I'm trying to work on longer chapters as well as giving you quality, so bear with me if it takes a week or so in between updates.

I have the best beta ever

SM owns all

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EPOV

The sound of my alarm clock woke me, and I glanced up at it quickly: 5:55. I growled as I fumbled in the dark, trying to shut the damn thing up. I sat up, running my hands through my hair. I had dreamt about her again; her dark hair cascading down her pale skin, those luscious lips, and those gorgeous brown eyes. I groaned again, realizing my morning wood had grown impossibly harder.

It had been months since I had last seen Bella. After an amazing night together she had snuck off in the early hours of the morning. I wondered then if maybe it wasn't as amazing for her as it was for me, just the thought caused me to frown. She had seemed so in to me, and I really hadn't planned on it just being a one night stand. I wanted to take her out, get to know her, but when I woke to no one those hopes were quickly dashed. She hadn't even left me a way to contact her; I didn't even know her last name.

I hopped in the shower, trying to rid my thoughts of my dreams the night before. I could never function properly thinking about Bella naked in my bed, willing to do anything I asked of her. I sighed; thinking about this was not going to help.

It was 6:30 now and I quickly grabbed a cup of coffee from my automatic coffee pot before switching on the morning news. Unconsciously my mind wandered back to Bella, wondering how I might be able to find her.

I was forced out of my thoughts when there was a soft knock on my door. Oh shit, I wasn't late on my rent again was I? No, I glanced down at the receipt on the table by the door, I had paid my rent. I opened the door halfway, my eyes nearly popping out of my head as Bella stared back at me, fear in her eyes.

"Bella, what are you doing here?! I didn't think I would ever see you again," I realized I probably sounded more desperate than I had intended.

"Can I come in?" she asked wringing her hands as I gaped at her from inside.

"Oh, of course!!! Sorry, come on in, I don't know what happened to my manners," I babbled, stepping aside as she walked in timidly beside me.

"Go ahead, sit down, can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

She shook her head as she looked around my apartment. Oh crap. This place was a mess, I had completely forgotten in all the excitement of seeing her on my doorstep.

"Sorry about the mess," I apologized, blushing slightly.

"No, it's homey," she said taking a deep breath, "I really need to talk to you."

"Okay, shoot," I said nonchalantly, trying to act as though I hadn't been hanging on every breath she had taken since walking through my door.

"Edward," she was staring at the floor, and I wished she would look up at me so I could memorize every line and shape of her face, "I'm pregnant."

I couldn't help the smile that spread to my face, as she continued to stare at the dust on my floor.

"Are you positive?" I asked, not nearly as upset as I thought I would feel if a woman told me she was pregnant. Then again I had never thought I could feel so attached to someone I barely knew like I now felt towards Bella.

"Well, that's what the test said," she joked, looking up at me then with worry in her eyes, "I go to the doctor tomorrow…you can come if you want," she looked at me nervously before quickly adding, "or you don't have to."

"Of course I want to go, that could be my child in there!" I exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood.

"It is your child," she said, flinching slightly as if I was indicating there could be another possible candidate for daddy.

"That's not what I meant…" I trailed off, and she seemed to nod her head in understanding.

We stood there for a few moments in silence. I was staring at the girl that had starred in my dreams since the first night I saw her, and now I was at a loss for words for what to say.

"Are you sure you don't want to sit down?" I asked again, hoping she would say yes and would sit on my couch, leaving her scent in that spot.

"No, I have to get going," she said quickly, before walking briskly out the door. Oh no, she was leaving again and I still knew no more about her than that first night except that she was carrying my child.

"WAIT," I screamed out the door, as she turned towards me. I wanted to tell her to stay, that I would take care of her for the rest of her life. I wanted her to come back into my apartment so I could ravish her before cooking her a big breakfast, but instead I just stared at her as she stared back in anticipation. "I don't know how to get a hold of you…so I can go with you tomorrow to the doctors."

She blinked twice at me as if she expected a different reaction from me, "Oh right," she stammered, walking towards me pulling out her card, "my cell's on there, just give me a call. The appointment's at 10." Once again she turned and walked away, but this time I had no reason to call her back, so instead I stared down at the card in my hand. My angel had a name, Isabella Swan.

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BPOV

I reached my car before breaking down. It had been so hard going there to see Edward, and he had looked so happy to see me. I wished I wasn't plagued by my past then. Maybe the old Bella would've walked in and accepted his invite to sit down. Maybe I would've at least learned a little more about the man that was the father of my child, instead of running out of there like a scared chicken.

I closed my eyes, images of Chris began popping up, and I remembered when I had told him I was pregnant with his child. It was two and a half years ago, he too had seemed so happy that I was going to have his child. I remember feeling so pleased that he finally seemed happy with me. I opened my eyes suddenly, not wanting the images to go where I knew they would as tears spilled down my face. I didn't want to remember losing my first child before he could even be born.

I sighed, starting the car. Of course Edward and my relationship would be nothing like my relationship with Chris. For starters I didn't even know the man. Secondly, nobody could be as bad as Chris. And finally, I could not give Edward the chance to hurt me the way I had been hurt before.

My stomach growled in distaste, pressing me to find the nearest food as I tried to think of Edward's happy green eyes staring at me all morning.

"Okay, okay," I murmured as my stomach growled again, but I couldn't help the smile that was crossing my face as I wondered what our child would look like. Maybe he would have Edward's eyes, or that little dimple; I wondered if his hair would be my color or the sandy gorgeous color of Edwards.

After grabbing a quick bit of food I was headed back to my car, still going over the possibilities of what my child would be like and I nearly screamed when my phone went off. I checked the caller ID but didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" My voice nearly faltered, as I prayed it wasn't Chris on the other end…he couldn't have found me could he?

"Hey Bella, it's me, Edward," I breathed a huge sigh of relief, and he chuckled, not fully realizing how panicked I had truly felt just a moment ago before questioning me, "trying to avoid someone?"

"Just afraid my past had caught up to me," I told him honestly, but not going into too much detail. I didn't want to scare him away just yet.

"Hey, so sorry I was kind of taken aback by you showing up earlier, you wanna grab a bite to eat or something later?" he sounded nervous, the thought that he was nervous talking to me made me blush.

"Sure," my mouth spoke without my permission, but I was more surprised that I didn't regret it. I truly wanted to see Edward.

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EPOV

I hung up the phone and the knots began to form in my stomach. What would we talk about? What if I scare her off? I began rummaging through my closet trying to find something to wear. Great, on top of everything else I was turning into a girl too worried about my wardrobe and my hair. Oh shit, my hair! It's always a mess, would she like my hair messy or should I try to look more clean cut? Nerves and doubt fluttered through my mind, in two hours I would be sitting across from Bella, and I wanted everything to be perfect.

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I was standing outside the restaurant wondering if she was already there. I wish she would've let me pick her up; I felt like a huge douche bag meeting her instead of treating her properly. Maybe she was ashamed of where she lived, or maybe she just didn't want me to know where she lived. 'Of course she doesn't want you to know where she lives', my subconscious screamed at me, 'you're a stranger! And she told you the first night she met you her last relationship was bad.'

I began to wonder what her last relationship had been like and if it really was bad enough to be celebrating the end of it. What could that guy have done to hurt Bella? My mind began to play through scenarios as I stood with my hand on the door.

"Edward?" a tiny voice questioned from behind me, causing me to jump. There stood Bella, staring at me, probably wondering why the hell I was staring at the door.

"Shall we?" I asked, as I placed my hand on the small of her back as I opened the door, ushering her inside.

The hostess asked if we would prefer a booth or a table, and Bella looked at me with inquiring eyes, as if she didn't want to make the wrong decision. I smiled at her, encouraging her to choose, I only wanted her to be comfortable. She said booth slowly as she looked at me, but I only nodded in agreement.

We sat down as the waiter brought us two glasses of water. I wanted to break this tension with Bella; I didn't want her to feel so uncomfortable with me.

"So," I questioned, "what is it you do exactly?"

Her face lit up, it was obviously something she loved as she told me she was a freelance photographer. She started going into details about why she never settled down as a commercial photographer, stating that she didn't want any limitations on her creativity. She than told me she had been offered a job at the local community college, teaching classes on photography and she gushed about how much she thought she would enjoy that. I loved the look this topic had put on her face, and I reminded myself to talk to her about every aspect of this in the future.

Her speech began getting more animated, and suddenly I felt a splash of cold water across my leg as ice cubes and liquid skid across the table. I jumped up in the surprise at the sudden temperature change, and began dabbing my leg with a napkin. I looked up at Bella and just like that the smile was gone. In fact her whole face looked frozen in terror, and when she saw me looking at her in confusion she blanched. It almost looked like she was scared of me. A smile spread across my face, trying to show her it was okay, but she was visibly shaking now.

"Bella," I whispered, as I reached my hand across the table touching her own hand that was ice cold, "are you okay?"

She only nodded, as I noticed tears begin to fill her eyes before she quickly excused herself to go to the restroom. What the hell was that about?

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BPOV

I splashed the cold water on my face, trying to calm my heart rate back to normal. I didn't want to react that way, I wasn't afraid of Edward, but as soon as the water hit his lap all I could see was Chris's face, and what he would've done to me if that were him. I had panicked. Oh God, Edward would probably think I was insane now. I groaned into my hands as I rested my elbows on the sink.

I had to explain to him. That was the only way to justify my reaction without completely scaring him off. I felt my stomach begin to turn at the thought, and ran to the basin just in time to purge my lunch from a few hours ago.

'Sorry little one,' I thought, as I tried to calm my nerves, willing myself not to puke again; willing my body to keep as much nutrients as possible for my child. Just because the thoughts made me sick didn't mean I had to make my child suffer as well. I quickly rinsed my mouth out with water, splashing more water on my face. You can do this, I told myself, pushing open the door as I headed back to my table.

Edward looked up at my approach, and gave me a genuine smile, which immediately calmed any nerves that were left in my stomach. His eyes bore into me, are you all right? they seemed to ask, but I only smiled back in response as I sat down, staring at my hands folded in my lap.

"Sorry about that," I whispered, unsure if my voice was going to fail me or not, wondering how I was going to approach the subject.

"Bella what happened?" he asked, and I was about to answer him when he held up, "what happened in your last relationship?" I stared, gaping at him; okay, so he realized this may have something to do with my previous relationship.

I licked my lips, trying to think of the best way to answer him, "Well," I began, "like I told you the night we met, my last relationship was…bad. No, it was beyond bad." God I was regretting starting this conversation already, despite the fact that it had been years, everything was still too fresh in my mind, and I glanced over my shoulder once, afraid to see Chris lurking somewhere in the shadows. I leaned towards Edward, my voice barely a whisper as I continued, "if that had happened with Chris," I looked behind me again, sure that someone was out there waiting for me, "he would've drug me out of this restaurant by my hair for my insolence."

I began to wring my hands under the table as Edward stared at me in awe. I couldn't stop my feeling of paranoia as I continued to glance around the restaurant every few seconds, still unconvinced that Chris wasn't about to pop out of the shadows at any moment and drag me home regardless.

"Bella, I'm so sorry," he seemed to be at a loss for words, as I licked my lips again and took one last survey of our surroundings. He seemed to notice this time as he too looked around before leaning in even closer to me, and now I could feel his breath on my face, "I would never let anything happen to you."

Crap, now he was feeling sorry for me, I tried to laugh, but instead it sounded like I was choking, so I cleared my throat before adding, "And that would've been on a good day." I had been trying to lighten the mood, but realized that my statement had only made it sound worse. I internally kicked myself, but my subconscious seemed to be screaming at me, telling me that what I had just said had only been truth. I smiled up at Edward, trying to promise to myself I wouldn't let any more slips like that happen.

I couldn't risk Edward's safety.

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EPOV

The rest of the dinner continued on without a hitch, and I even got Bella to truly smile again. I was lost in every word that fell from her lips, and marveled at the way her eyes lit up on certain subjects. In the back of my mind, though, I couldn't erase the words that she had said: that would've been on a good day. What the hell had that guy exactly done to her? Dragging her out of a restaurant for spilling water, by her hair nonetheless was not what I would EVER consider a good day.

I also didn't fail to notice that she continued to look over her shoulder every few minutes, as if she expected someone to be there. Was she still expecting Chris to be there? To come to drag her back with him? The thought immediately made my entire body tense, as I too began scanning the restaurant. Not that I would've known him if I saw him. All I could think was that I wanted –no- NEEDED to make Bella not only feel safe again, but actually make her safe again.

As I was walking Bella to her car I couldn't help but feel that she just could not leave my side. I couldn't allow it. I knew she was still frightened because she had walked nearly on top of me and also shied away from every shadow.

"Bella," I began, and she looked up at me, fear and disappointment filling her eyes, but I didn't continue with the cliché: I had a nice time tonight. "Stay the night with me," her eyes widened, and I realized how entirely inappropriate it sounded as soon as the words left my lips, "please, I notice how frightened you look. I'll sleep on the couch. Just please, I need to know for sure that you're safe tonight."

I watched as she internally battled with herself, but reluctantly she gave in. I almost felt lightheaded at the thought; she trusts me. I vowed to myself then, I would not take her trust lightly, and if she wanted to take it back tomorrow morning then I would rightfully give it to her, and try to earn it from her over and over if I had to.

We decided to take my car, leaving hers behind after safely locking it. She rested her head against the back of the seat, and I could tell by the slowing of her breathing she was beginning to fall asleep. I felt stupid then, of course she must be exhausted, she was carrying a child! My resolve to keep this woman with me as long as I could only strengthened, not only did I want to keep Bella safe but I felt a new emotion begin to rise in me. That was my child, and I had to make sure he or she was safe ALWAYS, no questions asked.

I looked over at Bella then, wanting to reach down and touch her stomach. I knew it was too soon to feel anything, but I couldn't help it. My touch was gentle, I didn't want to wake Bella, and I definitely didn't want to scare her with the fact that I was touching her. Her hands reached down and grasped mine tightly, and I held my breath fearing she had woken up after all. I waited, but could only hear her soft breathing as I realized she was still asleep. I sighed, enjoying the feel of her warm hands holding mine against our child.

It only took a few more minutes until I was parked, but I couldn't break this perfect moment, not yet. I stared at Bella for god knows how long, hoping that someday she would show me this affection consciously. I tried to push the thoughts away, reminding myself I needed to take things one day at a time as I opened her door, gently lifting her from the seat.

Gently I laid her down in my bed, pulling the shoes from her feet. I tucked her in, and couldn't resist the overwhelming urge to kiss her forehead before turning off the light, and heading out to the couch.

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BPOV

I could recall telling Chris that I was pregnant with his child. He beamed at me, and for once I felt that he was truly happy with me and that he was returning the love I felt for him. He came with me to every doctor's appointment, and hung up every ultrasound on the fridge, vowing that we would someday put these in an album. Everything felt like it was finally falling into place, and I couldn't help but delight in the fact that I had gone through all these hardships and it had finally paid off.

I should've known it wouldn't last.

I could see Chris's face when I got home that afternoon. His eyes seemed to focus on nothing as he stared through me, and I panicked, wondering if he was using again. The door closed, alerting him that I was there as his eyes suddenly snapped up to meet mine.

"Where the fuck have you been?!" he screamed in my face as I backed into the wall, holding my stomach, trying to shield my precious angel from the noise.

Chris seemed to notice my movements as his eyes suddenly moved down to my stomach. My eyes widened in horror as I saw the look of utter disgust pass his face at the sight of my protruding belly. He had to be using again.

"FUCKING WHORE!" he screamed, charging towards me. I ripped the door open suddenly running out of our apartment. He was chasing after me, but all I could think was that I had to get out of there. Had to save my baby. I reached the top of the stairs when I felt his hand on my wrist as he spun me around, slamming me into the wall.

"WHO'S IS IT?!" he questioned, his rancid breath filling my nose.

"Yours," I squeaked, praying that he would remember the last 8 months.

"LIAR!" his voice made my whole body shake, and I feared what he would do, he was so unstable when he was high. "You fucking KNOW I can NOT have children!"

"I swear it's yours," I cried in desperation.

I ripped my arm from him, in an attempt to get away, but he was prepared for me to fight back as he grabbed my other arm, whirling us back towards the stairs. I whimpered in fear, and suddenly hated myself for showing him my fear. He would just use it against me.

"You WILL give it up after that little bastard is born," he demanded, his nose only inches from my face.

"NO!" I yelled, unintentionally. I could not give up this part of me; I could not let my child be taken by strangers.

He pulled me closer than, his hot breath on my ear, "I knew I should've killed you when I had the chance," he whispered, before shoving me slightly, and letting go of my wrists.

I nearly smiled thinking I was free, but only to find a second later that I had been teetering on the edge of the stairs.

I woke up with a start, vaguely aware that I had actually begun to scream out loud. Sobs wracked my body as I covered my face in my hands. I tried not to remember, I wanted so badly to forget. It seemed like hours before my breathing was back to normal, and I began to take in my surroundings. Where the hell was I? Suddenly like a flood, memories from that night came rushing back. Meeting Edward for dinner, spilling water on him, Edward nearly begging me to stay at his house tonight. Edward. That meant he was here in the same apartment. I slowly got up, opening the door as quietly as I could. After my dream I felt like I was sneaking out, about to get caught at any moment.

A tiny light shone through the front window and I could just barely make out the shape of Edwards body.

"Edward," I whispered, so softly I could barely hear my own voice. I took a deep breath, trying to tell myself that he wouldn't be mad if I woke him. I shouldn't be afraid of him.

"Edward," I said a little louder, but still nothing. Oh God, my mind silently begged, please wake up.

I nudged his shoulder this time as I said his name, stepping back quickly. His eyes opened slowly as he stared up at me. He jumped slightly, and I realized I probably scared the crap out of him since I hadn't even bothered to turn on a light.

"Bella," he mumbled groggily, "are you alright?" I wanted to be able to tell him yes, but instead tears flooded my eyes instantly as I recalled my dream, as I shook my head vehemently.

"I had a bad dream," I whispered, noting how child like I sounded. Edward flipped on the lamp on the table beside him as he squinted up at me.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I shook my head, tears falling freely now as I stared at the floor.

"Will you hold me?" Edward stood up than, grabbing me in a warm embrace as he led us back to his room. He lay on the covers, while I was underneath. I nearly asked him to get closer to me, desiring the contact, but I knew he was being a gentleman and I didn't know if such an intimate touch would set me off anymore. I lay with my head on his chest, and slowly began to doze off again. I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or not, but I could've sworn I heard him whisper, "I'll always make you safe," before finally falling into a peaceful sleep.