Chapter songs: Unsaid by The Fray

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

As she cuts the chicken for the fettuccine, she briefly wonders where her husband is. Then she figures he is most likely in his office where he spends most of his time if he's home.

Just as she put the garlic bread in the oven, her phone starts to buzz across the kitchen counter, alerting her of a new text message. It's from her son, letting her know that he'll be going to a bonfire after work, and will be home around midnight. After texting him back to be safe, she realizes she hasn't checked her phone all day.

34 missed calls. All of them were from Edward.

Seeing that she also has 4 new voice messages, she quickly dials her voicemail, and then deletes them all after listening to the click of his phone hanging up each time.

Staring at her phone, wondering if this day could get any stranger, she jumps when the timer goes off, letting her know the bread is done.

After taking it out of the oven, she plugs her phone back into the outlet and sets off to find her husband.
He's not in his office where she expected him to be, so she goes back towards the kitchen thinking he may be out on the deck. Just as she passes the living room, she stops, and turns back. Lying across the couch, one arm on his chest, the other hanging over his head off the armrest, is her husband, fast asleep. She stands there for a moment, just taking him in, noticing how exhausted he looks even in sleep.

She debates on whether or not to wake him for dinner, but then thinks back to what he said about having a night to themselves. Just the thought of it appeals more to her than spending another night eating dinner alone.

Sitting on the small space on the couch, next to his side, she gently starts to run her fingers through his hair, speaking his name softly until he starts to stir. As she starts to pull away, he grabs her hand, his eyes still closed, and sleepily kisses her palm, sending warmth up her arm and straight to her heart. Any questions or worries she had before go right out of her mind with that one simple action.

Taking in a deep breath, he finally opens his eyes and looks at her with a sleepy smile.
"Hey… smells good in here," he says, voice still gritty with sleep.

"Thanks… It's ready if you're hungry," she says as she's about to stand.

"Starving," he says as he squeezes her hand before he sits up.

As they walk into the kitchen, she starts pulling out plates, as he gets out the silverware. She starts slicing the bread, as he plates their food and brings it to the table. She pulls out the wine glasses as he opens the wine. They work together in tandem, neither needing to ask what the other needs. They just know.
Moments like this make them both wonder how they ever drifted apart in the first place.

As they sit down to eat, the conversation is at a stand-still until she can't hold her curiosity in any longer.
"So, um, Seth texted me. Said he was going to a bonfire after work with his friends," she starts off quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Mmmhmm…" she says, twirling her noodles with the fork, stalling.

"Well, now that the storm's passed, it should be a nice night for them."

Nodding her head, she finally just spits it out, "I checked my phone after I got his text, and saw that I had a lot of missed calls from you... Are you sure everything's alright?"

Taking a sip of his wine, he wonders how much he should tell her. After reading her journal, he knows she doesn't want to hear about everything just yet. He also doesn't want to let her in on the fact that he has even read her journal. At least, not right now.

"Uh, yeah... Everything's fine. I just… Seth said that you were still in bed when he left for work, so I was calling to see if you were alright… but you didn't answer your phone.

I was worried," he says after a short pause.

"Oh. Sorry... It took me a while to fall back to sleep last night, so I slept in a lot longer than I expected to. And I usually don't take my phone when I go down to the beach..."

"You don't need to apologize. I'm just glad you're okay," he says as he brushes his hand over hers.

Her eyes sting with tears that want to fall, but she holds them in, not wanting him to see how much this is affecting her. She can only wonder what made him worry so much, and why the sudden change in his behavior. She knows that their issues need to be dealt with, but not tonight.

She just wants this night with her husband.

Even though she tries to hide the moisture in her eyes, he still notices. He hopes she doesn't think that's the only reason he came home early. Even if it was the main reason, he wants her to know that there is no other place he would rather be than here with her.

So he tells her, "I was planning on being home by five anyway, so we could have dinner. Listen...I know I haven't-"

"It's okay, Edwa-"

"No, it's not-"

"Edward."

He looks up at her from his plate, surprised by her tone.

"Not tonight… please," she trails off in a pleading whisper.

They stare in each other's eyes for a moment. Hers pleading, and his remorseful.

Nodding his head, he softly agrees, "Not tonight."

A/N: SATT to my fuckawesome, honest as ever pre reader and SSfAM, Crackylu, and my super awesome, fast as ever beta, Allison Cullen!