," I said, shutting my eyes and willing for it to be true. It would be fine. It would be fine. It would be fine.

"Thank you Bella. You're wonderful."

"Don't forget 'Amazing' and 'Fantastic' too."

"…and beautiful, and kind, and funny, and smart, and perfect."

"Whoa! Slow down! You need to save some of that sugar for the big favor's Edward!"

He laughed, "No really, Bella. You're wonderful. You're the best. Really."

"Well, thanks," I said, blushing. Good thing this conversation was over the phone. And good thing my ancient cell wasn't capable of face-time. Sometimes you just don't want to be seen.

"Bella, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Um, sure, I guess…"

"Are you dating anyone?"

"No. No. And No."

"Oh, so you're not dating anyone?"

"Glad to see you've finally mastered sarcasm. Why do you want to know Edward."

"I was just curious. I mean…not that you'd…I didn't want to…I just…"

As much fun as it was to listen to Edward's awkward blundering, I did feel a little pity for him, "No, I'm not dating anyone. I don't plan on dating any time soon. I have other things going on in my life right now. I don't think it's fair to Owen to split our precious free time together with anyone else. I only get to see him a few waking hours during the work week. And our weekends are so short. I don't want to give any of that up."

"Well, thank you for giving up some of your weekend to let me see him."

"It's important for him to spend time with you too."

"Thank you."

"There is something I was going to discuss with you, though," I said.

"What is it?"

"What are we going to tell Owen? I mean, you can't be just 'Edward' forever. What do you think we should do about that? And are you going to introduce Esme as 'Grandma'? I mean, I know I just said it, but it's kind of weird…."

"Uh, I don't know. We did talk about taking things slow. But I think it may be confusing if we wait too long. What do you think?"

"I guess," I said.

Edward sighed and asked, "What does Owen call Renee?"

"Nono. That's her nickname."

I could hear the smirk in Edward's voice, "Nono? How appropriate."
"Don't tell Renee that," I said. "She might take it personally."

"Ha. What about if I introduce Esme as 'Nana Esme'?"

"That sounds fine."

"Ok."

"Well, I guess I'll see you on Friday then," I said, trying to cover up a yawn.

"Yes, Friday. And Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. So much. You're always been more than I deserved."

"Sure, sure," I said.

That smooth talking Edward. He and his hotness could get me to agree to almost anything. Again. I seriously hoped I wasn't making a huge mistake.

The huge mistake turned out to be not telling Charlie that Edward and I had reconnected. Or whatever it was that we'd done.

"Bella, what the hell are you thinking?"

Charlie didn't like Edward very much. He didn't have all the details, and the ones he had were true, but sometimes the facts don't tell the whole story. This phone conversation was not going to be fun.

"Hi Dad."

"What's going on?"

"What did you hear and who did you hear it from?" I asked. I had a pretty good idea. Lately Renee and I had had a few long phone calls where she talked me down from my total freakouts. I figured she would be a good person to confide in because:

She was my mom

She knew Owen better than anyone but me.

She knew what it was like to raise a child on her own. At least mostly alone. She'd left Charlie when I was about Owen's age. She knew basically what I was going through.

"I had a long conversation with your mother this evening."

"Oh," I braced myself for the barrage of Charlie's wrath. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you Dad. I wasn't sure what it meant, what was going to happen with Edward. And I didn't want you to worry."

"How could I not worry? This is my daughter and my grandson we're talking about. And now those people show up again and just think they can take what they want!"

"What do you mean, take what they want?"

"Renee told me that Edward is taking Owen to meet his Mom on Sunday."

Gulp.

"Yeah, she's been having a really hard time with Carlisle's heart attack. I think Edward was hoping meeting Owen would help cheer her up."

"So it's true? You're actually letting Edward take Owen alone?"

"I thought it'd be better than me tagging along," I said. "I don't want to get involved with his family again, and Owen is their grandson."
"So you're letting Edward take Owen alone." I hated when Charlie did this, became Chief Swan and made me regret every decision I'd ever made.

"I told him I didn't want Owen spending time with Carlisle. I made him promise to be careful with him. And he's just taking him to the park to meet Esme. It's just for a few hours."

"Sure, that's what it starts out with." It's like my dad was feeding on every insecurity I had. That the Cullens were just biding their time till they could throw me under a bus and take Owen. I know, so melodramatic. Which was why I was trying to tamp those feelings down.

"Dad, it's ok. I've already talked to Edward about what he wants. He just wants to be in Owen's life. He said he only wants what I'm comfortable with."

Charlie gave a harrumph.

"It's important for Owen to know his Dad."

Charlie muttered something, and before he could start with his 'Edward Is Evil' diatribe, I cut him off, "Dad, it's important for kids to have relationships with both their parents. Even though you & Mom lived on opposite sides of the country, you still saw me. And it was important. I was only ten when I started flying to see you by myself. How different is this?"

Charlie was silent. I was a little afraid I'd taken it too far.

"Bella, I'm just worried about you. Last time you got involved with Edward… I'll never forget when you drove your truck home with all your stuff and told me you were quitting school. He's already ruined your life once."

"Dad…" I said, a warning tone in my voice.

"I just don't want you or Owen to get hurt!" he replied, defensive. "Babe, I don't want anything like that to happen again. I'll kill him."

"Ok, ok. No need for violence," I said, trying to joke a little bit. This conversation was getting far too serious. With a sigh I said, "Dad, what do you think I should do? I want Owen to know his Dad. We're taking things slow. This is just a small step. I know I'm terrified, but Esme deserves to meet her grandson. She was always kind to me."

"Of course she seemed nice. But you only saw her a couple of times."

"Dad, we went to dinner at their house almost every Sunday. And Alice took us all on that weekend trip to Hawaii, remember?"

"A few dinners and a two day vacation."

"Dad," I said, frustrated. He was like the little devil on my shoulder, voicing my every fear. "Seriously. What do you suggest? That I just tell Edward he can't see us or look at us or even know we exist?"
"Yeah, that sounds about perfect."

"Oh Dad," I said, smiling to myself. If he could, he would have raised me in a padded room away from everything that could ever hurt me.

Charlie sighed, "Bells, I just want you to be safe. Have you really thought about this?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Well, if he tries anything funny, you call me right away. Set a limit on how long he'll be gone, and call me if they're even a second late."

"Ok, Dad."

"And call me when Owen is home again. I'm not going to sleep until I know he's safe."

"Ok, Dad."

"And make sure Edward knows I'm watching him."

"Ok, Dad."

We finished up the conversation by making plans to visit the following weekend. That seemed to comfort Charlie a bit. Then I realized Edward would probably want to make plans to see Owen. I'd need to let him know we'd be gone. All of the sudden, I had someone else to report to. It was odd. I decided to skip the long phone conversation and sent him a text:

Charlie called. Taking Owen to see him on the 8th. We'll be gone Thurs evening – Sunday. FYI. See you in a few days for the park date.

Edward immediately texted back: Why leave Thursday after work? Too late. That's not safe.

I replied: You sound like Charlie. I just want to get there. Friday morning = traffic.

Edward: I would feel better if you left Friday morning.

Me: Seriously?

Edward: Please.

Me: No, Edward, we're leaving Thursday. Sorry. Just wanted to let you know.

He didn't text back. I was feeling a little guilty. But really? Really? This wasn't his call. I mean, technically I guess he had a say in it, technically. But not really. I decided to let it go. Well, tried, anyway….

The weekend arrived, and with it Edward. It was chilly, and I bundled Owen up in a jacket for his playdate at the park. Autumn was beginning to set in. As he took Owen's little hand I tried to stifle the barrage of doubts and worries and advice. I wasn't doing a very good job. Edward stopped and grabbed my shoulder.

"Bella. Relax. We'll be back in two hours. I've had a car seat professionally installed in my car. I even got an epi pen in my first aid kit."

"But he's not allergic to anything," I said, confused.

"That we know of. What if he got stung by a bee and had a reaction."

Edward. How could I forget that he was the champion worrier. He took it to the next level. I took a big breath and relaxed. Owen would be fine. Probably. I gave them both a watery smile and waved as they drove off into the dangerous city traffic without me. (See, I was totally coping.)