Yeah, so… this took me a REALLY long time to finish, as you can tell. I didn't get many reviews last chapter, and that made me sad. But, now it's summer so hopefully I'll be writing a lot more. I can't guarantee that updates are going to be coming as quickly with this story, since I'm not really that faithful to my stories. But I'll try for all you readers, 'kay? But before I begin, I have two things to say. One: Maximum Ride is a great book series if any of you haven't read it already. It's super funny and adorable and awesome (except the last book got a little weird for me, but it was still fairly good). And it's going to be a movie!!! Two: I don't own these characters, except Riley. Stephenie Meyer is the genius here, not me. On with the long lost chapter!

Chapter Song: Our Eyes, By: Teddy Geiger

X-x-X
Chapter 11: A Breakthrough

Edward

"Bella, you should let me drive," I murmured as I guided her and her trembling daughter out to her weathered red pickup truck. "You're in no shape to be driving. Sit with Riley."

She gave me a look so thankful that I couldn't help but smile a little bit. But once more I felt a stab of pity in my stomach. I could only imagine how terrible, how frightened this woman… no, this angel must feel. Her ex-boyfriend, who had tried to murder her and her daughter, was going to be released in three weeks to possibly continue planning her demise. The thought of anyone doing that to Bella or Riley made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

I opened up the back door to her pickup truck, and gestured for her keys. Her hand trembling, it took Bella nearly two minutes to even find her keys and hand them to me. Pity and anger struck at me again with the same thoughts flashing through my mind.

"Thank you, Edward," she managed to murmur, before stumbling into the back of her truck.

Riley just gave me a dead sort of look, but there was so much fear in her eyes that I nearly winced. I wondered, for a split second, whether she would be able to continue in her acting. I had never seen someone so terrified. "Get in," I said, but it wasn't a demand. I did my best to keep my voice gentle, and it seemed to work. She eyed me for a minute before finally climbing in after her mother.

I gently shut the door behind them, and climbed into the driver's seat. I could practically hear their frightened thoughts behind me as I started up the car, and I desperately tried to think of something that could take their minds off of this horrific revelation.

I was coming up empty.

So the drive to their house was spent in silence. Occasionally Bella would whisper something reassuring to Riley, or I would hear Riley shudder and whimper. I felt so sorry for them, and I wanted nothing more than to pull over on the side of the highway and pull them both into my arms. They needed to be protected.

I pulled up to their driveway, and turned off the truck. Bella and Riley didn't react, and so I got out my door and opened their door for them.

Riley climbed out first, and then Bella. Without warning, Bella threw her arms around me and let out a sob. A couple walking their dog turned to stare at us, so I gently urged Bella inside where prying eyes wouldn't see her breakdown. Riley followed, looking almost like a zombie.

"I'm s-sorry," Bella sobbed once we were inside. "I'm j-just s-so scared, I didn't want Jazz to…"

"Shh, Bella, it's perfectly fine," I murmured, trying to get her to calm down. What she needed was a glass of water and to relax a bit. She was probably in shock, and I didn't want this to effect her permanently. My father was a doctor at the Chicago ER and I knew a few things to help with these things. I wanted Bella to be fine, and I knew she didn't want to be taken to the hospital. "I don't mind. Just let me know what you need."

"Riley…" Bella turned away from me and pulled herself out of my arms. She enveloped her daughter in a protective hug and breathed something into her daughter's ear.

That was when Riley broke down.

I had never seen a teenage girl cry… I had heard Alice sobbing in her room from time to time when we were younger. But I had never actually seen something like this. So I stood there dumbly as I watched the fit unfold.

Riley sobbed more uncontrollably than Bella had. The tears flowed more freely, and it was much more pitiful to watch. She clung to her mother like I'd never seen a daughter cling to anything before. She buried her face in Bella's chest, her entire body shaking with sobs.

"Riley, honey, it's okay," I heard Bella tell her gently. "We're going to make it through this."

"What if he comes after us?" Riley sobbed. "What if he tries to kill me again? What if he takes you away from me?"

"I won't let that happen," I announced, and both mother and daughter looked at me. "And neither will Jasper or Alice or Rosalie or Emmett. You two are very important to them, and me too. I haven't been here very long, so I'm not sure how much my promise means to you… but I swear that we won't let James get anywhere near you."

Just at the mention of his name, Bella and Riley winced together. But then Bella sent me a hesitant smile and I was taken aback for a moment by her tortured beauty. Even though her face was tearstained and her hair was a complete mess, she still looked like a goddess from the heavens. She pulled her daughter closer and reached out her hand for mine. A tad confused, I took her hand and she pulled me to them. I wrapped my arms around them both and held them close just as I had wanted to about twenty minutes ago.

"Thank you, Edward," Bella said.

"Thanks," Riley mumbled.

I smiled. It was like a family moment I'd never had. For a moment, I felt like a father… and a husband. Like we were a family.

"I'll, um… I'll get some snacks from the fridge. Would you, um… like to stay for dinner, Edward? It's the least I c-can do for dragging you out here…" Bella began.

"Don't worry about it," I answered. Her face fell, and I decided to clarify my meaning. "Bella, you need to relax. Let me cook dinner."

"You can cook?" Riley asked bluntly as she wiped her tears away, but I could tell by her expression that she wasn't completely over this whole thing. Neither was Bella.

I laughed, and tried to lighten the mood. "Better than you can, I imagine," I teased her, and reluctantly backed away from them both. "You two need to relax. I'll cook up something from the Cullen recipe book to calm you down. How does French onion soup sound?" I asked them gently.

Riley managed a small smile at my failed attempt at a joke, but brightened at the mention of the meal I had in mind. "I haven't had that stuff in forever," she admitted in a small voice. She seemed to look a little better, and there was life again in her brown eyes. "That would be great."

"French onion soup is good," Bella said softly. "Riley, honey, why don't you go and play Guitar Hero for a while? That always calms you down." She gently touched her daughter's shoulder and kissed the side of her head. Riley looked at her mother for a minute with an unreadable expression, and then she retreated into the living room. Assuming that Bella would follow her, I turned away and headed for the kitchen.

Footsteps behind me alerted me to the fact that Bella had followed me instead.

She followed me all the way into the kitchen, and I could feel her eyes on me as I began looking through her cupboards looking for the ingredients that I needed to make their French onion soup. It was a good few minutes until I had everything I needed, and Bella still hadn't said a word. She just watched me with those damned brown eyes of hers.

"Bella, where do you keep the pans?" I asked her quietly.

Bella pointed to a cupboard that was to the right of my leg. I bent down and rummaged through her pans before I found the proper soup pan that I needed to make dinner.

"Edward."

I turned my head. Bella was still watching me, but there was a new way she regarded me with her eyes. There was a new pain there, something that I couldn't identify. I was at her side immediately, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"What is it? Are you hurt?" I instantly demanded.

Bella shook her head. "I just… thank you, Edward," she murmured, surprising me once again as she always did. Was there one reaction I could predict out of this woman? "You gave up your entire afternoon for us all because I asked you to, and I feel terrible about it…"

"Bella, Bella, you shouldn't worry about it," I reassured her as I began filling the pan with water. "I'm doing this because I want to. You and Riley need to be helped, and I'll do whatever I can to do that."

Bella continued to watch me with those beautiful brown eyes, biting her lip as I began gathering ingredients from her cupboards. I felt a little strange, looking through their kitchen things, since none of this was mine. I almost felt like I was intruding. I reminded myself that this was helping Bella, and that cheered me up instantly. I got a knife and began chopping the onions like I always did when I started off this recipe.

"Mom?"

Riley came into the kitchen now, her eyes wide. Bella instantly turned to her, and I watched them out of the corner of my eye in fascination.

"What is it, sweetie?" Bella asked quietly. There was such a different tone with which she addressed her daughter than how she addressed everyone else.

"I… I was just wondering if I could… talk to Edward… for a sec." Riley looked up at her mother with the same brown eyes her mother possessed.

Bella was surprised by the request, as was I. Riley didn't seem like she was one to stray from her mother, especially in a time like this. I had been here for hardly more than a week or two, and I was completely taken by surprise by what she wanted.

"Um… alright, honey," Bella said uncertainly, and kissed her daughter on the top of the head. "As long as Edward doesn't mind." She glanced at me anxiously.

"Of course I don't," I said instantly, beginning to work on the next set of ingredients - never stopping my work.

Bella took one last panicked look at her daughter, before leaving the room and bustling up the stairs. Riley remained silent throughout this entire process - the only clue that I had that she was still in the kitchen with me was the sound of a kitchen chair being pulled out and sat in. As discreetly as I could, I peeked through the corner of my eye to see what she was doing.

Riley was simply sitting there, tapping her fingers on the table in a continuous rhythm. Her eyes, however, were on me.

"Edward?"

I pretended like I hadn't looked and glanced over my shoulder at her. "Yes, Riley? What did you want to talk to me about?" I questioned.

There was a slight pause before she responded. "Well, I… I know my mom probably already told you this, but… um, I just wanted to thank you for everything. Not just for coming home with us, but for coming to Chicago and becoming a part of… well, I don't know what all of us are - I guess you could say the family," she said. "I'm glad you're trying to help my mom, because she really needs it. And I'm glad you listened."

"Listened?" I asked, confused. "To what?"

"To our story." Riley's voice came out as a whisper, and I wasn't even sure I heard it. "Mom told me that she told you. And that you took it pretty well, and took care of her the rest of the night."

"Riley…" I gently set down the ingredients I was working on and turned to Riley. I leaned against the counter and watched the young teenager with careful eyes. "There isn't any need to thank me, honestly. I'm only doing what any other reasonable human being would do. I'm not worthy of your praise. Believe me." I turned away from her and sighed, remembering a bit of my past as I began working with the soup again.

"I don't know what you could have possibly done that makes you any less of a human being," Riley protested, though her voice was quiet and weak. "But either way, you still have my thanks. And, if I tell you something, would you promise not to tell my mother?"

I was surprised by her request, but saw no reason to deny her. "Of course, Riley."

"I want you to be with my mother."

I almost dropped the knife I was holding in surprise. I looked over my shoulder at Riley in disbelief, but she only looked at me with an indifference that frankly I found a little frightening.

"You heard me right," she murmured, her eyes still on me. A faint smile was on her face now. "I want you to be with my mother, Edward. She needs you."

"I… Riley…" I began, but she cut me off.

"I know her better than she knows herself," Riley continued. "And you're exactly what she needs, even if she doesn't want to admit it. My mom is a bit blind nowadays when it comes to her own feelings, and you can understand why. Once my mom was as carefree as any other woman in the world. But after Jacob… and Laurent… she… well, she was never the same after that. I love my mom more than anything, but I want things back to the way they were. I want my old mom back. And so do Aunt Alice, Uncle Jasper, and everyone else. I think you're the one that can help her."

I was speechless, and completely taken aback by Riley's statement. After the boat and finding out Bella's story, I really had no intentions of attempting to move in on her. She needed her space, and I respected that. But now, her daughter wanted me to move in on her again. I didn't want to hurt Bella - she seemed like she'd been hurt far too many times. She was a beautiful woman with a beautiful soul. I didn't want to mar that.

And quite frankly, I didn't want to hurt her daughter either. Those two were so intricately connected with each other that I knew that if I hurt Bella, I'd hurt Riley too.

"Riley, honey?" Bella appeared in the doorway, oblivious to the conversation her daughter and I were just having. "Uncle Jasper called. He wants to talk to you on the phone."

I hadn't even heard the phone ring.

"Okay. Love you, Mom," Riley murmured as she got up. She and her mother exchanged a hug, and Bella gently kissed her daughter on the forehead.

"I love you too, sweetie."

Riley left the two of us alone again, and I turned back around to deal with the soup. I didn't want anything to burn, so I threw the next group of ingredients in. It wouldn't be long now before the soup was finished.

Bella remained silent for the rest of my cooking session. Neither of us really wanted to break the silence. Her silence was thoughtful, it seemed. Riley didn't return to the kitchen either. Now, more than ever, I wished that I could read minds to see what these two were thinking.

The silence wasn't eerie, but rather comfortable. I still felt so strange being here, invading on Bella and Riley's lifestyle. I had to remind myself that I was here helping them.

When the soup was finally finished fifteen minutes later, I glanced back at Bella. She didn't even need me to say something out loud. She got up and exited the room in search of Riley. As I spooned out three different bowls of French onion soup, Bella and Riley came back in together. Riley instantly got drinks as Bella retrieved silverware. It was like we were a team, without even knowing it. It was almost disturbing - the way we worked in synchronization.

X-x-X Bella

Truth be told, I was scared to death.

James. That was the only name flashing in and out of my mind at constant intervals. Memories kept flashing through my mind. Of James and I fighting. Of James hurting Riley. Of James' last words before he was walked out the door by police officers. I shuddered every time I thought of it.

The only two facts that were keeping me sane at the moment were that Riley was with me and that Jasper, Edward, Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie would all to their damnedest to protect us.

But it still wasn't enough.

When Edward finally served our soup, I sat next to Riley, and Edward sat on my other side. He handed me my bowl of soup, and I accepted it with a small smile and a nod. Riley remained indifferent to everything, though I knew that look meant she was distressed. It killed me to know she was in pain.

Dinner went by in almost complete silence. Edward tried to start conversation a few times, probably to lighten the mood, but it died pretty quickly. None of us were really in the mood for talking. Not anymore. Not now.

"I should probably get going," Edward murmured after he finished his bowl of soup. He was leaning back in his chair, fiddling with his napkin. "I'll call Alice."

I didn't protest as he drew out his cell phone and called his sister. I didn't hear their conversation, or really even paid attention to it. I kept my attention on Riley, who looked like she was going to fall asleep in her seat. I forgot how tired she could be after crying an extensive amount.

Ever so gently, I reached out to touch my daughter's arm. She looked at me with that dull, exhausted look in her eyes.

"Do you want me to get you to bed, sweetie?" I asked softly.

She nodded and gradually stood up from her chair. She stumbled in her exhaustion, and I instantly stood up to catch her. But someone beat me to it.

Edward was there, the cell phone gone from his hand. He held Riley underneath her arms, and she used him as leverage to get herself back up. She tried to shrug him off to continue walking, but he held her firmly. My heart skipped a beat until Edward gently said,

"You're too tired to get up those stairs by yourself. Let me carry you."

Riley was too tired to even agree with him. She simply slumped against Edward, her eyes fluttering closed as he gently swung her into his arms. He looked at me questioningly, and I managed a small smile and a nod.

It touched me - somewhere I had never really been touched before - that he cared enough to ask (even if it was silently) whether or not he could carry Riley up the stairs. I wished that I could read into his mind to see what he was thinking right now, because whatever it was, I wanted to be a part of it. Looking at the two of them, I realized that it looked natural. Sweet. Like a father cradling his overgrown daughter.

Father.

The instant I thought that word, my mind once again went to James.

It wasn't that I wanted to think about him and what he had done, but it was simply something my mind did whenever I was frightened. I thought of how James had pulled out that gun, how he'd loosed the shot that had scarred my beloved daughter forever…

But I could see right now that Edward was nothing like that.

I followed him as he climbed the stairs with my daughter in his arms. Silently he glanced over his shoulder when he reached the top with a quizzical look on his face.

"Second door on the left," I murmured as quietly as I could.

Edward nodded and set off, gently nudging Riley's bedroom door open with his foot. I watched from the doorway as he walked over to Riley's bed, set her down in the tangled covers, and somehow managed to pull the sheets and blankets around her and tuck them into her sides. It was like a scene from the perfect ABC family movie. Edward stood up at his full height and returned to me at the door. I let him back through, smiled one last time at my sleeping daughter, and softly shut the door to her room.

"Thank you for that, Edward," I murmured. "She needed that. More than you could ever know. I did too."

"Bella." I looked up. There was emotion, conflicted emotion, in his beautiful green eyes that I couldn't decipher. I bit my lip, and he gently reached up to touch my face. "I just… I wanted you to know that I would never let anything happen to you or your daughter. I know you've heard it a million times, but I…"

I cut him off by leaning up on my tiptoes and pressing my lips to his.

We were both surprised by my action, to say the least. I had surprised myself with that simple act of bravery and boldness. It had been a long time since I had kissed anyone, really, somewhere other than the cheek. But I was mostly surprised in the fact that for some reason, I had wanted to do this. It wasn't a random sexual impulse like a teenager had sometimes… it was pure attraction for Edward. Just Edward. Nobody else.

His arms wrapped around me, and strangely enough, I felt safe there. My hands went to his shoulders as our lips molded together, neither one really wanting entrance. This simple kiss was enough for both of us, it seemed.

An impatient knock on the door, no doubt from a devilish little pixie named Alice who sadly lived two streets down from us, interrupted Edward and me. With a charming smile, Edward bent down slightly to kiss my forehead.

"I promise," he whispered one more time before heading down the stairs and out the door to his sister.

Wait. What had just happened?

EOC: Aw, snaps! So, if you caught it in this chapter, I hinted at the fact that Edward has some secrets of his own. I decided that he couldn't be entirely perfect, so I have a history for him thought up. Hopefully I'll feel like updating this again soon, because I'm thinking of all these cool events I want to happen to motivate me to keep writing. I hope you liked this chapter, and I ask you to click that adorable little green review button down below to tell me what you think.

Also, I'm going to add one more part to this note. I'd like to thank lissybby11 for her review a few days ago that really got me motivated to finish the chapter. Thanks! And all of you don't forget to review!!! See you guys next time! - Dark and Wild