A/N: Holy cow, you guys!!!! As of today, this fic has 502 reviews!!!!!!!! You guys are so amazing, I can't even tell you!!!! :-D That's by far the most reviews for a story I've ever gotten, and I appreciate every single one. Here's to another 500, huh?? ;-) I hope that I haven't given you guys whiplash from ch. 18 to now... it's a bit chaotic, but that's life, and I figured that there should be a little angst between the love, you know?? Hope you don't mind. Hehe. Just remember... Hakuna Matata, seriously!!! Note my penname, that should tell you a lot about how my stories are going to go. ;-) Thanks so much to LittleLea05 for being my rockin' beta!!!

Disclaimer: You know what I'm going to say, so I'm not even going to bother.

BPOV

"And this is my son, Liam!" Rosalie announced with that fucking perfect smile of hers.

My head swam with the sudden overload of images and implications. Oh God. Emmett's ex… a baby… a baby with brown hair… oh God. OH GOD. I was going to have to sit down. I was feeling woozy.

I couldn't breathe. I didn't know how to respond. My body didn't know how to react to this little piece of information. Sure, I had known Emmett had exes. He was a sex god, how could he not? But he'd never mentioned any babies. Or that maybe he could be…

"He's beautiful," I managed to choke out. Somehow, my conscious mind told me I had to hold it together, at least until we got out of the store.

"Well, Rose, it was nice to see you," Emmett said, and his voice sounded strained. "I think we'd better get going."

"Yeah, it was great to see you again," she said, smiling at me. It would have to figure that Emmett's ex was the single most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She was an Amazon, tall and blonde and like one of those women who ate men alive simply because they could.

And she had a baby. That little piece of information terrified me. How long had it been since they'd broken up? Somewhere in the far reaches of my mind, I remembered Renee and Esme gossiping about some gorgeous model looking girlfriend of Emmett's, but for the life of me I couldn't remember how long ago it would have been.

Obviously, I knew that even if he had a son, the conceiving part would have been long before I was in the picture, but that didn't stop me from panicking. What if Emmett had a son and he never told me?

I went through the motions of buying the groceries, putting them in the car, and driving home, but I wasn't quite sure how. My brain had been turned onto auto-pilot, trying to think of ways to broach the topic and/or not burst into tears.

There was still so much about our pasts that we hadn't discussed. For myself, I still felt insanely guilty for never confessing that Edward and I had once had sex on Emmett's couch, long before I knew what kind of person he really was, long before I'd ever fallen in love with Emmett.

Oh God, what did this all mean? Emmett had been silent the entire way home. What if that silence was his confession? That all my suspicions were confirmed? That he really did have a son, and that he had no part in that child's life? What did that mean? Would he do the same to me if we were ever in the same circumstance? Would he toss me aside?

I barely got the frozen peas into the freezer before bursting into tears. Yes, far worse than the idea that Emmett was a father was the idea that Emmett would ever leave me.

He'd made me promise, what if he didn't feel the same?

I slid down the refrigerator door and folded my knees up to my forehead, sobbing. This couldn't be happening, not now. Not when we were so happy. This ruins everything…

Emmett half ran into the kitchen, a terrified look on his face. "Bella?! Bella! Are you okay, are you hurt?"

"N-n-no!" I wailed, my face screwed up into what I was sure was a horrendous look.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"You're going to leave me!" I cried. "You're going to get me pregnant and then leave me!" My head was throbbing with pain, and so was my heart.

"What?! Are you insane?!?!" Emmett sounded incredulous.

I looked up at him, eyes still pouring out tears. "Please don't leave me."

"Baby, I'm never going to leave you, I promise. I swear, I would die if I ever left you.

Now please tell me what's wrong. I hate to see you cry like this."

"You never told me you had a son!"

"That's because I don't."

Wait, what?

"Come again?" Relief swept over me in waves, and my heart stopped thudding as rapidly in my chest. My sobs had stopped, but I couldn't halt the tears, nor the snot running down my face. I tried to wipe some off, to look a little less infantile.

"Liam isn't mine," he clarified, and I jumped up and launched myself into his arms, kissing him and whispering Thank God between every kiss.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the couch, setting me so that my legs could drape across his lap and I could hold him. His hands brushed my hair off of my face, treasuring me even as he comforted me.

"Can I tell you about me and Rose?" He looked worried.

"Yes, please. If you want," I added quickly.

He brushed away some more stray tears. I had almost gotten my breath back to normal. I think I had been hyperventilating there for a bit.

"Rosalie was the first girl I ever loved," he began, and I winced. I knew I wasn't the first for pretty much anything, but it still hurt to hear.

"I met her on the first day of school here, freshman year. We were in the same intro business class, and, being a horny eighteen year old free for the first time in his life, I was instantly attracted to her. It took me a month, but I finally got her to agree to go out with me. After that, well, that was that. We were together all the time, she was my best friend and my sometimes lover.

"It wasn't like it was serious at first. Hardly. She saw other guys, I saw other girls. But we always kept coming back to each other. It was magnetic somehow. I finally got her to be exclusive with me at the end of sophomore year, after I rescued her from some creep that was trying to grope her in the Delta Tau Delta hallway.

"It was a little bit after that I realized I was in love with her. She was pretty much everything to me. And then, one day…" He paused; looking like something painful had just come to mind.

"One day she came to me, and told me she was pregnant. I didn't want to believe her. We'd always used protection, always. Even when we were completely wasted, I made sure… and she said she was on the pill… But I stuck with her. You know, I loved her. I was going to take care of her and my baby."

I could tell he hurt thinking about it. I stroked his cheek and held him closer to me.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me," I said.

"No, it's important you know." He continued. "I was there through the first few months, all the doctor's appointments, all the morning sickness… I was there when we heard the heart beat for the first time… I was going to be a dad. I was psyched, to be honest. And I was going to marry Rosalie, bought a ring and everything. I was going to ask her, I had this whole big plan. We were going to be a happy family. I didn't tell my parents, because I was afraid of their reaction, afraid they'd be disappointed in me, but I wasn't ashamed, either. This… with Rose… it made me grow up. I stopped partying and being crazy. If I had a family to worry about, I wasn't going to mess it up. I was going to be a man about it, take responsibility. My mom and dad would've been proud.

"Then one day, she came to my door, crying. I was terrified she'd miscarried or something, but she was just there to tell me she'd cheated on me, and there was no way I could have been the father. It was when I was gone, during an away game. And that was it, no other explanation. She told me it was over, and that she was going to be with the real dad now, and that she didn't want to see me again. And just like that, my happy little family was gone."

He was quiet after that, and I could have sworn I saw tears in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, holding him and placing my head in the crook of his neck. He squeezed me tight.

"Please don't leave me," he said thickly, echoing my desperate words earlier.

"I will never leave you, ever," I promised, tears rising in my own eyes. I cupped his face in my hands, looking directly into his eyes. "Only you, forever, remember?"

He laughed, but it sounded awfully like a choked back sob, and kissed my forehead. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," I said, and held him again until we were both whole again.

EmPOV

I'm not sure how long it was that we held each other, but I didn't care. She was warm and in my arms, and I kept stroking her long, silky hair as she hugged me back as tightly as I hugged her. We were silent, not needing words.

Today had been a huge shock, and a painful reminder of what I had lost. Yeah, I had Bella, and yes, I was happier in a single day with Bella than I had ever been with Rosalie, but that didn't change the fact that Rose had cheated on me, made me think I was going to be a father, and then taken it all away when I thought I had had it all figured out. Yes, I was young, but I knew that I would have been ready, would have been a good father. Will be a good father.

I was still reeling from Bella's reaction. She had truly thought I had lied to her, but worse, she doubted my loyalty to her, and my absolute need for her to be in my life. I needed Bella like I needed oxygen. It killed me that she had, even for a moment, questioned it.

I sighed, and kissed the top of Bella's head.

Suddenly, she tensed in my arms. She pulled away, and she had a terrified look on her face.

"What, what's wrong?" My heart jump started, and not in a good way.

"Emmett, I can't keep hiding this. It's not fair to you. I…"

"What? You can tell me. Please, Bella." I was desperate to know what was wrong. It hurt me to think that there was something she could be hiding from me.

"You're gonna be mad."

"Even if I am, we can work through it, baby. Hell, we just survived you thinking I was a dead beat dad!"

She smiled, and I was glad I could have eased the tension some.

"Okay, fine." She took a deep sigh. "Before we were together… before we were even friends… well, before you were even awake for more than five minutes at a time… I was mad at you, and I called Edward over here, and we…" She turned scarlet red and looked away. "Andwehadsexrighthereonthiscouch."

She said it all in a fast blur, but I understood her, and my heart sank. I had the savage urge to burn the couch, and Edward right along with it.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "I regretted it as soon as it was over. He used it against me when I ended things with him. He called me a slut. And I guess I really am. What kind of person does that? It wasn't fair to you. It's not right…"

She was babbling, and not looking at me as she said this all. Her hands had dropped between us, and she was staring at them. "I'm sorry," she said again, her voice weaker. "I just needed to tell you. It ate at me to not say anything."

I didn't know what to say.

"Please say something," she begged, finally looking at me, and searching my face.

"I want to kill him," I said honestly. "And I'm getting rid of this couch."

"You are mad at me," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry, baby. I shouldn't have said anything, but it was hovering over my head, and I haven't felt so guilty about anything in my entire life. It was a mistake."

"I just can't believe…" It felt like betrayal, even if we hadn't been together at the time.

Right here, where I'm sitting…

I couldn't take it. I was reeling with the emotions of the day: first, incredibly horny, then content, then hurt, now angry. I couldn't deal with it.

"I need to talk to Jasper," I said. "He knows how to calm me down."

"Do you want me to call him?" she asked timidly.

"No, I'll do it."

I dropped my arms from around her, sad at the loss of contact even as I was boiling inside. My body craved her, no matter what the circumstance.

I hobbled into the bedroom and shut the door behind me. It did not escape my notice that Bella was staring like a zombie at the wall. My heart broke just a little bit to see her that way, but it didn't change how I felt.

I got Jasper on the phone, though he sounded distracted by Alice. Lucky bastard, he can actually be with his girlfriend without shattering pain and terrible revelations.

"Jazz, I really gotta talk with you," I said desperately. "Please. You gotta calm me down."

"Dude, that's what blow jobs are for, and I can't help you with that," he said with a smirk in his voice.

"I'm serious. I want to punch the wall, you gotta talk me down."

"Oh, you actually mean it. Okay. Shoot." His tone changed to one of concern.

I sighed. "Bella and I ran into Rosalie at the store," I started.

"Holy shit! How did that go?"

"Not well. She thought I was hiding a love child from her."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. So I tell her the story, and we're all holding each other and stuff, and then she blurts out that she and Assward fucked on the very same couch we fucked on yesterday."

"Fuck!"

"I know. I don't know what to do. She's out there, all apologetic, and crying, and I really just want to hug her and tell her I don't care, but really, I want to scream and yell and set stuff on fire, and tell her it sure as hell is not okay."

Jasper went immediately into his counselor mode. I always wondered why he was a history and political science double major instead of psychology.

"Why does that bother you?"

"Because!"

"I need more than a five year old answer, Emmett."

"Shut it, Whitlock. It bothers me because she hid it from me. And it's my fucking couch! And she had that asshat over here without my permission. And she had sex with him where we had sex… All of it. I'm fucking pissed about all of it."

"But is it worth losing her over?"

"Of course not!"

"She probably just wanted to have everything out in the open. I mean, you kept Rosalie a secret from her for a long time, too, you know. Maybe she just wanted to be open with you, air out all her dirty laundry, too, so you can move on together without anymore deception or hiding."

Fuck, he was right. Sure, I had a right to be mad, but she took my secret like a pro, not pulling away when she probably had every right to. And I couldn't even look her in the eye after she confessed to me. Shit, I was a douche.

"Thanks Jasper, thanks so much buddy. Get back to fucking Alice."

"I'm gonna," he laughed, and then we hung up and I was moving as fast as I could back into the living room.

Bella was gone. She wasn't in the living room, she wasn't on the couch, and she wasn't in the bathroom… I started to panic, my heart racing and my breathing picking up.

"Bella?! Bella?!" I noted my voice sounded panicked and desperate.

"What?" she mumbled, from the kitchen. I took a big sigh of relief, and turned the corner. Bella was putting away our groceries, long abandoned after we'd gotten home. I was just glad we hadn't needed milk or ice cream or something, so nothing was lukewarm or melting on the counters.

I didn't say anything, I just wrapped her up in my arms and held her tight as she struggled slightly in my arms. It hurt, worse than I ever would have guessed. It was the first time she'd been in my arms and protested.

She finally settled into my arms, and sighed.

"I talked to Jasper," I said into her hair. "And he helped me understand."

"I'm so sorry, I just wanted-"

"I know. I'm sorry. It's all in the past. We should be honest with each other. Hiding stuff and not being open was the whole reason we couldn't stand each other for years, and that's not okay. You're the love of my life, and we shouldn't keep our pasts closed like that. Now we know, and we can move on."

She looked up at me, mouth agape. "Damn, Jasper is good," she said, and I couldn't help but burst into laughter. She grinned with me, and she finally wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I'm really sorry, Emmett. It was wrong of me, and I never want to think about it again. I just… wanted to get everything out, like you said. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course," I soothed. "I'm still mad about it… and I'm still tempted to set that thing on fire… but trust me, I forgive you. We've both made mistakes. I can't hold that against you. I love you too much."

"I love you, too, so much."

"I can't live without you," I confessed.

"I wouldn't ever want to try," she said. "And I'm sor-"

"Don't say it. Please, you don't need to apologize anymore. Just be with me."

I led her to our bedroom, and proceeded to show her just exactly how much I needed and loved her.

A/N II: Reviews equal love in the form of an outtake!!! :-) This update, it's a childhood memory. Aww...??? ;-)