This takes place about a week after the last chapter.

Enjoy :)

- JayBee

BPOV

Edward rolled over onto his stomach and threw a warm arm over me. "Hi," he said groggily.

"Hi," I smiled as I poked my head out of the top of the bed sheets. He rubbed my belly with his hand, his green eyes dark with sleep. I played with his hair as he kissed my stomach. "You're gonna be late for work," I whispered as I looked at the clock. It was already 8:30.

"Don't wanna go," he mumbled against my skin. He finally mustered up the energy to drag himself out of bed, and I watched as he walked around the room to get ready.

Beautiful.

That's the only word I could find that fit Edward. After all these years, I still couldn't describe how I felt about him, or the feeling I got in the pit of my stomach every time he looked or smiled at me. I watched as he pulled his grey slacks on and buttoned up his shirt, his fingers moving quickly.

He leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Bye, baby."

"Bye," I said as I pulled the covers back over my head. Lily would be up soon, and I wanted to get as much sleep as possible until then.

When I opened my eyes again, I heard the pitter patter of little feet running around the house.

I got out of bed slowly, careful not to alarm the baby. As much as I wanted to give birth as soon as possible, I really didn't want to go into labor while I was home alone. I walked downstairs to find Lily curled up into a ball, half asleep and playing with her hair as she watched TV.

I held my hand out. "Come on, Lil. You have to get ready for school."

She dragged herself off the couch and made her way over to me. She took my hand and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as we made our way upstairs.

After Alice came to pick her up - Edward made sure I didn't drive anywhere - I lounged around the house and watched TV, waiting for Alice to get back.

Alice came back with a tray full of cupcakes.

"I love you!" I yelled as I moved to the side to let her in. "And they're red velvet!" She followed me into the kitchen to grab a couple of plates, and we made our way into the living room. We sat on the couch and for a few minutes, just shoved cupcakes into our mouths. "Did Lily make a big fuss about going into the school?"

"Not at all." Alice shook her head, and I was relieved to hear that there wasn't any trouble. "She was fine, especially after she saw her friends."

"Good," I said with a mouthful of red velvet cupcake.

"Is she still worried about the baby?"

"Yeah." I peeled back the wrapper on another cupcake as I spoke. "Most days, she's good. But sometimes…I don't even know. She'll cry for the tiniest things. Or for no reason at all."

"She's just a baby herself," Alice said with a shrug.

"I know. It just…breaks my heart. Sometimes, I can't even calm her down. Only Edward can. Lately, she's been attached at his hip."

"She's probably scared."

"That's what makes me so sad." I put the cupcake down and stared at it. Suddenly, I wasn't hungry anymore. It killed me to know that Lily was afraid we'd stop loving her or leave her when the baby arrived.

"It's natural for her to feel this way, Bella."

"I know," I said softly, looking down at my belly.

"Have you guys picked a name yet?"

I smiled at Alice, thankful she tried to take my mind off of my concerns. "We were looking through a baby name book again last night." I smiled at the memory of Edward and I curled up on the couch reading the book. "And we narrowed it down to two."

"And…?"Alice looked at me expectantly.

"Aiden or Brandon."

"They're adorable!" She laughed as I jumped at her excitement. "Bella, I love those names. I'm so glad you didn't pick Edward, Jr. or something."

"Ew, no," I grimaced. "I love Edward, but…just no." I didn't like the sound of the name for my child.

"I'm so excited! Can you just pop him out already?"

I threw my head back with a laugh. "I'm trying! I want to meet him just as badly as you do."

We hung out around the house until it was time to pick up Lily.

I went along with Alice, and when we got back, we sat with Lily as she ate her after-school snack.

"This is yummy, mommy," Lily squeaked as she pushed her hair out of her face and licked the icing from her lips.

Okay, maybe a cupcake wasn't the healthiest snack. But it was a delicious one. "Your Aunt Alice got it."

"Mmm."

"What do you say?"

"Mmm."

"Lily."

"Thank you," she smiled at Alice.

"You're very welcome, munchkin," Alice smiled back and ran a hand through Lily's hair.

I leaned down to kiss the top of Lily's head, and then just stared at her for a while as she ate. How could something be this breathtaking? I just wanted to squeeze her and never let go.

Lily finished eating and went upstairs to play as Alice and I made our way to the balcony. I left the door open in case Lily needed to find us, and breathed in the cold, refreshing air.

I don't know how long we were out on the balcony, but I was surprised when two arms encircled my waist and two hands were laid on top of mine on my belly. I smiled as Edward nuzzled my neck before kissing it.

"I'm gonna take a quick shower."

"Okay," I sighed. I missed his warmth as he let me go, and followed him inside with Alice behind me. I went upstairs to check on Lily, and found her sleeping on her bedroom floor. I put her in her bed and heard Edward moving around in our bedroom before going back downstairs.

Alice and I began making dinner, and I told her to call Jasper over to eat with us.

"It's okay, Bella. I'm going to leave in a little bit, anyway."

"Don't leave. Just tell him to come here after work. We'll all eat together, and then you guys can go."

She finally agreed and called Jasper. I smiled at their conversation as I diced the tomatoes. They were so adorable. As Alice hung up, I heard Lily crying upstairs. I didn't hear the shower running – Edward would get her. She started crying harder – shrieking – and Alice turned her head to look at me.

"Edward, can you get Lily?" I called upstairs.

"Bella!" He yelled, panic in his voice.

I dropped the knife and sprinted upstairs as best I could, my heart beating in fear.

I followed Lily's voice and pushed open our bedroom door, my heart literally skipping a beat when I saw what was before me. I froze. "Don't touch her!" I yelled at Edward. He was sitting in front of a small table that was covered in white powder, hands out toward Lily as she stood next to him, crying, covered in blood. "Don't fucking touch her!"

"I-I-I'm trying to keep her away from me," he stuttered, looking at me in fear.

Blood. Everywhere. On Edward's clothing, on the floor, on Lily, smeared all over Edward's face…all coming from his nose.

I lunged forward and picked Lily up, running out of the room as quickly as possible.

I ran over to Alice, who was all but having a panic attack when she saw Lily and me. "What happened?"

"Alice, please, just take Lily to your house."

"What happened?"

"I – Edward – he – again – he relapsed."

"What?" Alice's eyes went wide. "Is she hurt?" She began examining Lily.

"I don't think so. Probably shocked and scared. Please, just take her. Leave!" I couldn't get them out of the house soon enough. If Edward even came close to hurting Lily the way he had hurt me all those years ago…

Lily had calmed down enough by the time they left, and I ran upstairs again, holding my stomach, fear settling in stomach with each step I took.

Edward was still sitting where I had left him, mouth and clothing still covered in blood, white powder still smeared all over the table. His hair was damp, from sweat or from the shower, I didn't know. I wet a paper towel in the bathroom and wiped up his face before throwing it away.

I just…I give up.

I sat on my knees, looking down at the carpet, at a complete loss for words.

"I'm sorry," Edward whispered. I could feel his eyes on me. He waited for an answer, and continued when I kept my gaze down. "Bella, I'm sorry," he said a little louder.

I finally looked up at him. "What do you want me to say?" I felt defeated. Completely. I didn't know what to do, and nothing I thought to do made sense. "You want me to forgive you again?"

"No," he whispered. It was his turn to look down. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"So…what? You were just gonna keep doing this behind everyone's back again? I'm sorry our daughter walked in on you and ruined your secret! I can't…" I stood up to leave and he walked toward me on his knees.

"No, Bella, please. Please don't leave me." He hugged my legs, and I laid my hands on his shoulders as I looked down at him. I couldn't take this.

"Edward, get up." I hated it when he hugged my knees. He had only done it twice before – a long, long time ago – and it broke my heart at how desperate he looked.

"No. You're gonna leave. Please don't. Please. I got it from a guy at work. I swear, I was only going to do it this one time. I swear. Please believe me. And it didn't even work, so you know for a fact I won't do it again." He was making no sense. I couldn't be sure he wouldn't try it again if he didn't get high this time. "I just missed the feeling. I'm sorry. I-I-I'm not lying to you. I…I don't know what else to tell you." His voice cracked, and my heart dropped when I realized he was crying. "I never lie to you. Please, believe me. Please. I, uh…I…there's this intern at work. She likes me and I find her attractive but I've never done anything with her. And I never will. I don't like her in the least. Uh…last month, when Lily bumped her head, it was my fault. I was playing with her. I…yesterday, I forgot to take Connor out for a walk. Uh…I don't know. I don't know what else I haven't told you about. I just don't want to case you any stress. It's not good for the baby. Bella, please. I'm begging you, don't leave me."

I felt my insides twist at his words. I couldn't tell if I was angry or sad. "You don't want to cause me any stress? What did you think would have happened if I had found out about this? Even if you did it just this once, even if I found out about it years later. You think it wouldn't have broken my heart? You think this doesn't kill me? Knowing that now our children have to be without a father for months?" He had to. He had to go back to rehab. I looked at the bags of cocaine on the ground. Why so many? Was he planning on doing it all today?

"No!" His hands went to my stomach and he kissed it, letting his lips linger there. "I'm not addicted!" He looked up at me with pleading eyes. "Please don't make me go back there, Bella." He stood and wiped my tears.

"You have to."

"No. Please. I can't leave you and Lily and the baby."

"Edward…" his name was barely a whisper. I wanted more than anything to just forgive him and tell him this wasn't a big deal. I wanted him to stay. But he couldn't. "I can't risk it."

"What are you talking about? This was just a one-time thing."

"I can't know that for sure. And I can't risk you hurting Lily."

"You think I would hurt her?" His eyes went wide as he stepped back. "You think I would lay a fucking hand on her?"

"You did it to me. I can't be sure you wouldn't do it to her. And I can't risk it." At this point, I didn't care if sounded like a bitch. I was fucking fuming. I was beyond angry at him.

"What the fuck are you talking about? I told you I wasn't going to do this again!"

"You obviously can't control it!"

He let out a heavy breath and sat on the bed, dropping his head into his hands. "Please, God, let this be a dream." I sat next to him and stared at the blood on the ground. We lay down on our sides, facing each other. Neither one of us said anything for a while. Edward broke the silence first. "Can I at least leave after the baby arrives?"

I let out a long sigh. "It'll be harder for you leave. And the sooner you go, the sooner you'll get back. Maybe they won't make you see a therapist this time and you won't have to stay as long as last time."

"Maybe." He leaned forward to kiss my forehead, and I closed my eyes, forcing the tears back.

Neither one of us sounded hopeful, because we both knew that what I said wasn't likely. I couldn't imagine how hard it was going to be when he left this time. I couldn't imagine how hard it would be for us, for his family, and especially for Lily.

When we finally calmed down enough to stand, I called Alice and told her to bring Lily over. I explained to Alice that Edward was going to leave tomorrow, and asked if we could all meet at his parents' house tomorrow morning so he could say goodbye to everyone.

Edward, Lily, and I sat around the television, no one saying much. We had explained to Lily that Edward was sick and needed to go to the doctor to get better, but she didn't understand how long he was going to be gone. She didn't understand the concept of weeks or months yet. I prayed that they didn't keep him longer than the four months they had previously kept him.

Lily was curled up in Edward's lap, watching the movie as he played with her hair. He leaned down to kiss her cheek, and she pushed herself up to face him.

"I'm gonna miss you, Lil."

"Mm…me too, but you're coming back."

"Yes, but I'm going to be gone for a long time. I won't be back for a long time."

"Like tomorrow." It wasn't a question.

He closed his eyes and his eyebrows pulled together. They'd had this same conversation three times already, and I knew it killed him to have to explain it to her over and over.

He opened his eyes and tucked her hair behind her ear. "No, baby girl. Not like tomorrow. You know how you wake up, go to school, come home, and go to sleep? You know how that's one day?" She nodded enthusiastically. "I'm going to be gone for one hundred and twenty-four days." She nodded again and he let out a frustrated sigh. "You have to wake up and go to sleep one hundred and twenty-four times."

"Okay," she nodded.

Edward closed his eyes again, tighter this time. I put a hand on his arm and he turned his head to look at me. "Edward, it's okay." She didn't know how much hundred and twenty-four was, and as frustrated as he was getting, he wouldn't be able to teach it to her right now.

Lily went back to watching the movie, and Edward pressed his thumb and forefinger to his eyes. "No, Bella, it's not okay. She thinks I'm coming back in a day."

"She'll understand after a few days."

Something resembling a choking sound escaped his mouth, and he sat Lily up to hug her. "I love you so much, baby. So much."

"Me too." She hugged his neck, and I felt the tears stinging my eyes as I took it in. "Daddy, don't go."

"I have to. To get better."

"Because of the baby?"

"No. Because I'm sick."

"Because I cried? I won't cry anymore. I promise." Her voice was muffled by Edward's shirt.

"No, it's not because of you. It's because of me. I'm sick." His voice cracked at the end of the sentence, and I felt like the worst mother and wife for sending him away.

But I had to force myself to tell him to go. There was no other way I could be sure that he would stop. Hell, I couldn't even be sure after he got back.

It was starting all over again. We were back to the beginning.

Please don't kill me! I've been planning this relapse for a longgg time now, and you all knew something was coming. I'm going to beg like Edward and say please, please let me know what you thought of this chapter.

Do you think Bella made the right decision by sending him away, or should she have let him stay and trust that he would never do it again?