A/N- This song is too perfect for words. Please read the lyrics…

Didn't I give it all?
Tried my best
Gave you everything I had.
Everything and no less.

Didn't I do it right?
Did I let you down?
Maybe you got too used to
Having me around.

Still how can you walk away
From all my tears?
It's gonna be an empty road
Without me right here

But go on and take it
Take it all with you
Don't look back
At this crumbling fool.

Take It All – Adele.

Edward

I love this picture. Draco and I are fast asleep on the couch; he's lying on my chest with my arm draped over him protectively. He must have been at least five-six months old at the time, I don't know who took the picture, but it was probably my mum. Next to that frame, was another – Draco was older in this one and his hands were squashed up against his cheeks. It was a head shot which allowed you to focus clearly on his large brown eyes. By looking at this picture, you can identify whose features he had inherited – a rounded face, little sticking out ears, large brown eyes and dark brown hair which holds the occasional cow lick. Only the future can tell whether his hair will stay this colour or turn lighter like mine. His nose is small and rounded and when he smiles he has a tiny dimple on his right cheek. I have a head-shot photo like this slipped inside my wallet – I proudly show it off whenever I can.

Taking these photo frames from the table really put into perspective what I'll be leaving behind. But my whole purpose behind it is to hopefully give Draco a brighter up-bringing. As surprising as it may sound, I've been a witness to my parents having outrageous arguments; money situations, working too many hours and over my tardiness through my school years. As soon as dad applied for the job here in Forks, and booked it, the arguments seized to a stop. But I remember getting stressed and agitated, because of their shouting. To be the reason behind my own son's stress, short temper or any other symptom…hurts. There is no other way to describe it; Draco's pain is my pain. So the sooner Bella and I can sort out our problems, the happier our boy will become.

My friend didn't think twice when I asked them whether I could stay for a few days; they understand my reasons. I crept around the house quietly, not wanting to wake Bella or Draco up, collecting a few things to take along with me, as well as pouring my heart into the words I wrote in my letter. Saying goodbye was by far the worst obstacle to overcome. I had my bags packed, sitting by the stairs, and tip-toed into Bella's room. Draco had moved around in his sleep and now lay with his head pointing down the way and his feet on the pillow, scarcely kicking Bella in the head. This made my mission a lot easier.

"Bye-bye buddy. I love you." I pressed a small kiss to the side of his forehead and ruffled his hair with my hand, making sure I didn't wake him up. If I hadn't left then, I never would have. I just had to remember, that all of this was for Draco's sake…even though this hurt more than I cared to admit. So, after kissing Bella's cheek lightly, I left, without turning back around.

xxx

"Hey, Cullen! You got Newtons' VIN?" Felix had a mouth on him. I was out the back, filling out some shit on the computer, and he was up front with Karen Newton – mother of ass-wipe, Mike – what a small world. I'm surprised she still had her hearing after Felix screamed across the garage. Flicking through a large pile of paper on the desk, I sought out Newtons' sheet and headed through to Felix.

"Want me to read it out?"

"Nah, man, it's cool; I'll copy it from there."

Mrs. Newton spotted me and wouldn't let me leave until she told me every single fucking thing that Mike was doing right now – 'He has taken a gap year out from schooling to travel Europe. Oh, we are so proud of him – whoopty fucking doo, Basil. Of course, she had to stick her snotty nose where it doesn't belong, and ask how Bella was getting along 'no longer able to study, what with being a single mother'. Like Mike is the perfect son; he's passed on STDs more than once. Her pompous, up herself voice was getting on my nerves.

"Actually Mrs. Newton, Bella and I are looking after our son together, so she isn't a single mother. But it was great to catch up." I walked away before saying something which would have resulted in losing my job. Royce King was in the back office, feet propped up on the desk, and leaning back in his seat. He was shovelling mouthfuls of chicken salad, barely taking the time to chew each mouthful.

"Newton stirring shit up again?"

"Urgh, when doesn't she? Fucking nosey bitch. It's bad enough that we have to share the same town, now she goes here for a simple car MOT? It's a load of bollocks."

"Talking about your boy, again?" Royce made a crap attempt at chucking his plastic salad container into the bin – it bounced on the sides then scattered to the floor. He shrugged and chugged loudly from a can of Root Beer.

"How did you guess that?"

"Because you wouldn't act like that if she were asking about your mother. I am a father as well, remember."

Oh, I remember.

Royce King used to date Rosalie, all of their friends warned her that he sleeps around and that he'd be unfaithful to her, but Rosalie never seemed to take much notice and believed that the 'I love you's he mumbled were the real deal. Then one night, just before Christmas, Rosalie goes to her meet her best friend, Vera, and what does she find? Royce, humping the shit out of said best friend against her piano. Nine months later, Royce and Vera celebrate the birth of their daughter, and Rosalie has found a home with my brother. Simple. Since then, they've had another child, and apparently living the American Dream. Funnily enough, Rosalie stayed close friends with Vera.

"How are the little ones doing, anyway?"

"Not too shabby. Elizabeth will be starting school soon, and it is Henry's first this weekend – sure have grown up fast."

"Tell me about it; Draco will be two next month; feels like only yesterday that I was being told about him."

We don't really talk much for the rest of the day. I helped advice a lady that it would be cheaper to buy a new car than fix her piece of junk, and ordered a new master cylinder. Felix reminded us that the manager, Aro, will be popping by for a visit tomorrow. I haven't met him before, but this place is his baby, so he'll come down on you for the tiniest thing. It felt odd not heading straight home after work. I grabbed dinner from a local pizzeria and went over to Tanya's. She had mentioned something about going on a date with someone from her Business Management class this evening. My pizza for two then became pizza for one. I sat in wonder, thinking about what Bella and Draco were doing at that moment, what they had for dinner and what book Draco would hear before he went to bed. I couldn't hold back, I had to talk to them.

"He-hello? Edward?" Bella sounded flustered when she answered the phone after taking a short while to answer.

"Bella? Are you okay?"

"Now isn't the best time to talk. Can I phone you back in a minute?"

Sigh. "Yeah, I guess so."

A pizza, no matter how good it may look, never tastes as good as it should once your mood has been tampered with. Tanya had fucked off to her date; I had one slice of pizza left and flickered through the TV channels, to find fuck all to watch. Tanya is living off a low income, so she can't afford a brand spanking new TV, nor can she afford to buy every DVD she sees, so her small selection of seven or eight films, never held much interest either. So it isn't surprising that as soon as my phone vibrated, I accepted the call and answered in haste, only to realise Emmett was phoning, and not Bella.

"Dude, what the fuck?"

"Um… hello, Emmett."

"And when were you going to tell us that you've been kicked to the streets?"

"Excuse me? Bella hasn't kicked me out."

"Well whatever – it seemed that way when she came over just then."

"Allow me to get a few things straight, Emmett. Bella and I had an argument, so I'm staying with a friend until it all blows over, got it? And what are you doing home?"

"What? Am I not allowed to come and see our darling parents?"

Apart from arranged holidays and/or family events, Emmett tends to come home for two things – money and laundry, so I hardly doubt he come over just to catch up with mum and dad.

"Free country. Why did Bella go over? Just to see our darling parents as well?"

"Yeah, well, one of them – dad. She wanted to ask him about medication she could give little Drake-y, did you know my little man has a cold?"

"Yes, Emmett, funnily enough I did, seeing as he is my son and all."

"Well you never know! Jesus, I was only making a conversation."

Our call ended not long after those words were muttered – Emmett loses interest in things pretty quickly. I was half expecting a notification to arise informing me on a miss call when I got off the phone, but I received nothing. It had been way over half an hour since Bella said she'd call me back 'in a minute'. I know 'in a minute' doesn't literally mean she'll return my call within the next sixty seconds, but it tends to be within the next five to ten minutes, not thirty and very nearly forty. When it got between seventy and eighty minutes, I tried again.

"Edward, hey."

"What took you so long?"

"Look, I'm sorry, but I've only just managed to get Draco to sleep; he's been hellish all day."

"Really? What's wrong?"

"He misses you and his cold is only getting worse."

"He misses me?" I wanted to be home, relaxing on the couch, joking with Bella about the day's events and playing stupid games with my son. I miss them too.

"Of course he does, he hasn't seen you in two days – that is a lifetime to a child of his age. He needs to see you, Edward."

"Tomorrow is Friday, right? When is he at daycare till?"

"He never goes to daycare on Fridays. I thought you would have known that."

"Sorry, I… I forgot. I could see if I can change tomorrow's shift for Saturday, and then we'll spend the day together."

Bella took a large intake of breath. "I don't have anything against that, but just so you know, I won't be telling him until you show up. I will not allow him to hurt more when you don't show up."

"If I can, then I promise to be there. I won't let him down again."

"Okay… well send me a message once you know. I have a pile of things to do before I go to bed, so I have to cut this call short."

Either that or she couldn't stand talking to me anymore.

"And Bella… um… how… how are you?"

"You've been gone one day, Edward; I'm hardly going to change drastically in that time."

Yeah, she's pissed.

But who wouldn't be? I leave without saying goodbye and just a note which explains my thoughts and secrets. I know that I did this for their sake, but perhaps this wasn't the right way to do it. I should have thought through my plans better, but…I don't even know anymore. I've made a terrible mistake… that is for certain. I just have to find a way to sort it. And that won't happen if I'm stuck in a house eating cold as fuck pizza and worrying about every single fucking thing that enters my mind. I was brought up better than this.

After talking to Felix and explaining to him that I have family problems, he allowed me to take the weekend off and that he'd find someone else to cover me for the three days. I sent Bella a message, telling her to have Draco ready by ten o'clock the next morning. I then messaged Emmett, asking whether he would want to meet us at the park tomorrow – I could use some brotherly advice on how to deal with things. He agreed all too willingly.

By the time Tanya got home, I had already laid out a blanket and made a little bed for myself on the couch. She asked me how my day had been whilst making a cup of coffee. I talked about Draco, taking time off work to spend quality time with him and made sure she knew that I wasn't going to camp here for too long.

"I understand the situation you're in, Edward. And anyway, you are practically family; you can stay as long as you need to."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. So, how was your date?"

Tanya shrugged, taking a sip from her mug. "Nothing special. I mean, he's nice enough, but you wouldn't exactly call him God's Gift. Want one?" She held out a packet of cigarettes after slipping one out for herself.

"Nah, I'm good – trying to quit."

Her eyes widened. "Twenty plus a week for four years and now you're trying to quit? Jesus, you're not the Edward that I know."

"I haven't been the same person for two years now. Having a child changes you."

xxx

"You want to go on the swings, buddy?" I hadn't even let Draco out of the buggy and he was already trying to make a run for it. It's late January, so there is still a chill in the air, but all the snow that we had suffered with over the Christmas period had thankfully melted away, leaving the park clear to play on. I parked the buggy by the barriers and watched with a smile as Draco zooms around the various slides, swings and roundabout which were all free to play on.

"Daddy!"

"What is it, little man?" Draco jumped up and down next to the baby swings. "You want to go on that one?" Have you ever tried putting an uncooperative child in one of those fucking baby swing things? Yeah, it isn't fun. Especially when one leg slips over the top of the bars, and the other goes under and through the slot it's actually meant to go through. You're then left with a child complaining about the discomfort. But once you have each leg in place, you're all set… kind of. Apparently, if you push the swing the tiniest bit too fast, Draco freaks out and won't calm down until you assure him that he won't die.

"Brother!" A boisterous voice yells from across the park.

"Who's that?" I ask Draco.

"Mmmmmmett."

"Little brother," Emmett slapped the back of my shoulder in greeting. "Dude!" he held out the palm of his hand which Draco smacked playfully. "How can some dweeb like you have a fuck-awesome son like this?"

"Jesus Emmett! Mind keeping the swear words to yourself? The book says that he's picking up new words daily. Bella will have my ass if she hears him say that!"

"Ha! Like you aint on her shit list already. C'mon Drakey-Drake, let's play a game." Together they raced each other from one tree to another, kicked a ball around, and Emmett's personal favourite: 'Edward Pile-Up.' Emmett would tackle me to the ground and Draco repeatedly jumped on me. Getting a knee, foot, elbow and the occasional head to the junk, hurts like a serious mother fucker. Seriously, if it wasn't for these bad boys, you wouldn't be around, so treat them with some deserved respect.

"Right, I gotta take a piss."

"Pisssss!"

"Emmett!"

"Ha! Sorry dude, kinda slipped out. Anyway, he needs to brighten up his vocabulary."

"Pisss, pisss, pisss, pisss, pisss…."

I make sure Draco is looking me straight in the eye when I start talking. "No. We do not say that word, buddy. Okay?"

"PISSS!"

Oh, Christ.

xxx

"So… what, you're just scrounging around till you get this sorted?" Emmett and I had taken a seat on one of the bench tables; Draco was sitting on the ground before us, sifting soil and sand between his fingers.

"I'm not scrounging around; I'm staying with Tanya. And anyway, I don't think I'll be there for much longer."

"Right, but you buy this house, practically beg for them to move in and after one little argument you piss off."

"It was not some little argument – I messed up, big time. It's Draco's home; I'm not having him moving around from place to place. And how many times do I have to tell you, keep your language down!"

"Okay… just hope you know what you're doing."

"I think I do…" Draco peered at the pile of stones he held in his hand, in one sudden movement he shoved them all but one into his mouth. I made a sudden dash to the ground. "No, no, no, no…" Pulling gently down on his chin, I managed to open his mouth wide enough to hook a finger inside and flick out all the stones. My intrusion didn't go down too well with him. He squirmed and wriggled, screaming with tears in his eyes. Once he was free from all the stones, I held him to my chest and we cuddled on the bench.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"Juice."

"Do you want some juice, buddy?"

"Yesss."

I get Emmett to bring over the buggy and rummages through the bottom basket to retrieve Draco's sippy cup. He drank that stuff down quicker than Emmett would a beer. He was probably getting pretty peckish too. "Would you like a banana or an apple?"

"Ba-nan-nan-na."

I broke off a chunk of banana and gave it to him to enjoy. "You're daddy's clever boy."

"Cough sap cough."

"Oh, shut it, Emmett. You'll find yourself doing the same thing if you ever get Rosalie to produce your spawn."

"Hey! Are you calling my un-made children spawn?"

"Yeah… only because you called me a 'sap' for being affectionate and praising my son."

Emmett shrugged. "That's because you are a sap." He attempted to steal a chunk of Draco's banana.

"No!" A tiny voice shouted in annoyance.

"Ha-ha! That's what you get for stealing your nephews food!

"Oh, Edward, stop being a dick."

"…Deck."

First 'piss' and now 'dick'. Oh, Jesus God, what next?

"Hey buddy, I will buy you a BMW if you promise not to say those words to Bella. Yeah?" Draco slapped my outstretched hand almost like he agreed to my compromise.

"You have to stick to that now."

"Shut up, Emmett."

xxx

"Mummy!"

"Hey, baby! Did you have fun with daddy?" Draco ran straight into Bella's open arms. "Yeah?"

"Yes."

I stood back and watched over them with a smile.

"What did you do?" He giggled and ran around in a circle. "Huh? What are you giggling at?"

"Daddy…"

It's as if you're communicating with a brick wall.

"What did daddy do?"

"…Pisssss…deck…"

That's my cue to run… fast.

xxx

Funny story, when my brother was 2, he said 'piss' whenever he was excited about something and my cousin called his dad a 'piss dick' at the same age. I have a cool family…