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Chapter 19 (Bella)

Settling in…

I'm not sure who was more nervous about Molly's audition. Me or her but at least I had support beside me while she was behind that stage by herself. Our entire mishmash family came to support my girl. Edward, Mia, Esme, Carlisle, Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rose. We had dropped all of the kids, except Mia, off at daycare, which Noah hadn't attended in months, while we attended the audition. In the month and a half we had been in Tennessee so much had changed. Alice and Jasper, along with their businesses, now officially resided in Knoxville. Alice was glowing in her second pregnancy, she hadn't had any morning sickness which made her think she was pregnant with a little girl. The beautiful ring on my finger constantly brought a smile to my face. My girls had absolutely flourished under the love and attention from the amazing Cullen family and I knew deep in my heart that we had finally found our spot in life. I was never more thankful that I had decided to relocate us to Tennessee than when I had gotten the phone call from the fire Marshall telling me that they had arrested Victoria, James's wife, for the destruction of my house. Apparently, she had been suffering from a severe case of postpartum depression and thought I was taking her husband's attention away from her and their new baby.

"You okay?" Edward asked quietly as we watched another art student audition his art work.

I smiled over at him and nodded. "Yeah, just nervous for her."

He pressed a kiss to my forehead before squeezing my hand in reassurance. "She's going to be fine. My mom said she would speak to the principal on Molly's behalf of it became necessary." He told me with a chuckle.

I gasped and looked down the row at Esme who winked at me before turning her attention back to the stage.

"Next student!" I heard the announcer call out and turned my attention back to the stage where I watched Molly walk out with her hands clasped tightly behind her back. "We have your portfolio but please present your showcase piece." One of the judges told my nervous girl as she stood next to the easel a stage hand had set up as Molly walked onto the stage. Molly had glued her family portrait to a canvas that she had painted a beautiful border on to basically showcase the beautiful drawing she had worked tirelessly on. As she pulled the sheet off the canvas I couldn't help but smile at the pride that swelled in my chest at my girls talent. "What's it called?" Another judge asked.

"Everything after Nothing" Molly said firmly as she stood next to her piece of art.

"What's the story behind the sketch and title?" One of the younger judges asked her softly.

Molly took a deep breath before divulging her life story. "My birth parents started out as teen parents who turned out to be drug addicts that cared more about their next score than their three daughters. My Mom took us in last year without thinking about it and showed me and my little sisters what a true mother is about. It was then that we all began to understand the true meaning of what being part of a family means. I'm just hopeful that my two little sisters don't remember as much as I do since they were so young when our lives changed for the better. The people in this sketch may not be my family by blood but they are my family in every sense of the word. To me, being blood related means nothing while being accepted and loved unconditionally means everything. This is my everything after leaving nothing behind." She ended with a catch in her voice.

I swiped at my cheeks before looking around me and noticing several people wiping at their eyes. "I love that little girl." Edward whispered to my ear as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and placed a kiss to the top of my head.

"Me too."

"Most people have problems with getting features accurate without some training. Are the people in this portrait present her today so we can check for accuracy?" The older man asked as he leaned forward in his chair.

Molly nodded. "Most of them are. The little kids are in daycare and my Aunt Angela and Uncle Ben are still in Louisiana with my little cousin Liam." She explained in a clear voice.

With a nod we all watched as the older gentleman stood up and turned to face the parents and family in attendance. "May we please have the family of Miss Swan join her on stage?"

Emmett was the first to jump up and urge the rest of us up out of our seats. "Come on, Mia girl, your sister needs us on stage!" Emmett told my shy little girl as he hefted her onto his shoulders causing her to giggle loudly before slapping a hand over her mouth and looking at me with wide eyes.

"It's okay, Mia Grace." I reassured her as we all filed into the aisle and joined my nervous child on stage. She had never been critiqued this hard about her art work but if she came to school here she would have to get used to it because she would be taking it from a hobby to so much more. "You are doing amazing, sweet girl." I whispered to Molly as I stepped up beside her and placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

We all stood on that stage surrounding Molly as the three judges got up and looked closer at Molly's showcase piece as they glanced between all of us and the sketched work. The older gentleman came to a stop in front of me where I stood next to Molly. "Miss Swan?"

"Yes sir." I told him as I extended my hand towards him.

He gripped my hand in both of his. "I, personally, would like to extend my congratulations on your daughter's acceptance to CCA."

"She's in?" I asked, stunned.

The man nodded. "Absolutely. I haven't seen talent like this in an untrained artist her age in my entire career. I can't wait to work with her. I will be one of her teachers and her mentor when school starts in two weeks."

"Thank you so much." I told him as I shook his hand one more time before releasing it and turning to face my family. "She's in!" I told them and our entire bunch wrapped themselves around me and Molly while the rest of the audience applauded at my outburst.

"Are you sure this is what you want to wear?" I asked Mia yet again as I looked at the bright green leggings and black shirt with a giant flower in the middle that was hanging on her closet door with a pair of sparkly black ballet flats sitting on the floor beneath the bright outfit.

"Yes Mama. Aunt Ali helped me pick it." She told me as she climbed into her bed. "You don't like it?" She asked me softly as I walked over to tuck her in. Tomorrow was her first day of school in a new school so I was nervous for her. She had come out of her shell so much this summer and I hated to see her go back in it because of her nerves.

I shrugged as I climbed into bed beside her. "It doesn't matter what I like or not, as long as you like it." I reassured her as I placed a kiss to the top of her fresh smelling hair. "Are you nervous about school tomorrow? Because Molly won't be going to school with you this year."

She shook her head as she snuggled into my side. "I know but I'm a big girl now and Uncle Emmett said he would whoop anybody who dared to pick on me and to never forget that."

The giggle just burst out of me because she had absolutely gotten attached to the big oaf this summer and they were hilarious to watch when they got together. "He's always a good weapon to have." I told her with a chuckle.

"Yeah." She said softly as she gave a big yawn. "Mama?" She asked a few minutes later. I thought she had drifted off to sleep as I reveled in the quiet of our house settling in for the night.

"What baby?" I asked as I brushed her hair back off her face as I tipped her back so I could look at her sweet young face.

"Since Noah calls you Mama, can I call E Daddy? Will my other Daddy get mad?" She asked in a much too serious and confused voice for my precious six year old.

Cupping the side of her face in my hand I smiled at her gently. "Jake will always be your biological father but he also wants nothing more than for you to be the happiest you can be. If calling Edward 'Daddy' makes you happy then your other daddy won't care in the least little bit or get mad at you. We could always write Jake a letter explaining things to him if that will make you feel better." I suggested softly.

She nodded. "Yeah, I miss him sometimes and my other mommy too."

I pulled her onto my chest as I lay down in her bed. "I'm sure you do, sweet girl, and that's perfectly okay, Mia. They loved you the only way they knew how, but they were sick, and you know that. Jake is the one who pushed to have this put in." I explained tapping behind her ear where her cochlear implant rested. "He wanted his sweet little baby to be able to hear his voice and always remember him. He fought for you because he loved you so much. Don't ever forget that, Mia Grace."

She nodded but didn't say anything else. After a few minutes of me humming some unknown tune I felt her solid weight rest down on me as she succumbed to her sleep. I rolled her over onto her bed as I slid from it before pulling her blankets up around her. As I stepped into our bedroom I couldn't help but smile at the sight that greeted me. Edward was sprawled on his back with Maci curled into him on one side while Noah mimicked her position on the other side of him. All three were sound asleep. I quickly grabbed my phone off the dresser snapping a picture of the three of them before I walked over to Noah scooping him up into my arms so I could go put him into his bed.

Once I had Noah and Maci settled in for the night I double checked the alarm before joining my sexy yet exhausted fiancée in our bed. Edward automatically rolled over and pulled me to his chest as I scooted back against him and I couldn't help but smile as I closed my eyes and let sleep take me under.

The expression on Edward's face when I told him about my conversation with Mia was priceless, even more so the first time she actually called him 'Daddy'. Writing to Jake about Mia's confusion and indecisiveness was tough but his response made me smile and I saw a glimpse of the brother I used to know. Mia Grace, I will ALWAYS have the privilege of being your father but Edward seems like an amazing Daddy. I promise you, baby girl, that I will not be upset in any way. I always wanted the best for you girls and it seems you have found that with Bella and Edward.

I had damn near been inconsolable when I first read that letter but I managed to keep it together when I read it for Mia. Barely. It took about a week after Jake's letter came in that Mia finally caught us all off-guard by running to Edward from the school bus screaming "Daddy!".

"Hi, princess." Edward told her as he scooped her up in his arms tickling her to get her giggling and laughing. "Did you have a good day at school?" I heard him ask her as he carried her to the new Ford Expedition we had bought so that we could all fit into one vehicle. We had 10 minutes before we had to be at Molly's bus stop to pick her up before hightailing it home to get dinner, homework, and baths done before bedtime at 8:30.

"Yeah but Danny keeps asking me to be his girlfriend." She said with a wrinkle of her nose. It has been absolutely amazing to watch my normally shy and reserved child to come almost completely out of her shell to the point where she would talk openly without really being prompted to do so.

Edward smacked a kiss to her cheek. "And what did you tell Danny today?" This had been going on for the past week and every day she had nearly the same response when he asked her this.

Mia wrapped her arms around Edward's neck and smiled against his cheek. "That my Daddy says I'm not allowed to have a boyfriend until I'm 30."

I had to cover my face to hide my smile and giggles as Edward smacked her cheek with a kiss. "That's my girl. Love you."

"Love you too, Daddy. What's for supper?"

Taking a deep breath I stepped into the office where my 'interview' was being held. With the girls settled into school and the little ones splitting their days between daycare and our family I found myself wanting to get back to work so I had called my old boss back in New Orleans and got the ball rolling with the clinic here in Knoxville. Smiling at the middle aged woman with shoulder length silver hair that sat on the other side of the desk I handed her my official resume. "Thank you for taking time to see me today." I told her softly.

"You come highly recommended, Isabella. Gregory speaks highly of you and your abilities." She said with a soft smile as she laid my resume down without ever even glancing at it and motioned for me to take a seat.

Smiling at her I shook my head. "I just love what I do and I think that transfers into how well I do my job. I'm surprised Gregory didn't tell you that I prefer Bella over Isabella." I told her gently.

She leaned back in her chair with a laugh. "He did but told me to call you Isabella and I would see some of what you are capable of. I think you will be an amazing fit for the team I have working here if you will accept the job."

It was really that simple. Ten minutes later I walked out with my hire packet that I was to fill out at home and bring back the following Monday when I was to report for my shift at 7:30. "How did it go?" Edward asked in lieu of the typical 'hello' greeting when I called his phone as I pulled out of the parking lot.

"Amazing. I got the job and I start next Monday." I told him and smiled because he had been rooting for me on one hand and praying I wouldn't take the job on the other because he wouldn't have me at his disposal during the day anymore.

"That's great, baby. Are you coming home now so we can celebrate?" He asked huskily.

With a laugh I had to burst his bubble. "I'm going to run by the store and pick up some groceries and then I'll be home."

"But..."

"No buts, Edward Anthony. Our children need snacks for their lunches tomorrow and I need some spaghetti noodles for dinner tonight. You'll survive a little longer without me plus your mom should be there soon to take you out for lunch to discuss what you are going to wear for our wedding ceremony." I told him with a smile because neither one of us was huge fans of planning the details of our wedding much to the chagrin of our wedding 'planners', Alice and Esme.

"Great." He muttered. "I love you, Bella."

"Love you too, honey. See you later." I told him as I hung up the phone, grateful that I had grocery shopping plans that allowed me to avoid this wedding planning session. I had given Alice and Esme the colors I wanted the wedding to be (turquoise and white), the date (March 4th, 2013), how many bridesmaids and groomsmen and who (Rose, Alice, Angela, Jasper, Emmett, and Ben), and who we wanted invited (a total of 56 people) before turning the reigns over to them while we enjoyed being engaged.

Before going to buy the few groceries we needed I stopped by the lawyer's office to pick up the papers that were to be Edward's Christmas presents in a few weeks. The folder I walked out with contained three sets of adoption papers, one set for each of my girls. Sticking the thick folder in my bag I headed into the grocery store. It took longer than I thought in the grocery store so I texted Edward to let him know I would pick the little ones up from daycare and get the girls off their school buses before coming home.

Chants of "Mama! Mama! Mama!" met my ears as I stepped through the doors of the daycare Edward had been using occasionally since Noah was born. Kneeling down to their level I was nearly knocked off balance as Noah and Maci's bodies collided with mine.

"Hi you two. Did you have fun today?" I asked them as Tori brought me their combined bag.

The kids chattered endlessly as I took the bag from Tori with a smile. "Really? Did you tell Miss Tori thank you for helping you wash the paint off your hands?" I asked them as I stood up to my full height.

They nodded with huge smiles on their faces. "Good job then. Tell Miss Tori bye!" I told them as I checked the time on my watch, we had to get going soon to meet Molly's bus on time.

"Bye!" They both called out as they tugged my hands towards the front door.

We pulled up alongside the curb just as Molly's bus was rounding the block ahead of us. "I thought Dad was picking us up today?" was the first thing out of Molly's mouth as she climbed into the passenger seat. That was when I knew that the papers in my bag were the right thing for our family.