A/N: Good morning, everyone! How are you? It's raining here in LA. It wasn't as bad as Friday's rain but we Angelenos had learned how to drive in the rain these past few months.

-FTP-

"Uncle Edward, do you think your mom would like this?" Vanessa asked. She was carrying the red velvet cake she baked yesterday. Bella and Jacob tried to help her but she insisted on doing it on her own. She wanted to make a good impression on my parents.

"I'm sure she'll like it just fine," I said. It's true. My mother had eaten all of the Mother's Day food I tried to cook her over the years. She would act like she liked it but as I took a bite on them, I would realize they're too salty or too sweet. When I have met my daughter, I realized that it's because she loved me and she would eat whatever I prepared for her. Even the most salty food would taste good because it was made with love.

Bella was a little bit more hesitant which was more understandable. She was afraid that mom would be disappointed on her for having a kid out of wedlock at age 18. That was a big no because of how we were raised.

I came to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "It will be okay." Jacob would've comforted her better than I would. I couldn't reassure her as much as he could.

She smiled. "Thank you, Edward."

I was glad that she was here. During the time when we were apart, I always thought of her. I always wondered how she had been. Whether she was happy with Jacob. When she told me that she wasn't with Jacob, I found hope. Maybe, just maybe, I had a chance.

I was willing to live my life without her if she was happy. I wouldn't even look her up on Facebook. I told myself that she was happy without me and she didn't need me to disturb her life. I was surprised when I had become my daughter's doctor. It didn't take me long to realize that she was my daughter after seeing her birth date.

I could see the tension on Bella's shoulder. She stood right next to my daughter who rang the doorbell. My mother answered the door.

"Bella!" Esme hugged her and her shoulder immediately relaxed. My mom then immediately looked at my daughter. "This must be Vanessa. It's so nice to meet you." My mother shook her hand.

The scene made me smile. The last time Bella and I had seen each other, we were happy. When Jasper beat me up, I told my mother that someone was just jealous of me because of Bella that he beat me up when he saw me with Alice. I didn't want to tell her that it's Bella's brother that beat me up. I didn't want her to stop me from being with Bella.

"Mom, do you want me to help?" I asked.

Mom shook her head and smiled. "It's a joy to be with my family. You guys do what you want to do."

"Can I help you, Mrs. Cullen?" Vanessa asked.

"That's grandma to you. And yes you can help me," my mother said. She grabbed my daughter's hand and they went to the kitchen.

Bella and I smiled. "Well, that went well."

Alice dragged Bella with her. I went to my piano and played a few songs. While my skill wasn't as good as it used to be, I could still play some love songs. I chose "Only Hope"-one of the songs from the movie A Walk to Remember. It used to be Bella's favorite movie. She and I used to watch it frequently.

The movie reminded me of the time when Bella and I were living a simple life. It seemed so long ago but I remembered that time fondly. Back then, Bella and I didn't know what will happen to us. We were so happy.

Now, I could only wish to go back to that time when Bella and I were together. I belted out the song. The song that made me think of Bella.

When I was very young, mom didn't want us to help with the kitchen on Sundays. She would always tell us to enjoy ourselves and do what we want. Now that I'm older, I realized that mom found joy in cooking for her family.

Alice liked helping in the kitchen too except that today, Bella was here. They used to be best friends. It would do them good to spend some time together.

"I love you Bella," I thought to myself. We both have endured so much.

"Edward, do you have a second?" Dad asked. I was so focused into my playing that I didn't even realize that he had come into the living room next to my piano.

He and I went to his study. He had his chess set out.

"Would you like to indulge your old man with a game of chess?" he asked.

I nodded and took the white pieces. He normally plays with Alice but she was quite occupied with our guest. I moved a pawn three spaces forward.

"We never really talked about the recent development in your life. How are you handling it?" my dad said.

"I like it. I have a daughter. Vanessa's great."

My dad and I finished three games of chess. He won two out of three.

"Let's face it. Alice is a better opponent than me," I joked.

He laughed. "Your cousin is very sneaky. I was protecting my king by having the queen and the bishop protect it but before I knew it, she'd say 'check mate'. You know, you can always come to me if you need help. You can talk to me about anything."

"I don't know how to raise a child," I admitted.

"Remember when we took Alice in?" he asked.

"It was the worst time of our lives," I said. And it was. Tragedy struck our family. Mom was preparing for the funeral of her sister's entire family except for Alice. Meanwhile, we didn't know whether or not Alice would wake up.

"Then, Alice woke up. We didn't always know what we were doing but we did our best. Whatever we do, we did out of love. Remember when we moved away from Forks and moved to LA after you were beaten up?"

I nodded. "That's a tad too much."

"Your mom and I didn't know what we were doing. Alice was being hysterical and we did what we can to give you your best chance of becoming a concert pianist," he said.

"I know. But it didn't work. My hand no longer functions the way it needs to function in order to become a concert pianist," I told him.

"Looking back, maybe we should've let you said goodbye to Bella. We shouldn't have pulled you out of school quickly. Then you and Bella could've gotten married and raised Vanessa," he said.

He continued, "My point is that you'll make some mistakes. Some would have lasting consequences. You're not always going to make the right decision. But do your best to raise your daughter with love and pray to God to guide her along the way. My situation with Alice is a little bit different from yours. Alice had always been a part of this family. You learned about your daughter a few months ago. Alice is dealing with PTSD. Vanessa is a child prodigy. Nevertheless, you have a daughter that needs her father to love her."

In that moment, I heard something dropped. We turned toward the door and saw Vanessa who was backing away from the door. She turned around and ran.

I looked at my father. "Excuse me."

I did my best to catch up to her. I noticed that a trophy of mine had fallen right next to Alice's awards.

"What happened?"

I turned around and saw Bella coming toward me. "Vanessa overheard dad and I talk about her being my daughter."

"Oh God! This was all my fault," Bella said. She looked like she was about to cry.

I shook my head. "There's no reason to cry over what had already happened," I said.

We found Vanessa outside crying.

"I'll talk to her," Bella said.

I shook my head. "We need to talk to her."

Bella and I approached her. She just kept crying and didn't say anything.

"Mom, can I go to Uncle Jacob's place?" Vanessa asked.

"Of course," she said.

Bella called Jacob and explained what happened. Within 30 minutes, Jacob was there. He hugged Bella and kissed her on the cheeks.

Vanessa hugged Jacob. She went with him and they left on his car. When things had settled down, it was Alice that broke the eyes.

"What was that about?" she asked.

We explained what happened. Everyone was quiet when we eat our food. It took me a whole meal to muster up the courage to talk to Bella.

"We need to talk," I said.

"Okay," Bella answered.

I led her to our backyard. It wasn't big but I hope that my family would respect our desire to need to talk privately.

"Why did Vanessa call Jacob?" I asked.

"There was a time when Vanessa started asking for his dad. She was seven. Every single one of my family agreed to tell her that her father died. Jacob took a different approach and told her that her father left before knowing that she exists. He said that there will come a time when she and her dad would cross paths. When that happened, he said to forgive her father and live a good life."

"Jacob told her that?"

Bella nodded. "Of course, he was mad when you disappeared but there was no way he would take your place. As a result, Vanessa didn't know what to do that she ran away. She didn't get very far. When we eventually find her, Jacob was the only person she would go to. That's when Jacob told her that if she ever find herself not knowing what to do, to call him instead. He would give her the space she needed to think."

Wow. "Jacob was such a good man. I always thought that he carries a torch for you. I remember when we were together, I said to myself that if I lose you to him, I would be heartbroken but I know that you'll be taken cared of."

Now that made Bella laugh. "Jacob and I are best friends but having him as a boyfriend didn't cross our minds. Give Vanessa a few hours. Jacob has done his job well as her godfather."

Bella and I stood in silence for a few minutes. I hoped that I could make things right, one day at a time. Bella and I stood next to each other. I tried touching my thumb with hers. When they made contact, she grabbed my hand.

"I had never forgotten about you. I thought about you the entire time," I said.

"Neither have I," she said.

We held each other's hand in silence. I knew that we had a lot to take care of but we could do it as long as we were together.

-FTP-

What do you think about Edward? He had always loved Bella. However, he dated other people when he had let Bella go. He believed that Bella would be happy that way. So, it turned out that Carlisle and Esme had to bring Edward and Alice to where they have the best doctors as both of them were dealing with different issues at that time.

Vanessa is dealing with some issues herself. She went with Jacob because he was the only person that doesn't treat her like a child. He'll tell it to her as it is-being honest while explaining things in a way that she would understand. He's a cross between that very cool uncle and a father figure. Vanessa knows she can rely on him.