A/N Double post to convince my readers to forgive me? :) Thank you Sobriquett, for reminding me why I do this with my first review in months. Once again, my apologies, I hope this makes up for it. More soon, promise.

disclaimer: do i own anything except luke and ean? n8.

Chapter 16

I called Alice right after Luke went to go check on Ean. She said they would be over in ten minutes. When the doorbell rang, I felt sick. I was so afraid of everyone meeting, of them fighting, of this fairytale world falling apart. Luke smiled at me reassuringly, and adjusted Ean in his arms.

I walked to the door, and was overjoyed to see Alice leading the way. She jumped on me as usual, and then took a step back to hold Jasper's hand. Esme and Carlisle were next, and last was Emmett. I was confused, to say the least.

"Rosalie said she didn't want to come," Emmett said apologetically, "Edward will be here in a little while, he wanted to talk to her first."

I led the way into my apartment, and turned around. Luke walked over to me and set Ean down, who immediately ran for Esme, much to her surprise and happiness. I could see that Ean would be a grandma's boy. I grabbed Luke's hand,

"Luke, this is Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, Esme and Emmett. Rosalie couldn't come, and Edward will be here soon." Each of the Cullens stepped forward to shake Luke's hand, and formally introduce themselves.

I broke the awkward silence by looking straight at Carlisle and saying "He knows, I told him everything." This was only a little white lie, the only thing I left out was my conversation with Edward the morning before, and if Luke wasn't suspicious, why worry him? "He's confused though, so I was hoping you could talk to him?"

Luke looked at me with a bit of fear, and Carlisle laughed lightly. "Of course Bella, I would love too." Luke took the hint from the squeeze I gave his hand and asked Carlisle to join him in the living room. Esme joined him after handing Ean to Emmett, who's face lit up when Ean reached his arms.

Alice was bouncing up and down as she looked around the apartment. "Bella, show me everything so I can go shopping tomorrow!"

So Alice and I toured the apartment, I could see her making a mental list the entire time. We left Emmett by the playpen with Ean, and after Alice whispered something to him, Jasper stayed behind too. When we got to Ean's room, at the edge of the apartment, I leaned against the wall and looked at Alice expectantly. She rolled her eyes at me,

"Bella everything is fine. Luke believes Esme and Carlisle, or he will in 33 seconds. Edward will be here in 25 minutes and Jasper will be holding Ean before we leave. It's perfect Bella." I brought my gaze to the floor,

"Not quite, I did still break your brother's heart into a thousand pieces and I think when he gets here he and Luke might actually kill each other. They're both acting like it's no big deal, but I see through that Alice. I feel horrible, putting everyone in this situation, but all I want is the best for Ean. Alice, can you tell if they will get along?" Alice thought for a moment, which is a long, long time for her.

"Bella I haven't seen anything, because neither of them have decided how to react yet. I don't think they will fight though. They both love you too much. And Bella, no one blames you for not picking Edward, it's his own fault for being an idiot and making us leave. You fell in love again, and Luke is good for you, he loves you, he loves Ean, he's been there for you and he will be there for you. I'm just glad we can be in your life again, and be there for Ean." This made me feel somewhat better, so we finished the tour of the apartment and Alice went to Jasper while I walked to the living room to see how Luke was doing.

When I walked in Esme had her purse out, and was showing Luke family pictures from over the years, from a black and white picture of Carlisle and Edward in 1920 to a picture from the 80s with everyone to a picture from Forks, with me in it. Carlisle was explaining how they managed to move around without getting caught, and how they faked papers like birth certificates and passports. Luke was smiling, and he looked amazed.

I sat down next to him and he looked up from the pictures at me,

"It really is true Bella. It's amazing." He didn't look horrified or disgusted, and I could tell he was pretty taken with the Cullens when the rest of the family walked in and he smiled, and started asking them about their adventures. The conversation was easy, stories being traded and my baby being passed around, showing off his new words and tricks, and true to Alice's word, Jasper even held Ean for a few minutes before passing him off to me with a soft smile. It was a big step for Jasper, I knew that, and it meant more to me then he knew.

The doorbell rang again not too much later, and Luke insisted he be the one answer it. As he walked down the hall to go to the front door, I looked around nervously.

"Can someone please listen in and tell me what happens?" I was holding Ean at that point, and while he made silly faces at me I stared at the family before me, looking for any facial expression that might give something away. Alice looked at me a little nervously, and smiled hesitantly.

"No one is fighting Bella, they aren't being hostile, I promise." This made me feel a little better, and when the door opened to Edward and Luke laughing, I couldn't help but give a sigh of relief.

"I could never let her drive, and that truck was a death trap waiting to happen." Edward was smiling as he recalled my big red truck.

"Oh she told me all about the truck! Charlie wouldn't let her bring it down here, and I let her drive us once before I told her I would just pick her up from then on!" They were laughing, at my expense of course, but they were laughing and getting along. I felt like I was in heaven.

"So is it make fun of Bella's driving skills day?" I asked with a smile. They both looked over at me, and I was a little taken aback to see the same look of love on both of their faces when they looked at me, but Edward's was clouded by sadness.

Once again I was painfully aware that I had broken his heart, but maybe, he could be my Edward again, without being my Edward. The rest of the night was perfect, it amazed me how well Luke got along with everyone, especially Edward. Before I knew it I had to put Ean to bed, and it was late enough that Luke and I would have trouble getting up for work in the morning. Luke and I each said goodbye to the Cullens in our own way.

As I was saying goodbye to Alice, I wasn't sure, but I thought I saw Emmett pull Luke to the side and say something that sounded suspiciously like,"If you hurt her, I will personally make sure that you are in much more pain than she is. That's a promise." I might have also noticed Alice smile comically at me and Edward's fist clench ever so slightly in agreement.

Luke played it off like a champion though, I missed his response but it apparently calmed Emmett, who went back to his normal demeanor. I heard Ean crying, and Luke said he would get it and I could show our guests out.

The rest of the Cullens, with the exception of Edward, were already in the hallway, which I know Luke noticed. As Luke walked away, Alice decided to tell Edward they would meet him at home since he ran here. Once she walked away, I tried to put my feelings into words,

"Thank you Edward. Even if you hate him, even if it was all an act, thank you. Tell everyone thank you from Ean, and more importantly from me. It means so much that you and Alice and everyone can get along with Luke. Tell them," I had gotten a little scattered while talking, and I finally raised my gaze from the floor to those beautiful eyes, honey colored today, and finished much more quietly, "thank you." Edward stared at me, with a look from back when he tried to read my mind everyday without fail, and brushing a piece of hair behind my ear, replied so softly I almost didn't hear it.

"Anything for you, love." Then he turned around and walked out the door, closing it quietly.

I walked into my room, changed and got into bed, waiting for Luke. He took off his shirt and got into bed, wrapping his arms around me.

"Bells," he began, "I saw the way he looked at you." I was scared, Luke's embrace was warm, but his tone was something I had never heard. "I think we both need to think about a lot of things tonight, and in the morning, we need to talk."

A cold dread clutched my heart as he kissed my forehead and rolled over, turning off the light and leaving us in darkness.