A/N- Draco's birthday will be left out, only because more important things are going to be occurring, but if you want the full thing, then just tell me and I might do a one shot for it :)
Disclaimer – I do not own 'Twilight', 'The Hungry Caterpillar' or anything else you recognise.
Cause if I wanted to go I would have gone by now,
But I really need you near me to
Keep my mind off the edge
If I wanted to leave I would have left by now,
But you're the only one that knows me
Better than I know myself
Better Than I Know Myself – Adam Lambert
Bella.
Draco – 18 months old.
"Where has Draco gone?" I was sitting on the carpet with my little boy sitting in front of me. He had pulled his blanket over his head to hide from me. "Draco...? Oh no! I've lost Draco." He pulled the blanket down quickly and smiled widely at me. "There you are!" He then hid from me again. "Oh he's gone again…" We played this game for an additional five minutes or so. Draco dropped the blanket to one side, stood up and walked to the couch and brought back one of the books that had been sitting there.
He handed it over to me with eager eyes. "Do you want to read it?"
"Book." He doesn't have a wide range of vocabulary, but he can say a handful of words confidently. Edward and I are trying our hardest to get him to say his own name, but it's slightly too hard for him at the moment.
"The Hungry Caterpillar…" Draco's eyes lit up, "on Monday, he ate through one apple, but he was still hungry! On Tuesday he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry!" as the story carried on, I would point out each item of fruit and count my way through them. Our favourite bit has always been the end when the caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly. Draco always flips the book back over and slaps it until I start reading it all over again.
My iPhone lights up beside us and Edward's personal ring tone starts to play. 'Heart Skips a Beat' by Olly Murs is the song – Alice gets on at me saying the meaning to the song is why I chose it, but I shoot her down and say it's the tune that I like, not the lyrics… I think. No seriously, the British artist came up as a suggested video on YouTube; I gave it a listen and as soon as the song started to play Draco danced his little booty off. I thought it was a sign.
Like always, Draco began to bounce in my lap when he heard the song. In the past six months our relationship has come on leaps and bounds. Yeah we've had arguments, but they're never serious and they're normally forgotten about the next day. Now that I have this new iPhone, Draco and Edward use FaceTime daily – Draco doesn't understand what he's doing, but he likes the idea of seeing Daddy on the screen.
I put Edward onto speakerphone once I've accepted the call. "Keep your language down, you're on speaker." The last thing we need is for our boy to start saying 'fuck'.
"Thank you. Hey buddy!"
Draco didn't seem to be paying attention. I hand out my phone, "you going to say 'hello' to daddy?"
"Dada!"
"Hey buddy, you okay?"
"Dada!"
"I don't think you're going to be much out of him. Anyway, what's up?"
"I was planning on going swimming as part of my physical therapy, and I thought we could take Draco and make a day of it. That is if you're free, of course."
"Last time we went swimming he had a tantrum and we left five minutes later, but he'll probably last longer if you were there. He is a daddy's boy, after all."
"Well, I don't want to boast…"
"Shut up, Edward; he is. But anyway, I didn't have anything planned, so I'll take you up on that offer."
"Sweet, how about we say –"
"Dada!" Draco's shrill voice interrupted his sentence.
"Hey buddy."
"Mama!"
"Are you having fun with mummy?"
"We read a book didn't we, Draco?"
"Did you read a book?"
"Book."
I took over to hurry along this conversation. "How about I get our stuff together and we could be over in half an hour or so?"
"That's fine with me, see you then."
"Say 'bye-bye' to daddy?"
Instead of actually saying 'bye-bye', Draco waved, this made me laugh, "He's waving at the phone."
"Ha-ha. I'm waving back."
After we hung up, I put Draco down on two feet, held onto his hand and steered him out of the room and helped him climb the stairs up to our room. It's scary to see how much he's grown in this past year. He's climbing stairs when, not long ago, he couldn't even walk without something (or someone) to hold onto.
My little boy is growing up too fast. I don't like it.
xxx
4 months ago.
xxx
"Oh, Edward, stop moaning."
"I'm not moaning."
"And the Pope isn't religious."
For the last week, we've been trying to get Draco to take his first steps unaided. We were at the Cullen' house, in their large living room, and Edward had the expression which screamed 'I'm annoyed; life is shit'. He has been sporting the same expression since we began this procedure. He's annoyed because he can't take Draco's first steps with him due to his broken leg.
"I want to be at his side when he's walking, but I have to sit here like a prat and miss it all."
I forget who the baby is sometimes. "How are you missing it? I'll be sitting here, you'll be sitting there and he'll walk from me to you."
"Yeah, but you'll be helping him walk before he gets to that point, and I can't do that."
"How about I go and get your wheelchair, you sit in that, hold his hands and I'll pull you back as he walks?"
I thought that sounded like a decent idea, but he clearly didn't. "Then I sound more disabled then I actually am."
"Jesus, I'm only trying to help."
We both watch in awe as Draco stands up, looks around and just as we think he's going to take a step, he lowers his bum and he's back to sitting down again. We didn't want to seem so persuasive that we scared him, but we had to encourage him just enough to get his feet moving.
After a good hour of the same standing up and sitting down routine, I changed our tactics. Edward sat forward in his seat with his hands out, ready to retrieve Draco. Taking his tiny hands in mine, I stepped backwards and when Draco took an unsure step forward, I took another back. His feet would wobble to the side and his knees would bend, but soon his steps were getting bigger and faster. With our smiles and praise, Draco would smile along with us and giggle. I moved to the side and let go of one of his hands.
Three steps before Edward, I completely let go. As Draco walked by himself, into his father's open arms, I felt myself welling up inside. The whole room erupted into cheers and applause.
We did it again and again, each time I stepped away further and further back. Tears of joy filled my eyes when Draco managed to stand up and waddle off all on his own. Of course he never went anywhere far and he fell on his behind more often than not, but that never stopped him.
xxx
Present Day
xxx
Edward is now completely cast free, but his problems were far from over. He can't drive, he can walk but with a terrible limp, and can't carry a large weight – meaning he can't carry Draco around or stand and hold him – and after a while he has to resort back to crutches to relieve some of the pain. But keeping up with his physical therapy is doing wonders, so it shouldn't be too much longer before he's back to his normal self.
I had parked my truck in front of the Cullen house, Draco's favourite ABC CD playing on repeat. When I saw the front door open and Edward hobble out, and jumped outside to lend a hand. I took his bag, opened the door to make it easier for him to step in. Draco kicked his legs wildly and squealed, "A-dada!"
"Hey baby boy!"
"Are you going to show daddy your new shoes?" I asked when I got back into my side, pointing down to Draco's feet. After a bit of persuasion, Draco flung his right leg up (nearly kicking Edward in the face) and dangled it over the side of his car seat. His shoes are blue, striped deck shoes with a colourful red and yellow sole.
"Wow, I like your shoes!"
"Mine!"
"Are they yours? Can I wear them?" It looked as though Draco nodded to Edward's question. "I think my feet are a bit too big." Draco squealed and mumbled some gibberish, pushing his foot into Edward's hand. "I can't fit your shoes, buddy."
I laughed and let them carry on with their conversation, put the truck into drive and began our journey to the swimming baths. It wasn't far from Edward's house, so they were still interacting with each other when I parked up in front of the Aquatic Centre. Draco was adamant about walking; he refused me carrying him on my side. I held his hand securely, locked up my truck and followed Edward towards the entrance. When we walked through the parking lot, I continued to remind Draco about looking left and right before crossing a road.
After checking in at reception, it seemed Draco didn't want Edward to go anywhere. "I'm going to get changed, and you and mummy get changed. I'll see you in the pool, buddy."
"Nnnnno. No dada."
I knew that if I didn't step in, we would be standing out here for ages. "Let's have a race, yeah? Shall we beat daddy?" Just from my smile alone, Draco soon perked up and smiled as well. "Let's go!"
The female changing rooms were empty apart from a lady brushing back her wet hair. I took one of the baby changing cubicles and set all my stuff on the bench. Removing Draco's used diaper, I slipped on a 'Little Swimmer' diaper and then some blue shorts with fish dotted about them. He was free to roam the floor as I slipped off my clothes, revealing my bikini underneath. My bikini is navy blue with a line of white and a line of polka dots on the top of the bust, with three white buttons down the middle and a halter neck strap. If I had had more notice, I probably would have bought a cheap one-piece, but not much I can do now. And anyway, my girls aren't exactly the sort you would ogle over. Even having my baby they didn't improve in size much.
I blew up the rubber ring, shoved all of our belongings into a bag, took Draco's hand and lead him over to a wall of lockers. "You ready?" Draco reached up to me and urged for me to pick him up. "Come on then."
Edward was already swimming lengths when we walked through, I don't think he noticed us until he finished a length, stood up straight and pushed his hair back from his face. I'm not going to lie; a top-less Edward, dripping wet, tickled my fancy. He's no Daniel Craig, but hot damn; it was nice to look at. You'd have to be blind not to notice the attraction. He waded over to the steps and caught the rubber ring when I flung it over. As I lowered us into the water, Draco clutched onto one of the bikini cups. Do not pop out, do not pop out, do not pop out. He seemed to ease down when we were both settled in the water. I moved from my side and onto my chest, as he felt the water further up his back, he squirmed around and tried to climb up my front.
"Mama…" He whined, clearly freaked out from the deep water below him. "Mama, mama, mama." His little legs kicked like crazy and his arms looped around my neck.
"You're alright sweetheart, I've got you." He hid his head in my chest and I kissed his crown sweetly. "Don't be scared. Look, daddy is here too. Do you want to go to daddy?"
Edward put his hands under Draco's arms and brought him to his chest. "My big boy isn't afraid of water, is he?" He began to bounce, lowering Draco into slightly each time. But he misjudged the water level accidently and Draco was completely submerged for a split second. Edward straightened up suddenly with guilt written all over his face. Draco spluttered and coughed with his eyes shut tight, he then started to cry loudly. "Oh buddy, I'm so sorry." Edward tried everything he could to calm down his son, but nothing seemed to work.
"Mama…"
"He wants his mummy, "I jokingly smirked at Edward. Bringing my boy into my embrace, I soon soothed down his crying. "Was daddy mean to you? Do we need to teach him a lesson?" I put him back on my side, "shall we splash him?" I swooped my arm forward which caused a small wave of water to smack Edward in the face. I continued to do so as Draco started to laugh, he smacked his tiny palms against the water to join in. "Splash him, Draco, splash him." I adjusted the way I held him so that he could use both hands in the sabotage. There is no better sound than the sound of his giggles as he gets revenge on his dad. I would happily record it and set it as my ring tone on my phone.
After the splash fight, I attempted to put Draco in his ring. Edward held onto the sides and I slotted his legs through the leg holes. It had a little seat for his bum. Draco tried his best to wriggle out, but I didn't want this fear of water to become a phobia later on in life, so I stuck to my plan and made sure he stayed in it. I held onto the sides, took little steps backwards and began to show him how fun the water could be. I pulled and pushed from side to side and backwards and forwards. A smile appeared on his lips after a while.
"Can I try something?" asked Edward.
"Sure."
"Right, stand to the side a sec."
Edward pushed the water in front of Draco and the ring bobbed on the surface like a little boat. I had the vision of the ring tipping over, but I calmed down when I noticed how much Draco was enjoying it. His hand smacked the water again and his happy squeals were his way in asking for more. We played this game for a little while, and then moved onto other things. Edward would take him from the ring and throw him into the air and catching him just as he entered the water. I was not a fan of that game, but they were having fun, that's the main thing.
We decided to stay another twenty minutes and then get out. Edward took those twenty minutes to swim some lengths and I carried on playing with Draco. I wanted to see whether Draco would jump into my arms. I lifted him up onto the side, took a step back, opened out my arms and urged him to jump.
"Come on, baby boy. Jump to mummy. One, two, three, jump!" Draco looked at the water warily. I moved forward and inch which allowed him to take my hands if he wanted to, but after a bit more persuasion, he fell forwards, straight into my arms. "Yay! Well done; mummy is very proud of you."
I could tell by Draco's expression that he was getting tired. I caught Edward as he came up for air and told him that we were going to get changed and that we'd meet him outside.
"Bye dada!"
"Bye buddy! See you in a minute."
Like before, I got Draco dried and dressed before myself. Apparently the sweater I tried putting on him was wrong and the worst thing I could have ever done. Draco grabbed it in his fist and threw it to the damp ground. "No!" I didn't even bother fighting him over it, so left him to bounce around as I got dressed and rung out our wet swim wear. He clearly hated this sweater, because he had continued to put it in every puddle he could see.
I threw it in the bag of wet clothes with a sigh.
You can't please everyone.
Draco is tired and when he's tired he gets grouchy, and when he's grouchy you want to get him home, fed, bathed and into bed as fast as you can.
As I searched my bag for my keys, I made a huge mistake in taking out his blue pacifier and leaving it in his view. Edward and I have decided to start weaning him off of it now before the problem gets out of hand. Apart from his nap earlier on, he hadn't had it at all today, except for now. He grabbed the pacifier and shoved it in his mouth. I never knew he could move that fast. He used to have three, which we've reduced down to one. Before too long the 'pacifier fairy' is going to make a visit and take that one away too. Personally, I blame Edward for the whole thing – he had one as a baby which obviously meant Draco had to have one too - sarcasm.
xxx
There's a small café off to the side of the reception desk, which I planned on steering Draco away from; he can smell candy like a pro. "A-dada?" Draco mumbled around his pacifier, pointing off into the distance whilst looking at me with wide eyes. I looked over to where he was pointing and saw that Edward had taken one of the seats in the café.
"Go to daddy," Draco walked eagerly over to Edward with his arms open for a cuddle. I followed on behind, setting my bags down on the spare seat. He picked his son up and sat him on his right knee.
"What's this?" Edward took the handle of the pacifier between his thumb and forefinger and wiggled it a bit. "Only babies use one of these; you're not a baby." He popped it out and held it in his hand far enough away so that Draco couldn't get it.
"Mine!"
"Draco," Edward wasn't getting the attention he was after; our son had a scowl on his face. "Draco, look at me."
"No!"
I don't know why Edward was so determined to get a reaction out of him; Draco was shattered, I needed to get him to bed.
"Edward just leave it, I need to take him home." I swooped Draco into my arms, and instantly he nestled against my chest with his tired little head lying on my shoulder. I looped my arm through the handle of the bags, made sure Edward was good to go, and headed out to my truck.
As we were driving home, I went through the list of everything that needed to be done when I got home. From just looking at Draco, you could tell that he was about to nod off, and I didn't want him to sleep before he goes to bed. So I asked Edward whether he would want to stay for dinner. That way, I could make the dinner whilst Edward bathes him and then he'll be in bed a lot earlier.
"Yeah, I'll love to. Thank you."
"Just to warn you though… he doesn't like taking a bath."
Good luck.
Edward.
"The bathroom is straight down the hall, you'll find everything you need in there." Bella stood Draco down as she walked through the front door. He instantly plodded over to a pile of toys, sat down and began to play. "He won't budge if he gets too involved." Bella shot me a knowing smile – I had to get my butt into action and start the dreaded bath time.
I pulled a seat over to where he was playing and sat down on it. "Hey buddy," Draco turned his head to look at me and stuck out an arm. In his grasp he had a little red ball. I took his ball from him, like he wanted me to. "Oh, thank you."
"Baaaaall."
Oh, he's so smart! "Well done, it is a ball. Can you say 'red ball'?"
Draco stared at me like I had three heads. "…ball."
That's good enough for me.
"Right, are we going to have a bath now?" He was too busy slotting shapes into a box to listen to me. "Come on, buddy." I don't want to be a strict parent, but I'm going to let him get away with ignoring us. That's just rude. I put my hands under his arms, and lifted him up – ignoring the slight pain in my left leg.
"Nooo! No! No dada!"
"We need to have a bath, and then we can play with the balls." Taking him by the hand, I managed to get him to the stairs, but then Draco spotted Bella in the kitchen.
"Mamaaaa!"
"Mummy is making dinner. Let's go and have a bath, buddy."
"Mamaaaa!"
Fuck the pain; I need to get him up stairs. Draco kicked and pushed and cried his eyes out, but we made it to the bathroom. I locked the door so he couldn't escape and started running the bath. I made up a little song and dance whilst undressing him, hoping to make him smile again – it worked.
"One… two… three…" I sat his naked little self in the bath tub. Draco whined at first, squirming around and looking as though the water was going to eat him up. "Look, Draco, it's fun." Like before in the pool, I had to splash the water and help him see that he has nothing to worry about. I squirted some soap onto his mitt – it is pink and in the shape of a pig. "Arms up." I put my arms up to show him what to do. Draco copied my movements and I washed his arms and his tummy. "Good boy."
A bag of toys were sitting on the side of the bath tub. I took out the plastic dolphin and Draco took the duck. I have the same sort of thing at home, so I knew what to do with them. Draco shoved it under water and squeezed tightly with two hands – the water squirted out of the ducks mouth, making Draco giggle and shake in excitement. I filled up the dolphin and poured the water over his tummy.
It's moments like these when I question myself why I ever doubted becoming a parent at all. I know I was young and stupid at the time, but I hate myself for saying that I wanted nothing to do with him when I first found out. I would have missed these bath times; taking him swimming and watching him grow. I don't know for sure yet if I want more children in the future – just having Draco is more than enough – but if I do, I know for certain, right now, I will put everything I have into bringing them up the correct way.
xxx
I dressed Draco in his Go Diego Go pyjamas, and then took him back downstairs to where Bella had some spaghetti bolognaise waiting for us. She had chopped up Draco's into suitable size bites and put it into a yellow bowl along with his favourite fork.
One thing had been running through my mind all day. Well, two, if you count Bella in that sinful bikini – if we hadn't been with our son, I would have attempted some sly attacks to push her under the water and get her… erm… wet. But no, I did have something I wanted to run by her.
"Bella, can I talk to you when he's in bed?"
Bella took a sip from her drink; she looked at me over the glass with crossed brows. "Yeah of course, you don't need to ask me."
"Okay good, I just wanted to make sure."
Charlie came home from work just as we were finishing off, he greeted us all and told Bella something about how two guys were about come over to watch 'The Game'. Bella said it was fine and she would make some more spaghetti for them.
You can make some more for me too, if you want. That was fucking amazing.
A clatter broke me away from my thoughts. I looked at Draco out of instinct; he was peering over the side of his high chair, looking at the pot of yoghurt and spoon he had pushed off. A line of white yoghurt splattered on the floor some reaching the edge of my shoe.
"Uh oh."
Bella and I looked at each other in shock. "Did he just say 'uh oh'?"
"I… I think he did…"
She crouched down next to the high chair and stroked Draco's cheek with a hooked finger. "My clever boy," she cooed, ruffling his hair and kissing his forehead. It was lovely to see how affectionate she is towards him.
Bella cleaned up the yoghurt spillage and I cleared the table and made up Draco's bedtime bottle. The front door then opened and in wheeled some old-ish man with long black hair and a weird fucking hat, behind him a younger version of him – minus the hat, and clearly over six foot tall.
"Bella!" The younger one shouted, storming over to her and bringing her into a tight hug. Part of me wanted to tear the fucker away from her and chuck him out the house. But he'll probably kill me with one punch.
"Hey Jake, how are you?" Bella, being the kind-hearted soul that she is, went to kiss him on the cheek, but that fucking dick head turned his head and planted a smacker right on her lips.
I'll plant a smacker on him with my fists in a minute…
Wait, where is this coming from? He could be her fucking boyfriend for all you know.
I tell you now, he better not be…
I had Draco's bottle in my hand and went to take him from the high chair. But that fucker – Jake – beat me too it. He took my son out of the high chair and held him high in the air.
"Here's my favourite boy! Say hello to your Uncle Jake!"
The fuck?
Dick Head saw me after he brought Draco back down; he held his hand out for me to shake. "You alright mate, I'm Jacob."
"Edward." I spat out with venom.
"Were you going to give him a bottle? It's alright mate, I've got it."
First, I'm not your fucking mate. Secondly, he is my son.
"No, I'm fine."
"Dada."
Thank you, Draco.
See Dick Head, he asked for me, not you.
So suck it.
"Come on, baby boy." Bella took Draco from Dick Head…take him far away… I went with her through to the living room where Charlie and Old Man Wheels were chatting like two old women. Bella greeted Old Man Wheels with a hug. I sort of stood behind them like a third wheel. What made the situation even worse was that Dick Head came in with a packet of biscuits in his hand.
This isn't your house, that isn't your food!
The hell have his manners gone?
But if he's Bella's boyfriend he probably lives here anyway.
Fuck. Off. Now.
Draco was passed over to me once I had taken a seat and got prepared. He sat sideways on my lap with his head resting against my chest and my arms wrapped around him securely. He held the bottle by himself until he started nodding off to sleep, and I took over. Seeing as everyone else was in their own conversation, I decided to take Draco up to bed. Bella kissed his cheeks and whispered she loved him, and then made sure I was okay to take him upstairs. But I said I could manage.
You don't want to see weak in front of Dick Head.
SHUT. UP.
xxx
Once Draco is safely snuggled up in bed, I headed back down stairs ready for my conversation with Bella like we had planned. I was turning to go into the living room, but a girly giggle coming from the kitchen stopped me. The second I walked in, I wanted to walk out again – kicking Dick Head in the balls before I left.
Bella was standing at the sink, washing some ports and pans, and Dick Head was standing right behind her, leaning into her back, hands on her hips and chin sitting on her shoulder.
Why is this infuriating me as much as it does?
What Bella does with her boyfriend has got nothing to do with me.
Admit it, the idea of someone else touching her makes you mad, doesn't it.
No it doesn't.
Yes it does.
You're jealous that it's not you.
And you don't like how he's worming his way into Draco's life as well.
Okay, fine! For fuck sake, yes! Okay? Yes, I'm fucking jealous.
The fighting with my inner-thoughts made me punch down on the wooden table. Bella and Dick Head jumped apart like they had been caught humping like rabbits.
I had to get out of here.
"Edward, um, is he asleep?"
"Yeah he's fine. I think I'm gonna head now, thanks for dinner."
"What about our chat?"
"It's nothing special, we can do it later."
"Oh, okay then…" I didn't miss how her face fell slightly. And I'm not going to lie and say it didn't affect me inside. "I'll just grab my keys."
"No it's fine; I'll ring someone at home. I don't want to interrupt anything."
"You're not interrupting anything. I don't mind driving you back."
I agreed, only so that I didn't have to see her fallen face again. "Right fine."
It wasn't long before we were in the truck and heading through town. No-one had spoken a word.
Suddenly an angry sigh came from Bella, who indicated left and pulled the car over to the side of the road. "Are you going to tell me what's bitten your balls, or do I have to find out myself?"
"I'm fine."
"If you're 'fine', then I'm the Virgin Mary. Everything seemed to change as soon as Billy and Jacob arrived – what did they do wrong?" I didn't say anything. "For God's sake, Edward. One thing that we never do is talk. We keep our problems bottles up instead of out in the open. So let's talk; tell me what's wrong."
The longer I kept quiet, the worse things will become. "Look, whatever you do with your boyfriend has got nothing to do with me -."
"—Boyfriend? What are you on ab-."
"—I just don't like how he's worming his way into Draco's life like a motherfucker."
"Hey! Jake is not a motherfucker!"
"Okay, I'm sorry for bad-mouthing your boyfriend, but -."
"Oh, my God, will you stop? Jake is not my boyfriend!"
"Don't lie, Bella."
"I'm not lying!"
"So what was all that in the kitchen? You seemed pretty comfortable back then."
Bella ran her hands roughly through her hair and gripped on tight. "He's one of my closest friends, he's been there for me through everything, just because we act that way doesn't mean anything."
"No, of course it doesn't." I replied sarcastically.
"Urgh, Edward!" I turned around to look at her, and just as I muttered the word 'what', Bella took my face in her hands and pulled me forward roughly, her lips smashed against mine in an instant. I had no idea what was going on for the tiniest millisecond, but our lips soon worked together, pulling at each other perfectly for five seconds.
"I wouldn't ever do that with him."
"Thank fuck." I whispered in the now tense atmosphere.
"Do you really have to go home now?"
"No."
"Good, because I'm not finished."
xxx
A/N – I'm just going to sit here and wait for your responses… ;) Review?
RosieRathbone xx
