All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Dollybigmomma is my beta Queen.

Chapter 9 – Familiar Dream

BELLA

I made it back to the house with little incident. Sam sat stoically at the door, guarding little Jacob until our return.

I sat down on the bed and took off my shoe to examine my ankle a little better. I didn't think it was sprained. I leaned back on the bed and groaned in annoyance. I had made such a fool of myself.

"How does it look?" Edward's voice startled me.

I jumped a little and sat up. "I'm fine," I said unable to look at his face.

"Mind if I look at it?" he asked.

I just shrugged.

He knelt down in front of me and lifted my foot carefully to his lap. I looked up at him, while his focus was on my ankle. He looked a little worried, but when I didn't cry out as he poked around my ankle, he smiled. He looked up suddenly, catching me looking at him. I quickly looked away.

"You should be fine, Bella."

I just nodded my head in agreement.

He let out a huff and looked over at Jacob's sleeping form. "So, are we going to be weird and silent now?" he asked.

"I'm sorry. I swear I didn't know you were..." I quickly looked away not able to voice what I heard. "I was curious about what you were up to and was coming to help," I whispered ashamed of myself.

Edward chuckled, but it wasn't a happy one. "Well, Bella, feel free to help with that anytime you want," he said smirking.

That crass jackass! I reached out and slapped him.

He looked at me shocked and then swallowed hard. "I'm sorry. I was just making a joke. I'm not very good at talking with people, and I just wanted to lighten the mood," he said rubbing his face.

I looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes. I knew he wasn't a talker.

"I'm sorry for intruding on your…um…personal time," I said.

He just laughed and shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Bella. I'm sorry it was even an issue. It usually isn't for me."

"But it is now?"

He looked at me nervously and seemed very uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. "I usually don't interact with women," he said scratching his arm.

"Oh, you're gay, that's alright. I understand," I said a little disappointed.

"What? No, I just…I'm not very good at talking with people. Women like to talk. I don't do that very well," he said nervously.

"I've noticed."

"I'm sure you have, and I'm sorry. It isn't like there's anyone else here to talk to," he said scratching the back of his neck. "I'll try and do better for you." He looked up at me with such a sad, but sweet look. I wanted to hug him, but I knew he didn't like to be touched, so I stayed in my place and smiled in thanks.

"So, you need to stay off that today. We don't want it getting worse and taking longer to heal."

"Yeah, good thing you already have food. You just need to pick a few pieces of fruit, and we can take a day off to relax."

He smiled a beautiful smile at me. He grabbed the duffle bag I usually took and hurried out the door with Sam on his heels.

While he was out, Jacob woke up, so I made breakfast while standing on one foot.

Edward came back in and frowned. "You should be keeping that elevated," he said pointing to my foot.

"Yeah, sure," I said with an eye roll.

"Da-Da," Jacob called out to him, bouncing around.

"I already changed his diaper this morning. Why don't you feed him, and I'll put my foot up," I said with a smile.

He scooped up Jacob, who looked so tiny compared to Edward. Jacob squealed with excitement. He loved Edward as if he was his father.

"Hey, little man, you slept late today. Are you feeling alright?" he said feeling his forehead.

"Is he alright?" I asked a little worried.

"Yeah, I think so. We should check Alice's letters to be sure. She'd see if he was coming down with something."

"See?"

He scratched his beard. "Do you not believe that she can see the future?" he said motioning to the trunks.

I nodded in agreement and pulled out my letter. It just said I should stay in bed and keep my foot up. I needed to let Edward take care of me, because it would be good for him.

"What did it say?" he asked.

"Nothing about Jacob, just that I should take it easy and stay off my foot."

He nodded his head in agreement. "I'll check mine after breakfast."

It was sweet watching Edward interact with Jacob. It wasn't that he never took care of Jacob. He did just as much as I did, but we were very seldom together when he had him.

Edward was a loner, that much was evident, and although he was quiet and guarded around me, he seemed to open up with little Jacob.

When he started playing patty cake, I couldn't help but smile a split-faced grin. "You're very good with him. Do you have children of your own?" I asked.

He looked at me, shocked for a moment, and then shook his head no. "Do you? Have kids, I mean."

"No, no kids, no siblings and no boyfriend or significant other. What about you?"

He shook his head no. "That requires talking, and I'm not good at that."

I let out a laugh. "Right, I almost forgot. Well, at least I know you don't hate me."

He looked at me worried. "You thought I hated you?"

I shrugged. "You didn't seem very pleased to be stuck with me."

He frowned. "I'm pleased to be stuck with you. I mean, I'm sorry we're stuck here, but it could be a lot worse. You're not so bad."

"Gee thanks!" I said feigning offense, teasing him.

He opened and closed his mouth and then frowned. "I didn't mean..."

"I'm just kidding, Edward. I know you suck with words." He let out a sigh. "So, what kind of doctor were you?" I asked.

He looked at me nervously, as if he didn't want to answer, and then spoke softly. "I was a surgeon. So, what, um, were you going to school for?" he asked.

I shrugged, and he looked at me confused.

"I was undeclared. I had a few things I was considering, but hadn't picked one yet."

He nodded his head at me. "So, um, how old are you?"

"Twenty-two. And you?" I asked in return.

"Twenty-eight, I mean twenty-nine."

"Right, because you just had your birthday," I said smiling.

He smiled back and nodded yes.

"So, what did you do with the gift Alice sent?" I asked wondering if he could even play it.

"I keep it in a hollowed-out tree," he pointed in a general direction.

"Right, with the pornos, that makes sense," I teased.

It took him a minute to register what I'd said, and then he quickly clamped his hands over Jacob's ears. "I don't have any of that." He was obviously embarrassed and distressed by the subject.

"Right, otherwise you would've had one out this morning. That's too bad. Maybe Alice will bring you some later."

"Jesus, Bella, I'm not a sexual deviant," he said defensively, still covering Jacob's ears.

I laughed. "I didn't think you were. I thought that's just what guys did, isn't it?"

He was red and uncomfortable. "I, um, I don't know, but I don't usually…I don't engage in such…it's not something…" The poor guy was frazzled, and I felt bad for upsetting him.

"It's cool, Edward, I get it. You're a gentleman. That's good to know," I said smiling and flopped back on the bed and closed my eyes, hoping the conversation was over.

I could hear him let out a relieved huff and go back to talking with Jacob.

Silly man.

He was kind of fun to mess with, though.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!