Chapter thirteen-

Fatherly Role-

Edward POV-

Bella and I spent the remainder of the day in a beautiful park. There were huge old trees along the small stream that flowed through the entire park, along with picturesque bridges and lookout points. The air wasn't too cold for me, but I noticed that Bella was shivering shortly before we headed back. I took the opportunity to wrap my arms around her. I try to behave, but I am a man. I have to take the opportunities as they come. We had talked a lot about what was going to happen now, between us. We had decided that it would be best, for both us, and Connor, if Bella move in with me. We would continue to take things slow, but at the same time see how things worked out between us.

Neither of us wanted to ruin anything, and it was agreed that we both had feelings for each other, although we didn't necessarily know how many at this point. I had asked Bella if she was afraid to love, after what she had been through. She said that she wasn't, but she was still a little wary, and guilty, about moving on so quickly.

We talked about past relationships. She'd admitted to not really having them before Jacob, and I'd confessed that I hadn't had anything worth talking about. This had gotten her attention, and I'd later had to admit that they had all been meaningless flings, no more permanent than a crush.

I continued to shower her with random kisses, which caused her to blush and smile in return. I never once kissed her lips, I knew that she wasn't quite ready, and the hopeless romantic inside of me wanted it to be special. I know that is something a girl fantasizes about, but I wanted it to mean more than just a random kiss. I not only random kissed Bella, but also paid attention to Connor.

We stopped by the store on the way home, to pick up some more Connor friendly foods, and continued on our way. The park was within walking distance. I knew that it wasn't technically exploring the city, but it was a peaceful way to spend out our day off. I knew that tomorrow we would have lots of guests, but Bella didn't, and I wasn't about to ruin the surprise now. I could hardly wait for her to see Alice again. I knew that they had been best friends for a long time, and I couldn't imagine it. It must be like if I were to live without Emmett or Jasper. Although I didn't see Jasper every day, we still all lived in the same apartment building, and had been close ever since our days as children. I really doubted that anything could tear us apart.

Emmett and I worried about Jasper, though. He'd been in a serious relationship before, but he was always depressed and down on himself during it. I guess that the girl, I think Tanya was her name, wasn't supportive at all. That must've been really hard on him, and I wish that I knew more about it, but he didn't like to talk about it. I guess to sum it up he hasn't really been in a relationship since, and Emmett and I are starting to wonder if something else had happened to cause him to hurt so much. After they broke up he was like a zombie. We could hardly get a response out of him.

I knew that he'd had a little thing for Alice a while back, and I wondered if seeing her again would rekindle old flames. I secretly hoped that they did. It would be good for both Jasper and Bella. Jasper would finally be in a healthy relationship, and Bella would have her friend close by. Bella had mentioned that Alice liked to shop, and I was sure that the girls would be gone quite a while, catching up as Alice browsed the local shops, but I didn't want her to be gone too long.

Now, it was almost eleven at night, and Connor had been tucked in. We had spent the remainder of the day, after the park, bringing over the nursery, and setting it up in the spare bedroom I had, which had remained empty. I was planning to go and get paint, and paint it overnight, to surprise Bella one day, but I knew that tomorrow would be surprise enough, and that painting would have to wait.

I had tucked Connor in for Bella, and walked back into my bedroom, finding her lying in my bed. My heart skipped a beat at the sight. I truly hoped that she would be there, in my bed, for years and years to come. I hoped that we could provide Connor with another sibling, before he got too old to bond with it, and that we would be happy and in love forever, growing old. Of course, I wasn't going to tell her that anytime soon. That would be rushing it way too much. We just needed time to grow together now.

I crawled in next to her, and rubbed her back. Her eyes closed and I could feel her relax. I continued rubbing her back until I could tell that she was getting tired. I kissed her forehead, smiling when I saw her smile.

"Sleep, Bella. I'll be here as soon as you wake up."

After she had fallen asleep, I walked back out to the living room. I worked on cleaning the apartment up for a bit, and cleaned out the refrigerator, knowing that I would need room for whatever food was made tomorrow. I had gotten plenty to drink the night before, along with 'party food', as you could call it. I was surprised that Bella hadn't noticed. She had made a comment about me needing healthier food in the house, but I don't think she had caught on.

I walked back into the bedroom and watched her sleep for a bit. I wasn't quite tired enough to sleep, so I settled on taking a warm shower. I let the pulse of the water loosen the knots in my back, and wash away the grime of the day. I washed my hair, smiling at the presence of Bellas shampoo along side of mine. My apartment was definitely masculine, but I knew that Bella would bring along her own touches and soften it up a bit.

I went back into my room and crawled in bed. Bella was facing me, her face peaceful off in dreamland. I touched my forehead to hers and put my arm over her. I listened to the even breathing as I drifted off to sleep.

Bella POV-

I heard Connor through the baby monitor and looked over at Edward, to make sure that he hadn't woken up. He shifted in his sleep, but didn't wake. I walked into Connors room and laughed at him. He was obviously still tired, but had stood himself up on the gate of the crib, and was laying his head on it.

"Mama." He said, recognizing me and reaching out as I entered the room.

"Hey baby. What are you doing up? You're not teething anymore, what's the excuse, huh?" I kissed his cheek and he smiled, settling into my neck. He usually went back to sleep pretty fast, which I was glad for.

"Da."

I heard a chuckle as a pair of hands wrapped around my waist, kissing the back of my neck, which caused my heartbeat to increase. There was no denying the way that my body reacted to his, but I wasn't going to let my body ruin this relationship.

"Did it ever occur to you that his reason for getting up was that he missed you?" He whispered softly into my ear. "Bring him back to bed with us."

"You're spoiling him." I sighed. I knew that I wouldn't win.

"Hey, you said that I was supposed to be the father figure. I'm trying my best." He took Connor from my hands and walked back into his bedroom, our bedroom now.

"Da da da da da." I could hear Connor softly mumble. I was glad that he was settling in so well. Now that I thought of it it would be completely normal for him to be getting up during the night, he was, after all, in a strange house, and had been moving around a lot lately.

I climbed into bed with the boys, Connor between Edward and I. I looked at Edward over Connor and kept my eyes on him until they closed, giving into exhaustion.

Sorry about the shorter chapter, I just wanted to get it out there, as sort of a filler. I wanted to get across the effort that Edward is putting forth to try and be a good fatherly role. We all know that he'll be wonderful :P. Up next: Alice, and why the boys had owed her one. See you guys Sunday night! Thanks for reading!