A/N: Why is the weekend over? Dammit. Anyway. Merry Monday to ya. Or still-Sunday if you live on the right coast like I do. hehehe

~Five Years Ago~

Bella was fifteen when she met Mike Newton.

She had just moved to Forks, shipped off by her mother who was getting serious with her new boyfriend. Phil had started badmouthing Bella's father Charlie as a deadbeat dad. Renee got indignant that she'd been a single mother for so many years. Just like that, Bella was sent off to punish her father with her presence.

Charlie wasn't a deadbeat. He hadn't really had a chance to be a father. It was a matter of circumstance and a misguided, if well-intentioned, sense of doing what was right for his child. He hadn't quite grasped that, while a fifteen-year-old wasn't a child, she was also not an adult.

But Charlie left her alone more often than he should have. He said she was old beyond her years. Renee had said that too. Her mother used to tell her Bella had been the one taking care of her since she was seven years old.

Newton's Outfitters was attached to Forks' only grocery store. That was how Bella first ran into Mike. He was twenty-one, a freshly minted college grad, wandering the aisles of the main store before returning to work in the store he was being groomed to take over.

It was his whistle that drew Bella's attention. One of those low, catcall type whistles. She looked around surreptitiously, naturally curious to see what was going on. She was startled to find a blond man looking directly at her.

"I don't know you," he said as though this wasn't an acceptable state of being. He started walking toward her. "I know everyone, and I don't know you. That's a shame, because you're very pretty."

At fifteen, Bella hadn't grown into her curves. She was gawkish and awkward-not the kind of girl who was used to being called pretty. She blushed furiously, murmured a "thank you," and pushed the cart away.

He followed. "Don't run away now, baby. You can't run away from anyone in this little town. What's your name?"

Mike was persistent. Bella was flustered and uncomfortable, especially at the way Mike kept on touching her. They were small touches-pushing a strand of hair out of her face, a tap to her shoulder to get her attention, a brush of their fingers when he handed her something she was reaching for.

Bella wished he would go away, but she didn't have the right words to make that happen. After all, he wasn't being rude.

Mike half-lured, half-chased her to his side of the store. "We have a jacket that would look great on you. That one is too lumpy. You've got a much better figure than that, girl. Show it off."

Bella, hoping that all of this was just Mike making a hard-sell, followed him into his shop. Maybe if she had a look at what he had to sell, he would leave her alone. But the next thing she knew, he was helping her unzip her parka and pulling on an admittedly very nice looking jacket, either oblivious to or ignoring that she was cringing away from him.

"See?" Mike said, stepping back and raking his eyes over her form. "It's functional and very sexy. You'd be snug, warm, and dry on any hike."

"I don't hike," Bella said, beginning to shrug out of the jacket.

"You should. I could take you."

"Uh…"

"You know, you have a really nice butt," Mike said, his eyes on the object in question.

Even though she was wearing jeans, Bella felt naked. "You know, can you maybe stop? I don't have a nice butt."

It was what she meant, but it wasn't. She didn't know if she had a nice butt. She hadn't ever thought about it. Really, all she wanted was for this extended awkward moment to stop.

A laugh from a few feet away drew her attention, and Bella looked up to see Mr. Newton shaking his head. "Sweetheart, he's just giving you a compliment. Hasn't anyone ever given you a compliment before?"

Bella was quiet after that. Later that night, alone in her house, Bella tried to figure out why she'd been so disturbed. He'd called her pretty. What was so bad about that? His father hadn't thought it was weird. He was right. She just wasn't used to it. She didn't mean to come off as a stupid little kid.

When she ran into Mike again later that week, Bella smiled at his compliments, telling herself she shouldn't be bothered.

~0~

A few months after they met, Mike gave Bella a job working for him in the shop. By then, they were good friends. Bella was used to Mike's compliments, even if she'd never gotten to the point where his words made her giggle and grin like some of the other girls. She came to the conclusion Mike was just being nice, trying to make her feel good. Just like it was nice that he listened to her and appreciated when she made him a home-cooked meal.

Bella thought they were good friends until he cornered her one day in the supply closet. He pinned her up against the shelves and kissed her. Bella froze, her hands in the air as she tried and failed to comprehend what was happening.

It seemed to go on forever, but when he finally stepped away, Bella un-froze. She bolted from the closet, emerging, flushed and disheveled, only to come face-to-face with Mrs. Newton. She blushed deeper and started to stutter words that made no sense.

Karen Newton just smiled. "Oh, to be young again. Don't be embarrassed, sweetheart. The heart wants what the heart wants. Who could blame you?"

~0~

A year passed. Karen and Mike Sr. moved to California. Mike took over the store. By that time, Bella all but lived with Mike.

When his parents came back for a visit, tension between Mike and Bella was high. Mike wasn't doing as well with the shop as he wanted to. Bella just wanted to seem grownup in front of her de facto in-laws. They ended up in Mike's bedroom, hissing at each other over something ridiculous.

As the argument came to a head, Mike cursed and slapped her. Instantly, his face turned from one of fury to one of horror. "Oh, god. Bella, I-"

Bella didn't hear what else he had to say as she'd already run from the room. Outside the door in the hallway, she ran into Karen. "Hold on, honey. I have you. Come here." She pulled Bella into the bathroom and shut the door. It took Bella a few seconds to realize she must have heard the sound of the slap. She tried to tilt her head down, but Karen caught her by the chin, turning her head. "There, that isn't bad. You can hardly see it. Mike has his father's temper. All bark and no bite."

Karen's tone was so conversational it confused Bella into silence. She let Mike's mother fuss over her, breathing in shocked little gasps. No one in her entire life had ever hit her.

"Such a man," Karen muttered, shaking her head. She took a step away from Bella with her hands on her hips. "Sometimes they just need to show off. Doesn't hurt much, does it?"

Slowly, Bella shook her head. The initial sting had died down within a minute. She'd taken falls that hurt much worse than this and for longer.

"No harm done," Karen said with a smile. "You watch. He'll be all over you with apologies the minute I open this door. Make him work for it though. I guarantee you tomorrow you'll have flowers at least. Probably something much nicer."

She giggled, and Bella followed her out of the bathroom, because she didn't know what else to do.

~Today~

"This is ridiculous, Bella. If you're going to insist on going even though you're obviously scared to death, I'm going with you."

Bella looked up from tying her shoes. "I'm not scared."

"Oh, bullshit," Emily said. She grabbed Bella's hand and held it up. It was shaking.

Clenching her fist, Bella yanked her hand away. "You weren't invited, Em. It would be rude."

"Well, tough fucking titties. None of them should care about rudeness if it means you're more comfortable."

It was a tempting thought. It had taken two years of therapy for Bella to accept the large part the Newtons played in enabling and normalizing Mike's behavior toward her. Bella had let herself believe Edward really was the sweet, if a little angsty, guy he had been ninety-nine percent of the time they'd known each other. But the part of her that remained on guard didn't trust herself not to be misled. So yes, she was scared. She was scared that if Edward did eventually prove himself to be the monster she'd glimpsed, his family would pull the wool tighter over her eyes.

Plus, who knew how they were going to react about the baby.

"I'm trying to be an adult about all this," Bella said both to herself and Emily. "This is what doing the right thing looks like. I'm keeping the baby, and they're part of it. I'm going to go there and try to get off on the right foot."

It all sounded very rational and grown up in her head. Bella blew out a breath, trying to keep from wringing her hands. "Besides," she said. "You have my car keys. If I need you, you'll be there to bail me out in fifteen minutes, right?"

Emily pulled her up and into a hug. "Count on it."

~0~

Bella couldn't tell who was more nervous, her or Edward. They both kept shifting in their seat as he drove.

"Okay, this is fucked up," Bella said, going out of her skin with the tension in the car. "I'm going to ruin your mother's birthday."

He blew out a breath, but he actually smiled when he glanced at her. "Emmett was a father of three before he was your age," he reminded her. He sighed and tapped out a restless tattoo on the steering wheel. "You know how people say they'll be okay as long as their family is okay? My mom actually means that. As long as everyone is alive and healthy, she's happy."

Bella didn't miss the hard edge to his words when he said "alive and healthy" but Edward had already moved on.

"Everyone is going to be there today. Nothing could ruin how happy that will make her." Pulling up to a red light, Edward tapped on her knee so she looked at him. "Bella, you're not a bad thing that happened to me. My parents aren't going to think that, and I don't think that."

"Don't you?"

"No." The word was soft but firm. "I think we're two strangers who got hit by a freight train. We just have to survive it."

Bella was quiet at that. She understood what he meant, but she wished the baby, her baby, was better off than that-a situation to be survived. But that too was a fairytale. It would be nice if every baby was wanted and loved from conception, but that was often not reality.

It worked out most times, didn't it? Bella's parents had split up, but they both loved her.

"All your brother's kids will be there?" she asked.

"Yes. Angela and Heidi too." Edward huffed. "Emmett is going to have a field day with this."

"What?"

"Not with you. I'm sure he'll be fine with you," he said, correctly reading the trepidation that had come across her face. "I just gave him a lot of shit. I was fourteen when Aiden was born." He rolled his eyes. "And sixteen when Brent and Bryce were born. I'm the obnoxious little brother. What was I supposed to do?"

"And now you knocked up some chick who's younger than three of them." Bella smiled, trying to cover the fact that the nerves made her queasy.

"Brent and Bryce are only older than you by two weeks," he said, also trying to make light of it but not quite getting there. "But like I said, don't worry about him. I meant what I said the other night. They're all going to love you. Emmett will be nice. Alice, well... The problem with her is that she's, uh...intense. She can come on too strong, but she comes from a good place. She spent the first eight years of her life in the foster system, so I think she has a tendency to overdo her acceptance so no one ever has to feel as alienated as she did."

"If your family is so great, why do you stay away from them so much?" He'd told her Esme's birthday was one of the few times a year he saw his mother.

He didn't answer right away but stared straight forward as they pulled into the driveway of a house-a big house, though not the biggest on that street. "It's not about them," he said, and he got out of the car before she could ask any other questions.

They walked side by side in silence for a few steps. Bella had no idea why, whether it was because she needed it or she thought he did-maybe both-but she reached out and took Edward's hand. He glanced at her in quiet surprise, but he squeezed her fingers as they walked the long porch to get to the front door. Neither of them let go until he raised his free hand to enter.

Over the last few days, they'd gone over every possible way this could happen. Edward had, as always, told her it was up to her. They'd gone over each side, whether she wanted him to tell his family before she arrived. Tempting, but they sounded like the kind of people who, like Edward, might turn their attention on her arrival rather than Esme's birthday, and she didn't want to take that chance. Edward said they didn't have to tell anyone now, but Bella told him that was just silly. Making a decision was often agonizing for Bella, but once made, she wanted to follow through as quickly as possible. There wasn't any sense in putting off the inevitable. Besides, how else was he going to explain why he brought a college freshman to his mother's birthday when he'd hardly shown his face to his family in a solid decade?

What they'd settled on was arriving early so they could tell Esme and Carlisle first and tackle the rest of the family as they came.

Edward paused before he opened the door. "Bella, I know I'm no prize. I'm trying. But my family will be there for you if you let them."

He didn't give her the chance to respond to that but pushed the door open, calling for his mother.

~0~

Renee wasn't an unloving mother, but she hadn't been demonstrative by a longshot. Karen Newton had been one of those moms who preferred to be your best friend. She'd doted on her little boy and thought he was the perfect prince.

Esme Cullen was warm. From her sweet smile to her soft eyes, she was just warm. When they walked in the door, Bella felt a pang for something she didn't even realize she'd wanted as she watched Edward get kissed and hugged.

A few minutes later, when they'd both stumbled their way through the truth, Bella found herself alone with Esme while Edward had been drawn away by Carlisle. Bella wondered if they'd done it on purpose-some kind of divide and conquer.

She got her answer almost the second the men were out of earshot.

Esme came to sit beside her on the couch and took her hands. For some reason, Bella didn't find this gesture odd or uncomfortable. Instead, some of her nerves settled. She looked up at the older woman tentatively.

"How are you feeling, Bella?"

Bella ducked her head, shy and ashamed. "I'm fine."

Esme lifted one hand to her cheek in a gentle gesture, and Bella raised her head again. The older woman's smile was as easy as her touch. "When I was pregnant with Emmett, I was your age. I'm an old woman now, but I remember what it was like. Tell me really."

"I'm...it's okay. Really."

Esme tilted her head, giving Bella a mother's knowing look that she'd only ever read about. It was potent. Bella huffed and spilled. "I'm always tired. Everything makes me sick, and everything…" She sucked in a breath, trying to cut off the wave of emotion as it hit, but as usual, it was no use. "Everything makes me cry," she said, voice cracking.

"Oh, sweetheart." Esme stroked her hair with such tenderness, it only made Bella start to cry harder. When Esme tugged, Bella fell forward, letting the woman, this near perfect stranger, wrap her arms around her.

Bella hated this. She hated how out of control her life was. She hated her spiraling moods, and she hated how much she cried. In general, she wasn't a crier. Throughout the whole thing with Mike, she'd had more of a stare-blankly-at-the-wall reaction. All her life, she'd really only cried when she was frustrated or angry. But since she'd figured out she was pregnant, she'd been weepy. It was driving her crazy.

Of course, her spiraling emotions only made the crying jag worse. She should have been mortified to break down like this, but in her misery, Esme was the only bright, warm spot she had. The woman held her tightly and stroked her hair.

It was all so very motherly-foreign to Bella, and yet, she somehow felt like she'd been waiting for this hug all her life.

"I'm sorry," Bella said, sniffling as she finally found the will to pull away from Esme. She wiped at her eyes. "God, you must think I'm a basket case."

"No," Esme said, wiping her cheek with the back of her knuckles. "I think you're very brave."

Bella looked up through watery eyes. "I'm not," she said in a whisper.

Esme took her hands again. "I'm scared too. For Edward, of course, but also for you. I love my son, Bella, but he has his own problems. I know that; so I want you to know right now, you can talk to me. I'll give you my number, and if you need anything at all, I'm here."

For a second, Bella thought she was going to start crying all over again. She took a deep breath, sniffling, and managed to get ahold of herself. "I...that would be nice," she said, more relieved than she knew how to deal with. Emily was a great friend, but she'd never been pregnant and she was just as young as Bella was. Renee, when Bella did get up the courage to tell her, just wasn't the type of mother anyone could lean on.

Maybe Edward was right-his family could be her support. All the books and websites about pregnancy said a support system was one of the most important things any pregnant woman could have. She wanted more than anything to be strong and self-sufficient, but that terrified little girl who'd gone fetal in the corner the minute she figured out she was pregnant sure could use a motherly hug now and then.

There wasn't any shame in wanting that, right?

A small weight came off her shoulders, and when Esme hugged her again, Bella hugged her back, grateful.

Pulling back, Esme patted her hand, looking her over with an expression Bella couldn't read. "I think Edward thinks I'm flighty sometimes." A look of profound sadness came over her. "I think it came from the fact that when Xavier was dying, I never stopped praying for a miracle. I don't think it's flighty to believe the impossible can happen. I'm also realistic enough not to depend on it." She sighed and squeezed Bella's hands again. "I want to promise you everything will work out, and life will be beautiful. But you remind me of Edward in many ways. I get the feeling you wouldn't believe me anymore than he would. So I'm just going to tell you I'm sixty years old today. I've been through a lot of difficult times. I can't tell you the number of times it's felt like my life was going to be destroyed. It never was. Harder in some ways, sure, but I also got a lot of beauty in return. None of this is going to make your road easier, but it's something to think about."

Esme told her where the bathroom was in case she wanted to splash some cool water on her face, and then excused herself to figure out where her husband and son had gotten to. Bella retreated to the bathroom but paused when a picture caught her eye.

It was Edward, much younger, and so much different than the Edward she knew. She'd often thought his eyes were beautiful, but she could see how much duller they were now. In the picture, they were so alive it was startling. His cheeks were flushed. His grin was so wide it might have been funny except that it was easy to see why he was so happy.

There was a tiny bundle wrapped in a blue blanket nestled in his arms. The picture had been taken in a hospital, and the baby was small enough it had to be Edward with Xavier as a newborn.

The man in the picture was not only happy, but he was light. There was no hint of the heaviness that painted Edward's features now. This was a man ecstatic to be a father.

Bella's heart broke at the sight, for him, knowing what the man in the picture didn't know, that he was going to lose his baby boy, but also for the baby she carried.

Would he ever look at their baby like that?

A/N: Many thanks to songster, myonlyheroin, barburella, and jessypt.

Before you can ask, yes we will get more clarification on Bella and Mike and what all happened in that clusterfuck. For now, how are we doing? :D