ASL 11

Time moves on

TPOV:

One week. My husband has been home for one whole week and the only difference is that Edward has been getting quieter and more reserved and more irritated since he came home. He tries to hide the irritation from Ethan and me, but I see it. I just don't know what to do for him so I just ignore it. The only person that he really seems to be willing to talk to is Emmett. Everyone keeps telling me 'just give him time'. I know that they are right but it doesn't mean that I am sick of hearing it.

Thanks to Emmett, Edward has really taken to liking to help in the kitchen. He insists on helping as much as possible. He strives for as much independence as possible by trying to do as much as he can for himself. He can now put his shorts on for himself after his baths. I am thrilled that he is trying so hard. It just breaks my heart when he fails at something.

We were thrilled when we found out that he only has a short time left of needing the wheelchair. His arm is healing fine and he will be able to get the cast off. As soon as he was able to regain enough muscle strength he would be ditching the wheelchair for crutches. Bella told us that it should only take a week or two to get there. It really was great timing since Ethan and I will be starting school soon and Edward will be on his own during the day. Even if he was still in the wheelchair, with two good arms he would be able to get around and take care of himself during the day.

I was actually getting really excited about starting my new job. I was offered a position teaching first grade at the elementary school that Ethan is going to be attending preschool at. Esme, Alice, and I took Ethan and Kara out shopping last week to buy them new back packs for school. It was kind of a shame that Kara and Ethan were not going to be at the same school. On the other hand, though, it will be good for them to branch out on their own and make new friends. They will still see each other after school every day. Esme had decided that she was going to take Aiden all day and then pick up the two older ones after their classes let out. Alice and I would then pick up our kids after work. At least this was the plan until Alice and I had time to come up with a more permanent solution. I knew that Esme was really just trying to hold onto hope that Edward was going to regain his memories and our lives were going to go back to normal. It had been over a month since he woke up and I was beginning to lose hope.

I went to the utility room and pulled another load of clothes out of the dryer and took the basket to Edward to fold. Now that was one of the best things about him wanting to be useful. I was getting more help with things. I would wash the clothes and he would attempt to fold them. He would lay the piece of clothing on the table and be able to fold it one-handed. Towels were difficult and sheets induced a swearing fit that caused Ethan to cry, so we don't go there anymore.

One thing that I would really miss was that every afternoon, just after lunch, he and Ethan would crawl up on our bed and Edward would read to him and then the two of them would take a nap together. And Edward really needed naps in the afternoons because he wasn't sleeping well at nights. Let me rephrase that, he wasn't sleeping well with me sleeping next to him at night. The other night he fell asleep on the couch and slept soundly all night. Every night next to me involves rolling from his back to his side and back again…over and over and over. I just don't know what to do about it. If I go sleep upstairs in the guest room I wouldn't be able to hear him if he needed me. Besides, I don't want to start that. I even thought that if I held him while we slept he'd become more comfortable around me. That hasn't quite worked out the way that I had hoped either.

I continued to clean until I heard a knock at the front door and Esme's voice as she let herself in. I smiled as I entered the living room to see Ethan fly down the stairs and then jump into his grandmother's arms. She hugged him tight and then set him back down on the ground, "Go get your swim trunks, honey, we are going to go swimming back at my house." He was gone back up the stairs in a flash.

"But I want to go swimming too, mommy!" Edward teased his mother as she came in and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. As she walked away from him to come give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, Kara climbed up onto Edward's lap. She reached into the little purse that she always carried and handed him a cookie.

"My favorite! How did you know?"

"Mommy told me. So I sneaked you one."

Ethan came running downstairs carrying his swim trunks and wearing his goggles, "I'm ready, Nana!" Sparing only a second for quick hugs for Edward and I, he was out the door to wait by Esme's car. She laughed as she grabbed Kara and Aiden and took off out the door herself.

I turned to my husband, "Are you ready to go?" He just nodded and I grabbed his wheelchair and we took off for his physical therapy session with Bella. I was going to have the rest of the day to myself as Esme was keeping Ethan, and Edward was going out with Emmett after his PT session. I was really looking forward to getting some shopping done and enjoying some peace and quiet. Maybe I could even relax in a hot bubble bath for a while and just forget everything for a bit. That would be nice.

EmmettPov:

I was not about to let Edward even start to wallow in self pity. That shit was just not going to happen. Edward was not going to be able to just give up or to give in when thinks got to be too much. It was only his first night home and I am sure that it all had to be completely overwhelming. But the guy needed to put on the big boy pants, grow a pair or do just do whatever the hell he needed to man up and take care of his family. I knew from experience that once you started wallowing or feeling sorry for yourself you just started flying down this icy slope that was damn near impossible to climb back up. Going down that path would hurt his whole family, including my wife, and I was not going to put up with that shit for one second.

I got up out of bed and walked out of the room into the kitchen to get a snack. Rosie likes to tease me that I eat like a pregnant woman, meaning that I will eat just about anything, in any combination, at any time. Food is a passion of mine. She knows that it is a dream of mine to open a restaurant someday. I wish I could do it right now but we are most definitely not in the right place financially, having just bought the house. Besides, there is too much emotional upheaval in the family right now without adding to the stress. I'll get my dream one day. I would just have to be a little more patient. Right now I will just have to settle for doing the cooking at home. My Rose is wonderful at doing many things but cooking isn't one of them. Not that she hasn't tried to cook…a lot. But I prefer not to end up in the emergency room with food poisoning again.

I was standing at the front window drinking some juice when I felt Rose's arms wrap around my waist, "I woke up and you were gone."

"Sorry. I woke up and I was-"

"Hungry," she finished my sentence for me.

I pulled her around so that she was standing in front of me, facing me. I put down my glass and took her face in my hand, "I love you Rosalie. I don't ever want to neglect to tell you that. I never want you to have the slightest chance to ever doubt that." Then I kissed her with all the love that I could possibly pour into it. I wasn't a sensitive and romantic type of guy. I was brash and loud and my mother always said that I was charmingly uncouth. My grandmother always said that I didn't have the manners or social graces that God gave a cockroach. Mom always told me not to listen to the bitter old bitch. She never did get along with her Mother-in-law. I swear to God the day that she died my Mom poured herself a drink and shouted, "Ding Dong, the bitch is dead!" I have to say that I really love my mom.

I let Rose lead me back to our bedroom where I held her tight to me as we fell back to sleep. She was my whole life, my whole world. There is nothing that I wouldn't strive to do for her or give her. No matter what it cost me. Right now there was only one thing that she wanted. She wanted her brother back. I didn't know how I could do it or if I could at all, but damn it I was going to try. That is why I was picking Edward up from his therapy session with Bella after work and taking him out.

Rose and I were already spending nearly every night over there. The rest of the family was over there a lot, too. If it bothered Edward or Tanya to have all of us around all of the time neither one said anything or showed any irritation. To be honest, sometimes it seemed like they were happy to have us there as buffers or distractions so they wouldn't have to deal with each other directly or be alone together so much.

The rest of the night and the next day flew by quickly and before I knew it, I was headed for the hospital to get Edward. I was early when I showed up in Bella's PT room so I sat in a chair along the wall and watched them as I waited. Man, I never expected to see Bella again after we graduated high school and she took off for Florida. I was blown away when I found her in Edward's hospital room. I owe that girl my life. She was the first person to actually look at me and tell me, honestly, that I was smart and had potential. As much as I loved my parents, they were just too busy to pay attention to me. Dad was a logger and Mom worked as a secretary in the main office of the logging company. It is how they met. She had to come down to deliver the paychecks every Friday, this was before the days of direct deposit when checks were actually printed out and people actually had to take them to the bank themselves. Anyway, she gave him his check, he gave her his heart.

I was thrilled that Rose and Bella were getting along so well. Not only had Bella gone out to dinner with Rose, Alice, and Tanya that one night, but we had had her over for dinner one night as well. As Bella was leaving for the night she hugged me, "I told you that you would do amazing in college." And she was right. But it was only because of her that I attempted college in the first place. She had shown me how to channel my frustrations into positive things. She taught me that it was ok to learn differently or slower than everyone else. The end goal was what mattered, not how I got there.

Being officially diagnosed with dyslexia helped me a lot. Again that was all Bella. She was the one that recognized what was going on and demanded that the school and my parents get me tested and real help. My parents were livid when they found out that my teachers were merely passing me along from grade to grade to avoid being stuck with me two years in a row. They argued a lot over the fact they had been so busy working over the years that they neglected to see that I needed help.

Bella stood by me through all of the talks with my parents, the counselors, and the school board. I wanted her to go with me for moral support when I saw the doctors for the actual testing, but it was Christmas break and she had to go see her Mom in Florida. But I called her the second I was out of there.

Before I knew it, Bella had Edward standing and pivoting his body to get back into the wheelchair. That was the new thing. Someone needed to be there in case he lost his balance but he was to try to do the work of getting in and out of the chair by himself.

As soon as he was in the chair, I made my way over to them. "You ready to go, Edward?"

"Yeah. Where are we headed?"

"The Mariners are playing so I thought we'd hit a sport bar that I love and kick back a few and watch the game. That is, if you are allowed to drink."

"I stopped taking the pain pills a few days ago. I haven't been in so much pain that I can't handle it. Not even after Bella gets through torturing me. Your friend here enjoys inflicting pain on others."

"Yes. I do. Very much so," Bella joked back. "Drinking is fine if you stopped taking the pills. But no driving," she pointedly looked at me.

"Nah. I'll stop drinking long before we leave or I'll call Rose to come get us. Do you still enjoy watching the games? You are more than welcome to join us."

"Thanks for the invite but I have plans tonight."

"Hot date?"

"I wish. I just have a dinner meeting regarding another patient."

"Well, that just sounds like a whole lot of fun!"

"Oh yes. Tons."

"We'll have a beer for you then."

"You do that and hey, Emmett?" She called out as she turned to walk away, "If you need a ride and can't get Rose on the phone, call me and I will come get you. And the next time you go to the bar to watch the game-count me in!"

"Will do."

I pushed Edward's chair out to the parking lot and over to my truck. I was going to have to help him lift himself into the truck because it was higher off the ground than Tanya's car and I did not want him to get hurt on my watch.

We got to the bar and I parked Edward at a table while I went up to the bar to get us a couple of bottles to start with. I saw a couple of my buddies across the room and I acknowledged them briefly while I made my way back to Edward. I normally would have been sitting with them but I wanted Edward to be able to talk freely and not get overwhelmed by a bunch of strangers getting blitzed with us. If this worked out maybe next week we'd hang with my buddies.

He was still quite a bit jumpy around people and I could really get that. He didn't know most of us from Adam, as my grandfather would say, and here we were forcing ourselves down his throat and telling him we were family. I probably would have punched someone by now. I mean this shit he's going through is just totally fucked up.

It only took three beers to get him to open up. "I woke up this morning and she was snuggled into my back again. I can't hurt her feelings. I don't want to hurt her feelings but that makes me really uncomfortable. I don't know what to do about it. How do I get her to stop pushing me?"

"Do you love her?"

"I don't know. Hell, Emmett I don't even know her but I am being forced to live with her."

"Maybe you should go stay with your parents for a while. You can always stay with Rose and me, too."

"And hurt Ethan in the process. I can't do that. I won't hurt him."

"I agree with you on that point. No one wants to see Ethan get hurt but no one else wants to see you live a life that you aren't happy with."

"How can I say if I am happy or not when I can't remember fucking shit? I need another damn beer." Ok. This was interesting. I don't think that I had ever seen Edward drunk before, and apparently drunken Edward swore like hell. This could be a lot of fun.

"Can I ask you something, Emmett?"

"Sure, Edward."

"Was Bella always a klutz when you two were in high school? I mean, crap, for a physical therapist she falls down a lot."

"Yeah," I said with a laugh, "that is trademark Bella. Always tripping over nothing."

"She damn near fell on top of me once."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she did! It wouldn't be a first for her."

"Did the two of you ever date back then?"

"Nah. She was always more of a sister to me than anything. Besides, I wasn't that stupid. Charlie hated me and would have shot me for sure."

We lapsed into silence as the waitress brought us another round of beer. I knew that I really should stop soon but Edward and I were having a blast drinking and cheering on the Mariners as they killed the Yankees. By the time the game was over it was getting late so I grabbed my phone and tried to call my wife. I tried three times but it was going straight to voicemail, which meant that she let it die again. So I called Bella to come get us.

I lived closer to the bar than Edward did so when Bella got there to pick us up, I told her to just drop us off at my house.

"Are you sure? I can take Edward home too."

'That's ok." Edward told her. "I'm fine crashing at Emmett's. I don't want to accidentally wake Ethan coming in this late."

"If you're sure." She seemed a little apprehensive about it but went with it. Maybe a little break from the stress of being at home would be a good thing for him. The man could not continue to live under such pressure. Maybe it wasn't my place, but I thought one night away was necessary to relieve the pressure before the poor man had a complete melt down and exploded.

A/N:

Happy Easter! (If you observe). If not: Happy Saturday!

First, I wanted to explain something that I forgot to put in an author's note before. The chapter where Bella is helping an autistic patient at school during summer is not a mistake. In my city, they are trying a pilot program at a few schools that have children stay in school over Winter, Spring, and Summer breaks. Right now it is completely voluntary. I hope it works out. On that note, my son got accepted to two of the three school districts that we applied to for open enrollment. Yea us! He chose the high school that his cousin will be attending and she is thrilled about it too. She is already talking about carpooling and study groups.

I have signed up to do two charity compilations. The first is for autism and for that I am going to write another LL Bella outtake. It will be various scenes from living life and one scene pre-attack. The other is a new outtake for no kid hungry. When I have more info on that I will post it. I will try to get links on my profile page by the end of the weekend.

A special thanks to SweetPea123 for betaing this for me and enduring me screwing up sending her the files. Somehow I end up sending her only half the chapter! Thank you so much to everyone else for reading and reviews will get a teaser. MWAH!