A/N: Good Monday morning to you, my sweets! I should be asleep. But as I'm not, have an update. By Proxy should be up next.

Jasper and Emmett effectively had no family. Emmett was technically an orphan, his biological parents having been in prison most of his life. Jasper's parents had disowned him. He had a sister in Texas, but their relationship was strained at best, her having been very young when their parents threw him out.

Hearing this and planning far in advance, Esme and Carlisle had invited everyone, including Jasper and Emmett, to Thanksgiving at their rental house. Worrying that so many family members in one setting would be overwhelming for Katie, they'd all decided November was time to start introducing her to her new family slowly, starting with Charlie and Tyler since they were closer in age. Angela had been invited too, but she'd gotten too self-conscious at Mike's teasing that she was being thrown in with the babies.

Bella, who had been squirming in her seat like she was the six-year-old, jumped when Edward reached out to touch her arm. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice low and steady so as not to worry Katie in the backseat.

"Yeah." Bella blew out a breath and closed her eyes briefly. "Nervous. I want my dad to think Katie is perfect, and I don't want her to hurt him, if that makes sense."

Edward's huff was wry. "She's good at that," he said, though not unkindly. The little girl had a talent for saying the exact right thing to break their hearts, but Bella had it on good authority all children were born knowing that trick.

He squeezed her arm before returning his hand to the steering wheel. "You know Charlie will adore Katie even if she was the most difficult child on the planet, and she isn't. As for Katie…" He glanced in the rearview mirror, checking to see that Katie was still distracted, staring out the window with a day-dreamy expression on her face. "I can never tell how she's going to react. But grandparents are different, I think. More fun. And another kid being there will distract her too."

Bella hummed, trying hard to sit still. "I know Carlisle and Esme are chomping at the bit to meet her. It's almost unfair that Charlie gets to meet her first."

"Don't worry about them. Everyone agrees it's better to start with the kids. It's not Charlie's fault he's the daddy." Edward glanced at her and smiled. "She'll know all of them by the end of the month. Poor little love. What a crazy family she's being brought into."

Bella was quiet at that. She turned her head to watch the Seattle scenery whisk by, contemplating his words. It was strange to hear him talk about everyone as though they were one family. It was even stranger to realize it wasn't untrue. Yes, they were still awkward and uncertain around each other, figuring each other out, but there was a sense of connectedness between her and all the Cullens. She even spoke with Alice, who had long since gone back to Chicago, regularly.

Maybe they were like a stack of cards that had been thrown together haphazardly, not yet gathered into a neat pile, but they were a unit. A strange but wonderful unit.

Not for the first time, it occurred to Bella that she was very lucky. Growing up as she had, as messed up as she'd been when Katie was conceived, she could have made a much worse choice than someone as kind and good as Edward. At times, this whole situation seemed impossible, but moments like these, Bella realized how much else could have gone wrong. Edward and his family could have easily chosen to see her as the villain, or at the very least automatically branded her as an unfit mother. If Edward had gone into all of this only out to protect his own interests separate from hers, things could have been so much uglier.

A few minutes later, they pulled into a parking garage bordering Seattle Center. Bella glanced behind her and was amused to find Katie still staring sightlessly out the window, as though unaware the view had changed from picturesque Seattle to dingy parking garage. "Katie. We're here." Sure enough, Katie blinked and looked around, momentarily confused.

Chuckling, Bella opened the car door to let her out. "What were you thinking about?"

Katie shrugged, but grinned up at Bella and Edward cheerfully as she took each of their hands. "In the museum, they have a place where you can build forts. I was thinking if you could make a blanket fort off the Space Needle, you could put the whole city under it." She peered up at Edward, shaking his hand a bit. "Do you think we could ask the president and he would do it?"

Edward smothered a laugh behind his hand and cleared his throat to answer her seriously. "Well, there's no harm in trying, I suppose. We can write him a letter. Just don't be surprised if he can't answer. He gets a lot of letters."

"That's true. But it would be cool." She looked up at Bella this time. "I want to build a fort today."

"You probably can. We just have to make sure that's what Tyler wants to do, too."

Katie screwed her face up in distaste. "This is my trip. We should do what I want."

Bella was strongly inclined to give her daughter anything and everything she wanted, but she knew better than to think that would fly in the long run. No. They had to be more than just their daughter's playmates.

In agreement with that assessment, it was Edward who rebuked her gently. "It's Tyler's trip, too, and there's plenty to do at the museum. I'll bet you can convince Tyler to build a fort with you, and if you can't, there's bound to be something you both want to do."

Katie let out a disgruntled humph, but she didn't argue. She was only sullen for a few seconds before she started asking questions. "You said my grandpa is coming, too?"

"Yes," Bella said, the idea sending a fresh wave of nerves down her spine.

"And Tyler is his baby?"

"Yes. My little brother."

"That's weird. Grandpas aren't supposed to have little kids like me." Her expression was adorably perplexed. "Does he have white hair?"

"No," Bella said with a laugh. "He has hair like mine."

"Long?"

Edward chortled, and Bella smiled at the mental image. "Brown."

"Oh." Katie looked down as though trying to glance at her own ponytail. She wrinkled her nose again and looked up first at Edward then at Bella. "I don't have hair like you or you," she said, looking between them.

"No," Edward said, his smile soft. "You have hair like your other grandfather. My father."

"But he isn't coming today?"

"No. He doesn't have a little kid."

Katie let go of Bella's hand to press the button for the elevator. She bit her lower lip as she looked back to Edward. "Does he want to meet me?"

Edward's expression then was inexplicably tender. He reached down to cup Katie's face, his large hand to her small head. "Oh, baby. Of course he does. There are so many people who want very badly to meet you."

The little girl was quiet as they descended, but as they stepped out, she smiled tentatively up at them. "We have a big family, huh?"

Bella's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face. Edward glanced at her, a similar smile on his face. He looked back to Katie. "Yeah, baby. We have a big family, and they love us."

They'd only barely stepped out of the parking garage when Bella's attention was drawn away from her daughter if only for a moment. "Bella!" She turned to see Tyler barrelling toward her. "Bella, Bella, Bella, Bella."

She let go of Katie's hand to catch Tyler before he knocked her over. She pulled him up into her arms, spinning him around and then hugging him tightly to her. He clung to her. "I missed you, Bella. I missed you so much."

"Hey, bub." Bella pushed his hair back and kissed his forehead. "I missed you, too." He couldn't possibly know how much she'd missed him. Her little brother with his easy, unconditional love. She hugged him, and she missed seeing him whenever she wanted. She missed Angela, Mikey, her father and stepmother. The home she'd made with them was the only time in her entire life she'd felt safe and warm.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the look on Katie's face, and it broke the moment. The girl was glaring, though more with uncertainty than maliciousness. She tugged on Edward's hand and lifted her arms. He looked stunned, but he lifted her up, settling her on his hip.

Bella had to smother a smile as she readjusted Tyler into a similar grip. She knew a jealous child when she saw one.

"Hey, sorry." Again, Bella's amusement turned to nervousness as Charlie joined them. His eyes were locked on Katie even as he spoke to Bella. "Tyler got away from me."

Instantly, Katie clung to Edward, hiding her face at his neck, shyness taking over again. Edward stroked her back as Bella and the others stepped closer.

Bella took a deep breath. "Dad. Tyler. This is my Katie."

Edward kissed the top of Katie's hair. "Katie. Do you want to say hello to your grandfather and Tyler?"

"Hey, don't be scared." Tyler reached over and patted at Katie's shoulder. "Daddy's really nice. It's just sometimes his moustache makes him look scary. Like a bad guy in a movie or something." He sighed dramatically. "But he says Mommy likes his moustache, so he's gonna keep it."

Drawn out of her shy moment by curiosity, Katie looked up so she could see Charlie's moustache. Bella watched as Charlie grinned-the same ear-to-ear smile she and Edward had worn just a minute before. "Hello there," he said, his voice gentle. "You're even prettier than the pictures your mommy showed me."

Katie flashed a pleased grin, ducking her head against Edward's shoulder but looking at Charlie. "Thank you. I don't think your moustache makes you look like a bad guy at all. I think it's very nice." She hesitated a moment and then reached her hand out. "Can I touch it?"

Charlie laughed. "Sure."

He stood still as she ran her fingers over the bristles. Tyler, never one to be left out, reached out and did the same. Both the children giggled. "It tickles," Katie said.

She tilted her head, considering Charlie. "You don't look like a grandpa."

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment. But I am a grandpa. Yours."

Katie looked at him again and, to Bella's shock, held her arms out. Charlie looked surprised too, but he took Katie into his arms. The little girl kissed his cheek sweetly. "Hello, Grandpa."

"Hello, sweetheart." He brushed the tip of her nose with a butterfly kiss. He held her only a few moments before he set her on the ground as Bella set Tyler down.

Bella choked up with emotion, but she didn't have time to dwell on it. As soon as he was on the ground, Tyler's impatience to be in the museum made itself known.

"Let's go," he said. He grabbed Bella's hand and tried to pull her away.

"Hey." Katie stepped up. She took Bella's arm by the wrist and tried to loose Tyler's grip. "That's my spot."

Tyler knitted his brow, clinging stubbornly to Bella. "She's my sister."

"She's my mommy."

"But she was my sister first."

Katie huffed in her exasperated way. "Nah-uh. You're only four. I'm six. That's more."

Tyler's stare was dubious as he looked her over with a critical eye. "I think you're not six. You're littler like me."

"You're big for your age, Ty," Charlie said. "Remember we told you that? And Katie is a little on the small side for her age, but that doesn't mean it will stay that way."

"Yeah," Katie said, nodding. "It's genetics."

Tyler made a face. "What's that?"

"Genetics." Katie repeated the word slower. "Don't you know? You get genes from your mommy and daddy that make up all the things about you like your hair and your eyes and how tall you are."

Tyler stared down at his jeans. "Huh?"

Bella smothered a laugh, and Katie just huffed again. "You should hold hands with your daddy."

"Why don't you hold hands with your daddy?"

Katie thought about this for a moment and reached out to take Edward's hand, still keeping a firm hold of Bella's wrist. "I can do both."

"Whoa. Hey. Okay." Bella was more amused than irritated, and she couldn't say she wasn't pleased that Katie felt so territorial over her. "I have two hands. Tyler, get on this side."

Tyler was agreeable. Katie clung to both her parents as they set off and Tyler held hands with Bella. In the manner of children, he forgot the small quarrel almost instantly. He hopped up and down as they walked. "Daddy said you can make forts inside. Can we make forts?"

Edward and Bella glanced at each other, sharing another smile as they headed inside the museum.

~0~

"You know, it occurs to me that our kid is an insufferable know-it-all," Edward said when he and Bella were alone later that evening. He beamed as he said it, ever charmed by every tiny detail of his daughter's personality. "We're probably going to have to do something about that at some point."

"At some point," Bella echoed in agreement.

She was sitting forward on the couch, her expression far off. It was an odd look-half happy because it had been a good day. A great day, even. Katie and Tyler had a great time playing at Seattle Children's Museum and had gotten along well together. But the very best thing had been the way he and Bella blended in seamlessly with all the other parents there with their children. Katie held their hands, dragging them around the museum. She came to them to gush excitedly about new things she'd discovered and had asked them a million times if they were watching when her bubble off the bubble wall grew larger.

The other half of her expression was somewhat darker. That darkness could be about any number of things. Having to leave Katie again, thinking about the future, when they would be solely responsible for molding her into the person she would become. It was a lot to think about.

Edward realized almost too late what he was going to do. He reached for her and stopped when his hand was nearly touching her back. He pressed his lips together, wondering why it felt so natural to want to touch her like this.

Fuck it.

He pressed his palm flat against her back and stroked in a soothing gesture. He could feel her sharp intake of breath, but she didn't try to pull away from him. Instead, she leaned back into his touch, releasing a long sigh, as though some of her residual tension had drained away.

"Bella?" he said, voice huskier than he'd intended.

She didn't turn to face him. "Are you going to ask me another question?"

His lip twitched. "I was going to ask why you don't ask me any questions."

Bella didn't speak right away. She stared forward, her head tilted in abstraction, but she would move, responding to his touch. "Because I don't know where to start." Her voice had a slight tremor to it. "I don't know if you noticed, but I don't know how to be normal."

Edward furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?"

"God, I don't even know." She gave a short laugh. Her words weren't whining. She wasn't feeling sorry for herself. She spoke what she believed to be simple fact. "You know, ever since you said we should go out, I've been nervous."

"About what?"

"You won't understand."

"Try me."

She chuffed. "Social interaction. It's kind of an effort for me."

"You have friends. They wanted to visit you last weekend when we were with Katie."

"They're nice; that's all. They were probably relieved when I said I was busy."

He hummed and curled a strand of her hair around his finger. "People aren't friends with you because they're nice. They're friends with you because you're worth it."

She didn't say anything to that, but nothing was better than disagreeing. "Ask me something," he said, voice gentle

"If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?" she asked after a moment.

A generic question - safe as these things went. A good place to start. "Antarctica," he said.

She laughed and finally turned to him, caught off guard. "Come on."

"What? It's true. I really want to see a penguin, and I feel too guilty going to Sea World after watching that documentary."

"I'm pretty sure there are more places you can see a penguin than Antarctica."

Edward grinned. "There are. South America, Africa, Ecuador. But people have been to those places. Do you personally know anyone who's been to Antarctica?"

Bella quirked a brow, looking amused. "I don't know anyone who's been to Africa."

"You know my dad. But the point is, I want to see penguins, and I want to be the smug bastard who's been somewhere no one else in the room has been."

She giggled, and then sighed. "Well, in this room, that's not too difficult."

Edward pressed his lips together, not sure what to say, and Bella made a face of self-disgust. "I'm sorry," she said. "See? I told you. I don't know how to do this. It's a social faux pas, right? To bring the room down?"

He reached out to take her hands in his. "It's not that. It was just that the first thing I wanted to say was that everywhere I go from now on, you and Katie will be with me." He twined their fingers together. "It was a big thought."

She ducked her head, and he could all but see the wheels turning in that quiet mind of hers. There was a storm in her eyes and in the way she tightened her fingers around his. But they'd touched lightness, and he wasn't ready to let it go yet. He squeezed her hands. "Coke or Pepsi?"

"Oh." She looked at him again with a smile. "Are you sure you want to go there? Wars have been fought over that question."

He shifted in his seat and squared his shoulders. "I'm ready. Lay it on me."

"Pepsi."

"Oooooooh." He pretended to wince and then he winked at her. "We'll have to ask Katie, but as of now, we are a Pepsi household."

They smiled at each other, and after a prolonged moment of comfortable silence, Bella suddenly surged forward. She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him. Startled, it took him a moment to settle his arms around her.

"Is this okay?" she asked, finding a space at the crook of his shoulder.

"Yeah. This is okay. Hugs are almost always okay."

"You were a cuddler. I remember." As soon as she said the words, she stiffened slightly, but she didn't let go.

Edward chuckled. "You smelled good." He ducked his head, and breathed in her scent. "You still do. Tanya used to tell me to stop and smell the roses-you know, when I was going a mile a minute with all those projects that seemed so important at the time?"

"I remember," Bella said, the sound vibrating against his skin.

"After I met you, she said she should have told me to stop and smell the Bella."

Bella hummed in acknowledgement that she'd heard him. "How is Tanya anyway?" she asked after a moment. "Do you keep in touch?"

"I do. She lives in Alaska. How random is that?"

"Random as anything, I guess." Bella lifted her head to look at him. "Do you have friends here?"

"I...Yeah. A few." He'd lived in Seattle less than two years, and he was somewhat anti-social. "Why?"

"Do they know about me? And Katie?"

Edward shook his head slowly, hoping that wasn't going to be an issue. "I don't know if this sounds pompous, but...you know, our story is very unique. It was bad enough I had to tell the school about it. I feel like the more people know, the more likely we're going to get media attention, you know?"

"I don't think that's pompous. You hear stories like ours on the news, and that's the last thing I want," she said with a grimace. She shook her head, dismissing the thought. "I was thinking that I've always wanted to hang out at a bar with a few friends. The kind of bar without the club atmosphere and dancing. Figure out how to play pool or darts or something. Maybe that sounds stupid."

"It's not stupid." He ran his hand up and down her back absently, thinking it over. "In fact, that's kind of brilliant. That's exactly what we could use-a night to unwind. Nothing serious. Just a few friends hanging out. There's no reason any of them have to know anything about what's going on here. Pretty much the antithesis of all this heavy, complicated stuff."

Her smile brightened. "Yeah. Exactly."

"I'll call a few people." He tilted his head, looking at her. "Maybe you should call your friend. Siobhan, right?"

Bella nodded. "Then it's a date. A friend date. Saturday night?"

"It's a date."

A/N: Quasi date night coming up next!

So I started a Facebook group for my stories. I post a lot of spoilers etc in there. I accidentally refused someone (my phone was being a jerk!) so if you requested to be added to the group and didn't get a response, please try again. Sorry about that!