A/N: So I was right in the middle of review replies when all hell broke loose at work. Sigh. Sorry, citizens. So many interesting ones this time around too. Someone offered to help with research. That's so fab! I'll be tracking you down when I'm...ya know...not at work. Mwah. I love you all.

When Edward woke, the light of the morning was strong, even as muted as it was behind the curtains. He blinked slowly, feeling slightly disoriented by time and place.

He was, he noticed first, nude beneath the covers. He couldn't recall ever waking nude.

Sitting up, Edward was further confused to find himself in his parents' room.

This last little shock cleared the cobwebs from his sleep addled mind, and he remembered the events of the day previous: coming home to his mother and sister for good, his mother saying he was the man of the house...

Making love to his beautiful wife.

Edward felt his lower lip pout lightly when he realized Bella was not with him in bed. She'd apparently let him sleep in late. She had, he noted, set out everything he'd need to get himself cleaned and prepared for the day.

It was nice, he reflected, to be cared for in this way.

As he got up and dressed, his emotions vacillated. Happiness seemed to be the pervasive emotion, which was understandable. He was home safe - finally free of the long war he'd fought - and his physical desires had been satisfied. How much he wanted to believe he would live happily ever after from that point forward.

However, Edward, while out of his depth, was not naive. His life was anything but settled, and he could not know what trouble might be on the horizon until he was able to take full store of his situation.

Putting that heavy thought to the side, Edward let his mind wander to Bella.

He felt remarkably shy about facing her. Before he'd drifted off to sleep, she seemed to be quite content, curled up against him as she was. But she'd been very quiet. He suddenly worried that she was upset.

It was also somewhat awkward, he had to admit to himself, because he was sure that his mother and sister were also downstairs. As it was, he felt as though his deeds of the night before were written plainly on his skin. Surely they would be able to tell...

But so what if they knew? Obviously, neither were unaware of what being married meant, of what transpired between a man and a woman in their marriage bed.

Checking his reflection in the mirror, Edward sighed slightly.

Being a husband was still so new to him.

Dismissing his nervousness as ridiculous, Edward left his room.

His home was large enough to warrant a small team of servants, so Edward was not surprised to find a maid already bustling in the hall with a basket full of laundry. "Good morning, sir," she said, nodding her head.

"Good morning," he murmured.

Following the direction of the cheerful noise of women chattering, Edward found his family at the kitchen table. When his eyes found Bella, he was relieved when she smiled and charmed by the way her cheeks grew pink under his gaze. He smiled back, feeling shy again as she looked.

She stood, going to him and kissing his cheek. "Good morning," she murmured quietly. "Would you like some coffee and breakfast?"

He took her hand, not letting her step away as he grinned impishly at her. "Please," he said, and kissed her lightly, finding he didn't care that his mother and sister were likely watching their exchange.

Reluctantly, he let her go, and looked to the table, ready to apologize for being rude. He found his mother only looked pleased, and Alice seemed busy playing some kind of game with Peter. He stooped to kiss Esme's cheek. "Mother," he greeted softly, and she squeezed his hand.

Then, Edward was left with something of a conundrum. He'd been about ready to take his customary seat when he realized suddenly that Esme was not in hers. All his life, he was used to her sitting to the right of the head of the table - to the right of where his father sat. Now, she was sitting to the left.

Biting the inside of his cheek, Edward took a seat at the head of the table. It didn't feel quite right, nor did he feel completely out of place.

Esme patted his arm as if she understood what he was thinking.

Bella came back to the table, having retrieved a cup of coffee and a plate from the cook. She set these both in front of him before sliding into the seat at his right. Beneath the table, he briefly rested his hand upon her knee - a gesture of affection that grounded him, keeping him from being so overwhelmed.

Peter's delighted giggle distracted him somewhat, and Edward smiled, watching the tiny boy's fingers wrap around the little candy in the palm of Alice's hand. She laughed too, obviously enjoying playing with the little boy.

"Looks like you found a friend, Peter," he said with a chuckle.

Peter looked up at him, holding his treat aloft with bright eyes.

Though he shouldn't have expected differently, Edward had been relieved when both Esme and Alice had been sympathetic toward little Peter. Of course, the day previous, they hadn't let Edward get a word in edgewise until he told them the whole sordid tale of how he'd arrived home, after a harrowing, four year journey, with a wife of several days and a two year old child.

"So, what is the business of the day?" he asked lightly.

"That should be obvious, Edward," Alice said, her voice admonishing. "Mother and I helped Bella hem one of Mother's old dresses earlier this morning, but that won't do at all. We should go into town today. Right now, in fact."

"That's not necessary," Bella said quickly. "I purchased fabric at the last port. I can make my own things."

Alice and Esme exchanged a glanced. Alice laughed. "If you want to be the laughing stock of society, you'll make your own dresses."

"Alice!" Both Edward and Esme admonished at once.

"I'll thank you not to speak to my wife that way," Edward continued hotly.

Alice frowned, looking contrite. Bella was looking down at the table, biting her lip as if she didn't know what to say.

Sighing, Alice reached over and patted Bella's arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend."

"No, I understand," Bella said quietly. "My father and I - we were never the wealthiest people, but we were well to do. I don't recall ever making my clothes as a child, though my nanny did teach me how. It was only after the war that it became a habit." She screwed her lips up, looking deep in thought. "I suppose it's a hard habit to break. It will take some getting used to - remembering that a little excess is only to be expected." She smiled more genuinely. "Certainly, the dresses I wore to the parties in Houston, before the war, were ridiculously extravagant. My father always wanted me to fit in."

"I am sorry," Alice breathed, looking truly abashed. "I spoke out of turn. Sometimes, I forget that though we lost our father and both my brothers were wounded, we were very lucky during a very difficult time."

"Bella," Edward said softly. "You are welcome to do what makes you comfortable, of course, but there is something to what my sister speaks of. I am, myself, out of practice with the movements of our society, but last I knew, there was no short number of ladies coming to call in this house."

"That's still very true," Esme contributed. "Our family has always been involved with the community. You'll find that the people here, while not unkind or ungenerous, may also have very sharp tongues. You may, of course, contribute however you like - if at all - but you should know, gossip is to be expected." She pursed her lips, reaching across the table to rest her hand on Bella's. "As a newcomer to our brood, many eyes will be on you. It is admittedly ridiculous that a lady might be judged poorly for what clothes she wears, but that is the reality of the world."

Bella rested the back of her free hand against her cheek looking slightly overwhelmed.

"Oh, now it's not as serious as all that!" Alice exclaimed, leaning over to give Bella a hug. "Some of the women we know, they make cattiness a profession," she said, rolling her eyes. "But there are many great ladies amongst the blue bloods of Chicago. It's only right that you should be recognized as one of them."

Giving an excited little squeal, Alice became quite enthusiastic. "Many of the dances are such great fun, you'll see. Besides. It's not as though you're the only one in need of new clothes. Just look at Edward. His things don't even fit him anymore."

"What?" Edward looked at his sister, not expecting his name to come up.

She sighed at him, and then laughed. "You've actually grown some muscles in your years away, Brother. "

Edward frowned, noticing that the arms of his shirt were actually quite tight.

Alice shook her head, turning to Peter and tickling his sides lightly. "And as for you, young man. Well, we should probably make you a little less country bumpkin, hmm?"

Peter giggled gleefully, and Edward rolled his eyes fondly. The little boy would agree with anything she said, clearly.

"I was hoping to have a relaxing day," he hedged.

Alice made a face at him. "Yes, I'm sure you were working very hard on the riverboat," she said dryly.

Edward was fairly certain it was unbecoming of a gentleman his age to stick his tongue out at his little sister.

~0~

Some hours later, Edward had been dragged along with the rest of his family to what seemed like every tailor in Chicago. He'd had tape measures run down every length and width his body had to offer.

Well. Most of them, anyway.

He had a new top hat that he liked very much and a waistcoat he wasn't fond of, but Alice said all the rage.

"Come away now, darling," Esme said, threading her arm through Edward's. "Your wife is in good hands with your sister for the moment."

Edward smirked, looking over at where Alice was helping Bella with a rather big, very floppy hat. He recognized his wife's waning patience face. "Yes, Mother," he said amiably, checking to make sure that Peter was safely occupied at Alice's feet before he led his mother away.

"Now I know your Bella is very brave," Esme said with a chuckle when they were a fair distance away. "She didn't protest being left with your sister."

"Bella is incredible," Edward said softly.

His mother cast him a sidelong look. "Married life agrees with you," she surmised.

"Married life to Bella," Edward agreed. His shoulders slumped slightly as they walked on. "Mother... I have tried, in all things, to be a man you and father would be proud of. I find that of all the things I've been - student, soldier - it is being a husband that I most wish to succeed at."

"Marriage is a partnership, Edward," Esme murmured. "That young lady obviously adores you, and you her, so you must be doing something right." She clasped his arm. "I am proud of you, Edward. Would that your father had lived to see this day."

"I am not all virtue and patience," Edward argued. "Bella... she is frustrating and perplexing in many ways. She is willful and stubborn."

"Are you saying you want a complacent wife?"

"No!" he protested quickly. "Not at all. Bella is worth the challenge she often presents. It's just that I find myself occasionally getting short with her."

Esme seemed amused. "You do worry, don't you, dear boy?" She breathed deeply, tilting her head as if in deep thought. "Being a good husband doesn't mean you won't quarrel with your wife."

"You and Father didn't fight."

His mother laughed loudly. "Oh, yes we did. Often, in fact, and quite vehemently."

Edward didn't know what to say to that. He was somewhat shaken by his mother's revelation.

"She has been quiet to date, but that is to be expected with what changes she's been through in a short amount of time. Still," Esme mused aloud. "There is a fire in her. I can tell. That's why she suits you. You've never had any patience for the meek women who demure to a man's every whim and quiver at a raised voice. And then, you were similarly repelled by those women who were too emboldened with you, brazen I should say.

"Bella is a fine mix. She is not without her own opinions, nor is she hesitant to express them, and yet there is a hint of shyness about her." She grinned. "She's quite enchanting."

Edward snorted. "Yes. Enchanting, bewitching... Mother, she turns me in circles. Sometimes, I feel quite foolish around her. Why is that?"

"Because, my dear son, you are in love with her."

This thought brought Edward up short. He blinked in shock. "What?"

Esme laughed at him. "What? Is it so shocking to find that you love your wife?"

Facing forward, Edward continued walking. He didn't speak for many moments. "Is that what this feeling is? Like I can fly, and at the same time I'm terrified that any moment, she'll realize that I am not good enough for her and go running from me?" He shook his head. "I didn't want to be so bold as to call it love. I know I want to protect her from anything this world threatens her with. I know that I..." he paused, wondering if it was inappropriate to say what he was about to, but who else was he going to ask? "I love holding her in my arms. Is that love, Mother?" He felt not unlike a little boy asking his mother of all the perplexing workings of the world.

"What I know, Edward, is that when you look at her, you look on her with love, and I see that same emotion in her eyes." She looked over at him, an adoring, motherly smile on her face. "You are your father's son. Follow your heart, and you will continue to do him credit."

As they walked on, Edward was silent, turning all this information over in his head. He so desperately wanted to believe his mother was right about everything.

"I am my father's son," he began, intending to change the direction of the conversation, "but so is Emmett. I am the younger son and he the eldest. I've been wondering... when he comes back from New York, will he not expect the house?"

"Well, Emmett and I talked about that at length after you returned to your battalion," Esme murmured. Edward could see in her eyes the subject was difficult, and he held her arm tighter.

"As you know, your father split his investments between you boys and left a fair sum to Alice. Of course, you remember that he left it to us to decide what to do with the house," she reminded.

Edward nodded. "Yes, I remember." At the time, he hadn't given a damn . His father was dead and he was honor-bound to return to the war.

"Well, save for enough to take care of some niceties, Emmett said he didn't want to touch his share of the estate and further thought that house should be yours." Her lips twitched. "To be honest, Edward, I think he feels terrible that he was injured so early on and could not serve our country nor protect his little brother." She shook her head lightly. "He has it in his head that he will make his own way in the world, though, I daresay he might be signing a different tune soon."

"Why is that?"

Esme stopped and looked at her son. "Why, he has a wife and baby to provide for now, of course," she said.

Edward's eyes bulged. "What? Since when?"

"Oh, dear," Esme murmured, pressing a hand to her cheek. "Did you not receive my letter? You know Emmett had every intention of marrying Rosalie. Well, as it turned out, they must have got a bit ahead of themselves because they married around Christmastime, and Rosalie bore a healthy, full term daughter in mid-June."

Looking forward, Edward tried to process this information. "I most certainly did not receive that letter," he muttered aloud.

"I wrote to you of their marriage just after Christmas," Esme said with a sigh. "Ah, well. They were undecided whether they were going to stay in New York or come back here. As it happens, they've decided to come back home. They are just waiting for the baby to gain a few more months before they try to travel."

It was wise, Edward reflected. Children's lives were not so certain in this world of theirs, and healthy babies fell ill often enough. "What is her name?" It felt so odd - that for some, life had continued almost normally while his days had been spent in fields and tents with the promise of battles still yet to be fought.

Esme's smile brightened. "Charlotte Abigail Cullen. Oh, I can't wait to meet her."

"I'm surprised you weren't on the first train," Edward said with a chuckle.

She frowned. "I would have been. Perhaps that's why they waited to tell me. I received their telegram only a day or so before yours."

"Mother, you needn't stay here on my account," Edward said, putting two and two together. "If you wish to go to them..."

"They will come to us soon enough," she said firmly. "As I said, they have decided to return here. Emmett has some ideas about setting up his own practice." Esme looked to her son. "I trust one of the guest room is available to them until they find a place of their own?"

"Of course," Edward said quickly. "You know I wouldn't deny my brother."

"I expected as much -"

"Why, my goodness. Is that you, Edward Cullen?"

Edward and Esme turned to find a woman with a grand dress, a bright blue parasol, and strawberry blond curls coming for them, a huge smile on her face. It took Edward a moment to place her. "Tanya?"

Before he knew it, she'd thrown her arms about his neck, hugging him tightly. When Edward took a step back, she let him go. "Oh, my word. So many soldiers had already made their way home, I was beginning to think something had happened and your dear mother had not told us." She reached forward, running her hand along his arm. "How glad I am to see you."

Clearing his throat, Edward took a surreptitious step backward before he answered. "We arrived only yesterday."

"We?"

Before he could clarify, an arm slipped through his, and he looked to the side to find Bella had appeared out of no where with Alice and Peter not far behind. "Hello, darling," she greeted.

Edward tried to keep his amusement off his face. He had noticed Bella was not one for terms of endearment, Peter aside, so her use of one now was particularly telling. He bent slightly to kiss her cheek in greeting. "Hello, my dear." He turned to Tanya, his smile broadening as she tried to cover her shock. "Sweetheart," he said to Bella, "this is Miss Tanya Ivanov. Her father owns a great many businesses in the Chicago area and some in New York City, if I recall."

"That's right," Tanya said, recovering her serene smile.

"Miss Ivanov, this," he said, clasping Bella's hand and smiling at her with open adoration and pride, "is my beautiful wife, Isabella Cullen."

He did not miss the way Tanya's cool eyes swept Bella from head to toe, taking in ever detail, no doubt. He held back a grimace.

"What a pleasure to meet you," Tanya said, her voice sugary sweet. Her eyes flicked to Peter, in Alice's arms, and she quirked a brow. "Well, my goodness. What an adorable child."

Peter ducked his head, clinging to Alice shyly.

"I think Peter is quite tired," Bella murmured to Edward.

"Of course. Who can blame him. It's been a busy day," Edward said easily. "Miss Ivanov, I do beg your pardon..."

"Well, as I said, Edward, it's nice to see you again," she said, reaching out to squeeze his arm. "I'm sure my sisters and I will be calling soon."

Edward grimaced, wondering if there was a polite way to bat her hand away.

"Well, that's something to look forward to, isn't it?" Alice said, stepping between them. "I was just telling Bella that I'd love to throw her a grand party. A welcome home, as it were. So if we don't see you before then, I'm sure you'll attend?"

"Of course!" the other woman said. "Oh, it has been some time since we've seen a truly grand party. I look forward to it."

Everyone smiled with mock sincerity before Edward steered his family away.

So it began, he thought.

Within the hour, the greater part of Chicago would know he'd returned home with a new wife - a wife who spoke with a soft but distinct Southern accent. They would know the child's name was Peter. There would be speculation, and doubtlessly wild stories of how he came to choose Bella as a wife when he could have had his pick of the debutantes at home.

He put those thoughts aside as they returned to the carriage. Edward had to laugh. "Alice, I have half a mind to leave you here. There's hardly room for all of us in the carriage with all these packages."

"Well, just be glad we had to order most of what we bought or none of us would fit!" Alice said, grinning wickedly.

Edward patted Bella's hand. "You survived your first expedition with Alice, my sweet."

Bella sighed, and he thought it seemed like she was releasing some tension, the way her shoulders relaxed. "That was quite harrowing," she said, and smiled at her sister-in-law in good nature.

"Harrowing," Alice echoed, shaking her head. "There are few pleasures greater than a pretty new dress, if you ask me."

She set Peter in the carriage, and he fussed, not in the mood to be put down. "Look, Peter. Would you like a piece of rock candy?"

That distracted the child, and he held his hand out expectantly.

Edward sighed. "He already likes you, Alice. There's no need to bribe him further. You'll spoil the boy."

"A little candy isn't going to hurt him. And he was very good, weren't you, Peter?" she said, grinning at the child. "He stood very still to let his measurements be taken."

Shaking his head fondly, Edward helped his mother, then Alice, and finally Bella into the carriage. "Home, Seth," he requested before he climbed in himself.

A/N: Love to my girls. Love to you all.