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A/N- Capricorn75 has bullied me into posting the rest of it. Thanks.
It was a sunny day out when I took Jeannie outside for some fresh air. She needed it. The scratchy cough was clearing up, finally, and her personality and energy was coming back. We sat on a quilt in the backyard while she played with a butterfly that had found us. She smiled often, but her laughter wasn't as frequent as it used to be, mostly because of the coughing. She was definitely feeling a little lethargic, still.
I brushed her hair with a comb.
"Hey Bells," Charlie said from the patio. "You've got a visitor."
"Yeah?" I asked, turning around. Edward was standing in the doorway.
"Hi, Bella," he said.
"Hi," I replied. "Making a house call?"
"Yeah," he said. "How is she doing?"
"She's coming around," I said. She sneezed at that moment. I fished a tissue out of my pocket and wiped her nose as Edward came outside and sat down with me.
"You're going to get her started on the booster shots, aren't you?" he asked.
"I guess so," I said. "She shouldn't get Whooping Cough again, should she?"
"No, not for a while, it's like Chicken Pox, you get it once and you're immune," he said. "But, there are a whole list of diseases she can still get."
"I'll think about it," I said. "It's a double-edged sword."
"I know," he said. "You're not the first parent in Forks to tell me they haven't vaccinated their baby."
"I don't feel so stupid, now," I said.
"I didn't mean to yell at you in the ER," he said.
"I figured you didn't," I said. A part of me wanted to dive into his chest and shout I love you and I don't care what anybody else thinks! for comfort's sake, but I know I couldn't. I had to tell him something. "Edward, about the day that Jeannie came out of the ICU… at your house…"
"I know," he said.
"No, it's not that," I said. "I was so mixed up with my days that I had forgotten that that day was the day that Mike died." Edward paled. "I feel terrible."
"Nobody has to know what we did," Edward said.
"I know," I said. It was nobody's business, but… I couldn't help but feel guilty.
"Are you going to keep Jeannie at home for a few more days?" he asked.
"Yes," I said. "I don't want to expose her to the store. So many strangers come in there carrying germs."
"Do you want to come over this afternoon?" he asked. "You can bring her with you."
"I'd love to," I said. "I'm getting cabin fever."
"OK. I'll make dinner," he said. "'bye."
"I'll see you then."
I put Jeannie down for a nap- she was taking several, now, more than had before getting sick. I took this as a chance to get a shower in. I hoped that the stint in the hospital didn't mentally and emotionally scar her and make her a needy, insecure child. I dried my hair carefully, using the flat iron and changed into a nice pair of jeans and sweater. The wind outside was picking up and the clouds were coming in.
I woke Jeannie up at three and then took her to the store just to check on things. She smiled for Emmett and giggled when he took her into his arms for a great big hug and tossed her in the air. "I miss you," Emmett said, kissing her on the head. "That's more like it."
"How is she?" Rose asked.
"She's doing better," I said. "The cough is going away." Emmett held her up in the air over his head with one hand like superbaby. She used to love this.
"I can't wait for you to come back," she said. "Stuff is piling up at the office."
"I'm sorry," I said.
"It's OK," Rose said. "It's not so bad. Your hair looks nice."
"Oh," I said. "Thanks."
"You got plans tonight?" Rosalie asked.
"Kind of," I said. My friends seemed to know more about me than I wanted them to.
"Oh, OK," she said. "Enjoy your time off, then. I'll have a whole list of stuff for you when you get back."
As I got to Edward's, Jeannie had fallen asleep from the vibrations of the road. I got her out and she woke up. Groggy, I carried her up to the house and rang the doorbell. Nobody answered. I saw Edward's Volvo parked out front. I took a walk around the back. Edward was standing over the grill, making steaks with his iHome playing.
"Hi," I said.
"Hey, Bella," he said, turning around. He reached for me and kissed me, and then Jeannie. "How's she feeling?"
"She fell asleep on the way over," I said. "I took her by the store to see Emmett and Rose. It cheered her up."
"Do you want to put her down?" he asked. "We can put her in one of the guest bedrooms."
"Oh, no," I said. "It's too early. She'll be up at three in the morning if I let her sleep, now. She has to stay up at least until eight."
"You know her so well," he said.
"I do," I admitted. "That's what motherhood is."
We sat on the patio by the firepit and talked while he finished grilling out. We went inside to have dinner. We could see the water from where we were. Jeannie sat in my lap while I fed her potatoes from my plate and asparagus.
"So, are you going to take me out on the water, sometime?" I asked.
"Only if you take me hiking to your favorite spots," Edward said.
"It's a deal," I said.
Jeannie began to want to nurse after dinner, so we took her out to the patio by the firepit. I knew she'd fall asleep. I had brought her along as insurance that I could have a night alone with Edward without attacking him. And now, here I was, with my child about to fall asleep, and Edward was holding both of us. I knew this would happen. I was stupid to think it wouldn't. It was obvious what was going to happen the moment Jeannie was put down in a guest bedroom. Yes, the devil on my shoulder wanted it, but the angel on my shoulder reminded me that I was cheating whore and that Mike was my husband. I was so tired of wrestling with my conscience. As Jeannie started to nod off from the breastfeeding, I clutched her to my chest.
"How old is she, now?" Edward asked.
"Almost ten months," I said.
"She'll be walking, soon," he said.
"She was trying to stand before Thanksgiving," I said. "I'm going to be so sad when she starts walking. Because I won't be able to hold her all the time."
"Maybe you should have another one," he said.
"Edward, no," I said.
"I know," he said. "You've got plenty of time to have another baby." He kissed my temple. "Do you want to put her down?"
"What will we be doing?" I asked.
He chuckled, awkwardly. "Well, I have a hot tub," he said.
"Where?" I asked.
"It's behind those bushes over there," he said. "You liked the bathtub, so I figured I'd finally get the cover off and fill it, again."
"I don't have my suit," I said.
"You don't need one," he said.
"Won't people see us from the beach?" I asked.
"I'll keep the lights down. That, and, nobody ever comes down the beach right now," he said. "If you want, you can take your clothes off in my room and use my bathrobe. We don't have to do this if you're not comfortable with it."
"It's OK, I want to," I said.
A/N- By now, you should know reviews are like cookies to writers! Leave me some!
