Bella

I stared at the woman in shock. "His daughter?" I gasped, looking down at the little girl, stunned. She was small but that could be because her mother was a small woman. I could see wisps of darker reddish hair tufting out from the hood of her raincoat now and she looked up at me with Edward's eyes. I automatically stepped back, stunned.

A blast of cold air reminded me that they were standing in an open doorway. I shook myself.

"Please come in out of the cold," I said quickly, gesturing for them to enter. The little girl, Katie, looked uncertain, but stepped in anyway, looking up at Edward curiously. His face was paler than usual and he was clutching the dish towel like his life depended on it.

"Thanks," said the woman gratefully. She clutched her coat to her chest, her knuckles a strange shade of gray. I guess it was a white-knuckle grip with blue knuckles.

"Come back to the kitchen where it's warmer," I said, closing the door. "The oven's been on most of the day so it's cozy back there. We can get you something hot to drink, too."

"Thanks but I can't stay long," murmured the woman. "I've got to get going. I have a few more stops I have to make tonight before I'm done."

"Can we take your coats while you're here?" asked Edward, finally finding his voice.

"I'm ok, thanks."

I looked down at Katie. "Would you like to take your coat off?"

She looked up at me, a mixture of emotions in her eyes. "I'm fine," she said softly.

I nodded and started towards the kitchen, trusting Edward to bring up the rear. He settled the two at the bar, lifting Katie onto the stool, while I filled the tea kettle with hot water and set it on the stove to boil. For lack of anything else to do, I started washing the dishes I'd intended to leave until tomorrow. If I didn't have my hands doing something, I might go crazy.

"So this is my daughter." It was a statement, not a question. Katie had pushed her hood down and her hair was sticking up like crazy everywhere, almost as further proof that she was Edward's.

"Yes. I thought I could handle it all myself so I never contacted you, but now I've got this amazing opportunity to go to Thailand and I can't pass it up."

"What's in Thailand?" I asked curiously, watching as Edward set a package of Oreos on the counter. Katie eyed them hungrily but didn't make a move.

"We'll be helping people," she said excitedly. "Building houses and doing some basic sanitation training."

"And how long will you be there?" asked Edward, helping himself to a couple of cookies.

"About six months."

I nearly dropped the plate I was holding. "Six months? And you didn't take into account the fact that you have a daughter?"

She looked at me, clearly surprised at my reaction. "I took her into account but my parents had originally said they'd watch her. It was just recently that they said they wouldn't."

"How recently?" asked Edward with far more calmness than I felt.

The woman toyed with a cookie. "Three weeks."

"Dammit, Tanya, I've got a life here, you can't just show up in the middle of the night unannounced and tell me I've got a daughter you're dumping on me."

I jumped and quickly dried off my hands. "Katie, let's go upstairs. You look tired."

Her eyes were wide and she looked back and forth between me and Edward and Tanya.

"Its fine," I smiled at her. "I've got a nice soft bed in a room with a fireplace. I'll bet we can get Edward to build you a fire in there if you want."

She looked torn. I could tell she was nervous about leaving her mom, but apparently Tanya had prepared her for their separation because she finally nodded and slid off the chair. I held out my hand and she slipped hers inside it. Her hands were tiny and ice cold.

"I'm Bella, by the way."

She smiled up at me. "Hi Bella."

"Would you like to take a bath before bed or just go to sleep?" I asked as I led her out of the kitchen. I shot a look at Edward, conveying to him he shouldn't let Tanya leave yet tonight. It was cold out there and she didn't seem like she really had anywhere to go.

"Can I have bubbles in it?" she asked shyly.

"Is there any other kind of bath?" I asked with a grin.

She smiled up at me as I led her upstairs. "Now," I continued, stopping in the hallway "I have two guest rooms and you can have either one. One is green with pink and blue and the other one is yellow and white with a canopy bed." I opened the door to the yellow room and her eyes lit up at the canopy. I'd had one as a kid and loved it so I had figured she'd like this one, too.

Her eyes roamed over the room, taking in the white wood furniture, the yellow walls and the white and yellow bedding and curtains. There were yellow and white rag rugs scattered across the dark wood floors and a small pink chaise by the fireplace. The bookshelves were crammed with the children's books I'd had along with some others I'd bought over the years and there were some of my old stuffed animals and dolls in the closet.

"I'd like to sleep in here," she said, reaching out and touching the chaise with her fingertips.

"Perfect," I smiled. "I'd sleep in here too, but Edward doesn't like to sleep alone." She giggled softly at that. "Let's leave your jacket and bear in here. Does he have a name?"

"Riley."

"That's a good name."

She beamed up at me. "It's my dad's name."

I froze for a second, startled by that. I remembered then that it was Esme's maiden name. "So it is. In a way."

She carefully set Riley on the chaise and put her jacket over the back. I led the way out of the room and to the bathroom across the hallway. It was unrenovated but still completely functional. The fixtures were all probably from the 50s or 60s but I liked them. Maybe someday we'd update in here but for now, it worked.

I started the water in the claw footed tub, holding my hand under until it felt warm enough to me, then stoppering the bottom and opening the cabinet. "Ok, we've got lots of scents here. Flowers, fruits, perfumes…anything you like specifically?"

Katie shook her head. "I just like the bubbles."

I nodded and grabbed on that was rose scented and poured a generous amount into the stream. Immediately, the bathroom was filled with the scent of roses. I reached up and started the wall heater to warm up the room even more. Katie slowly pulled off her ragged clothes, folding them neatly and setting them on top of the toilet tank. I offered her a steadying hand as she carefully climbed into the hot water and sighed softly. She was painfully thin, her shoulder blades and ribs sticking out in a way that made my chest ache. Her hair was surprisingly thick but matted with dirt and just being dirty. Her skin was slightly gray from dirt as well.

"This is nice."

I grinned and nodded. "Would you like me to stay or go?"

"You can stay," she said softly.

"I can wash your hair for you if you like," I offered.

She nodded and smiled.

"Great. I'm going to go get my shampoo and conditioner, ok? I'll be right back."

"Ok."

I walked out the door, closing it carefully behind me and headed into my bathroom. I could hear the sound of footsteps on the stairs. I paused and looked down. Edward and Tanya were on their way up.

"Katie's in the yellow room," I offered. "If you want your own room, you can have the green room, Tanya."

She nodded, a tight smile on her face. "That'd be great, thanks."

Edward gave me a look and I knew there was something going on.

"Katie's taking a bath right now and I told her you'd build a fire in her room for tonight," I looked at Edward "so maybe you can get that going before she gets out?"

"Not a problem."

Half an hour later, Katie was clean and dried, wearing one of my old t-shirts and tucked into the big canopy bed. Riley was clutched to her chest as she snuggled up under the covers. She looked so tiny. She was asleep before I left the room.

I could hear the shower in the guest bath as I headed down the hall to our room. Edward was in there, the fire going in our fireplace as well.

"I figured I might as well," he said lamely when I raised my eyebrows at it.

I nodded and shut the door behind me. "Edward, we need to talk."

Edward

I stared down at the counter after Bella left, talking to Katie as they walked upstairs. Tanya shifted uncomfortably in the chair next to me.

"How old is she?"

She snorted. "You're the highly intelligent one, right? You do the math."

I rubbed my face with my hands, wishing I'd had more than a couple hours sleep in the last two days. "Nearly seven I'm guessing."

"She'll be seven on Saturday."

Bella's birthday. Well it'd be easy to remember then. The tea kettle whistled and I got up, pouring water into two mugs and handing her one with a box of tea bags Bella kept on hand. I grabbed a peppermint one for myself.

"So when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow. The flight leaves O'Hare at 11 in the morning."

I shook my head in amazement. "You're leaving the country for six months two days before your daughter's birthday? I don't understand you, Tanya."

"You never did," she said with a shrug. "I was just your way of getting back at Roseanne."

"Rosalie," I corrected her absentmindedly.

"Whatever. I was the booty call when you were pissed at her."

I sighed and sat back in my seat. "So why didn't you tell me? I don't buy that bullshit about believing you could do it on your own."

"I tried, once. I knew you were going to go home for the summer and that's really when I found out, so I went by the house sometime in August and you were with another girl not Roseanne. Rosalie, sorry. I figured you wouldn't want me fucking that up for you."

"Bella," I said quietly.

She nodded, cupping the mug in her hands. "So, I moved back home, had the baby and kind of went from there. I got a job in Springfield waiting tables and…" she trailed off. "Well, let's just say I haven't had the best luck with men."

I winced. Tanya had a rough childhood if I remembered correctly. "So why Thailand?"

"I met a man," she smiled, her eyes lighting up. "This one is so good for me, though, Edward. He really loves me, I can tell."

I looked at her skeptically. "If he loved you he wouldn't ask you to leave your daughter."

"He's not. He offered to take her along, too. Said it would be a great learning experience for her."

"So why not take her?"

She flushed. "I wanted to have one last chance to be a kid before I completely give up and be a mom."

"Tanya that ship sailed seven years ago."

"But I have one more chance, Edward. All you have to do is take her for me for six months."

"I'm not sure we can," I said honestly. "I work crazy hours at the hospital and Bella's a teacher. Is she even in school?"

"She's in the second grade. She's really smart Edward, just like you."

I nodded. She'd have to be if she wasn't even seven and she was already in second grade. "Look, just stay the night and we'll talk about all of this tomorrow, ok? We'll get Bella in on the conversation. She makes an awesome breakfast and you look like you could use a good night's sleep."

She nodded warily. "Ok, but just for a little while. I've got a couple places to go tomorrow."

I nodded and stood up. She followed suit and we started up the stairs. I could hear water running in the bathroom and the smell of roses was heavy in the air. Bella was standing at the head of the stairs looking exhausted. She offered the green room to Tanya and told me to light the fire in the yellow room before disappearing into our bedroom. I led Tanya to the green room and motioned her in ahead of me.

The furniture in here was dark wood, almost black, with green silk bedding and blue and pink accents around the room. There were two armchairs in front of the fireplace and a large four poster bed across the room from it. Tanya dropped her coat unceremoniously on the back of an armchair and sat in the other one.

"Nice room. Nice house. Nice wife."

I nodded. I completely agreed on all accounts. "The bathroom's down the hall. Feel free to use it."

She nodded but didn't look at me. She was busy looking around the room and something in the back of my mind was put on guard by that. I knelt by the fireplace and quickly got the existing logs lit and burning. I was momentarily grateful for Bella's insistence that all the fireplaces be ready to light at all times. It was usually annoying but right now I was glad not to have to trek out into the cold to bring in wood.

I nodded at Tanya and went into the yellow room to light that fire. I could hear Bella and Katie talking in the bathroom.

"So do you like school?" Bella was asking.

"Yeah, usually. I really like reading and history but not really math or science."

"I was the same way. What's your favorite book?"

"I like the Little House on the Prairie books."

"Oh me too."

I grinned to myself as they talked about the Ingalls for a while. I sat on the floor in the room, listening to Bella talking to my daughter.

My daughter. What the fuck. It was beyond bizarre that the hippie chick had given birth to my kid without telling me. I was a little angry about that, to be honest.

"How do you feel about staying with us Katie?" Bella was asking. There was a long silence, broken only by some gentle splashing.

"I don't know," said Katie finally. "Your house is nicer than ours is. I don't mind that."

I grinned and pushed myself up.

"But I don't know you and sometimes strangers are scary."

"That's true," Bella admitted. "But we're not that scary, I promise."

"You don't seem scary," agreed Katie.

I sighed and headed into my room. I started the fire and stripped down to my boxers. I was hanging my sweater back up when the door opened and Bella appeared. Her eyes flicked over to the fireplace and she raised her eyebrows at me.

"I figured I might as well…" I said hesitantly. Not to mention the fact that a fire always seemed to put Bella in a good mood.

She nodded and shut the door, leaning against it. "Edward, we need to talk."

I sighed. No shit we needed to talk. She studied me for a long moment before shaking her head and stepping out of her heels.

"What the fuck?"

"I know, I'm sorry. Remember I told you there was that one girl over spring break before we met?"

She rolled her eyes. "Sure I do."

"Well, that was Tanya. That was the last time I slept with her. She was kind of my…fuck buddy, I guess, all through college."

Her shoulders were tense as she slipped out of her dress. My groin tightened when I saw she was wearing my favorite set of her lingerie, the black and white lace see-through stuff.

"And you never suspected she was pregnant?"

"I didn't see her the rest of that school year because I was busy studying for and taking the MCAT, then I went home for part of the summer and then I met you. I haven't seen her since then."

She nodded and pulled on the red flannel night shirt she wore whenever she wasn't in a sexy mood. She headed into the bathroom and I listened while she turned on the water. I followed behind her and sat on the toilet, watching her brush her teeth and wash her face.

"So now what?" she asked finally. "What's going on with Tanya?"

I rubbed my neck. "She's going to Thailand for six months with some guy she met. She wants to be a kid again for a while."

Bella snorted. "So she's incredibly immature and irresponsible then."

"In a nutshell."

"And her parents?"

"From what I remember, I wouldn't want her parents taking care of Katie anyway."

Bella looked at me curiously. "What does that mean?"

"They weren't the greatest of parents. They were into drugs and wild parties as she grew up. She was…molested at one of the parties."

Bella's face blanched. "How old was she?"

I sighed. "I think she said she was 8."

She studied me for a long moment. "Edward, we have a responsibility to that little girl. We can't let her go to her grandparents if they're really like that."

"They are. I met them once."

"Then she's staying with us." She said it so decisively I wondered if I would get any say if I thought differently.

"As long as you're ok with it, I'm ok with it."

She nodded and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "For now, let's go to bed. It's nearly two in the morning. I'll set the alarms for six so we can get up and have breakfast before Tanya needs to leave and then we can call your parents and Cassie and Carl."

"Are we cancelling?" I asked with surprise.

She gave me a look. "Obviously. Edward, we can't drag them to Thanksgiving dinner with complete strangers."

"Right."

I followed her into the bedroom and crawled into the bed beside her. "So we're keeping her."

"We're keeping her."

Bella

I groaned when the alarm went off the next morning. I was exhausted but dragged myself out of bed. I pulled on jeans and a comfortable sweater before padding downstairs in my bare feet. I pulled the eggs and cream out of the refrigerator and started making scrambled eggs, taking a moment to start the bacon as well. I flipped on the coffee pot and pulled some biscuits out of the freezer. I'd premade them and wrapped them individually so I could have a quick biscuit whenever I wanted. I dumped a dozen onto a cookie sheet and slid it into the oven.

Edward stumbled into the kitchen, grunting in my direction as he made his way to the coffee. I grinned and turned the bacon. After a few gulps of coffee, he set the mug on the counter and came over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing me deeply. I tangled my fingers in his hair, attempting to smooth it somewhat.

"Morning," he rasped, releasing me.

I chuckled softly. "Morning. Can you go get Tanya and Katie up? I'll go get the paper."

He nodded and kissed me again before heading upstairs. I slipped my feet into some clogs I kept by the front door and headed out in the chill for the paper. I shivered as I darted down the steps, snatched up the paper and started back up. I paused when I saw a brown suitcase sitting by the door. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach as I saw a piece of paper being ruffled in the wind. I grabbed it and the suitcase and ducked back inside.

I scanned the paper and groaned softly.

"Edward," I called.

He was starting down the stairs, looking upset.

"Bella, Tanya's gone."

I held up the note. "She left Katie's stuff and an apology. I don't think she's coming back."

"No, she's going to Thailand for six months."

"No Edward. I don't think she's coming back ever."