A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you all for your feedback. I know you wish I would update sooner than I do, but I'm really busy. Luckily, I just finished one of my other stories, so this one should be updated more often. Just thought I'd let you know that there are pics of Edward's apartment up now, as well as photos of what Bella and Emmett's place looks like. Alright, here you go. Chapter 6 is called: Thankful.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters. I also don't own any celebrities or pop culture references made in this story.

Rating: M for language and sexual content later on.

Bella Swan

Mike brought Lucy back to me at exactly eight Sunday evening. It felt so freaking good to have her back, to know she was safe. I pretty much kicked Mike out of the house when he brought her. I didn't want to see him; I wanted to see her.

Once Mike had left, Lucy asked if she could watch a movie. Emmett scooped her up and grinned, he loved movies, even if they were for children. He carried her over to the cupboard below the flat screen we had recently purchased and browsed DVDs with her. Lucy studied the spines of the DVDs for a few moments before pulling one out and holding it above her head. Emmett took the DVD from her and examined it, smiling brightly before putting it in the DVD player.

"What movie did she pick?" I asked from my place on the couch. I was all ready for some cuddling with my daughter.

Rose came downstairs at that moment, kissing Lucy quickly on the cheek before setting onto the other couch, probably ready for some snuggling with her boyfriend.

"We will be watching Shrek," he announced just as the Dreamwork's into began, signaling the start of the movie.

I smiled. Lucy always loved Shrek and so did Emmett. She told him he reminded her of Shrek and that Rose reminded her of a blonde Fiona. Sometimes they would reenact a scene for Lucy if she were sad. It was quite humorous.

Lucy grinned at me before running towards me and hopping on the couch, nestling close to my side. Emmett sat down with Rose after turning out the light.

I quietly took my phone from the table next to the couch, deciding to text Edward.

Hey Edward! I just thought I'd let you know that Lucy is alive and well and back in my arms. ~Bella

I sent the text and made sure my phone was on the vibrate setting so if, or when, he responded, it wouldn't interrupt the movie. I set the phone on my lap and giggled at the crazy characters on the screen.

Less then five minutes later, my phone vibrated. It was a response from Edward.

Bella, that's great to hear! Jackson and I can't wait to see her again. (We can't wait to see you either!) – Edward

I smiled down at the phone. I wanted to respond, but there really wasn't much I could say that wouldn't be going totally off subject. I closed my phone and put it back on the side table.

Lucy fell asleep about halfway through the movie. I carefully scooped her up and carried her upstairs. Somehow I managed to pull the covers on her bed back with her in my arms and lay her gently on the mattress. She wiggled a little bit as I pulled the covers over her small body, but she didn't wake up.

I plugged in her nightlight before tiptoeing out of her room and back downstairs. I told Em and Rose that I was going to bed too. Watching the movie without Lucy seemed meaningless to me now with her asleep and I was tired from the shopping trip the previous day still.

As I climbed into my bed, I thought of how great it was to have Lucy back. I wished I didn't have a night class tomorrow so I could spend all day with her, but I needed to go to school. School only made me think of the fact that I needed a job. Edward had said that Alice was a manager of the Urban Outfitters store downtown and that she could probably give me a job. I hated that I actually allowed him to ask her about it sometime, I wanted to do things on my own. Unfortunately with a kid and school, you don't have much time to go running around looking for jobs. He must not have talked to her about it, because yesterday Alice had said nothing about getting me a job.

Oh well, maybe he forgot. Wasn't the first time a man in my life had forgot to do something? Mike was a great example. He forgot to put a condom on one night, and bam, I'm pregnant. Well, at least with Edward, what he forgot wasn't quite as serious.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of my daughters voice and her body jumping up and down on my bed. When she noticed my eyes open, her face was right there. She was grinning and breathing heavily. I smiled slightly, wishing she would let me sleep at least until eight in the morning. Nope, her internal alarm clock was always seven.

"Morning, mommy," she said in her high voice before planting a wet kiss on my cheek.

I chuckled. "Morning, Lucy. Are you hungry or something, baby?" I asked, sitting up and stretching my arms. My body was protesting for me to lie back down, but motherhood calls.

Lucy nodded enthusiastically. "Can you make French toast?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Can you make French toast…please?" I corrected her. I was trying to develop manners in her before she started school. I didn't want her to just be demanding things. Unfortunately, Mike was more lenient on the whole manners thing. Every time she would come home from his apartment, she seemed to forget all about her manners.

She mumbled an apology before repeating the question with the please at the end.

I smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Well, when you ask that way, of course I'll make you French toast," I replied, swinging my legs over the side of my bed and hopping down.

After breakfast, I took Lucy to the park a few blocks down. The playground wasn't great, but it at least had slides and a few swings.

Lucy waved at me from the top of the slide. I waved back from the blanket I had laid out on the ground to avoid getting wet from the grass. Lucy giggled as she slid down the slide, quickly climbing back up to the top to go down again.

My phone rang then. I sighed as I pulled it out of my purse. The caller ID said it was Alice. I winced. Hopefully she didn't want to go on another shopping trip. I didn't think I could handle another one for at least a month or two.

"Hey, Alice," I said in a worried tone as I watched my daughter go down the slide over and over again.

Alice huffed on the other end, clearly not pleased with my unenthusiastic greeting. "Well, don't sound so happy to hear from me. You're just like Edward. Always worried that I'm up to something or want to go shopping."

I chuckled; it was like she was reading my mind or something. "Sorry Alice, but after yesterdays eight hour long shopping excursion, I can't help but be worried. Anyway, what's up?" I asked more cheerfully.

"Well, I was talking to Edward a little while ago and he mentioned something about you needing a job?"

Shit, he didn't forget. "Oh he did. Awesome, yeah, I feel kind of bad just asking you and not applying, but I do need one pretty badly."

"Don't feel bad, Bella. We really need another sales person that can work a register. Have you ever worked one before? It doesn't matter if you haven't, I'm going to hire you either way."

I smiled. I had a job. "Actually, I have worked a cash register. A couple of times, actually."

"Awesome!" Alice cheered on the other end. "I was thinking that I could start training you Saturday morning, if that works for you. I know you have school a few days a week and it's easier for you to work night shifts, but I was hoping Emmett might be home on Saturday's to watch Lucy."

"Yeah I can do that. I'll figure something out for Lucy, Emmett can probably do it like you said."

"Alright, uh, do you think you could be at the down town store by seven thirty in the morning on Saturday?" Alice asked.

I grinned into the phone. "Yeah, that sounds great, I'll be there!"

Lucy was still going down the slide when I ended my call with Alice. She waved to me when she caught me staring, and I waved back before deciding to send a text to Edward.

E – I just got a call from Alice. She gave me a job. Thanks for remembering! I owe you one! ~B

Lucy ran up to me as I hit send. I smiled and ruffled her hair. "Are you ready to go baby?" I asked as she settled down on the blanket next to me.

She nodded. "I'm tired. Sliding is fun."

Once we were home, I checked my phone to see if I got a response from Edward. Unfortunately, there were no new messages.

Lucy begged me to turn on the TV. Apparently Dora was on and she couldn't miss an episode. Lucy sat on the floor and became entranced by the Spanish/English speaking cartoon girl.

A little while later, my phone rang. I didn't even bother to check who was calling, I just answered.

"Hey, Bella, it's Edward," his velvety voice said through the phone. For some reason, it gave me chills.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked lamely.

He chuckled on the other end. "Oh, not much, just working on my article here at home. I just put Jackson down for a nap." He paused. "So, Alice gave you a job?"

I smiled and cradled the phone against my ear. I felt like a teenager again, talking to the hot guy from school on the phone. "Yeah, she did. I start Saturday. Thank you for remembering to talk to her about it, by the way."

"It was no problem, I wanted to help."

The statement only made my smile widen. "Well, thank you." I paused. "Lucy was asking about you and Jackson when we were on our way home from the park. She can't wait to play with you," I told him. Lucy really was excited. She practically begged me to arrange for them to play again.

"Jackson has been asking about you and Lucy as well. He even kept his fort the two of you made up. He says he wants to show Lucy before he takes it down," Edward said with a soft laugh that sounded like music to my ears.

"Aw, that's sweet. Didn't we use some of his bed sheets though?"

"Yeah, he made me bring out some of his old sheets to sleep in so he could leave it up," he told me. "What are you doing Friday?"

I quickly got up and crossed the room to check the calendar. Nothing was written for this Friday. "I'm not doing anything, why?"

"Well, I was hoping you and Lucy might want to come over. She can check out his tent and then I can finally take it down."

I laughed. "Is that the only reason you want us to come over? So you can take down that tent?" I teased.

"Of course not. Jackson adores Lucy, and I happen to adore you. This only has a little bit to do with the tent," he responded.

Holy shit. He adores me. "Um, alright, yeah, we can come. Uh, what time?" I asked, unable to tease him anymore.

He thought for a moment. "Um, how about six in the evening. I have to work all day. I actually have to go into the office."

"Sounds great," I squeaked, still unsure of what to say.

"Alright, I'll see you both then. Bye Bella."

Edward Cullen

I swear, the week only drags on when you've got something you are really looking forward to coming up. I was getting antsy to see Bella again. On Wednesday, I had the urge to just show up at her house unannounced, just so I could see her face. Luckily, I talked myself out of that one. I didn't want her to think I was a stalker.

It seemed like Bella was just as anxious to see me, as I was to see her. We talked on the phone every night before going to bed. We sent text messages to each other throughout the day. It was good to know I was on her mind, and I hope she realized how much she was on mine. I wondered if she was falling too.

Friday, I practically ran from the office to my car. It was almost time to see her again, and I couldn't freaking wait.

On the way home, I almost hit two cars, but honestly, it didn't worry me as much as it should have. I just kept thinking of Bella. Her face, the way she laughed, how she took care of her daughter and looked after my son. She was perfect. Shit, I was in deep.

I sent home the nanny once I entered the apartment. Jackson was eating Chex Mix while watching some cartoon. Honestly, I think I was more excited about this play date than Jackson was. I mean, sure when I told him what the plan was a few days ago, he jumped up and down with joy, but when the day came, he was chilling on the couch while I ran around the apartment looking like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to tidy up and get ready.

At exactly six in the evening, there was a knock on the door. Jackson's gaze tore away from the TV at exactly the same time as mine did. I peered through the peephole and saw Bella and Lucy waiting outside in the hallway, Bella balancing a covered plate in one hand, and holding Lucy's hand in the other. I shot a grin at Jackson causing him to jump off the couch and bolt toward the door as I opened it.

Bella grinned at me. "Hello, Edward," she greeted me, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. Her gaze shot down to my son. "Hey, Jackson."

"Hi Bella and Lucy!" Jackson and I greeted them as the same time. My son and I looked at each other briefly before breaking out into giggles. Bella and Lucy joined in on the laughter as well.

Once our laughter had ceased, I took the plate from Bella and led her and her daughter inside. I set the plate on the table, curious about what she brought, but I didn't peek. When I looked back at the two girls, Lucy was gazing around the apartment with Jackson by her side, while Bella stared at me with a warm smile on her face.

Jackson tugged on the fabric of Lucy's shirt. "Come on, Lucy, I want to show you the tent your mommy and I made a few days ago!" he said excitedly, grabbing Lucy's arm and dragging her to his room.

Bella took a few steps toward me. "So, the tent held up all week?"

I chuckled and nodded. "Surprisingly, it did. You and Jackson have great craftsmanship."

Bella snorted. "Yeah right. I can't even build a fire."

I let out a laugh before letting my eyes wander to the covered plate she brought. I was too damn curious as to what she could've made.

Bella noticed my gaze and took a few steps closer to the table and me. She was literally six inches from my face as she removed the tin foil covering the plate's contents. She had made chocolate chip cookies, and it looked like they were made from scratch.

Bella looked up at me with her beautiful eyes and smiled slightly. Her close proximity made me week in the knees. "Would you like to try one?" she asked. I couldn't help but stare at her mouth when she asked this. It looked beautiful when she talked.

I couldn't bring myself to respond vocally, so I just nodded. She gingerly picked up a cookie and brought it to my mouth. My eyes widened. Was she going to feed this to me? She pressed the cookie against my lips, urging me to take a bite. Holy fuck! She was! I opened my mouth a bit into the cookie. It was fucking heaven; not just the cookie, but her.

"Is it good?" she asked in a soft, seductive voice, her eyes smoldering.

I nodded, trying to get my voice to work. "They rival my mother's," I managed to say.

Bella grinned. "I shall have to try my rival's chocolate chip cookies then," she said with a chuckle.

I smiled and nodded in agreement. My mother loved cooking. "Well, if you want to, you can come to the barbecue my parents are throwing Sunday. She always makes her famous chocolate chip cookies then," I said without thinking. Honestly, I hadn't planned on asking Bella to come to the family barbecue when my mother had suggested it last weekend. If I wanted to actually date Bella, I didn't want to freak her out by moving too fast.

Bella blinked a few times, her face looked a little surprised, but she quickly put a smile on her face. "I would love that, actually."

My eyes widened in surprise and happiness. "Awesome, um, you should bring some of these cookies there. Would you like me to pick you and Lucy up?" I asked, trying to keep my excitement from taking over my entire being.

She blushed and nodded. "That would be great, especially since I don't know where your parents live."

I chuckled. "Well…once you see the house once, you can't really forget it."

Bella looked at me with a confused expression, but didn't question me. Instead, she carefully took my hand and led me into my son's bedroom to play with our kids.

A/N: HOLY SHIT. Are you excited for the barbecue? I am. Alright, so leave reviews! I enjoy reading them and even though I don't respond to most of them, I will respond if you ask me a question that I can actually answer. Lets see if I can get to 300 reviews, shall we. Alright, check out all the links I have up in my profile for this story.

Reviews are better than feeding Dadward cookies…not really, but it's almost a tie.