All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer; I only like to play with her characters.

No copyright infringement is intended.

HUGE thanks to darcysmom and twimom817 for beta'ing; EdwardsmyObsession1971 for pre-reading and huge HUGS to the three of them for their unending support and encouragement.

When You Least Expect It

Chapter Six

Surprise

EPOV

The last thing I expected for Bella to tell me was that she had a son. I figured she'd have a boyfriend at the very least. I suppose it was my own fault – I should have inquired about her a little more. After all, she was a beautiful and vibrant young woman.

"Do you have a problem with Bella knowing that she has a child?"

"No. I just didn't expect it … I mean she seems so young."

"I believe she's older than you are, Edward."

"I don't care how old she is, Eric. Age is just a number."

"Then why does it bother you so much that she has a child?"

"It doesn't bother me," I gritted out.

What bothered me was that I needed someone to talk to after the premiere. I'd gone home that night and fallen into bed but it was a restless sleep. I had so many emotions swirling inside me that I couldn't wait to get them all out. It's true that I didn't know Bella well, but she had been so damn easy to talk to and there was something about her that gave me the strength to open up to her about my troubles with Lauren.

Now, if it would only be as easy to get Bella to open up to me.

When she stopped by to drop off the meal that she'd so carefully prepared for me two days before Thanksgiving, Bella looked so tired. There were dark circles under her eyes and she came in wearing yoga pants and a hoodie – so far from what she wore on a daily basis to cook in my kitchen. She apologized again for needing to spend her days at home with her son, but I didn't care. She did what I paid her to do. Every morning, I had breakfast; there was plenty of food in the kitchen for lunch and she always brought over a hot meal for dinner.

"Bella won't be over today after all," Eric said sadly.

It was the day before Thanksgiving and my house was teeming with people once again. My mother and sisters were coming for Thanksgiving and my dad would join us Thanksgiving Day. I had given Bella a four day weekend for the holiday and I had hoped that she would find time to rest.

"What do you mean?"

"She had to take her son to the ER, they're admitting him."

My chest ached at the thought of Bella sitting in the ER all alone with her son. I tried to push the thought out of my mind. She couldn't be single and alone – she had a son. She probably had a lucky bastard of a husband who she took incredible care of. He came home every night to her warm smile and a hot meal that she'd so lovingly prepared for him and their son.

"If you hear from her, will you keep me updated on how Kaden's doing?"

"Yeah … sure, Edward."

It was good to see my mom and sisters. I hadn't seen them since I was in Cannes in May. They were there for the premiere of my film … along with her. The women in my life were fucking important to me – they'd been my rock since I started my career and even more so when the shit hit the fan a few months ago. I was looking forward to spending the weekend with them.

"Edward, honey, it's so good to see you." My mom said softly as she pulled me into a hug.

"Good to see you too, Mom."

I greeted my sisters with hugs and took their bags upstairs to my guest rooms.

"What's for dinner, Eddie?" Rosalie asked with a grin.

"Umm … I thought we'd order in. Bella couldn't be here today to make anything."

"What do you mean she couldn't be here? Aren't you paying her to be here?"

"Yes, but Bella's got … issues to deal with at home."

"Is she okay?" My mother asked softly.

I nodded.

"She's got a son … he's sick. They admitted him into the hospital today."

"Oh, the poor thing. How old is he?" Mom asked.

"I don't know. Five, maybe?"

I could see the sad look on my mom's face when I told her how young I thought Kaden was. I'd only seen him once and that was through a window while he was sitting in his car seat fast asleep.

Thanksgiving morning, I trudged down the stairs to find my mom humming happily in the kitchen.

"Good morning, sweetheart."

"Mornin', Mom."

I sat at the breakfast bar scrolling through my phone when Eric walked in.

"Have you heard from Bella this morning?" I asked.

"No. I thought I'd try and call her later."

"Did you send that stuff to Kaden?"

After I found out that he'd been admitted to the hospital, I couldn't help but want to do something for him and Bella. I could only imagine how she felt having her little boy in the hospital. Bella was probably every bit as scared as her little boy. I wanted to send him something that would make him smile. He'd been sick and miserable for over a week – he deserved something to make him happy.

I pulled out my laptop and did a little research. I had no idea what kinds of things little kids liked – there were so many new cartoons and characters since I was a kid. I found something that I thought was kind of cool – that Kaden might like. I told Eric what I wanted and handed him my credit card and asked him to make it happen.

"Yeah – it should be delivered this morning." Eric replied.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Eric was getting ready to head out a few hours later when his phone went off.

Eric, you're an angel. My son has the biggest smile on his face thanks to you. I can't thank you enough for the balloons and toy. The look on his face was priceless even though he's sick. – B

Eric showed me the message on his phone before he quickly tapped out a message back to her.

"Eric … ask her if she's okay." I asked, pinching my nose between my fingers.

I didn't send it, Bella. That was all Edward. He's worried about you, by the way. Are YOU okay? – Eric

Bella quickly replied.

That was Edward? I'm speechless. Please tell him thank you. Kaden LOVES it. Big smiles. I'm okay. – B

She's okay? What does that mean?

"Edward … did you boys hear from Bella? How's her son?" My mom asked.

"Yeah, Eric's texting her now. She said she's okay."

"Edward, honey, tell her we'll bring her something to eat. Cafeteria food is awful and she might be glad to have company for a little bit."

I nodded and passed the message on to Eric to let Bella know we wanted to stop by with some food for her.

"Eric! Ask her if she wants some Starbucks … I'm sure the coffee there sucks too." I added as an afterthought.

You're NOT okay, Bella. I know that and I'm not even talking to you. Edward and his mom are insisting that we bring you some decent food for Thanksgiving. I can even bring you some Starbucks if you like? – Eric

Moments later, his phone alerted him of another message.

Tell Edward and his mom that would be WONDERFUL and Starbuck's sounds amazing. – B

Eric handed me his phone showing me her reply and I quickly typed her a message in return.

We're on our way. – E

Twenty minutes later, we were loading up the trunk of my car with food for Bella and Kaden. We stopped by Starbucks and I got Bella a Pumpkin Spice Latte because it just sounded like something she'd like.

When we walked into the hospital, I asked at the information desk where Kaden's room was located and they directed us to the fourth floor and asked us to check in at the nurse's station. Once we checked in, the nurse on duty directed us down the hall to the very last room on the left. No matter how cheerfully painted the walls were, the sadness of a child being seriously sick and needing to be here nearly broke my heart.

I walked into the small room and Bella was sitting on the bed next to her son, brushing the hair away from his little face. He was sleeping but he looked so small in the bed. IV's were hooked up to his left arm and it looked like a board had been strapped to it to keep him from moving his arm around.

I cleared my throat quietly, hoping that I wouldn't startle Bella too badly.

"Edward …."

"Hey. How are you?"

"I'm good. Thank you for coming. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Thank you for the balloons and the toy – he loves Cars. He loves pretty much anything Disney actually." Bella giggled.

It was good to hear her giggle.

My mom cleared her throat behind me and I quickly apologized and introduced Bella to my mom.

"It's so nice to meet you, Bella. I'm sorry you're going through such an awful time with this sweet little one," She whispered as she peeked over at the little boy sleeping in the bed.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Cullen. Thank you so much for bringing dinner. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."

I stood back against the wall and watched the interaction between my mom and Bella. I was curious to see what my mom thought of her.

"Honey … where is your husband? Shouldn't he be here helping to take care of your son?" Mom asked.

Leave it to my mom to ask the questions that were on the tip of my tongue but I didn't have the courage to ask.

Bella walked over to me and offered to take the coffee carrier out of my hands. I pointed out which coffee was hers. She took it from me, offering me a grateful smile.

"I wasn't sure what to get you but I thought you might like the Pumpkin Spice Latte so I got you that," I said nervously.

Bella nodded and turned back to my mom.

"Umm, I'm not quite sure where my husband is." She admitted sadly.

"What do you mean you don't know where he is?" I asked.

She didn't know where her husband was? What the fuck was up with that? Did she not know or did she not care?

"He … he left us about eight months ago. I haven't heard from him since. So, it's just me and Kaden."

I groaned and pushed away from the wall – frustrated to hear about Bella's situation.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. That must be incredibly hard for you," Mom said sadly.

Bella nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. My heart ached for her in that moment - left all alone to care for her son. I know she had her dad but that's different from having a husband – a partner.

I shook my head – angry with the situation and politely excused myself from the room. I left my mom to make sure that Bella was taken care of. I just couldn't bear to see her sweet, sad face any longer.

I walked down to the waiting room that was across from the nurse's station. I plopped down into a chair and fiddled with the lid on my coffee cup. SpongeBob played in the background but I didn't hear it, I was so lost in my thoughts.

I have no idea how long I sat there. I felt bad for not saying anything to Bella, but I had to leave for fear that I'd want to pull her into my arms and promise her that I'd make all her problems go away. I couldn't do that – I didn't even know her for Christ's sake. How could I even begin to help her with her problems?

"Honey?" My mom's voice floated across my subconscious.

I blinked and looked up to see her smiling down at me.

"Let's go home, honey."

"How are Bella and Kaden?"

"They're fine, honey. I stayed long enough to get some soup into that sweet little boy's belly while Bella got a shower. You know … I think you've stumbled onto something amazing with those two, Edward."

"Mom …." I chided.

"No, Edward, I really mean it. You and Bella are both so lost right now. Maybe it will help if you two are lost together – maybe you can help each other find your way."

That night, as I sat down to dinner with my family, I was so thankful to have had them there with me. I felt a pang of sadness to know that Bella was in a cold hospital room watching over her son with no one in the world to take care of her and make sure that she was okay.

After dinner, I found myself in my car driving back to the hospital. I hoped to get there before visiting hours were over. The same nurse that greeted me earlier in the afternoon was tending to the desk and she gave me a soft smile as I pulled my hat down a little further on my head and made my way back to Kaden's room. Bella was sitting on Kaden's bed and he was wrapped up in her arms as she read him a story.

I hated to intrude on such a private moment, but I wanted Bella to know that someone was there for her too.

"Edward … hey. I didn't expect you to come back." Bella said quietly as she looked up from her reading.

"I hadn't planned on coming back, but I was sitting there with my family eating dinner and I felt like such a tool because you were sitting here taking care of him all on your own. It just didn't seem fair to me."

Bella carefully got up from Kaden's bed and tucked the sleeping little boy under his covers. When she was done, she walked toward me.

"Life isn't always fair, Edward," Bella said quietly. "Sometimes you just have to take what life hands you and make the best you can with it."

"You seem to do a pretty amazing job, Bella."

"It's not without effort, Edward. I think you know how that feels as well as I do."

I nodded and looked up into her tired face. Bella's beautiful hazel eyes were so expressive and I could see the underlying weariness in them.

"I don't mean to be disrespectful, but how old are you Bella?"

"Twenty-nine." She answered quietly.

"How old is Kaden?"

"He turned three this past August."

Three? I remembered Bella saying earlier that her husband had walked out on them nearly eight months ago which would have meant that Kaden was two when Bella's asshole husband left. I couldn't fathom walking out on my wife let alone my child. What kind of person does that?

Before I could say anything more, Bella took a deep breath and blew it out sharply.

"Look, Edward, I know you probably have a ton of questions but I don't know if I'm ready to tell you about my situation yet. I appreciate everything that you've done for me and for Kaden. You coming here … well, it means a lot to me."

I watched her beautiful face as tears filled her eyes and overflowed.

"I can't think about anything other than getting him home and well right now," Bella sobbed. "I need him to be okay, Edward. He's my whole world."

I closed the small distance between us and pulled Bella into my arms. She sobbed into my chest as I held her. I could have cared less if she was ruining my shirt or not. This was something she needed and if I could be a pillar of strength for her, I'd gladly do it a hundred times over.

"He's going to be fine, Bella." I murmured into the top of her head.

The sweet smell of her hair and skin mixed with the saltiness of her tears was a heady combination as if the proximity of her wasn't enough. There was just something about her ….

A/N: So ... this answers a few questions and raises even more I'm sure. Bella's not ready to give in and tell all just yet but at least now you know what's going on with Mike ... or at least Edward knows what the deal is with Mike.

When You Least Expect It has been nom'd for Fic of the Week at The Lemonade Stand along with Taking a Shot my with twimom817 so PLEASE go and vote if you love one or both of these stories!

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