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

No copyright infringement is intended.

HUGE thanks to my betas darcysmom and twimom817 as well as my pre-reader EdwardsmyObsession1971. These ladies are awesome with their unending support and encouragement.

Note: I know y'all are ready to beat Bella to a bloody pulp and I'm sorry for that but she's trying to figure things out for herself and keep her son's best interests at heart. She's terribly afraid of getting hurt again and while Edward has told her that he's more than interested while he was in Australia – those were only his words – Bella may need to see his actions to be reassured. Also … someone asked for lemons … here's what I have to say about that: So far I've written up to chapter 25 and there are no lemons as of yet. I'm not saying there won't be but Edward and Bella aren't there yet. This is a little bit of a slow burn and it's not always about the lemons – but yes, it's rated M for a reason.

I hope y'all had a Merry Christmas. It's New Year's Eve – so I hope everyone has a safe and happy 2013!

When You Least Expect It

Chapter Sixteen

Distance

EPOV

Previously …

I looked on as she pulled out of the drive, and I knew I couldn't bear to watch her drive away, so I slipped into the house. Pressing my back against the closed door, I slid down to the floor holding my head in my hands.

Everything I wanted in the world had just driven away, and tomorrow morning I was getting on a plane and flying away from everything important to me.

How the hell was I supposed to get through the next eight weeks?

I hated saying goodbye to Bella. I felt like I was leaving a part of me behind. I wanted to memorize Bella and Kaden's faces and keep the vision of them with me always. As I carried Kaden out to Bella's SUV, I inhaled the sweet scent of him and gently kissed his forehead as I buckled him in. When I turned to Bella, it took all I had not to pull her into my arms and kiss her. I felt like a coward retreating into the house.

I wasn't ready for Bella to leave. I wasn't ready to leave. I wanted to stay and get to know everything I possibly could about Bella. I was completely enamored with her, and I could see myself falling for her and her little boy more every day.

Seeing Kaden again was great. He was such an energetic, happy little guy and it was clear how much he loves his mom. He'd drawn several more pictures for me – all of which I'd wanted to put on the fridge. They made me smile whenever I saw them hanging there.

Kaden's happy squeal as he ran to Alice was amusing – and then he saw Jasper. He wrapped his arm around Jasper's neck and hugged him fiercely. Kaden gazed at him with such adoration. It made my heart hurt a little at the thought that he'd probably look at his dad like that if he were around.

Bastard. It was his loss – Mike Newton had no idea what he'd let go.

The next morning, I was dragging – pulling my luggage down the stairs just before four a.m. I hadn't slept well knowing what I was leaving behind. I forced one foot in front of the other as I made my way to the waiting car. Emmett held the door open with a grin as I crawled in and sat down next to Jasper. Emmett climbed in behind me and pulled the door closed.

"Cheer up, Ed or it's going to be one hell of a long flight."

"Em … don't start – I slept like shit and I'd love nothing more than to sneak back into my bed …."

"Yeah, yeah," he interrupted. "So you can wake up and come downstairs to see Bella. We know."

"Do you?" I asked with a raised brow.

"I know you like her. I'd have to be a moron to not see the way you look at her." Emmett shrugged.

"Am I that transparent?"

Both Emmett and Jasper laughed.

"Ed … there's nothing wrong with liking her. She's a sweet girl and I won't lie … she's a knockout." Emmett grinned. "If you don't want to go for her – I will."

I looked over at Jasper who was shaking his head.

"What?"

"We'll talk when we get on the plane," Jasper mumbled.

Before I knew it we were settling into our first class seats. Jasper sat next to me while Emmett sat across the aisle. We took the offered pillows and blankets and got comfortable as we ascended into the early morning sky.

I thought back to the evening prior - after our delicious meal, Jasper and I cleaned up the dishes – giving Alice and Bella a little time together without our interference. Kaden lingered in the kitchen with us, rearranging the magnets on the fridge that I had Eric pick up for me. He was so excited to see his artwork displayed, and I had to admit that I liked it too.

"So … about Bella. You sure you're ready for this?" Jasper asked quietly as I scrolled through pictures of Kaden and Bella I'd taken the night before.

"Yeah, definitely. Lauren and I were discussing starting a family before she … you know."

"This is different, Edward. Tell me you know that."

"I do know that, Jasper. I know there is more at stake here. This time there are three people involved, but I need Bella to trust me before I can ask her to let me get to know Kaden."

"Do you blame her? Those two have been through hell in the past year."

"I'm well aware of that. I want to make this easier on Bella – not harder."

"Make what easier?"

"Getting to know one another."

"So you want to pursue something with Bella?"

I could tell by the look on his face that Jasper was asking out of concern for his friend – not because he was trying to butt in on my business as an employee who needed to be aware of personal affairs.

"I'd like to get to know her and I want her to know me. Yes, I'd eventually like to pursue something with Bella. I feel different around her – but in a good way."

Jasper smiled crookedly at me.

"Bella is … Bella. She was my roommate in college but before she became my roommate she was my friend. I met her at this little deli that we both loved. I'd seen her there a hundred times, but one afternoon I walked in and she was standing at the counter ordering some type of gourmet ham or something. She was flustered, and, God, she was adorable. She had a date that night and she was making him dinner to try and impress him and she was nervous as all hell. When I saw her coincidentally the next day at a bakery loading up on chocolate, I knew that the date was a bust. We ended up chatting over coffee and she told me all about the guy. There was no way he was worthy of her."

I inhaled and blew out my breath sharply.

"You liked her."

Jasper nodded.

"I did. I thought it was sweet that she was willing to make him dinner. I've dated a lot of girls in my time and I've yet to find one who wanted to make me dinner before I met Bella."

"Then you've been dating the wrong kind of women," I chuckled.

"That's what I thought too. That's also when I realized that I wanted to get to know the girl I always saw at the deli. Bella and I spent a lot of time hanging out and getting to know each other. Everything came so easily to us and we had a comfortable relationship but there was never that need to know certain things – like how her fingers felt twisted in mine, or how her lips felt against mine. She became my best friend but there was never anything between us that wasn't platonic."

"But … you didn't like the guy that she eventually married?"

"No," Jasper laughed humorlessly. "I hated Mike the moment she brought him through our apartment door. There was no doubt in my mind … ever … that he wasn't good enough for her. Sure, he adored her and he was good to her. Hell, she lit up when he came over unexpectedly – which was a lot. I liked seeing her happy, but I never hid how I really felt about him. Mike thought I was jealous and that I was harboring feelings for her, and he tried like hell to convince Bella of that. I think at one point she felt like she was caught in the middle. She was falling for him, and she felt loyalty to me. I wanted her to be happy and I told her that – so I shut my mouth and let her do what she wanted to do. A few months later, they got engaged and Bella moved out. Our friendship sort of fell by the wayside. If it weren't for Alice, I probably would have lost Bella altogether."

"How long have you and Alice been together?"

"Almost nine years."

"You guys aren't married yet?"

"Not by choice. We've been engaged forever and had planned a wedding a few years ago, but Alice got extremely ill a week before the wedding. We had to call the wedding off because the stress of planning the wedding wasn't helping her illness and she saw it as a sign that it wasn't the right time for us to get married."

I knew Alice was quirky, but it didn't seem like she was the kind of person to believe in signs. After all – if that were the case she should have seen right through Mike before encouraging him to talk to Bella.

"Will there ever be a right time?"

Jasper took a deep breath and exhaled quickly.

"Hell, I don't know, Edward. I want there to be. I want her to be my wife. It's beyond a piece of paper. It's a vow – promises that are meant to be kept and a declaration – so everyone knows how in love I am."

Jasper settled back into his seat and laughed softly to himself.

"Jesus, we sound like saps. Talking about love and relationships."

We did sound like saps but I didn't care. It felt freeing talking to Jasper about Bella and it was nice to hear how he'd gotten to know her. It was something that I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Bella about but one day, I hoped to hear her side of the story. I reclined my seat and drifted off thinking about a beautiful, hazel-eyed brunette.

Our flight was long and uneventful , so I was glad that Jasper and I had the chance to talk. Knowing a little bit more about Bella's relationship with Jasper helped. Once we arrived in Australia, my hectic filming schedule kicked in. I hardly had any free time for the first week we were there. I couldn't wait to boot up my laptop to email Bella so in the meantime, I had to settle for texting.

Hey, beautiful. We arrived safely. – E

I hated that I had to wait for a reply because of the time difference but Bella didn't disappoint me – she texted me back immediately.

Hey, you. =) I was wondering if you arrived okay. Glad you got there safe. – B

I couldn't help the wide smile that graced my face.

I'll be busy this week but we'll talk soon and I'll be thinking of you. – E

I'm thinking about you too. – B

Knowing I was in her thoughts made me incredibly happy. My days were filled with hours of filming and rehearsals for filming. At the end of the day, Jasper and I would ride back to our hotel and fall into bed exhausted. I'd set my alarm so I could wake up with enough time to email Bella before heading out again.

One night, around three a.m., my phone rang and I knew it was Bella without having to look at the caller ID. I answered the call and heard a sniffle on the other end of the line.

"Bella?"

"Bella? Are you there? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm here," she sniffled.

When I heard Bella's soft sniffles, I was instantly worried and my mind reeled with possibilities as to what would be wrong.

"Why are you crying, beautiful?"

"I called in to make a doctor appointment because I have an earache and I don't want it to turn into a full blown infection. Anyway, the doctor's office told me that my insurance is no longer valid. That got me worried that Kaden's was cancelled too, so I called the pediatricians office and sure enough – his insurance isn't valid either.

"I'm so worried, Edward. Kaden's got that heart murmur … he needs insurance. What am I going to do?"

I knew Bella called intending to vent her frustrations. She didn't call to ask for pity or handouts because that's not how she's wired. I felt bad because health insurance was the one thing I overlooked. Now that Jasper and Alice had a baby on the way and Bella and Kaden needed insurance, I knew it was something I needed to look into providing. Until then, I'd see that they had extra money in their paychecks to cover it.

"Bella, I don't want you to stress out about all this, okay? If you're already feeling sick, I don't want you to get worse. Get some rest and try not to worry. I will see what I can do to help you, okay beautiful?"

"Thank you, Edward."

"No need to thank me, Bella. It's my pleasure. Try to get some rest okay? I'll check in on you later."

"Okay." Bella murmured. "Edward?"

"Yeah?" I yawned.

"I miss you."

"I miss you too, beautiful. Get some rest."

I told Bella that she could call me whenever she wanted. If it was something urgent, she was told to call Jasper's phone and he'd get in touch with me. The only bad thing was that she'd called in the middle of the night and I found myself worrying about both her and Kaden. I tried to clear my thoughts enough to go back to sleep and I eventually drifted off into fitful dreams.

"You look like hell, Ed," Jasper commented as we ate our breakfast from the comfort of the living room in my suite.

"I know. Bella called me at three a.m. in a panic. Looks like Mike cancelled their health insurance and she was trying to get in to the doctor because she's got an earache and doesn't want it to get worse."

"Ed … Bella rarely gets sick," he said worriedly. "When she does – it's bad."

He went on to tell me about the one time that Bella had been sick in the two and a half years that he was her roommate. She had strep throat and was miserable for two weeks but she insisted on taking care of herself.

"She was so weak that she just couldn't handle it. I picked her up and took her to urgent care. They took a culture and gave her antibiotics before sending her home. Poor thing cried for hours – she was so frustrated that she couldn't take care of herself."

"You don't think she's pushing it trying to take care of herself and Kaden do you?"

"Knowing Bella … yeah." Jasper sighed. "I'll send Ali over there, but if Bella's contagious – she can't stay."

I nodded in understanding. Knowing that Alice was pregnant – I couldn't argue with Jasper's logic. He was so happy when he told me on the plane that he and Alice thought they were expecting, and it had since been confirmed. Jasper was overwhelmed with excitement and concern at the same time because he was so far away.

We found ourselves in the same boat.

"Bella said it was an ear infection. Hopefully that's all it is."

"Oh shit. Well, if it is an ear infection, maybe she caught it early enough and it won't be too serious. How did she sound other than upset?"

I tugged at my hair and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Jesus … I don't know. She was crying … unfortunately, I don't have much else to go on."

I wanted to know Bella well enough to know the difference between her cries of sadness and cries of pain. I knew Jasper wanted to know if I could hear an underlying tone in her voice that would give us a clue as to whether she was feeling worse than she let on but I wasn't attuned to her that way … yet.

I asked Jasper to look into insurance companies from the comfort of my trailer while I was busy filming. I suggested that he get in contact with Nick if he needed help and I let them both know that I wanted to set up policies for Jasper, Alice, Bella and Kaden.

Later that afternoon when we took a break for lunch, I called to check in on Bella. When I heard a broken hello, my heart ached to be there with her. Bella wasn't any better – she was worse.

"Bella?"

"Mmmhmm?"

I closed my eyes and tried to picture her. It was obvious that I'd woken her up and I would almost bet that she was adorably rumpled with sleep.

"Did I wake you, beautiful?"

I already knew the answer but I wanted to confirm it.

"Yeah … but that's okay. God, Edward … what time is it there?"

"It's just after one. We're on a lunch break. How are you feeling?"

Suddenly, I found myself dreading her answer. If she was better, life was good, but if she was worse – she couldn't take care of Kaden let alone herself and that thought worried me.

"Horrible …." She murmured. "I went to the doctor but it's worse now than it was this morning."

I sighed heavily – unsure of what I could do for her so far away.

"Where's Kaden?" I asked, pinching the bridge of my nose.

I prayed that she wouldn't tell me that she was asleep on the couch while he watched TV.

"With my dad. He picked him up from school and kept him all afternoon and then he came over with him a little while ago to get some of his things. He'll take Kaden to school tomorrow."

I wanted to breathe a huge sigh of relief knowing that Kaden was taken care of. But what about Bella?

"Have you eaten anything?"

I could almost see her rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, Dad brought me some soup. Please don't worry about me, Edward. I'll be good as new in a couple days."

"Yeah, but in the meantime, who's going to take care of you?"

"I'm a big girl - I can take care of myself," She insisted.

Bella was like a big tiger trapped inside the body of a little kitten and while her insistence was rather amusing, I was still concerned.

"Bella …" I chastised. "You're sick … you should at least have someone there if you need something. What if you get dizzy and fall? What if you hit your head?"

I envisioned her sitting up in bed and realizing she was dizzy only to push herself and move about trying to work through her daily routine. Every possible scenario ran through my head – Bella falling on the floor beside her bed unable to reach the phone; Bella falling in the kitchen and hitting her head on the tile floor; Bella slipping in the shower. Without someone there – she could be in any one of those positions for hours and that was completely unacceptable to me.

"Edward, I'll be fine. I promise to be overly cautious if that makes you feel better."

"No, it doesn't, Bella. I'd feel much better if you had someone there with you."

Thankfully, I'd gotten a text from Doug that morning saying that he was on his way to Australia to relieve Emmett. I could send Emmett back to L.A. and have him check in on Bella before he started the temp job he was needed for.

"I don't have that option, Edward. My dad has his hands full with Kaden, Alice is busy with work and now … well, I can't burden her now."

"Bella, Alice is pregnant – not an invalid." I chuckled, knowing she was probably unaware that I knew of Alice's condition.

"I know she's not. If I'm not better in a couple of days, I'll call her, okay?"

Bella conceded but it didn't ease my worrying about her.

"She already knows you're sick, Bella. Jasper told her."

I could tell Bella was getting tired because she didn't respond to my comment. Instead she apologized for being so tired and I told her I'd talk to her later when I called to check in on her.

Jasper and Nick had worked together and set everything up for insurance. I asked Nick to make sure that Bella had all the information so she could use it if she needed to go back to the doctor.

My schedule the next day was packed, and I couldn't get away to call Bella until late in the evening.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Bella asked.

Her voice sounded rough and gravelly. She was definitely worse and I told her she sounded awful although I'm sure she didn't need the reminder.

"I feel awful. I feel worse today than I did yesterday," Bella admitted.

That was probably the last thing she wanted to tell me, but I was glad she told me the truth.

"Too late," Bella mumbled.

"What?" I asked, unsure that I'd heard her correctly.

"Too late," she affirmed, this time speaking a little louder. "My dad took me back to the doctor this morning and I have pneumonia and a sinus infection which is making my ear infection worse."

"Jesus … fuck. How did you get pneumonia, Bella?"

She explained that it was a combination of things – ranging from cold weather, cleaning and Bella not taking care of herself.

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair in frustration.

"My prescriptions are ready, Edward. Can I call you back when I get home?"

I agreed, telling her I didn't care what time she called. Two hours later, I still hadn't heard from her so I texted her.

Bella … I hope the reason you didn't call is because you went straight to bed. Text me later, please? – E

I waited to see if she'd text back but she didn't so I decided to get some rest and see what the next day brought. By the time I woke up the next morning, I still hadn't heard from her so I sent off another text.

Bella … I don't want to bother you if you're resting but I'm worried about you. Hope you're okay. – E

Thankfully, Bella texted back a few minutes later.

I'm okay. Just tired. Went to bed after doctor. Going back to bed. Will text u later. – B

My mind went into over drive worrying about Bella and trying to come up with a way to help her. I was at a loss so I did the only thing I could think of – I called my mom.

A/N: This chapter could have been ridiculously long so I decided to make it two parts. I know this isn't the first chapter this has happened with so like the other POV that was split into two chapters – part two will follow and you'll still get a regular update next Monday.

Thanks again for reading and I can't wait to hear what you think!