Chapter Three:

BPOV:

I walked into Emerson's room staring at the picture of Emmett and me. It was taken at the big formal party that his parents hosted for him after he was drafted to play for the Bears. It was in Seattle, a night before Emmett jumped off the cliffs at First Beach. I was looking up at him and he was smiling down at me, my hands were grasping the lapels of suit. I remembered the moment quite clearly, as if it was just moments ago, rather than three years ago.

I was walking through yacht, staring overboard at the lights of Seattle. The Cullen's never threw a party halfway. I guess that's what happens when two old money families marry each other. Not that you would ever know by the way the children were raised.

I was sipping on champagne and looking up at the stars, wondering why I came to the party in the first place. Edward and Tanya were in the corner making out, which didn't surprise me. Edward always sought Tanya's affections when he was back on this side of the states.

Jasper and Alice were off fighting about, well, whatever they fight about. The brothers often joke that they just need to sleep together to get rid of the tension.

Emmett, well, Emmett was on the arm of Rosalie, which is where he should have been. They had been dating for years, and quite honestly I was surprised to find out that they weren't married yet. I had thought they were going to get married right out of high school, but now we had graduated college, and no wedding bells . . . yet.

My father had come as my date, but had sought Sue's attention. It didn't bother me, but man.

So that leaves me, being the odd girl out. That was fine. All I ever needed was me, the stars, and a good glass of champagne, which was now gone.

Damn, I would have to go get another one.

I turned, and stumbled when the yacht lurched slightly. I wasn't the most coordinated on land, and now, sea as well.

"You are always losing your balance," Emmett told me, walking up with two glasses of champagne.

Of course he would be the one to see me stumble.

"Well, I haven't always been the most coordinated person, now have I," I replied cheekily, rolling my eyes.

"What are you doing out here, all alone?"

"Admiring the view." I sighed, looking out at the stars. "It reminds me of home. In Seattle, the city lights block out all the stars, so I never get to see them like this. Now, why are you out here with me, instead of Rosalie?"

"Rose can manage without me. I would much rather be out here with you, Bella," he told me sincerely. I looked up at him, searching his face. Emmett had those dimples that just wanted to make me melt. I would never tell him that though, boy had a big head about his looks.

"I have a knock, knock joke for you," Emmett said, his eyes lighting up.

"Em, I don't think so. I'm not in the mood for your raunchy jokes . . ."

"Come on Bells, humor me. Knock, knock."

"Who's there?"

"Little old lady."

"Little old lady who?"

"I didn't know you could yodel."

I started laughing, even though it was stupid. And he was smiling down at me. That's when the photographer took the picture.

"You know Bella, you could be happy with him," Jake said softly, not wanting to wake up Emerson.

I set the picture down and quietly left his room, making sure to take the monitor with me. Unfortunately, he would have to have a short nap because we were going to the Cullen's house for dinner tonight.

"I don't know why you are saying that Jake . . . Emmett was with Rosalie, or so I thought, and even if they weren't together, too much time has passed for use to just pick up right where we left off. Things have changed drastically for us now. I'm a mother now, and everything I have to do is for Emerson."

"I'm saying that because, when I look at that picture, I see two people in love . . ."

"No Jake, that's not what happened. He told me a joke, I laughed, he was smiling. That's it."

"Then how do you explain the look of love in Emmett's eyes? Or in your eyes for that matter?" Jake muttered, putting his hands on his hips.

"You are just seeing what you want to see."

Jake sighed, wrapping me up into his arms. It was comfortable and safe. So much like being with Emmett, but so different at the same time. But I didn't want to be in Jake's arms. I pulled away and started pacing.

"What happens when Emmett finds out? What happens if he doesn't want Emerson?"

Charlie walked in, shaking his head. "I don't think that it will happen like that Bells."

"I kept his child from him . . ."

"You said yourself it was unintentional," Dad tried to reason with me.

"I still should have told him."

Dad nodded, sitting in his recliner, drinking his Vitamin R. "What is done, is done. You just have to deal with it."

"You know Dad, you are sounding more and more like Yoda. I mean, what was up with what you said in the park? I think you are spending way too much time at the Rez fishing and watching Star Wars with Seth Clearwater."

Charlie shook his head, and Jake laughed.

Luckily, the subject was changed for now, and we could pretend that this morning never happened for the next two hours.

XXXXXXXXXX

The old Cullen Mansion was on the outskirts of town on top of twenty acres of land that had a stream running smack dab through the middle of it. I loved the fact that they owned so much land. Edward, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and I would spend hours with the boys on the four wheelers exploring the land.

It was my understanding that Carlisle and Esme had an offer from the head coach of the Seahawks to buy their property and house for a hefty amount, but they wouldn't hear of it. Esme had always felt like Forks was her home above all the other places they had lived. I was grateful, I didn't want to see the land going to someone else anyway. Too many memories. This was more than a home to many of us.

I drove the familiar route in my beat up 1995 Toyota Corolla. I had to replace the Beast after my junior year in college, but that didn't matter anyway. There was no way I could let Emerson ride in the cab with me anyway.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah Baby," I responded pulling into the drive.

"I hungwy."

I glanced at the clock, we had an hour until he normally ate, but he had been running around with his uncles and grandfather today. My breath caught in my throat. He finally had a big part of his family back, and they wanted him.

But would Emmett?

We made our way up to the mansion, and Emerson started chattering. He was at that point where he was gaining more words ever day, meaning now I had to be even more careful about what words I would say around him.

"Mommy, wing bell."

I smiled, and lifted him up, letting him ring the doorbell.

Emerson then ran behind my legs, waiting for the door to open. Esme opened up the door and smiled at me.

"You came," she said.

"Sorry I'm a little late, but Emerson slept a little longer than expected. His uncles and grandfather wore him out today."

She smiled. "Carlisle is actually taking a nap on the couch, and Edward and Jasper are in their rooms. Do you remember me from the park, Sweetie."

"Meme," Emerson screeched running to her. Esme swept him up in her arms. "Emson hungwy."

"Well let's fix that after your wake up Carlisle . . ."

Esme pointed Emerson to where a sleeping Carlisle was, I felt bad for him for a second. Emerson wasn't exactly the most gentle of boys when waking people up.

"Papop, wake up!"

"Papop?" Esme looked at me.

I shrugged my shoulders. Emerson always made up his words for calling people. Charlie was G-Pop, which made me smile, it was like a part of Pops went on.

"You will probably always be Meme. I hope you don't mind."

"I love it, and I am too young to be grandma anyway." Esme smiled. I looked over and saw Carlisle, grinning like a fool as Emerson, started poking at him, whisper-yelling Papop over and over again. Emerson finally gave up with the poking and climbed on top of Carlisle. Carlisle wrapped his arms around Emerson and flipped him up in the air.

"Papop was trying to sleep!"

"Papop, Emson hungwy."

"Well, let's see what we have in the kitchen for you." Carlisle juggled him in his arms expertly. Walking by me.

"No bananas," I called over my shoulder. I plopped the diaper bag on the ground, and one of the scrapbooks fell out. Esme eyed it, and I picked it up. "I thought you might like to look through it." I handed it to her, and she grasped my hand, leading me into the den, where Jasper and Edward were. They must have came down stairs.

"Your dad is in the kitchen with Emerson. Edward, can you check on the roast for me, and Jasper can you start peeling the potatoes for mashed potatoes?"

"Sure Ma," Jasper replied, leaving with Edward in tow.

"I hope I am half the mother you are . . ."

"From what I can tell, you are Emerson's world," Esme said, opening up the first scrapbook.

She gazed down at a picture of me at three months pregnant. You couldn't tell that I was pregnant, but Sam thought that I would want pictures of the event. I was certain I wouldn't, but I'm glad Sam made me do it. In this particular picture, my hands were in the shape of a heart over my stomach around the ultrasound picture.

"I knew extreme love that day," I whispered.

Esme looked at me, getting ready to say something when the front door burst open.

"I'm home Bitches!"

My breathing hitched, I knew that voice anywhere . . .

EmPOV:

I ran my hand through my blonde curls as I saw the sign which proclaimed "Welcome to Forks." I never in my life thought that I would want to settle back down in dark, soggy, green Forks, Washington, but deep down, I knew it was home. It would always be home.

We all knew that we would eventually be back here, which is why I was now currently in negotiations with the Seattle Seahawks to become their newest starting quarterback. I hadn't told anyone the news yet, as it wasn't yet confirmed, but I knew I would take almost any deal to get back home.

It had been a long fucking time since I graced this town with my presence. I should have come back to visit, but there was really no one left to visit over the past couple of years. Dad and Mom had been in Oxford, Jazz and Edward were off at Dartmouth pursuing degrees. I had moved to Chicago to play for the Bears, and had spent almost three years there.

Rosalie had convinced me that leaving Forks would be great, would be what we needed to move on with our lives. I had listened to her. We were young, in love, and ready to start the rest of our lives. Unfortunately, what I had planned for the rest of our lives wasn't exactly what Rose had thought the rest of our lives would be.

To make a long story short, she lied, cheated, and drugged her way through life. She dragged me through it too, but luckily my brothers saved me before I got in too deep, and we were able to keep it out of the media.

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts of the Bitch from Girlfriends Past and decided that I would focus on my future, because I was hoping that I could make my past my future once again.

I continued down the road, passing by the familiar shops. Mrs. Newton was sweeping the front of her store, which she always did at five on the dot. Archie, the local barber was in the middle of closing up shop for the day so he could go eat dinner at the diner with his wife of 30 years. There were more shops, which weren't familiar to me, but I guess that is what was to be expected if a town was going through a revitalization.

The Seahawks new training facility and stadium were only thirty minutes from here, and honestly the commute from Forks would be easier than the commute from Seattle, so many of the players were building around here, which meant a booming economy for the sleepy town of Forks.

I pulled up to Swan's hoping that I could speak to Pops. I had truly missed him over the years, and wanted to just sit with him and shoot the shit like we did before I left here. I glanced at my watch, seeing that it was three o'clock, and whereas Swan's wouldn't be open to the public, Phillip Swan would still have a select few in just to pass the time while he worked on opening it.

I got out, feeling the mist around me, and I pulled my jacket closer around me. Some old Forks' weather.

"Emmett Cullen, I never thought I would see you around again."

I smiled at the familiar voice - Dottie, the owner of the diner. "Ms. Dottie, how are you?"

"Fine Sweetheart. I never thought I would see you again after you left town with the Hale girl."

"Ms. Dottie, I didn't leave town with Rose, we just happened to leave at the same time and moved to the same town."

"Sure, sure."

I could tell that she didn't quite believe me, but it was the truth.

"Business has sure picked up since you young whippersnappers started building some fancy new stadium close to here."

"They aren't causing you too much trouble, are they Ms. Dottie?"

"Oh no Emmett, dear. They are perfect gentlemen. I had to add more to my menu for the new age food to add fancy things like bleu cheese hamburgers, but nothing too bad. So . . . why are you at Swan's so early? Isabella doesn't open Swan's until about five, and she isn't opening today."

"What happened to Pops?"

"He died about a year ago." She trailed off. We always thought that Ms. Dot and Pops had something on the side, but they never confirmed or denied everything. "Didn't Bella tell you? The five of you were attached at the hip."

"We all lost contact when we moved after college. But we are all back together now, and maybe we could all go out together."

"That would be wonderful, and if Charlie can't watch Bella's son, tell her I will."

I inhaled deeply, probably inhaling a bug while I was at it, but WHAT THE HELL.

Isabella had a son?

Truly, I had thought moving here would lead me back to her, but it was obvious that I was too late. She had moved one, and could I blame her? She was a lovely woman who deserved to have everything she wanted in life.

"Emmett, Sweetheart, you look a little pale . . ."

"Yeah, I guess I just realized everything I missed out on."

"Emmett, you are young. You have plenty of life left dear, so don't dwell too much on the past. I expect to see you soon."

I hugged Ms. Dottie, smelling the all too familiar smell of peppermint and strawberries. I made my way back to my car, head spinning from all the changes. Pops was gone and Bella was apparently a mother.

What the fuck had I missed while I was wasting away in Chicago?

Was I so lost in mine and Rosalie's drama that I missed some of the most important moments of my best friend's life?

I drove around aimlessly, finding myself at the cliffs of La Push.

I parked, and walked out to the point where I almost died when I jumped. Bella had saved my life that day in more ways than one. I sighed, watching the sunset over First Beach.

So many things happened that day. Bella had the last shift, and she really didn't need to stay with me, but she did. Showing me how perfect she really was for me. I had wanted Isabella Swan since we moved to Forks, but so did my two brothers, so none of us did anything about it until that night, or morning as the case may have it. I was getting ready to profess my love for her when my father walked in.

I watched as Bella walked out of my room wearing my shirt with my last name on it, with boxers that were getting ready to fall down around her ankles at any moment. She was perfect, so fucking beautiful and she didn't even know it.

Dad sat down beside me, noticing me watching her. He snickered, looking at me. He knew.

We sat in silence for an hour, watching the news together. Dad was in doctor mode, checking my stitches and breathing. I could tell that he was on the verge of having a mental break down.

"Don't you ever fucking do that to me again, do you understand me Emmett . . ."

"Dad . . ." For Dad to be so emotional and to cuss, I knew that he was on the verge of losing it.

"No Emmett. You don't understand what it is like to see your child on a gurney! Promise me, Emmett. You can't do that me to me again."

I looked at my father, really for the first time since he came into the room. His eyes were red, and there was a slight smell of alcohol on his breath.

"Dad, I'm sorry."

He took in a shuddering breath. "I know Son. You mean so much to your mother and me. You and your brothers are our lives. You won't understand what I mean until you have a child of your own, but seeing you there just about killed me too."

I sat in silence, not able to defend my actions. It was stupid, I knew that. I put my life and Bella's life at risk.

I took in a deep breath with that realization. I almost killed her.

"You and Bella?" Dad interrupted my thoughts, changing the topic. Dad wasn't really one to dwell on heavy topics, but I knew he had to get it out.

I didn't say anything, I just turned back toward the morning news.

"Emmett, I'm not going to judge you guys, all I'm asking is that you are careful. Jumping from Rosalie to Bella less than a week, it seems awful sudden. Are you sure?"

"Yeah Dad. I'm sure." It was Bella, it had always been Bella.

"Have you talked about what you are going to do while she is finishing grad school, and you are in Chicago?" He inquired.

"Not really Dad, it is all so new, we hadn't given it much thought."

"Do some thinking and talking then Em. You guys always get together for such a short time, there are a lot of decisions to make."

I knew that, but I wanted the chance to enjoy her before we had to talk about the heavy stuff. I took a sip of my coffee, staring at the door. I barely registered my dad chuckling.

"You've got it bad Son. I have to ask though, are you sure that Bella isn't the rebound girl from Rosalie?"

"I'm 100% positive Dad. It's more like Rosalie was the rebound girl from Bella."

"But you guys dated for six years now."

"That is how long I knew that Bella was for me."

"WHAT. THE. FUCK!"

I turned and saw Rosalie in the doorway. She had fire in her eyes, and I knew this was bad.

"I had to hear from Tanya of all people that you were stupid enough to jump off a cliff and to risk our future."

"Tanya, we are over," I stated slowly. I swear talking to her was like talking with a child.

"Yeah, I figured when I heard you mooning over Bella Swan, again. When are you going to figure that people like you and her don't mix?" Rosalie scathed. "We are what makes sense."

"Shut up Rosalie," I seethed.

"Emmett Christian McCarthy Cullen, I didn't raise you to talk to a lady like that!"

I heard my mother's voice filter into my room. I rolled my eyes. Rosalie was no lady, but I couldn't very well tell my mother that, now could I.

I closed my eyes and sighed. I was tired, and now had been up for over twenty-four hours. "Dad, can I finally sleep?"

"Sure Son. But I am going to be checking on you."

I nodded, walking over to the bed, which two hours previously I had made love to Isabella Swan. I closed my eyes, letting sleep take me and dreaming of her.

Three hours later, I woke up, smelling my mother's brunch wafting in through the house. Mom's waffles were the best. I pulled on some jeans and all but ran down stairs to the kitchen. Rosalie was still there, much to my annoyance.

"Rose . . ."

"Emmett . . ."

"I don't want you here," I stated clearly. "We are over. Rose, you were my first love, and I will always hold a place for you, but your place isn't with me anymore." Mom and Dad didn't need to hear the whole story right now. The breakfast table wasn't the place for airing out dirty laundry.

I saw the anger flash in her eyes, but I couldn't care about that.

My mother raised an eyebrow, but didn't question anything. My brothers stared at me, knowing that something was up.

Rose sat quietly, finishing up her food. I couldn't really tell what was in her mind, but that didn't concern me anymore. I collected our dishes and waited for Rosalie to gather her possessions. When we finally made it out to the front porch, she turned and looked at me.

"I'm sorry Emmett."

"I can't do this anymore Rose. We have been hurting each other too much, we can't do this anymore."

"Emmett . . ." Rose pushed into me, shoving her body up against mine and crashed her lips into mine. I was taken by surprise and it took me a minute to realize what was happening. I pushed her off of me.

She was smirking. "You will come back to me Emmett, you always do."

"No fucking likely."

I turned on my heel and when back inside, waiting for Bella to come back. She should be coming soon for dinner, and I was bouncing, waiting for her.

But she never came back. She moved on with her life. I shook my head out of the memories and decided it was time to go home.

I pulled up the drive seeing Edward and Jasper's cars parked next to Dad's newest Mercedes SUV. That man was a sucker for German engineering. There was another car that was here. I didn't know who the beat up Corolla belonged too, most likely a person from town.

I entered the front door hearing Jasper and Edward in the kitchen.

"I'm home Bitches!"

"Emmett language!" My mother scolded me, coming out of the living room.

There was a scuffle and a sound of a child giggling in the kitchen. I watched in fascination as a tow head boy ran from the kitchen into the foyer.

"Meme!"

Bella was out of the living room, trying to catch, who I could only assume was her son.

He stopped in front of Esme and looked to me. Bella stopped short, trying to catch her breath.

"I'm Emmett, who are you?" I kneeled down, to get a closer look at him. His eyes were a familiar shade of blue, his blonde, curly hair was startling familiar.

"Emson," He stated proudly as he patted his overall covered chest.

The child smiled, and instantly I knew that he was mine.

I looked over at Bella, who had tears running down her cheeks.

"Emerson, why don't I go see what we have for dinner." Esme scooped him up, taking him from my view. I stared at Bella, who hadn't moved from her spot since she laid eyes on me.

"Emmett . . ."

I held up my hand to forestall her. I didn't know what to think, what to do.

How long did my family know about him?

Why the hell hadn't she told me?

"Emmett, please . . ."

"Not now Bella."

I wrenched open the door, slamming it behind me. I jumped into my rental and peeled out of the driveway. I didn't know where I was going, but I didn't care.

Fuck.

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