Hi everyone and thank you so much for reading and for your reviews! You guys are absolutely amazing. :-)

And special thanks to AJasper For Me, Louise Lewin, Vancouver Canuck Girl, and Capricorn75. For everything.

No Matter What

Chapter Five

*X*—Edward Masen—*X*

"Where is your friend, Uncle Edward?"

As he looked around the park, Edward frowned and wondered the same thing. "I don't know. I guess they're late."

"Late? That's not nice."

He hummed, but silently kept pushing Maggie on the swing. He tried to appear unfazed but the truth was his stomach felt tight, like it was gnawing at itself.

After he admitted to Jasper that he hadn't been the one to gets Bella's number—that she'd actually asked for his once they got on the bus, Edward had endured his older brother's relentless teasing.

He felt like a schmuck. There was no getting around that. It didn't help that Jasper put it in his head that now Bella would have a complex about the whole thing, either.

That worried Edward. He didn't know how to ensure Bella knew he truly was interested in her.

When she didn't immediately call him, he knew hitting her up first was his best way to convey that. So Monday, after his late shift, he took a chance and called her as soon as he walked in the door. He was glad he did because he and Bella had now spoken every night for the past week, and made plans to hang out today.

When he first asked her out, she'd actually declined by saying she didn't have a babysitter.

Hoping she wasn't just making excuses, he replied with, "Hey, we can go to the park for all I care. I just want to see you."

He could have just been patient and waited until the following weekend. But he knew waiting that long—a whole other week—to see her again wasn't an option. And that's the story of how he suckered himself into spending his Saturday hanging out at the park.

Belatedly, he realized how awkward he would look hanging out at the park alone while he waited for them. So he called and cashed in on an 'Uncle Edward and Maggie Mae Day' since he owed her a day together anyway. It had been weeks since they hung out, just the two of them, so she literally cheered in the background. Esme was happy as well. Since Maggie's father wasn't involved in her life, there weren't many opportunities for Esme and Carlisle to have time to themselves.

Everything seemed great.

Bella seemed eager to see him.

But now, even after running almost 15 minutes late, and being at the park for another 10 minutes with no sign of her, it seemed as though he had been stood up.

Tired of the swing once Edward refused to push her any higher or let her jump off mid-air, Maggie headed toward the jungle gym. The bench's placement made it near impossible to keep an eye out on her in the exact spot she was in, so he opted to sit on the ground.

"I'll be right here," he called out, pointing to a patch of grass. "And for the love of God, please be careful."

He kept her in his line of sight and waved every time she glanced over to make sure he was watching. However, he frequently made sure to check his phone and tried to hide his frown each time he was met with no missed calls or replying texts.

Some time had passed, and Edward was convinced they weren't coming—he was getting ready to ask Maggie if she wanted to leave and get some ice cream—when a small tuft of curly dark hair set in pigtails dashed across the playground and headed straight for the slide.

"I was convinced you'd have left by now."

Edward looked up then scrambled to his feet to get a better look at Bella without the sun glaring in his face. Impossible, he thought, realizing how she seemed to get prettier every time he saw her.

"I'm sorry we're late. We had a late start, then we were half way here when I realized I left my phone at home and … are you okay?"

He caught himself as he not only stared into her light brown eyes, but also let his gaze travel the length of her body and memorize every curve.

Before it could get too awkward, he pointed to where the two girls were now playing together. "No worries, I had company to keep me busy."

But Bella didn't notice the resemblance between him and the little girl and frowned, looking around in question to see who the little girl was with. A strange feeling gnawed at her stomach. "So ... you've just been sitting here watching her?"

Unaware of the accusing look in her eyes, Edward shrugged. "Yeah. I've learned over the years that if you take your eyes of her for more than one second she manages to get hurt. Every. Single. Time."

Over the years. "Oh." Bella nodded and let out a sigh of relief. This little girl must be Edward's daughter. They did have similar hair color now that she looked closer. But how weird was it that he hadn't previously mentioned he had a kid in one of their phone conversations? It explained why he was at ease with Briella but it still confused her. Before she could say anything about it—confront him as to why he felt the need to leave that out—the next few seconds happened in slow motion.

They watched on in horror as Maggie—who had decided to crawl over the monkey bars—went toppling to the ground. Edward was at her side and scooping her in his arms within seconds. It wasn't high, so he knew she couldn't be that hurt, but his heart nearly stopped.

"You're okay," he cooed. "You're fine."

And she was.

More embarrassed than anything, Maggie clung onto Edward and buried her face in his neck as she tried to compose her sniffles.

"Didn't I tell you …" he let out a strained chuckle, and looked to Bella who was now standing next to Briella. "Every. Single. Time. Hi." He greeted the little girl who was looking up at him curiously. She smiled, waving enthusiastically and, like before, Edward wondered if she remembered him or if she was just being friendly. "How 'bout we stay on lower ground." He leaned back to look Maggie in the eyes. "Then we can go get ice cream. But first … meet Miss Bella and Briella."

After introductions were made, Edward and Bella slowly made their way back to the patch of grass he'd been sitting on earlier. Before he could curl himself onto the ground she stopped him.

"Wait!"

"What? What?" He looked down and around.

"Whoever designed this place clearly doesn't have kids." Bella huffed, bending down into her large bag. "If you sit over on the bench you see nothing. And as far as this grass goes, I sat in ants the first time we came here. So now—" She stood up with a wide and triumphant smile on her face, and a new object in hand. "Tada!"

Edward grinned, and pointed to the worn blanket. "I've never thought of doing that."

"Yeah, well…" she shrugged as they sat down and playfully bumped his shoulders with hers. "No offense, but dads prepare a little differently than moms."

Confused, his eyes widened slightly. "Umm, none … taken?"

"Good. So, how old is she?"

"Five." Edward beamed. "Her birthday was three months ago actually."

"Two months before yours."

Since they'd discussed birthdays during one of their many conversations, Bella remembered him saying he just had a birthday a few weeks ago. He'd just turned twenty-seven. She hoped he remembered hers was coming up in a few months. Not because she wanted anything—they'd just met, after all—but because she wanted to be important enough. She wanted to be someone whom he felt worthy of remembering such things about.

"She must have been a great birthday present for you and her mom when she came huh?" The mention of Maggie's mother felt like a punch in the heart for Edward, and Bella noticed the shift in his eyes. "I'm sorry ... I –" need to get in the habit of remembering not all situations are as relaxed as mine, she thought but couldn't voice those words out loud.

"No, it's okay." Edward crossed his arms over his chest protectively. He looked over at Maggie and wondered how and why the conversation had turned deep so quickly. "Her ... umm, her mom died a few months after she was born. She was a good birthday present but ..."

A widower? Bella frowned at the thought. "That must have been hard."

Devastating was more like it. "You have no idea."

The tone in his voice—what Bella mistook for reverence of some sort made her heart clench. She was never one to compete, but even if she had been, if Edward was still in love with Maggie's mom she wouldn't stand a chance. She wasn't sure she'd even continue to try.

Was that why he hadn't said anything about her? Somewhat angry again, she accusingly blurted out, "Why didn't you tell me you had a kid? Obviously, it wouldn't have bothered me. Still being in love with her mom, on the other hand, might pose some issues, but –"

"Uh, Bella, I'm pretty sure me being in love with her mom is frowned upon in most situations."

"I don't get it."

"Her mom was my sister." Despite the ache in his chest caused by the loss of his twin sister, there was no way Edward could deny the hilarity of Bella's continued confusion. "Which would make Maggie my niece."

Bella looked relieved, guilty, then grief stricken all in a matter of seconds. "I'm sorry," she'd whispered. "I'm not happy your sister passed. I'm really sorry, actually. Just … I was wondering, you know. How, as a widower, you felt about … stuff. I'm just glad I don't have to worry about that."

"Stuff …" Edward nodded, rubbing his chin to hide his smirk. "I love … stuff."

Bella fidgeted, not sure how to probe without sounding unsympathetic or nosey. "If you don't mind me asking, how did she-umm, what happened?"

"She was in an accident."

It was the first time she heard Edward speak in that tone of voice. It was tight—uncomfortable. It was the type of voice a lesser man would use right before he told you to mind your business. Bella remembered how he told Briella that he got his scars from anaccident, she quickly realized it was the same one. She would ask him more about it later, but for now she moved on.

"So do you have any kids?"

Another dark cloud passed behind Edward's eyes. "No."

That was strange. When they'd spoken on the phone, Bella loved how she could hear the constant smile in his voice-how eager he sounded whenever she called. Now, it was as if she was saying all the wrong things.

She didn't want to upset him or their plans for the day, so she dropped it. But she hoped he knew that if they continued on whatever they were doing, she would ask again. And eventually, she'd want to know why he almost shut down at what she thought was a simple question.

*X*—*X*

"Can I please have the Pauline's and cream?"

At the cashier's confused expression, Edward stepped up to the counter. Ever since she found out what her mother's favorite ice cream used to be, that's all Maggie ever wanted to try. The only problem was she'd take a spoonful or two before deciding she didn't like it. He wasn't up to repeating the cycle today.

"She means pralines and cream. But what she'll actually have is two scoops of vanilla, and rainbow sprinkles."

Maggie pouted but knew better to argue. She was getting ice cream! It didn't matter what kind.

After Bella ordered the same for her and Bree to share, the four of them found a booth in the corner of the little ice cream shop.

"So you're not having any?" Bella sent a playful glare to his healthy smoothie, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. What Edward didn't know was that one of the reasons they were late was because she was close to having a nuclear meltdown when she couldn't find anything to wear that fit her the way she liked. The last thing she needed to do was eat ice cream at that moment, but she had no willpower with such things.

"I never really liked iced cream. Her mom did, though. That's why it's 'our thing'—coming here."

They both fell into a comfortable silence, and Edward smiled despite himself, remembering her mix up from earlier in the day.

"I need to go to the ladies room," Maggie said, trying to sound dignified and grown up the way Esme would. Edward nodded and stood up at the same time Bella asked Bree if she needed to go potty.

"I can take them both," she offered, but Edward hesitated.

"That's fine. I can take her."

"You can't go into the ladies room." He knew that, of course. Catching on, Bella winced. "And you don't need to take her to the men's room with me right here. It's okay, I don't mind."

Edward did. He minded a lot, actually. But he didn't want to make a big deal about it. Even if he did, though, Maggie was assuming the pee pee dance position. There was no time for that.

Though cautious, he knew he had no choice then to relent and quickly.

The few minutes they were inside the bathroom felt like a lifetime for Edward. When they came out he went straight to Maggie, and asked if everything was okay as he looked her over. Bella would have found the whole thing endearing if she wasn't slightly insulted.

And had it been anyone else, Edward wouldn't have cared but he felt a strange need to explain himself—defend himself.

"I know you'd never hurt her or anything, but …" he shrugged. "You still never know."

"Yeah." Bella nodded, and looked away giving Briella a soft smile. He was right; just like Laurent had said, you never knew. But something in Edward's eyes told her he knew all too well.

So ... thoughts?

Again, thank you so much for reading.

Until Next Time

~Lo