If You Only Knew Chapter 9: A Stroll in the Park, a twilight fanfic

.:disclaimer:. i don't own any of the twilight characters

.:special thanks:. i'd like give a thank you to Sandroline: I didn't notice how badly I portrayed Alice, so I did a little explaining in this chapter again :P Also, I'd like to thank DANCElikeNOBODYisWATCHING for pointing out the action stuff. I want to say that YES I have planned to put some of those stuff in it, but in later chapters. Don't worry, I have everything planned out already, and THAT will be happening in later chapters. I wanted to do some explanation stuff in the beginning, and have them move at a slower pace so it seems more realistic(and not have them married off at chapter 10) or maybe keep you guys on the edge of your seats? Bear with me guys! After all, Ryan's mysterious birth mother is what the story started off with, isn't it? Also, thank you to lilanyas for mentioning my story on his/her blog(go check her profile), I'm honored to have somebody take the time and tell their friends about it. Oh, and that reminds me, thank you to twilight-obsessedYEPTWILIGHT for telling his/her friends about my story too! Luv you guys! I totally welcome suggestions, but please, don't say it in a mean way!

.:links to outfits:. I've decided not to put the links up since not many people want to see it. But that will change if people are changing their minds and would like to see the actual dress/outift.(mention it in your reviews!)

BPOV

I looked at Angela and forced out a small smile, then shook my head ever so slightly. She caught on.

"Oh, I meant official Mom and Dads." Angela said smoothly.

Edward grinned, "Yeah, you could say so."

"Somebody's in love." Ben commented.

I stared at Ben. What are you trying to do, Ben? Kill me? Embarrass me to hell? I could not believe he said that in front of Edward.

Edward didn't seem to notice I was about to blow up, instead, he said, "Yup, I'm totally in love with Ryan. He's such an adorable kid."

I regained my posture and shot back, "You're just saying that because he said 'dada' first."

"Maybe that too…." Edward pretended to debate about that for a moment. And we went on to explain to Angela and Ben how that whole 'dada' incident was an accident, but we couldn't bear tell Ryan he doesn't have a dad.

Ben and Angela left a while later while Edward stayed for a bit longer. We were picking up Ryan's toys littered all over the apartment.

"So, are you in for a morning stroll or afternoon stroll?" Edward asked while he picked up Ryan's matchbox cars and placed them in the box.

"I have to check up on some patients tomorrow morning. Afternoon then?" I put the last of the toys in the box and turned to face Edward.

"Sure. I should probably get going then. Have anyone to look after Ryan tomorrow morning yet?" He asked hopefully.

"I think someone just volunteered," I grinned. "I'll walk you to the door." I followed him after I turned off the living room lights.

"G'Night then," Edward hugged me and planted a kiss on my forehead.

I laughed softly, "You want one of these too?" He nodded sheepishly.

Our eyes held, and gradually the distance between our faces dissolved. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around him and let my head rest on his shoulder for a moment. Then, I put my hands on his chest and stood on tiptoes. I kissed him on the cheek.

"Good night, Edward."

xXx

"Bye Ryan! Bye Edward!" I called to the two boys currently debating silently about which toy car the pink pig should sit on. Edward thinks the pink pig should sit on the matchbox car, while Ryan thinks it should sit on the big truck; personally, I agree with Ryan. They have been moving the poor stuffed animal back and forth for the last five minutes now. Those guys are just so stubborn! It's just a game for god sakes!

I hear two yells from the living room, "Bye Mama!" and a, "Bye hun!"

And I hurried out the door. There was no way I was getting in line of their little "fight". If I stayed for five more seconds, they were bound to come running to me asking for my opinion.

I went to the hospital to check on some patients. And I had a look at a blood test of one of my patients taken this week. I love working with little kids, and I suppose that's why I said yes to adopting Ryan. I'd love to have my own kids someday. Perhaps ten years from now I'd have little kids with bronze hair and topaz eyes running in my backyard….hold that thought! Bronze hair and topaz eyes? I couldn't be thinking of him as the daddy to my children, could I?

After visiting the patients and talking to some nurses at the station to have a better idea of how "my children" are doing, I hurried home. I figured I probably have some food in the kitchen to make lunch today.

When I opened my apartment door, I could hear voices coming out of the kitchen. What are they doing there? Blowing up my kitchen? I heard squeals and laughter, so I thought it might not be so bad. I decided to wash up and change into more comfortable clothes as I did not want Ryan to be infected from germs I might've brought home from the hospital. So after a quick shower, I stepped into the kitchen to see what the boys were up to.

My jaw dropped as soon as I saw what the boys turned my kitchen into—a mini war zone!

There were crumbs, vegetables, and things I didn't even want to know what they were on the floors and kitchen counters. Thankfully, the walls were still bare. Just as I was about to say something, the boys turned around to throw food at each other again, therefore, seeing me out of the corner of their eyes. I put on a stern face.

They froze.

"Uh-oh," Edward said and surrendered his arms in the air.

"Uh-oh," Ryan repeated quietly and tried to imitate Edward's movements. Except he couldn't stand really well and kept looking in Edward's direction, thus landed on his butt on the kitchen floor.

I walked over, and took the food out of their hands, meanwhile keeping a straight face. Then, I grinned widely and threw the food right back at them.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Edward exclaimed.

Ryan giggled, "Food! Food!"

"Yes, that's food, sweetie." I said to Ryan.

He reached his arms out towards me. "Do you want a hug, Ryan? Say 'hug' for me, honey. Hug." I told Ryan. We had tried this several times these few weeks already.

"Hu—hu—hug. Hug!" He repeated.

"Good boy!" I gave him a quick hug then put him down. I heard Edward chuckle beside me. "What's so funny?" I asked Edward. He pointed to my shirt.

I groaned. Now I have food on my shirt! I'd have to change AGAIN!

"Could I get a hug, too?" Edward asked me with a pout.

"You are so like a child, Eddie. The answer is no! Go change clothes!" And Edward reluctantly went to retrieve his duffel bag he always brought over, and walked into the washroom. I led Ryan to the bedroom to help both of us change into clean clothes.

I talked to Ryan while I helped him change, "So what were you and daddy doing in the kitchen? Were you making something?" I took his shirt off.

"Wuff! Wuff!" Ryan said while I pulled the shirt over his head. A dog? They were making a dog? "Witch! Witch!" He said again when the words weren't muffled by his shirt. Huh? How'd they make a witch? Was Edward a vampire or something?

I was getting more puzzled by the second. After I changed into another shirt and wiped Ryan's face, we headed back into the kitchen. Edward was almost done cleaning the kitchen. Ryan's lunch was bread with jam, and a banana was lying on the side; Edward and I's lunches were already served on plates set on the table.

"Witch! Witch!" Ryan said, pointing my lunch.

My lunch was a sand-wich.

"That is a sandwich, buddy. Not a witch." I explained. Edward was trying really hard not to laugh.

Edward and I had a serious talk over lunch. We were talking about the hard part of adopting Ryan, and I had to talk to somebody about my concerns before I go crazy.

"I just hate it when people think Ry-he's my biological child. I love him and all, but I just don't like it when people think I had a one night stand with somebody, left the child somewhere, and took him home a year later."

"Nobody would—" Edward started saying.

"Don't say that nobody would think that way, because I have heard the rumors. And every time somebody asks a question that's nearing that particular subject, I get touchy. Even if someone's question is unintentional, my thoughts still go that way." We were creeping nearer to stuff that happened yesterday, and I had to get it all out at once before I run away from the problem. "I know Alice didn't mean to do it. But she kept asking me questions about his biological parents. I told her I didn't know anything about it, but she insists that there must be some clues that could lead me to the truth. I kept thinking that maybe—" My voice broke.

Edward waited patiently for me to recollect myself.

I took a breath and continued, "—maybe she thought Ryan was my biological son, and she was trying to see if she could find holes in my 'cover-up'." I shuddered at the last word. "I'm not saying she's evil and cold-hearted, but I just feel that way when people ask me THAT type of questions."

"Oh, Bella. It doesn't matter what others think. Our close friends all believe you. That's enough for now, and that's all we can do for now. And Alice…perhaps you don't know her long enough, but Alice is….well, Alice. She tends to be pretty straightforward with her questions, and she's just curious. She can be a little overwhelming sometimes, but she would never mean to hurt you." Edward said in a soothing voice.

"Mama?" Ryan was looking curiously at me.

"I'm OK, Ryan." I gave him a small smile. And I was feeling a lot better. We kept on munching on our lunches for a while. After we were all finished, Edward rubbed his hands together and said excitedly to Ryan, "We're going for a walk in the park this afternoon, Ryan! But first, you have to take a nap, OK?" Ryan looked as if he wanted to go out and play right this second, but Edward managed to coax him to bed.

Edward and I started getting ready for the stroll. We threw in blankets, toys, and some snacks in the travel bag and stroller for Ryan. Then, Edward said he had to go home to take care of a few things, but he'd be back at three-thirty to pick us up.

I took a quick nap myself since I couldn't find anything better to do. I had Ryan dressed and ready to go when Edward rung the doorbell. He carried the bag and stroller to my car while I had Ryan in my arms. The ride to the park was interesting, since we were trying to guess the words that Ryan was trying to say in the backseat.

We finally arrived at the park. Edward hopped out and went straight for the trunk of my Toyota. A quick flick of the wrist and he had the stroller out on the sidewalk and locked into position. At the same time, I unfastened Ryan's baby car seat and eased him from the backseat. We had a routine now, and to people passing by, we probably looked like any other young married couple.

I placed Ryan down in the stroller, and Edward bunched up a blanket and eased it behind Ryan's back and neck. "There you go, little guy. Enjoy the view." I was taken by his gentle way with my son. "You're good at this," I said as I gave Ryan his bottle.

Edward grinned at me as he set the stroller in motion. "Aren't I always good at everything?"

I groaned, "There you go again."

We were silent after that.

Suddenly, I heard a kid call from a distance, "Dr. Swan!" I swiveled around, trying to find the source. I saw a little boy wrenching out of his mother's grasp and running in my direction. It was one of my favorite patients, Brady.

"Hey Brady. I never thought I'd see you here." I squat down and ruffled his hair.

"Me, neither, doctor. Mom and I were playing on the swings. I swung very, very high!" And he pointed his finger to the sky when he said that.

"Good for you. Be careful though, always have Mommy around when you play on the swings, alright?"

"OK." He said happily.

"Go back to Mommy now. I think she's still waiting for you to go home."

"Bye, Dr. Swan."

"Bye, Brady." I gave him a quick hug and turned him in the direction of his mother. I stood back up and nodded to his mom in acknowledgement while Brady ran over.

"That's weird. I had always thought children would be afraid of doctors because of all the needles and medicine. Why aren't they afraid of you?" Edward asked as we resumed walking.

"You could try bribing them with lollipops. They always work wonders." I said, pleased with myself.

"Their dentists would love you." He said teasingly. I swatted his arm.

I suddenly thought of something and halted in my steps, "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, whose shift did you take over this week?"

"Newton's. Why?"

"A-ha! I knew it!" I exclaimed, leaving Edward puzzled on the spot.

"Know what?" He asked suspiciously.

"I know who you saw Mike with!" I sang. "It was Jessica, wasn't it?"

He smiled, "Maybe you were supposed to find out." He paused, "How'd you know though?"

"Jess was looking after Ryan for me that day, when I got home, she was excited and everything. She literally ran out of my apartment that afternoon." Edward laughed.

"So what did you catch them doing? Kissing?"

"Something like that. I walked into our rest area on the first day I got back from Chicago, and what do I see? Two people leaning heavily on MY locker locking lips! I almost ran out of the room. I did NOT need to see that." He made a disgusted face. "God knows how long they've been using my locker to do….that?"

I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe. "So did you threaten them?"

"Sorta. Mike begged me to keep quiet about the whole thing, and Jessica seemed really frightened. So I promised them I wouldn't tell anyone about their relationship. And you figured it out yourself, so I didn't break my promise."

I nodded.

"You're quiet." Edward said.

I kept my eyes straight ahead, our paces slow and easy, "Hmm."

Edward waited for a few seconds before saying, "I thought you would be excited after hearing Mike and Jessica being together."

"I thought so too."

Another minute passed before Edward turned to me and narrowed his eyes. "Wanna talk about it?"

I gazed up at the sky and replied thoughtfully, "I'm guessing that they've kept it under wraps for a while now. Someone must be against their relationship so they can't risk revealing it to the public."

"That's why I agreed to keep it a promise. They looked like deers caught in headlights; they were genuinely afraid."

"Jessica has flirted with some male doctors, yes. But she was never serious about them."

"I've seen Mike tagging behind you constantly, sometimes it annoys me, but I never see him looking lovey-dovey at you. He looked like a golden retriever following his treat."

"That's a weird simile." I paused for a moment, digesting his words, "You saw him following me? I thought it wasn't that obvious."

"Come on, he's been doing it since college. And every time I come visit you in the hospital these two years, I see him doing that, too. I was getting ready to tell him to back off."

"Right, like he'd listen to you. But Mike hasn't been annoying me anymore since you saw him and Jess together. But he's not hanging around Jessica constantly either."

I heard him murmur the words "no", "right", "you" under his breath. "They're pretty insistent to keep their relationship a secret."

Just then, Ryan spat his bottle out and began to fuss, allowing the serious moment to pass. Edward leaned over the stroller and tapped Ryan's nose. Ryan giggled and waved his hands in the air. "Is that right?" Edward pretended to give him a few serious shakes of the head. "So that's what you think about all this stopping and starting, huh?" He bent down and repositioned the bottle until Ryan had it in his mouth again.

"Why don't we rest under that big tree over there? I'm sure Ryan would like to get out of the stroller and explore a bit." I suggested. Edward agreed and we walked over.

I led Ryan around for a bit, and the air was filled with birds chirping and the squeaking sounds Ryan's shoes were making. After sitting on the grass and resting a bit, Ryan and Edward started a game of tag. Ryan began chasing Edward, his body wobbling so much that I was afraid he was going to fall. Edward was running in baby steps, and making funny noises. Soon, it was the other way around—Edward chasing Ryan. He pretended he couldn't catch Ryan at first and even went around the tree to look for him when Ryan was crouching silently behind me. Edward crept quietly behind me and yelled, "Gotcha!" and held Ryan up in the air. Then he started peppering Ryan's nose and cheeks with little kisses, making Ryan squeal with laughter.

"Hey Mom, why don't you join in with the smooches? You could have the other side of his cheeks." Edward said between the kisses.

"Here I come, Ryan!" I said to the boys. I did the same as Edward and pecked Ryan's right cheek while Edward took over the left. Ryan was giggling and squealing, squirming in Edward's arms; I stepped closer and held onto Ryan gently to prevent him from falling.

Suddenly, Ryan leaned forward trying to get out of our grasp, pointed to something and yelled, "La!"

Which left nothing but air between Edward's and I's faces. Before I could react and pull my head back from the kiss I was meaning to give Ryan, Edward met me halfway and kissed me softly on the mouth.

A/N:

Haha..I know you guys are going to kill me for stopping there, but it's necessary lol!

And notice what Ryan yelled before they kissed...anyone remember what he's trying to say?

And, like usual, please review! They are very much appreciated! You guys are the people who make my story way better than it is now~

REVIEW PLZ!

born2bmyself 2010.07.08