A/N: SO! I've gone back to working fifty hour weeks, and that makes me grumpy. Lol. So as a result, you get a chapter and I get to wake up at five forty-five on my Saturday morning so I can work a ten hour shift.

The Oblivious chapter is done, but it needs to be beta'ed, so you get Dreamer a few days early! Because I'm amazing at schedules (or maybe you'll get another Dreamer chapter Monday. Hmm).

In any event. Let's see how this goes down.

Tyler wasn't usually so clingy, but Bella wasn't about to complain. His solid weight in her arms and his arms in a vice grip around her neck had always been a comfort to her. That had never been truer than it was today.

She, Charlie, and Karen had just sat down to try to explain to the kids what was going on; mainly the fact she was moving away and why. At eleven and nine, Mike and Angela were grasping the enormity of the situation a bit better than Tyler. He was stuck on one main concern.

"Are you really going to move away, Bella?" His voice wavered and his lower lip quivered. Bella would have thought she'd be used to her heart breaking by then, but no. His expression twisted her up in knots.

She rubbed his back. If only he knew how scared she was, how much she wanted to take all of them with her to Seattle. "It's not so far away, bub."

"Yes-huh. Seattle is forever away." He began to whimper, his grip becoming a stranglehold. "And it's not fair. You already left the house, and you said it was okay because you weren't going far, and you were going to come over all the time. Except you're never here at bedtime or hardly ever except the weekends. I don't want you to go more far. It's not fair."

"Ugh. Shut up," Mike said, cross as ever. "Don't you understand? Bella's a mom. She has her own little kid. Who needs you?"

"Mike, be nice," Bella said, hugging Tyler tighter. "I'll always need all of you. You're my guys, you know?"

Tyler twisted his head to glare at his big brother. "So there," he said in the age old, end-all be-all argument of four-year-olds everywhere. He looked at Bella, his fierce expression turning confused. "Are you going to have a baby, Bella?"

It was Charlie who answered for her. "Ty, I know this is hard for you to understand." He came to squat in front of Bella, and he squeezed her knee in a comforting gesture. "Do you remember when we talked about not going off with strangers and what to do if someone tries to take you away?"

"Because there are bad people who take little kids," Tyler said.

"That's right. Well, before you were born, your sister had a baby. A little girl. A bad person took that baby away. We couldn't find her."

"Not even the police?" Tyler asked, his eyes wide.

"Not even them."

Tyler ducked his head at Bella's neck. "But why? Why did someone take Bella's baby?"

"That's hard to say. She was probably sick. Sick in her head. You remember we talked about how people can get sick in their heads?"

Bella bit her lip. There were so many things she could have said about the woman who took her baby away. It was still strange to have a face and a name to go with that sickening, vehement hatred that had plagued her for six years. It was an impotent rage. Sasha Chernova was long dead, taking all her reasons and the answers to many of Bella's questions with her.

As near as anyone could figure, Sasha had actually been pregnant. That was likely how she kept Katie alive for the nearly two months she'd had her, terrifying as that thought was. She was a homeless woman based out of Seattle, but she had disappeared for a few months toward the end of pregnancy to find the father of her baby. Whether she'd gotten Bella's baby from someone else or had been the one to come across a dying teenager and her bloody, newborn baby, no one would ever be able to say for sure. One way or the other, she ended up with Bella's baby as she wandered back to Seattle.

When Sasha overdosed on the streets of Seattle, there was no reason for the investigators assigned to the case to think the unnamed baby Jane-a child with no birth certificate-wasn't hers. Therefore, there was no possible way for the baby to be connected with a random kidnapping eighty-two miles away. They went through the usual attempts to find the father, advertising in the local newspapers when Sasha's friends couldn't give any useful information. Of course, no one stepped forward, and baby Jane's foster parents were able to adopt her.

What happened to Sasha's baby was just one of many unanswerable mysteries.

Tyler sniffled and lifted his head to look at Bella. "Okay, but why can't the baby stay with you at your house?" His eyes brightened. "Or you could both come here! I could help you take care of her. Daddy and Mommy would help too."

Bella laughed and hugged him again. "You're so sweet, but it's a little more complicated, bub."

That was the understatement of the century.

"Plus, Katie isn't a baby. She can't be," Mike said, figuring things out. "Did the police have to save her from bad people?"

"No," Bella said, wanting very much to be firm about this. She wouldn't have anyone thinking Jasper and Emmett were bad people. "No. The person who took her died, and the police didn't know Katie had been kidnapped. The people who had her didn't know either. They're very good people, and none of this is their fault." She took a deep breath. "And you're right. Katie isn't a baby. She's six."

"Six!" Tyler squeaked, sounding awed.

"Bella?" Angela said, speaking for the first time.

"Yeah?"

"I think it's weird you're a mom, but I'm sorry someone took your baby. That was mean."

At that, Bella's heart broke in the best way. "Thank you, sweetie. You're right, it was very mean."

"Hey, guys," Karen said, smiling at all of them encouragingly. "Do you realize that means you're uncles and you're an aunt, Angela?"

"What's an uncle?" Tyler asked, screwing his nose up. Karen only had one sister.

They talked for a while until the kids had finally run out of questions. It was way past Tyler's bedtime at that point, and because he had yet to let her go, Bella was the one to put him to bed. Anyway, as he'd said, he missed her.

"Hey, Bella?"

Exhausted from the emotional drain of facing three inquisitive children at various levels of understanding, Bella dreaded whatever was about to come out of Tyler's mouth. "What is it, bub?"

He yawned, pulling the blankets closer. "I think you're going to be a good mommy."

Bella gathered her baby brother in her arms, blankets and all. "Thanks. I really needed to hear that."

When Bella left Tyler's room, she found Charlie in the hallway waiting for her. He opened his arms to her, and she went to him gratefully. She felt as needy as Tyler for someone to hold her through all these things she didn't understand. She couldn't get enough hugs.

Once, Karen had told her that Charlie had never been very physically demonstrative before Bella showed up. She hadn't said it in as many words, but it wasn't difficult to read between the lines. Bella had been an abused, troubled teenager starved for love and affection. Charlie had become exactly what she needed most.

"Tyler's right, you know," he said against Bella's crown. "You're going to be a great mom."

Bella let out a slow breath, choking on the thought. "If you say so."

He squeezed her once more and let her go. "You're great with the kids. Especially Tyler."

Bella wrapped her arms around herself, looking at some fixed point down the hallway. "I was really scared when Karen was pregnant with him. I was so bitter because I knew no one was going to take him from you." She looked down at her feet. "I almost ran away. I probably would have, but I couldn't decide where I wanted to go. And then I thought Mike and Angela would be upset."

"Yeah, for the record, Bells? Your dad wouldn't have taken that so well either, so thanks for not doing it."

Bella glanced up at Charlie, a little sheepish. It still surprised her sometimes to realize her father loved her- really and truly loved her. "I was scared of what it would do to me. I was scared I couldn't handle it."

Charlie nodded. "So was I, if you want to know the truth. Tyler snuck up on all of us, but you were so good with him."

Bella rocked on her feet and leaned against the wall. "I used to pretend he was my baby. I mean… I knew he wasn't mine. He isn't mine, but I pretended, sometimes. I pretended he was the baby I lost. Just to try to feel what it would have been like. I'm sorry. I know he isn't mine. I just pretended."

"I know that, honey. I'm sure that's pretty natural, and it's fine. All Tyler has ever known is he has a big sister who loves him. I'm glad he has you. I'm glad all the kids have you. They love you." He bumped the underside of her chin with his finger. "I think you should remember that too. You didn't always know how to be a big sister, but you figured it out."

"This is different," Bella whispered.

He tucked her hair back over her shoulder. "It is different. But one day, you have to believe that Katie is going to feel lucky her mother found her. I know it isn't going to be easy for a while, and being a parent is never going to be easy period, but you're going to get through all that. We did, right?"

"Yeah." Bella sniffed, trying not to get overwhelmed again.

Charlie was right. Not so many years ago, they'd been perfect strangers, and even though Bella had pinned her very last shred of hope on a father she'd never met, it took her a long time to trust his love was real. Finding Bella had tossed him into the fight of his life, and to this day, she didn't understand why he'd done it.

In the aftermath of her baby's birth, Bella had a brief psychotic break with reality. It was during this time that Charlie went to the mat, fighting Renee for custody of their nearly adult daughter before Bella was capable of having a conversation let alone answering the millions of questions he had. Renee hadn't made it easy. She was possessive and entitled-likely the real reason she hadn't told him about Bella in the first place. The fight was mostly for show, though. When Charlie made it obvious the state Bella was in, her mother had given up quickly enough.

He was endlessly patient, waiting for her to get strong enough to face what had happened to her and her baby before he started asking questions. He'd taken her in, helped her integrate into his family-her family-and pulled her back every time she tried to push him away. He saw almost as many therapists as she did, trying to be what she needed. She'd been skittish, desperate with despair, and angry at the world. He'd loved her instantly and unconditionally, even when love had been so scary to Bella it physically hurt.

Bella went to her father and hugged him again. "If I'm going to be a good mother, it's only because I had you."

~0~

It had been a long time since Edward had been driven anywhere by his father, but he had to admit he was glad for the support. He was, in all honesty, too jittery to drive. Actually, he felt like he'd been too jittery to do much of anything since all of this had started.

Edward took a deep breath, trying to steady himself before he got out of the car. He looked around the parking lot, and though he shouldn't have been, he was startled to see Emmett and Jasper across the way. They were in their car, their heads bent together.

"This sucks," he said, watching the couple. "Is that a horrible thing to say when I get to be a father?"

Carlisle sighed. "Being a father is an amazing thing, but this is the worst way to go about it I can think of." He followed Edward's gaze. "I can't decide if it's better that the one responsible for all this is dead. Would it be easier for all of you if you had a focus for your anger?"

Edward rubbed his eyes. "I don't want to be angry, and I just… There's so much pain."

"I'm sorry, Edward."

They sat together in the car for a while, only getting out well after Emmett and Jasper had entered the building. Carlisle went as far as the waiting room where Bella and Charlie were waiting. From there, Edward and Bella walked together into the office of Marcus Bertolucci, one of Seattle's leading child psychologists.

It wasn't their first meeting. Marcus had met with all of them-Edward, Bella, Jasper, Emmett, and Katie-before in order to get a firmer grasp on the situation. Edward was surprised to see Emmett and Jasper weren't in the office, but that was soon explained.

"Follow me," Marcus said, holding open a side door. "I figured it might be easier for everyone if we had a bit more space."

Right. While they were cooperating-they were aware they had no choices here-Emmett and Jasper weren't exactly their biggest fans, and that was more than understandable. He couldn't imagine what it was costing them not to fight this. Space would be a welcome thing.

Marcus led them to a small conference room where the couple was already waiting. It looked like a group setting, with couches and lounge chairs arranged in a vague circle. Jasper and Emmett were sitting together on one couch. Edward and Bella took another, and Marcus sat in the largest of the lounge chairs.

"Okay, I'm going to get straight to the point," Marcus said, looking each of them in the eyes in turn. "First, I want you all to realize that you've made the first and biggest step, the one that most people never get to. You've all agreed to work together, and for three separate parties, that is an amazing, wonderful, and difficult thing you're doing. My first piece of advice is to hold this as your goal. I know it's not easy now, and it's going to get harder before it gets better, but it really is the best thing for Katie that you're all cooperating with each other."

None of them replied. It wasn't exactly praise any of them wanted. Marcus didn't take offense. He simply continued on. "Now, what you want to understand is that children Katie's age are, shall we say, malleable. I hope you'll forgive me for the example, but for instance, what we see in kidnapped children is that their captors are able to warp their perception of reality. They might tell the children that the families they grew up with took them away or that those people are bad people where they, the captors, are good people. They are able to rewrite those children's reality to the point the children are afraid of their own parents when they're reunited."

"What the hell are you saying?" Emmett asked through clenched teeth. "Are you saying Edward and Bella should convince Katie we were the ones who stole her?"

"No. Of course not." Marcus's tone and expression didn't change, and his look was steady. "As I said, it was an example of the mechanism-how the brain works. It can be done with adults too, as I'm sure you're aware, but it's easier with children. What I'm trying to say, in this case, is that this whole ordeal may well be easier on Katie than it will be on any of you. The minds of kids her age aren't yet concrete, and it's easier to change her reality than it would be with an older child. The ease of this transition will lessen the degree of trauma involved.

"The key here is the consistency with which you repeat the story that is Katie's new reality. Edward and Bella are her mommy and daddy. Emmett and Jasper are her...uncles. Friends. However you choose to define that relationship, just keep it consistent. Everyone loves her. None of this is her fault."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Edward saw Jasper wince at the idea of being Katie's uncle. Emmett took his hand, and Edward's heart ached for both of them.

"Now, as far as telling Katie, I'm a very firm believer in the idea of being honest and open with children. As much as it's our instinct as parents to shelter children from the hardships of life, there's often more harm done in pretending they live in a different world than the rest of us. They see and process much more than we give them credit for, and no amount of pretending is going to change what happened.

"This isn't to say you should dump everything on her with no care as to how you do it. Every child has their own threshold. Emmett, Jasper, this is where everyone will need to lean on you. You know her best. You'll probably have the best sense of how much she can handle and how to best present the information. I know she's advanced for her age, so she may be able to understand a lot of the nuances of what's happening here."

He looked to Emmett and Jasper. "If it's everyone's intention to keep you both in her life, it's important for you to be her ally, even when the words are difficult for you to say. You're going to have to repeat that Edward and Bella never wanted to give her up. They aren't the bad guys. They aren't trying to hurt her. They love her and they want her."

The couple looked stricken, but Marcus didn't give them time to interject. He looked to Edward and Bella. "Similarly, it's very important that you not downplay how important these two men are to Katie. You'll want to repeat that you aren't angry at them. They aren't the bad guys. They aren't the ones who took her. They love her, and they will be an important part of her life."

Emmett huffed. "Yeah. I hope that's a good enough excuse for her. When we told her she was adopted, we told her we'd be her daddies forever, and fuck you, if you think she's going to forget that." His voice cracked, and he looked down at his and Jasper's joined hands. "We promised."

Edward looked to Bella. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and when she looked back at him, he could tell they were both thinking the same thing. Marcus could repeat it all he wanted, but they sure as hell felt like the bad guys.

"And that ties in with my next piece of advice," Marcus said with empathy. "All four of you have every reason to be angry, sad… a multitude of difficult to deal with emotions. This is not something you're going to be able to handle on your own. Now, in this, you will likely fail every now and again, but as much as possible, you're not going to want to let Katie see your anger at each other." He eyed them all to be sure they had picked up on this caveat. "Displays of emotion, in general, are acceptable, even encouraged. It will help Katie feel safe showing her own emotions about what's going on. But it would be counterproductive for any of you to show your frustration with each other.

"What you want is to make sure you lean on your support systems. Lean on each other, your family, and your friends. And I would strongly, strongly, recommend each of you begin therapy. Now. The sooner, the better. Katie too would benefit from seeing a therapist, and while we're on the subject, given the situation, you two" - he indicated Edward and Bella-" would benefit from couples counseling with a child psychologist. Katie will act out, and she will test you. One of the challenges you'll face will be knowing when to put your foot down and when to let her vent. Being a new parent is hard. Being a new parent to a six-year-old is harder. I'm sure you understand where I'm going with this."

Edward nodded, his throat too tight to speak.

Marcus waved a hand. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. As far as the actual transition, here's my advice there. I would recommend a system similar to when a previously absent parent or a parent who had lost custody is introduced to a new custody arrangement with their child. The four of you should sit down and explain everything to Katie as we've discussed. Tell her who Edward and Bella are, and what happened. Again, you want to stress that it's not her fault and no one is angry at her. Assure her she's safe as the news she was kidnapped will likely be a frightening thing."

He put a finger to his head as though he'd just remembered something. "Allow me a brief tangent and to contradict myself a bit. Children should be told the truth, but as with everything, there is some limit to that. Edward and Bella, you have a unique situation when it comes to kidnapped children. Because you've opted to live together, which is a great idea, Katie doesn't need to know the gritty details of your past relationship. Keep this simple. She was taken away from both her biological parents as a baby. You both want her and never stopped looking for her. Don't confuse her with the details that don't matter. I'm sure you'll have to come clean to her at some point, but this is not that point."

"Okay," Bella said, nodding along with Edward that they understood.

Marcus nodded, satisfied. "Now, as I was saying. When you sit Katie down to explain what happened, you also want to tell her what's going to happen. Her mommy and daddy want her back. This shouldn't happen overnight. That's what I meant before. When a parent loses custody of the child or is allowed to see a child for the first time, the courts most often begin with visitation. This is where I recommend you start. See her Monday evenings, Wednesday evenings, and perhaps a little longer on one weekend day. Start these visits on Katie's home turf at first, at home with Emmett and Jasper, and then move out to a park, and then perhaps a special outing like the zoo-that kind of thing.

"Then you graduate to home visits. Bring her to her new home for a few hours at first, then overnight. Then a weekend. Then she's home to stay, and Jasper and Emmett are the ones with visitation."

There was a horrible silence after that, broken when Emmett pushed his chair back so quickly it toppled over. The violent sound in the quiet room made Edward jump. "I'm going to be sick," Emmett said before he bolted from the room.

His husband remained in his seat as though frozen. His eyes were closed, and his cheeks were streaked with tears.

Edward needed to say something, needed to do something to alleviate even a bit of the terrible pain that radiated off the man like a physical thing. "Jasper, I can't tell you how-"

"Don't tell me you're sorry," Jasper said, whirling on him with a glare that was pure venom. "I'm so sick of hearing how sorry everyone is. You're going to hurt my kid. My kid. This is going to be a trauma in her life. You're going to take her away from everything she knows and tell her we're not her daddies. You're not just taking our baby away, you're making us give her to you with a fucking smile. You're making us talk hearts and rainbows about the assholes who are ripping our family apart. You're going to make my baby cry when she's perfectly happy, and you want us to help you destroy that happiness. What makes you think your fucking sorry could ever be good enough?"

He stood, and Edward couldn't help but shrink backward. Jasper didn't come at him, of course. He left the room, presumably to find his husband.

Beside Edward, Bella was breathing in quick gasps. "Is he right?" she asked Marcus, her voice shaking. "Are we destroying her life? Are we traumatizing her?"

As was his way, he was honest and calm with his answer. "By strict definition, yes."

Bella whimpered. "And if I asked you your professional opinion whether or not we should be trying to take her at all?"

"Bella," Edward said, but he didn't have the words to protest. Honestly, he wanted to know too. He wanted someone to give him the answer-was this good or bad, right or wrong?

"The King Solomon scenario." Marcus huffed. "Perfect altruism is a nice idea in theory, especially when it comes to children, but it doesn't work in reality. In the real world, if some asshole's solution to two women feuding over which of them was really the mother of a baby was to rip the baby in half, that would not be considered profound, it'd be considered deranged. The mother of the child would let the child go only long enough to get help."

He shook his head, and gave both Bella and Edward a kind smile. "As I said, I am a big supporter of reality. You're Katie's mother and father. No circumstance in the world can change that truth. Now as a psychologist, I can tell you that people recover from trauma at different times, and also that recovery in and of itself is traumatic. Sometimes the repercussions of what's happened to a victim of trauma doesn't hit for years, and I think that's similar to what's happening here. Katie went through a very severe trauma, she just didn't know it, and now she has to deal with it. That's reality."

"Reality bites," Edward said.

"Frequently, yes."

A/N: *hugs everyone* How we doing, kids?