AN—WE PASSED 1000 REVIEWS! Um, I cannot even believe it! Thank you all who have left me some lovin'! I'll figure out how to make the poll on my ffnet page and y'all can vote which EPOV outtake you want.

Someone really awesome nominated SW in the Tomato Soup Awards for the Vitamin R category (Best Charlie), so thank you, thank you! Nominations are still open, and I'll let y'all know when voting starts!

I really wanted to reply to every single review for the last chapter, but considering that it was only four days ago, and I needed to write this chapter, I didn't. But THANK YOU for not flaming me. My heart goes out to everyone who shared about themselves. I promise I love you for it!

The lovely Sue, Roselover24, wrote a fantastic review of SW and interviewed me for the blog: So You Think You Can Write? Check it out at SYTYCW(dot)blogspot(dot)com

Thanks to my beautiful team who has had a hand in this: Ginginlee for betaing, and Lizzylillyrose, Sammielynnsmom, & Morethanmyself for prereading. I love them HARD!

Are you ready for this one? See you at the bottom!

…

Chapter 24

2010

"Can we get bunk beds?"

"Please, God, no."

"But that would be so cool!"

"Patrick," Seth continued, "if we put the beds like this, we don't need to bunk them."

"But we could play Pirate Ship!" Pat rebutted.

"But if we do it this way," he motioned to how they were now – in an 'L' shape against the far wall – with a kind smile on his face, "then we can both play the PS3 at the same time in epic battles of Lego Star Wars."

Edward and I both watched from the door as Patrick thought this over, bringing his hand up to stroke his non-existent beard on his chin. "I suppose that may work," he replied slyly, causing Seth to hold up his hand in a high five.

"You boys ready for dinner?" Edward asked, alerting them to our presence in the room, and both boys shot around with smiles on their faces.

"Is Bella cooking?" Seth questioned with a smirk in my direction.

"It's your lucky night, Seth; we ordered pizza for dinner," I shot back.

"Oh thank God," he exaggerated, leaning his head back and sighing deeply.

"Watch it, kid!" I warned, pointing at him with one hand while the other stayed glued to my hip.

He laughed and walked over to me, turning me around and hugging me from behind as we all walked out of the room. "I'm just kidding, Old Maid. You know your cooking is five-star restaurant worthy."

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes as he let go and took off down the steps with Patrick hot on his tail. "You got kitchen duty for that comment, though!" I yelled after him, Edward chuckling when we heard a loud groan in return.

I was just about to take the first step when Edward pulled on my hand, bringing me back and hiding us from view around the corner. My back was to the wall, and he hovered above me, leaning down to kiss my lips.

My arms found their way around his waist, enjoying the feeling of having him flush against me. The past three days since the meeting with Peggy had been crazy with talking to the kids, making room for Seth in Edward's house, and then moving today. We were lucky that the only casualty amongst all the chaos was when my phone fell out of my purse and was accidentally run over by Edward's truck.

It had been crazy, and busy, and so good. But with all the hectic running around, Edward and I had barely gotten a second to ourselves.

"Where are you going so fast?" he whispered, his breath hot on my neck before he placed another kiss right below my ear.

I only had the time to laugh quietly before we heard the familiar voice from downstairs. "YO! Your pizza's getting cold!"

"Yeah, come on, Dad!" Patrick echoed Seth's calls for us, even though the seven-year-old was none the wiser.

Walking side-by-side into the kitchen, Edward threw a balled up napkin at Seth's head, Patrick finding it especially hilarious.

"I see how you play, Edward," Seth said cryptically as he turned around to look at us, a pulled up smile on his face to let us know he was up to no good. "Just remember, I know where you sleep."

"I ain't scared of you, boy," Edward responded, chuckling as he got a piece of peperoni pizza.

"Where's Lana?" I asked, pulling out five cups and setting them on the counter.

"She's outside," Patrick answered, pointing out the window to the back deck where we could see the back of her red hair on the swing.

"I'll go tell her dinner's ready," I offered, Edward already taking a seat at the table.

I opened up the door, and her head turned at the noise, a small smile pulling at her mouth when she saw me.

"Hey, Lana," I started. "Dinner's inside if you're hungry."

She just shrugged, continuing the momentum she had going on the swing, making no effort to stand up and join us.

"Okay," I said softly, closing the door and walking over to where she was. She stopped the swing long enough for me to sit down, and then both of us pushed with our feet to get the movement back. I didn't say anything, choosing instead to look out at the yard and rest my hands in my lap.

"Aren't you hungry?" she questioned, looking at me strangely.

I shrugged and smiled at her. "Dinner can wait," was my only response before I turned back to my view of the trees in the distance. I didn't make another effort to say anything.

"Is this some reverse psycho-thing where you somehow get me to talk to you?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

I laughed, shaking my head but still not looking at her. "We don't have to talk at all, honey."

I went back to being quiet, staring off while she kept her eyes on me, choosing not talking either.

"I don't have anything to say," she continued after a silenced filled minute.

"Okay," I responded.

"This isn't going to get me inside to eat dinner, you know."

I shrugged nonchalantly.

We swung for another few minutes in silence. I didn't say anything, look at my watch, look inside, make an effort to move – nothing. She, on the other hand, fidgeted in her seat as if there were ants crawling inside her clothing. She didn't understand why I was being quiet, but she didn't make an effort to break it, either. If I were being honest with myself, I had no idea what I was doing, but Charlie used to pull this silence crap on me, and I'll be damned if I didn't want it to have the same effect on Lana.

And right on cue, she threw her hands up in the air, surrendering, as she yelled out, "Fine!"

Trying to hold in my excited smile, I looked at her with a raised brow.

"It's not fair, okay!" She pulled at her hair and brought her feet up to the swing, tucking her head between her knees.

I knew better than to say anything.

"I understand, really, I get it. Seth needs somewhere to stay. And Dad told me why he was staying here, and it's not like I don't want him here but…"

I continued the push and pull of the swing, waiting patiently for her to tell me the whole story.

Finally, she looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "I just don't need another reason for my dad to forget about me."

Knowing that it was then my time to say something, I took a deep breath and wrapped my arm around her, and surprising even me, she scooted closer and rested her head on my shoulder.

Instead of giving her the same old crap that her dad would never forget about her, I searched my brain for something that would help a ten-year-old.

"Have you tried talking to your dad about how you feel?" I asked in a quiet voice, not wanting to break the bubble we seemed to be in.

I felt as she shook her head no.

"I bet he would hate it if he knew how upset you were over this and didn't come to talk to him," I continued.

"I just don't want Seth to leave because of me."

"I don't think Seth leaving is going to help whatever is going on between you and your father, honey. I know for a fact that he doesn't have any clue you're upset, and I hate to break it to you, but men in general don't ever catch on that easy."

"I don't want to sound needy. I wasn't going to say anything to anyone about it until you came out here." She huffed at the end, realizing her defeat to the ploy of silence.

"Can I tell you a secret?" I asked as I rested my head on top of hers.

"Yeah."

I leaned down so I could whisper in her ear, "You're your daddy's little girl. It's okay to be needy."

She sighed heavily, and I watched as her hand came up and wiped her cheek.

"Would you like me to talk to him for you?"

She didn't say anything as she wrapped her arms back around her legs. "Maybe when, um, no one's around, or something," she answered in a very quiet voice.

I couldn't help my smile. "Okay, honey."

After another silent minute, I pulled away from her and smiled at her widely. "How about this, I forgot to pick up dessert, so maybe after dinner I could send you and your dad to go get some ice cream for us. Would you like that?"

Her timid smile and nod told me she did, and I was more shocked than anyone when she threw her arms around me. "Thanks, Bella."

"Oh, honey," I responded the only words that came to mind, not believing that she had any reason to thank me.

"So you got pizza?" she asked when we pulled away, and I stood up, reaching for her hand.

"Your favorite kind, actually," I answered, smiling as we both walked back into the house to join the others.

O.o

I woke up the next morning later than I had wanted to. Without a working phone, I no longer had an alarm clock. I really did try to figure out how to use the alarm feature on the clock that was next to my bed, but after the third time it went off in the middle of the night last night, I unplugged the damn thing and legitimately debated setting it on fire.

But I couldn't complain about my new and improved wake-up call, however, especially when I felt the bed dip beside me and arms encircle my waist.

I breathed in deeply, the light smell of cinnamon and a hint of citrus surrounding me, and I snuggled in deeper.

"I could get used to this," I mumbled, still refusing to open my eyes, letting the last few moments of slumber linger.

I felt as his lips kissed my bare shoulder, moving higher to place soft kisses along my neck.

"Charlie's going to kill you for being up here."

He chuckled and playfully bit at my skin. "Who knew you could be so talkative in the morning?" he quipped, rolling me over and climbing on top of me.

I still had my eyes shut, just to be annoying. "Bam, bam," I mimicked the sounds of a shotgun as Edward's hand pushed under the hem of my tank-top, moving deliberately upwards.

"Thank you, ma'am." He laughed at his own lame joke, and I couldn't help but chuckle, opening my eyes to him.

"You really do have guts, mister."

"Hey, where's the fun in life if there isn't a little danger in it?" he spoke in a hushed tone, becoming riskier with his ministrations.

I sighed in contentment as his hand came in contact with breast, and I brought his mouth to mine, kissing him deeply. "You know you have me wrapped around your finger with those hands of yours," I said into his ear as he kissed and nipped his way down my neck, my shirt pushed almost all the way up.

"Right where I want you." He laughed into my skin.

"But seriously," I asked as his lips lingered on the lower part of my abdomen, "where is my uncle?"

"Emmett took him out. Charlie was going crazy in the house. He just wanted some fresh air, new scenery."

I pushed up on my elbows and looked down at him. It was a beautiful sight, considering where his head was in relation to the rest of my body, but even that view couldn't keep my worry at bay. "Do you think that's safe? You know how frail Charlie is."

Edward just shrugged. "You can't keep him from living his life, Bella. What's a life if you're cooped up inside all day?"

I just sighed heavily and threw my head back down on the pillow, and Edward sensed my frustration and came to lie next to me.

"Hey," he said softly, resting his hand on my stomach, his touch not at all provocative as it was before.

"We still haven't talked to him about what Peggy said." I turned my head so I could meet his eyes.

"I thought we were going to do that when everything was settled with Seth so it wouldn't be too much at one time for him."

"I know." I sighed, my hands going to my hair and pulling at the roots. "I just don't know what the hell I'm going to do."

"You don't have to figure it out today. One step at a time."

"We need to get Charlie to a specialist. His lungs are failing him. I feel like he's literally deteriorating in front of our eyes."

It was Edward's turn to take a deep breath before releasing it through his nose, a look of contemplation across his face. "I talked to him yesterday about that."

"You what?" I asked, not at all expecting the words.

Edward rolled over to his back, looking up at the white ceiling while my head stayed turned towards him, watching his blank face.

"I told him that you were worried, that we both were." He paused, scratching the back of his head before continuing, "I told him that I thought he was getting worse, and that this wasn't a game. He needed to get help."

When he stopped talking, I waved my hand for him to keep going. "And?"

His head turned so I could see the defeated look in his blue eyes. "You know your uncle better than I do, Bella."

I punched the bed at my side and turned my head back so I was looking up. "Damn that stubborn old man!" I cursed. "He's going to die before his time if he doesn't get himself to a doctor." I punched the bed again for good measure before a memory came to my mind, and my head swerved back towards Edward. "Wait…what about that girl you told me about? Lisa? Laura? Leah? Something?" I wracked my brain for the right name, but we had only talked about it once.

"She's in Florida on vacation until September. I called her office last week."

"Damn."

Edward rolled back over so he was on his side and took my left hand in his. "We'll figure it out, Bella. One thing at a time." His smile was genuine enough that I couldn't help but offer him a small smile in return. Edward…ever the optimist – just one of the things that had changed in the past twenty years.

…

"So what do you want to do today?" Edward asked as we drank our coffee at Charlie's kitchen table. I was still in just shorts and my tank-top, Edward dressed in khakis and one of his fire station t-shirts.

"I need a new phone," I grumbled into my mug, still mourning the death of my beloved Blackberry.

"I need to get Lana a birthday present," Edward said next.

"We need to get those storage bins for the boys' room, too!" I reminded.

"And I have to do my bills, since it's the first of the month."

"Wow, that's right." I pulled at my hair and put it up into a ponytail. "I can't believe that it's August already."

"Summer is flying by." I saw his smirk reside on half of his mouth.

"What are you smiling about, Mr. Masen?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow and lowering my coffee mug.

"Just how different it is."

"Meaning?"

"Remember how torn up we were the last August we spent together. Every moment felt like I was saying goodbye to you."

"And that makes you smile?" I quipped, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Of course not." He rolled his eyes and looked at me pointedly.

"Then what?" I matched his happy look, the reason finally dawning on me, even though I wanted to hear it from him.

"The difference being, darlin', is that this time, September can kiss my college graduated ass!"

I laughed loudly and agreed, nodding my head. "Well, Ohio can also shove it, because I'm not going back there, either. "

"That's my girl." Edward winked, taking another sip of his coffee. "See, being adults isn't so bad."

I scoffed, my mocking laugh holding a lot less humor. "Too bad we still have bills to pay, I'm not sure if I have a job, and most days I feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants."

"Just relax, Bella." A charming smile lit his face. "Just enjoy the life you're living. Didn't you say that to me once?" he asked knowingly.

"Do as I say, not as I do," I responded, earning a deep laugh from him in return.

He got up from his seat and grabbed my empty coffee cup, placing a kiss on my head before bringing them over to the sink.

"Okay, pretty girl. Our day awaits. You ready?"

O.o

By the time we had finished our running around, it was rounding six o'clock. Edward helped me carry the few odds and ends that I had bought into Charlie's house, and the old man was in the living room, watching an old movie play on his equally as old television.

"Hey, baby," he greeted, turning his head to the left as we walked in. "Missed you today."

I dropped the bags by the door and walked over and kissed his wrinkled cheek. "Hey, yourself! I didn't know you were going to run off today!"

"Well, if you didn't sleep like a dead cat, I would have told ya."

I laughed and patted his shoulder, agreeing with him. "Okay, okay, point taken. Did you have fun, though? How is Emmett?"

"Fine, fine," he said with a wave of his hand. "Where have you been all day?"

"Gallivanting around town. You know, burning the place down just for fun," I replied smartly.

"Ha," he scoffed. "Some things never change."

With a wink towards him, I walked into the kitchen, putting the milk and eggs away in the fridge that Edward had brought him.

"Seth's out back, I take it," Edward spoke to Uncle Charlie as he brought him a glass of water to sooth the coughing fit he had broken out into after our conversation.

"Mmm-hmm," he hummed, talking the water from Edward's outstretched hand. "He still works for me, you know."

"Yeah, I know." Edward answered with a smile. "I'm going to go back out and check on him, okay?"

"I'll come with you!" I yelled out.

I followed behind Edward as he walked out of the back door, and I grabbed his hand once we reached the steps of the porch.

"So, there's kind of something the three of us need to talk about," Edward spoke in a low voice as we made our way out to the barn.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, equally as quiet.

"There's just some…history…that we all should discuss regarding who Seth's father is and why he might not be okay with him living with me."

"Do his parents not know yet?" I asked, not convinced. How could they not know?

"Peggy didn't tell them names. His parents don't know where I live."

"I don't get it…"

Our conversation was forced to an end as we reached the entrance to the stables, and Seth was hard at work, headphones pressed into his ears as he shoveled away. He saw us, though, as we walked in, and he let one of the ear buds drop, dangling from the little white string.

"Hey, y'all," he greeted, stopping his shoveling and using the back of his hand to wipe the collected sweat from his forehead.

"Hey, you're working kind of late," Edward talked first, leaning against one of the wooden stable doors.

"Yeah." He shrugged. "Wanted to catch up since I haven't worked much these past few days."

I couldn't help but smile. I was so proud of him, of the man he was becoming.

"What are y'all up to?" Seth asked as he picked his shovel back up, getting back to work.

Edward looked at me before he turned back to Seth. "Actually, there was something that I think we should talk about."

"Um," Seth responded, "okay. Am I in trouble or something?"

"No?" I answered. "Should you be in trouble?" I looked at him pointedly then, raising an eyebrow and waiting for his confession.

He laughed and shook his head. "Not yet, anyway."

"Let's keep it that way," Edward added.

"Yeah, yeah, so, what is it that you want to talk to me about?"

"Well," Edward started, but a door slamming shut stopped his words, and our eyes shot to one another's.

My first immediate thought was no fucking way. Seth's mother. She came. She was here, and she wanted her son. "Seth," I hissed, "get in the stable." My voice was harsh, but if it was Vanessa who was walking in here, I didn't want her to see Seth and try and work her way towards him. I knew she wouldn't even have a chance to touch him with both Edward and I here, but if she had brought his father along, hiding the boy was the best option.

He did exactly what I said, and I was thankful that he didn't try to argue with me. Edward shot off from the wall, coming to stand next to me as we both faced the entrance of the barn. This is where she had come last time, and I wouldn't doubt that this is where she would try again.

We waited; my breathing was quick and heavy, preparing myself for the fight that I secretly craved. I would not pass up another chance to give a piece of my mind to the sad excuse of a woman who gave up a wonderful child. My palms started to sweat; my heart beat increased.

I was ready.

But where was she?

After the time that both Edward and I knew it would have taken to walk to the barn had come and gone, we looked at each other with confused glances.

"Maybe it wasn't…?" he started, but then I heard the back door of Charlie's back porch slam shut, and the ice in my veins was back. She was in there with Charlie!

Not wanting to lose my momentum and the fight that was building within me, I headed out, my footsteps heavy as I stormed out of the barn to meet whatever threat was outside.

However, it was no woman who was walking down the porch steps. It was not Seth's father who was trying to take his only boy back home. It wasn't anyone who Seth needed to worry about at all.

Knowing that Seth was safe didn't stop my heart from dropping. The relief of his well-being didn't prevent the feeling of the wind being knocked out of me. No, that didn't keep the chills from rising on my skin.

I wanted to be sick; I almost was, actually. So many emotions flooded me. Anger, hurt, fear, worry, pain, horror, confusion…all swirling around, creating the dark fire that ignited when he came into my sight.

I was stopped dead in my tracks, only a few steps outside of the stables, and Edward ran right into me without realizing it.

"Bella, what's…" he started, looking at me with a worried expression before his eyes darted to the figure now standing only twenty feet away. "Wait…what?" I knew he was confused. He had to be. He had every right to be.

Edward had no idea. Part of me wanted to keep it that way. I didn't want him to know because I didn't want him to leave me for it. I had no idea how he was going to react, and that was where my earlier fear had come from when I first laid eyes on the man who I spent fourteen years being married to.

I held my breath as Edward looked from me to the tall man before us.

"Bella," he spoke, his now northern accent shocking Edward. "Why isn't this a surprise?" He laughed humorlessly as he looked between Edward and me. "I should have fucking known."

"Why does it matter?" I spat back, knowing that he had no room to be upset after Alice.

"Crawling back to my best friend? Really, Bella?"

I took the few extra steps towards Riley and smacked him right across the face. "DON'T YOU 'BEST FRIEND' ME! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!"

"I just thought you might get a little bit more creative," he spoke with an ice cold edge, rubbing his reddening cheek. "But it was always the same."

"Why are you here?" My voice was starting to shake. I hated this man. I wanted nothing to do with him.

"Andrew called me from work. Said he couldn't get in touch with you. I've been calling you for days with no answer! For all I knew, you were dead on the side of the road somewhere!"

"So you drove nine hours to make sure I was still breathing?" I asked incredulously.

"Bella…" His eyes softened, and the look sickened me further.

"Don't," I warned, taking another step back. "I don't want you here. You are not welcome here!"

"Damn-it, Bella, just talk to me! I've spent all day in a car to come see you!"

"You wasted your time."

"Is everything okay?" Seth's voice filtered out from behind me, and I turned to see him looking at me in panic.

"Yeah," I scrambled. "Why don't you go into the house, get some cold air." He didn't need to see this.

"Uh, sure," he agreed, walking past us.

Neither of us said anything until we heard the door slam again, and when Riley took another step towards me, I took another one back.

It wasn't just that I hated this man. It wasn't just that I didn't want him in my life, it was that I didn't need him. Who I was didn't depend on him. He no longer had control over me. I wanted only one person. And he was standing behind me, not in front of me. But that needed to change.

I turned around, not worried about how many hours Riley spent to come and see me. I didn't care for his reasons or explanations anymore. The one person I needed, who deserved an explanation from me, was staring at the two of us with an unreadable look on his face.

It was blank.

Nothing.

No hint of anything.

He just stood there, looking at Riley.

When he saw from the corner of his eye that I turned around, his head slowly moved to mine, and it felt like he was just now remembering that I was there. But his expression didn't change. He was motionless, barely blinking.

Our gazes were locked, and I had no idea what he was seeing in my eyes, but I prayed that it was reassurance and remorse. I never wanted to spring this on him like this. I should have told him from the beginning…

"BELLA! BELLA!" A very panicked Seth came sprinting out of the house, tears running down his face. "CHARLIE!"

That was all that I needed to hear before both Edward and I took off sprinting.

Charlie, I repeated over and over in my head. Uncle Charlie.

Edward beat me to the door, throwing it open as I raced in behind him. Faster, I yelled at him internally. Out of my way!

I pushed my way through the hall, passed the kitchen, every thought, every feeling that was racing through me being released in one piercing scream.

"Call 911!" I demanded, pointing to Seth who had followed us in the house.

"Charlie, Charlie?" I said again, dropping to my knees to where he was lying on the living room floor, clutching his left arm.

The look in my uncle's eyes was full of fear as a lone tear slipped from the corner.

"It's okay. It will be okay," I tried to sooth, pushing the hair back from his head.

Would it, though? Would it be okay? My hands were shaking uncontrollably, my whole body seeming to follow their lead.

Edward was on the other side of Charlie's body, and he looked up at me, and when our eyes met, mine filled with tears. This was too much. So much, too much. Not yet. Please, not yet.

"Hey," he said, reaching over my uncle's body and cupping my cheek. "Stop."

But I felt the tremor of his hands; I saw the panic in his eyes.

Not yet, I prayed.

Too soon.

I can't lose him.

Please.

…

END NOTES—

Okay, then. Deep breath.

I actually have something I want to say…PLEASE DO NOT POST WHO THE HUSBAND IS ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK, OR BLOGS! You guys have read through this whole fic not knowing, and I would like to think the mystery of it has added even a little bit to this story. I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone else coming in. So PLEASE, do not spill the beans.

Feel free to review and gasp about it (or say that you knew it all along) but please don't put it out there. Go ahead and make up a name if you want so you can talk to me about it on Twitter. Hell, for shits and giggles, let's just call him MARK. So yes, if you want to talk about it, please refer to the husband as MARK.

Okay…now that I've said my peace… what are your thoughts?