Hey! I am so sorry it took me so long to update but I things didn't seem to come out like I wanted. I sat in front of the computer and nothing came out. It was so frustrating! Thanks to everyone that reviewed. Because of you I have already passed 300 reviews. Thank you so much! I can't even find the words to thank you for all your support. So... here's another chapter. I hope you like! I'll try not to take so long to update again. Don't forget to REVIEW! HUgs

Disclaimer: SM owns all the characters except the triplets and Luke.

Chapter 17

Edward's POV

I stayed in the same position all night, which is not that difficult considering I'm a vampire, with Lizzie's head still in my chest. She slept peacefully but her hand never stopped gripping my shirt, like if she was afraid I would leave. Though I knew I would never do that. She asked me to stay with her and I would.

She was also the first one to wake up today. She opened her eyes and looked up at me, a huge smile on her face.

"Daddy, you stayed!" It reminded me of Bella's reaction the first night she was 'aware' that I had stayed with her.

"Of course I did. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. Did mommy call during the night?"

"No she didn't. I know you miss her very much but she will be here soon. Okay?"

"Yeah. Do you miss her too?"

"Yes. I miss her very much." I stated. Her smile widened. Lizzie was the perfect combination of Bella and me but her smile was just like Bella's.

"Will you tell me how you and mommy met? I knew mommy would be sad if I asked her so I never did. Can you tell me?"

"Sure but your brother and your sister are waking up so I'll tell you later. You need to have breakfast. Esme is already preparing it."

"Daddy, can I call Esme and Carlisle grandma and grandpa? What about Aunty Alice and Aunty Rosalie and Uncles Jasper and Emmett?" I laughed at her excitement.

"If you want to, I'm sure they would love it sweetie." In fact I knew that nothing would make my family happier.

"Okay." Her answer was followed by a light knock at the door and Alice entering the room.

"Good morning aunty Alice." Lizzie whispered animatedly. Alice stopped right where she was and looked between me and Lizzie with a confused expression on her face.

"Did she...?" I can't believe my four-years-old daughter left Alice Cullen speechless. This was really funny. "She... she..." Called me aunty. She finished mentally, shocked.

"Are you okay Aunty Alice?" Lizzie asked concerned. "You don't seem very good..."

"I'm very well. Perfect..." She shot me a meaningful look and I knew that later I'd be attacked with questions. "I came to help them to pick their clothes. Their breakfast is almost ready."

Luke and Lilly woke up and I left them with Alice after they politely wish me a good morning. Instead of joining them while they had breakfast I went to my bedroom and sat at the piano, to work on the kid's lullaby. It flowed so easily even I was surprised. Never a song had come to me so effortlessly. I played it again enjoying every piece of hope, love and happiness the song carried.

"You've started composing again." Esme said delighted. I know how much she loves to hear me playing. "I'm so glad you're playing again."

"Me too. I've missed this feeling."

"It's so beautiful! Who is it for?" Lizzie questioned coming from behind of Esme and seating in the bench next to me.

"You. I promised I would create a lullaby for you, didn't I?" I said stoking her hair which was just like Bella's.

"Can you play it again?" I immediately started playing. I couldn't deny her anything but we were interrupted by my cell. I quickly grabbed it and answered.

"Bella." I breathed.

"Hi Edward." It was so good to hear her voice and I immediately noted the difference in it. It was lighter, she wasn't so worried which meant that Renée was getting better.

"I assume Renée is better."

"Yes. She has awakened and the doctors say everything seems to be fine. She's going to stay here two more days and then if everything is okay they are going to release her. I'm so relieved. I was so afraid she would..."

"It's fine love. What matters is that she's going to be fine. I miss you. When will you come back?" I just wanted to hold her in my arms. It seemed like she was gone for weeks instead of two days.

"I miss you too. And the kids too but I want to stay around here for a few more days to make sure she's going to be fine. Besides she's probably going to need some help at home. I'll be there as soon as possible. How are things around there?"

"Great. Lizzie is really getting along with us."

"Do you mean she has accepted you? Oh Edward! I knew everything was going to be fine." She was even more relieved.

"I'm so happy Bella. This is one of the best things it has happened to me. And it's all thanks to you. I'm so grateful for everything you've given me. I'm going to pass her the phone before she bursts. Love you."

"Okay. I love you too." Her voice was filled with emotion.

"Mommy! Daddy and I miss you. And Lilly and Luke. When are you coming back?" I couldn't help but smile every time she called me daddy. I heard Bella let out a strangled cry before answering.

"I'll come back as soon as possible. I miss you too very much. Grandma Renée is almost fine. Be good okay?"

"Yes mommy. I love you very much."

"I love you too very much sweetheart." She then handed the phone to Esme that chatted with Bella while taking it to Lilly and Luke who where downstairs.

"Are you going to tell me know how you and mommy met?" She asked excited.

"I guess. Well..." Just as I was going to start speaking Emmet burst through the door.

"You're not going to believe Edward! There's going to be a huge storm tonight!" He looked like a child in Christmas Eve. No. He was worse.

"And..."

"And we are going to play baseball! Are you in?"

"I don't know... The kids..." I hesitated.

"We'll take them with us. Of course. It's going to be great." I looked at Lizzie trying to decide.

"It sounds fun daddy."

"Okay. We're in."

"Nice!" He disappeared from the bedroom, closing the door as he walked out. Lizzie and I made our way to my window bench and sat looking outside, with her in my lap.

"We had been in Forks for two years when your mother moved there to live with your grandpa Charlie. We attended Forks High School and that's where I saw her for the first time, during Lunch time. The first thing I noticed about her was that I couldn't hear her thoughts, that's what called my attention in first place. I could listen to everyone around her but from her I got nothing. It had never happened to me before. I stared at her picking the thoughts from everybody around her and trying hard to hear her but I couldn't and it frustrated me. After Lunch we had Biology together, the seat next to me was the only one available but as soon as she entered the room her scent hit me. It was irresistible. She had the sweetest blood I had ever smelled."

"La tua cantante." She whispered with fascination.

"How do you know...?"

"Grandpa Aro tells us stories about vampires all the time. He already told us about that. He said most vampires cannot resist the calling."

"It took a lot of effort but I did it and I'm so glad I did." I sighed. I could not imagine how my life would have been if I hadn't resisted that day. "After that day I went to Alaska. I wasn't sure I could resist her but she was always on my mind, everywhere I looked I could only see her face so I came back after a few days. It was like her face was haunting me. She was so fragile looking that I felt the urge to protect her though I wasn't yet sure I could be around her. But I was so curious the first day I went to school after my trip to Alaska. That was the first day I actually talked to her. Your mother is really special. She never did or said what I thought she would and she was very observant. Every day with her was a surprise, she would never react the way I thought she would and sometimes the way I wanted her too."

"Was she scared when she found out what you were?"

"No and that bothered me because she trusted me too much. Every day she spent with me her life was at stake but she didn't seem to mind. We love each other too much." I explained. Lizzie just smiled.

***

Lizzie's POV

I loved to hear daddy tell me about how he and mommy met. I had always wanted to know. I was surprised to find that mommy had been daddy's singer. From what I knew, few were the vampires that could resist the calling of their singer's blood. I cannot imagine how hard it must have been for dad to hang out with mom. He really loved her and he still does.

Lilly, Luke, where are you? I asked them mentally while coming down the stairs.

Outside. By the big tree. Luke's voice sounded clear in my head. Something was up. I could feel Lilly was upset and Luke's voice was too controlled. I rushed outside. They were both sitting against the big tree and immediately got up when I reached them.

"Where have you been?" Lilly asked.

"Upstairs with daddy, he was..."

"Liz..." She cut me off with a scolding voice. "What are you doing? Why do you call him that? He's not..."

"He is." I should have been waiting for this. "He's our father Lilly. You know he is. You're just too stubborn to accept it. But you're wrong. He won't stop being our father just because you don't want him to."

"He is not our father! We don't have a father. He stopped existing to us the day we found out what he did to mom. He hurt her. He made her heart hurt. He left her and he left us too! He doesn't care about her and he will only make her suffer more. We don't need him!" She screamed angrily.

"No! Can't you see? Can't you remember all the times we wished we had a father? All the times we wished he was with us and with mom? How many times have we hoped that he was there with us? That he was the one to go to our father's day party at school? He loves mom and he loves us too!"

"How do you know? How can you be sure? Do you want him to hurt mommy again?" Luke questioned.

"Come!" I said grabbing their hands and dragging them to the house.

"Where are we going?" Lilly asked.

"You'll see." I answered curtly. We passed through the living room where everyone was and headed up the stairs. Dad sent me a questioning look and I could see the sadness in his eyes. Of course he had heard our screams in the yard. I shot him an apologetic glance and kept going.

I took them to the last floor where our room was but stopped in front of daddy's room door. I let go of my siblings' hands and reached for the doorknob, opening the door and entering.

"Whose room is this?" Luke asked. I could feel the curiosity burning him inside.

"Daddy's." I whispered.

"What are we doing here?" Lilly hissed.

"Look! It's mommy!" Luke was looking at the pictures on the walls. He stopped in front of the one taken at Prom. The same one that caught my attention when I looked at these photos for the first time. "She was so beautiful."

"Look at all these pictures! Why would he have them in here if he didn't like mommy anymore?" I tried to reason with them.

"Then why did he leave?" Luke inquired confused.

"He left because he thought it would be safer to mommy. He was afraid that she would get hurt because he was a vampire. Did you know mommy was daddy's singer?"

"Really?" Luke questioned interested.

"Yes. He likes her very much. He even wrote a lullaby to her. He's really great and you should give him a chance. This is all we ever wanted."

"I don't care!" Lilly shouted. Why did she have to be like this?

"You're just being stubborn and spoiled." I yelled back. She ran out of the room, slamming the door. Luke and I looked at each other and sighed.

"Daddy promised he's going to teach me how to play the piano. He plays very well. You should give him a chance Luke. He really loves us. And mommy wants this too. Maybe when she comes back we can all stay together and be a real family. Mommy would be happier and people would stop talking bad about her. Don't you want to have a real family? Look how much fun you have with Uncle Jazzy and Uncle Em! And I'm sure daddy would also teach you to play the piano if you want to." He seemed to be giving in. I really hope he did.

Edward's POV

The kids had gone upstairs and a few minutes later Lillian came running down the stairs. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened.

"She's furious." Jasper stated.

"I'll try to find what had happened." I said heading outside. She was seating in a branch of the big tree in our yard. I got closer and looked up. "Is everything okay Lillian?"

"No! And it's all you fault! I hate you! You will never, never be my father. I don't want to. Go away!" Her words hurt me more than I let it show. She was so mad.

"Do you want some help to come down?" I asked concerned.

"NO! I HATE YOU! Just go away!" She yelled. Then she jumped and landed swiftly on the ground, stomping away from me.

I slowly made my way to the house wondering if I would ever get to her. It seemed so impossible. Lizzie was waiting for me on the porch steps. She noticed my face and got up.

"It's okay daddy. She doesn't really hate you, she's just stubborn. It will be fine someday, you know?" I picked her up and carried her to the inside of the house. "I love you daddy. Don't be sad." She gave me a small kiss on my cheek and hugged me. I instantly felt better. She was right. Someday Lilly would accept me. Or so I hope.

***

The night had come quickly and after the kids had dinner we headed to a clearing Emmet had found. Luke was very excited by the prospect of playing baseball, apparently he was a fan of sports.

We decided that we would run, carrying the kids in our back, to the clearing and Emmet would take the jeep to carry the bats and in case it would be raining when we come back, that way the kids would ride the car and wouldn't get wet.

Lizzie jumped to my back right away, Luke did the same but to Jasper and Lilly chose to go with Esme. She was still mad and I hoped she would calm down during the game.

We took off and five minutes later we were in the clearing. When the thunder sounded Lizzie got scared and grabbed my legs.

"It's okay Liz. It's just the thunder. We need it so that the humans won't notice we are playing. They'll think it's the thunder." She nodded but kept gripping my legs.

We decided to let the kids bat some balls before we started playing, since they had never done it. Emmet had built three small bats and in each one of them he had carved their names. That way they would have their own bats. Luke was delighted and he wanted to be the first one to try.

Alice went to the middle of the clearing to pitch the ball. Luke wanted to try alone, so we allowed him to. Alice threw the ball and he swung the bat though he missed the ball. I could say he was upset but he wanted to try again. Persistent. Just like Bella. Unfortunately he missed again.

"Can I help you?" I asked carefully looking at him. He looked back uncertain.

"Okay." He agreed smiling, like if he had suddenly remembered something. I told him how to hold the bat correctly and how to swing it. I was on my knees and kept my hands on top of his to help him. I sent Alice a glance telling her that she could pitch. This time he made it. The bat hit the ball as I helped him to control the movement.

As soon as the ball went flying through the hair he dropped the bad and started jumping with joy.

"I did it! I did it! Thanks dad!" He said ecstatic, putting his hands around my neck and hugging me tight. I hugged him back barely containing my happiness. "Dad." He whispered as if testing the word. Then he smiled at me. Behind him was Lizzie smiling widely, when I looked at her she winked. I smiled back.

I had never imagined I would feel like this. The happiness on Luke's face after hitting the ball was inexplicable and I couldn't even describe how it felt to help him achieve something. It felt so good to be a father. To see the happiness on their faces when they accomplished a goal.

Lizzie wanted to try next and I also helped her. Lilly was the only one who remained seated in the grass with her bat next to her. I knew she was suffering and it pained me so see her like that, like if she was jealous. I tried to talk to her but as soon as I came next to her she turned her face.

We decide to play a slower than usual so that the kids could keep up. Lilly didn't want to play so the teams were me, Lizzie, Jasper and Carlisle and Esme, Luke, Emmet and Rosalie. We played for a while until I felt something was wrong. I couldn't really explain; I just felt like something wasn't right. I looked around and noticed that Lilly was nowhere to be found. Her scent was barely traceable. I immediately called Luke and Lizzie.

"Do you know where your sister is?" I asked trying to conceal my concern. I didn't want to scare them. The closed their eyes concentrating.

"She's lost!" Lizzie cried suddenly opening her eyes.

"It's okay we are going to find her. Can you tell us where she is?" I asked gently, rubbing small circles on her back.

"It's a small clearing with a lot of flowers and a big tree. She's so scared. She's crying." Liz stammered.

"Ask her how long she walked?" I tried to gather all the information that could help me to find her faster.

"She says she ran for more less twenty minutes." Luke answered.

"It's fine. I'm going to find her and bring her back okay? Tell her I'm on my way." They both nodded and I left them with the rest of the family. Her scent indicated me from where she had taken off but I couldn't follow it since it was too weak. I started running, paying attention to all the sounds around me and trying to pick out her cries.

After running for about ten minutes I could hear her crying. I followed the sound until a found the clearing Lizzie had described. Lilly was seating in the middle with her head resting on her legs and her arms around her knees. Relief flowed through me. Thank god she was okay.

I reached out towards her and embraced her. Her crying became louder as she gripped my shirt tightly.

"It's okay now. I'm here. I'm going to take you back. You shouldn't have left on your own. It's very dark, Lilly. Everybody was very worried, especially your brother and your sister." I tried to comfort her while picking her up.

"It's so dark... I was so scared..." She mumbled to my shirt, soaking it with tears, not that I minded.

"You're safe now." I quickly carried her to the big clearing where everybody was waiting. Luke and Lizzie as well as the rest of the family breathed relieved when they saw me arrive with Lilly in my arms.

The minute Lilly's feet touched the ground, Lizzie and Luke ran to her and hugged her.

"Don't do that again Lil. You scared us to death. What if daddy hadn't found you?" Lizzie scolded.

"What if you had gotten hurt or someone had taken you?" Luke supported.

"But none of that happened. What matters is that Lillian is safe. Now, do you want to stay a little more or do you want to go home? It's already late." I said.

"No let's stay a bit more. Lilly hasn't learned to swing the bat yet." Lizzie spoke.

"Okay, but just a bit more." I allowed. Esme was the one who taught Lilly to bat the ball since she still wasn't comfortable with me. I believe it's just a matter of time, now. Lilly had gotten it right at second try.

Alice was preparing to pitch the ball again when her eyes glazed over and she fell on her knees. Her face horror struck. When I focused on her thoughts the vision was over so I was as clueless as everyone else. She didn't move from the ground so Jasper ran to her and carried her to where we were standing.

"What have you seen Alice?" I asked worried. She didn't look very good. She tried to talk but nothing came out of her mouth. "Speak Alice! What have you seen?" I pressed.

"Daddy, what happened? Is Aunty Alice okay?" Lizzie asked worried.

"I don't know honey." I replied.

"Alice dear, what have you seen?" Jasper asked gently, slightly shaking her.

"Aunty Alice what happened? You're scaring us!" Lizzie said brushing her hand across Alice's cheek. That seemed to bring her out of her trance. She looked at me terrified. I tried to listen to her thought but they were so confused I couldn't make anything out.

"She's coming Edward!"

"Who's coming Alice?" I demanded. (I was going to leave it here but I don't want to die anytime )

"Victoria! She's coming Edward!" No! This wasn't possible!

"Are you sure Alice?" I already knew the answer. Everyone was silent. "When? When is she coming?" We needed time to plan everything.

"Tomorrow night. Maybe at dawn."

"What?" She had to be joking! What are we going to do? What about the kids? We don't have time to call anyone else. No one will get here in time. Not Bella, not the Denali clan... No one.

"Are you serious Alice?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Do you think I would joke around with something like this?"

"Is she alone?"

"No. Right now she has fifteen newborns with her."

"The number will certainly come down. But still... There's too many for us to handle. What about the kids?" Jasper commented. I looked at my kids.

"What's going o... on... daddy? Who's... coming here? Is it a... a... bad vampire?" Lizzie cried, holding onto my jeans like if her life depended on it. They were so scared.

"It's going to be fine! Don't worry. Let's go home now." I said in the most calming voice I could manage. I picked Lizzie up and put her on my back. She gripped my neck with so much strength that I would have suffocated if I wasn't a vampire. Jasper and Esme did the same with Luke and Lilly. I tried to convince them to go in the jeep with Emmet but they refused.

I would do everything to protect my kids. I would die for them if I had to. Things weren't looking good but I would never give up on my family. They are the most important thing to me and I'll do everything to keep them safe.

Did you like it? Are you anxious for the next chapter? Review and let me know. Since I didn't let you waiting for the next chapter to find out who was coming you could be extra nice and REVIEW! I stayed up until 4am to update now! Don't I deserve a review? Besides this must be the longest chapter I've published. If you have questions just ask. I'll update as soon as possible. You Rock!!! REVIEW!!!! HUgs