AN: I've received a lot of reviews and questions that are pretty similar to one another so rather than repeating my answer over and over again I thought I'd post it here as an author's note instead. You'll find it at the end of the chapter….

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Chapter 21 - Surprise!

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He watched her sleep, like he had done almost every night over the past week. Lingering in the shadows, staring greedily, hoping she would wake, yet at the same moment hoping she wouldn't. She looked tired.

Her ever present laptop was tucked away between the mattress and the back of the sofa. She'd been practically glued to that thing for days now, working her way through thenot-quite-legally obtained backup files, no doubt.

As it turned out, there had been no actual medical records among the data on the backup disk, only some dated backup copies of a database, containing contact information and details of past and future appointments, most of which were encrypted of course… One step forward and two steps back – or was it sideways? Either way there was an extensive amount of data that needed to be analyzed.

According to the clock on his phone, the time was 4:45 A.M. He had done his business in the bathroom, should be heading back to bed, but couldn't. Not without stopping for another glance of sleeping Bella..

They had settled into a routine of sorts. Bella would get up with Anthony in the mornings, leaving Edward to catch an extra hour or two worth of sleep. He had never asked her to do that, she just did. He made sure to return the favor by keeping the Anthony out of her hair as much as possible during the day. As long as the weather was not too cold, too wet, or too windy, he would bring the kid outdoors and stay there until lunchtime.

More often than not, they would return to an empty cabin. No Bella, no laptop, no car keys…. Exactly where she went he did not know. When asked about it she alwaysmuttered something vague about working remote and needing a more secure, and reliable internet connection. As long as she kept her cell phone turned on and replied to the text messages he sent her, Edward didn't push the issue. She always returned in time for supper, almost always bearing gifts in form of take-out containers or grocery bags.

After they had all eaten, Edward would get Anthony bathed and ready for bed. Getting the boy to settle down for the night was still a constant struggle, but once he was asleep, Edward would have three or four glorious hours of kiddie-free time. He usually went outside for a smoke or… seven and then took a long, nice shower before finally collapsing in front of the TV.

In all honesty, he didn't care one bit about what shows he ended up watching. It was more about the company, than anything else. Not that they interacted much, Bella was far to engrossed in typing on her laptop to engage in any lengthy conversations. He didn't mind, though, he knew their time together was limited and those quiet momentsthey shared were a nice change to the constant bickering.

He dreaded the day he would have to let her go again. Logically he knew it was unavoidable, he'd known from the start she wasn't his to keep. She'd already stayed way longer than she'd originally planned. Every hour he got to spend in her presence was a bonus. That's why, when the much anticipated phone call from his lawyer finally came, he kept it to himself.

Mr. Berger, had been pleased to inform him that the paperwork was notarized, filed and rubber stamped, meaning Edward now had temporary custody of his son and was no longer required to stay within the city limits. He would have to check in with the social service agency of his county of residence regularly for the next six months, but other than that he was free to pack up the child and go. However, that was one little detail he wasn't ready to reveal to Bella just yet…

He'd accidentally overheard a phone conversation, in which Bella had been telling someone, Alice most likely, about her plans for the holidays. He knew she wasn't flying out to see Renee until Christmas Eve and therefore he also knew that the best he could hope for was to keep her around till the 22nd… If he played his cards right, that is…

Ironically, he was now doing exactly what he'd accused Bella of doing the last time they parted ways; lying by omission, keeping secrets, sitting on vital information, not passing it on. His reaction back then had been to shun her over it; perhaps a slight overreaction on his part. The lapse of time had given him perspective. He still felt ill at ease over the fact that she'd kept him in the dark regarding certain aspects of the stalker case and the treats made against him. He'd come to realize, however, that his own short fuse and bad temper was at least partly to blame. The same thing could probably be said about many of the blowouts they had had in the past.

Funny how caring for a child make you look at yourself and your life differently. Before Anthony come along, he'd been a self-absorbed jerk without even realizing it. His parents clearly deserved medals for all the crap he'd put them through as a teenager. At eighteen he'd been so full of himself, so bullheaded, so stupid, so young. It made him wonder what the outcome would have been if he had acted differently regarding the whole getting caught-in-the-act-by-Chief-Swan situation, all those years ago. They say every action has an equal and opposite reaction. In hindsight it was painfully obvious that his own immature behavior had driven his equally young and clearly vulnerable girlfriend into the arms of another guy.

What was done was done though, there was no going back. All he could do was focusing on moving forward. He was going to prove to himself, and everyone else, that he could become the parent that his son needed. He knew that it would take time and effort, and a whole lot of patience, but if he could do that, he could do anything… maybe even work on some of his other issues, break some circles and bury the past in the past.

There was one circle he wasn't willing to break just yet, though; the sleep watching... For some reason he had developed this strange need to reassure himself that she was still there with him. This night was no exception. He tiptoed across the floor and crouched down by the side of the sofa. Like always he was struck by the delicate beauty of her face, but lately he had been struck by the vulnerability there as well. Even unconscious in sleep, her face showed signs of an inner battle. He wished she would let him into her private world, let him help her with this mysterious burden she seemed to be carrying. He knew that wasn't happening anytime soon, though.

Feeling unusually bold, or maybe just not giving a damn, he leant forward and kissed her gently on the forehead. She stirred, but didn't wake up. He sighed, waiting one, two, three seconds before getting up and slowly leaving the room on his tiptoes.

With one last, long, lingering look at her he quietly closed the door and slipped back into his own bed.

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-'-

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Bella hummed silently to herself as she worked on her computer. Suddenly, something caught her attention: voices, and not just one or two, several voices coming from the other room.

She checked the time at the bottom right corner of the screen – it was half past eleven. Not quite time lunchtime yet. Edward and Anthony must have headed back inside earlier than planned and also picked up some company on their way back from the playground, because she clearly heard a second deep, male voice filtering through the door.

Could it be another visit from the lawyer? Or maybe it was someone from Social Services stopping by again, unannounced this time? Alarmed she was on her feet and moving towards the door in no time. She didn't even bother to put her laptop down.

The first thing she noticed, upon entering the room, was that Edward was looking very calm, relaxed almost. Even Anthony seemed to be in an unusual quiet mood, climbing on his father's leg like a subdued spider monkey. It must be a good visit then, she concluded… Still, she didn't rest until her eyes had scanned the rest of the room and she had located the source of the unfamiliar voices.

After a quick once-over, she was stunned to realize the guests weren't unfamiliar at all. Blinking twice, she let out a surprised gasp. The conversation stopped and all eyes turned her way.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite super-secret-spy-agent-lady," Emmett McCarthy greeted her with a bright smile.

"Oh, hi guys!" she replied, feeling her own lips curve upwards in response. It was impossible not to smile when Emmett was flashing his dimples around like that. His son was pretty cute too. "Hi, Elliott!," she said, adding a little wave in the direction of the two-year-old, who was perched on his father's arm.

She couldn't be sure, but it looked like the boy might actually remember her. He'd grown heaps, in the months since she last had seen him. Baby Elliott was hardly a baby anymore, she mused. He was such a chubster, especially compared to his cousin, but then again he had some pretty big, sturdy genes to draw from.

"Tell me, Miss Swan, have you put your handcuffs to use lately?" Emmett smirked, draping his free arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a one armed hug.

"No, I can't say I have," Bella laughed and scooted away from him, clutching her laptop in front of herlike a shield. "I left them at home. They are a pain in the ass to bring through airport security."

"That's a shame! I bet that coffee maker would still be alive if you had taken proper precautions," Emmett grinned, only to be hastily silenced with a jab in the gut from his brother.

"I thought I told you not to bring that up!" Edward barked, clearly annoyed.

"Come on, it was only a joke. I'm sure Bella already knows how claustrophobic you are and how you don't like being restrained orbound in any way." He lowered his voice and mockwhispered in Bella's direction, "I tied his shoelaces to a chair once. Big mistake, he nearly worked himself into a full blown panic attack over it."

"But he loves it when I hold him down with force and frisk him," Bella stage-whispered back, winking at Edward, who had turned about three shades of red from either anger or embarrassment or both.

"He also quite enjoyed himself that one time when I undressed, gagged and blindfolded him before I…" she paused for effect, acting like she was about to reveal something really juicy. "… before I left him tied up to a shower curtain rod at the gym for two hours." She paused again, a wicked smile curving her lips. "No wait, that wasn't Edward, was it? In fact isn't that what Rose did to you Emmett, when you forgot your first wedding anniversary?"

There was about a millisecond of silence, and then Edward roared withlaughter. "I've always said Rose is the one wearing the pants in that relationship. She really does have your balls in her purse, eh bro?"

"Laugh all you want. I have a very satisfying marriage. Nowadays I let her gag me and tie me up whenever she feel like it, special occasion or not. My d–i-c-k was limp for days after our last anniversary and it wasn't from trauma, it was from overuse. My little delicate Rose loves it rough and deep."

"Whoa, kiddies in the room!" Bella exclaimed at the same time as Edward hissed "Over sharingmuch!" and then went on to cover Anthony's ears in mock disgust.

"What? Don't look at me like that! Blame Bella, she was the one that brought it up."

"You're full of fu-... , shi-…bananas," Edward sighed in frustration, shaking his head. "It's official little El, your daddy has gone bananas."

"B'nanas are for monkeys, " Elliott stated matter-of-factly.

"Right on!" Emmett chuckled, "Oh, that reminds me, bro. Where are the snacks you promised?"

"Like you're getting anything now. Forget it!"

"Suit yourself, but I get cranky if I don't eat. Just saying…"

Ignoring his brothers comment, Edward focused on the kids. "Are you two hungry? Let's move into the kitchen, shall we," he suggested lifting Anthony into his arms. "I don't have any bananas, but I have apples. What do you say Anthony? Do you want some crackers and an apple?"

The boy shrugged, like he was saying 'who cares', which was odd, seeing as he usually was very picky about what he ate. Elliott on the other hand was quick to voice his love for crackers.

"Alright, that settles it, crackers it is, then. I might even have some cookies for desert."

"Daddy have too," Elliott insisted with a serious expression.

"Aww, thanks for sticking up for me, buddy!" Emmett gave his son a good tickle in the side.

"Da-d-dy?" Elliott managed to splutter in between spiels of laughter

"Yes?"

"Why does mommy have a ball ina bag?" he asked with a furrowed brow.

"Yeah, daddy," Edward smirked. "Please do tell, how your balls ended up in mommy's purse."

"Well buddy, you know mommy. She does have a lot of shi-… crap in that purse of hers."

"Is my ball," Elliott sulked, jutting out his bottom lip in a petulant pout. "I have, I play."

"Not with those balls you won't, they belong to mommy. Tell you what, though, we can stay here and play with uncle Eddie for another hour or two, but only if you promise to eat everything your uncle gives you; not just the good stuff, but the fruity stuff too. And also you have to promise to share the toys with your cousin. Can you promise me that?" Emmett asked his son in a surprisingly stern voice.

Edward had never really paid much attention to his brother's parenting style before. It was truly amazing to watch him go from his usual goofball self to being ûber parental and pedagogic, super dad in a matter of seconds.

"But Daddy," the boy whined shaking his head.

"No buts, I want a pinkie swear or else I'll let Santa know not to bring you any new toys."

The boy's little browfurrowed again as he thought it over."I promise!" he finally agreed, holding up his pinkie finger. "But no b'nanas!" he added in a serious tone of voice like the thought of having to eat bananas was a huge deal breaker for him.

"Okay," his father agreed. "But if mommy asks, you tell her we ate bananas not cookies, alright?"

"Okay," the boy nodded and then turned from his dad to his uncle with outstretched hands. "Have cookies, please!"

"Hold your horses kiddo, you can't start with the desert. That's not what we agreedon," Edward ruffled his nephew's hair and then handed both boys a handful of gold fish crackers each. Then, taking a hint from his brother, he added, "I only have one juice box so you guys will have to take turns and share. Can you do that Elliott?"

"Want me to round up something else for the boys to drink? I bet I could find som-..." Bella started, but then stopped when she felt a tug on her arm.

"Don't," Emmett shook his head. "It's that one juice box or nothing at all. Little El is not used to share with others and Tiny Tony, here, is not used to being around other kids at all... so…."

"Oh? Is that why he's so quiet?" she asked, motioning with her head towards Anthony.

"Not a word since we got here," Emmett nodded. "If we can get them both to sit down next to one another and sip juice from the same straw, it would be a huge achievement."

"The same straw?" Bella frowned. "Emmett are you absolutely sure it wasn't the chickenpox that had him breaking out in hives the other week?"

"Aww, Jelly Belly, who knew you were such a worry wart?" Emmett teased. "It was just some silly diaper rash. Nothing contagious, I promise."

"Jelly, Belly," Elliott repeated around a mouthful of crackers and then burst into a fit of giggles, sending crumbs flying anywhere.

"It's a nickname, silly. Like you're little El and I'm big Em and uncle Eddie is Eddie Spaghetti…" Emmett explained patiently to his son."...and our new friend, little Anthony over here, is Tiny Tony."

This time Bella caught on much faster. Reversed psychology, she could work with that. "Oh, I get it. Tiny Tony, because he's still just a baby... He hardly even talks, " she said, knowing full well that Anthony didn't like being called a baby.

"Exactly! Tiny Tony because he such a little guy."

"No!" The reaction was instantaneous. "I Tony, I big," came a small, but determined voice.

"Of course, sorry, buddy!" Emmett apologized in earnest. "You're Tony the Tiger. When you roar thesky itself will shake!"

"I tiger, I bite," Anthony nodded approvingly and bared his teeth, letting out an adorable little growl.

"See, I told you he's a clever little bugger, " Edward informed, almoast proudly. "He's just a little behind on his growing curve, that's all."

"Keep feeding him real, manly food and he'll catch up in no time."

"Manly food, really? What kind of food is that?" Bella asked in amused curiosity.

"Well, you know, meaty dishes like beef… and steak… and ribs… and burgers… and stuff like that. No need go overboard with the green stuff. Vegetables taste about as bland as they look."

"Veggies are for monkeys," little Elliott piped up helpfully.

"Naw, buddy. That's bananas. Veggies are for sissies," Emmett chuckled. "But don't let mommy catch you saying that, alright?"

"Speaking of Rose, is she in Forks already or how come she let you two goofballs out on your own?"

"She'll be here with Alice and Jasper in two days. The girls have a spa appointment they didn't want to miss and Jasper has to work a few more days."

"Does mom know you're here? Because she wanted to see the kid so bad, but I asked her to give me a few more days alone with him. Now, she's going to be miffed that I let you beat her to it."

"We're planning on surprising her. Why don't you pack up the kid and come with us? I bet she would love that."

"He's not allowed to leave yet, for legal reasons," Bella cut in. "You still haven't heard anything on that front, right Edward?"

"Actually…" Edward grimaced. The moment of truth. He had promised himself he wouldn't lie if she flat out asked about it. "As of a few days ago, I'm free to relocate if I want to."

"Really?"She fixed him with a questioning stare. "The papers are notarized and filed with the court?"

"Yes."

"How long have you known? Why didn't you tell me? I have plane tickets that need to be re-booked."

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were in such a hurry to get out of here," he shrugged in a nonchalant, yet slightly defensive fashion. "Didn't you promise Alice you'd stick around until could get back here. The 22nd, was it? I see no point in changing those plans now."

Bella bit back the angry retort that sprang to mind and forced a smile. "Maybe so, but I still wish you would have told me sooner."

"We're talking about seven measly days here. I know you're eager to get back, but your life will still be there waiting for you. One week is not going to change that."

"Seven days? A whole week, Edward? You've known for a whole week?"

"It will be a week if you stay till the 22nd."

"What if I don't want to stay?"

Edward didn't answer straight away. Bella looked at him. His face was grim. The few seconds they stared at each other down felt like hours.

Finally he sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "No one is forcing you."

Seemingly forgetting their company, the two continued their staring contest, until Emmett cut them off with an amused chuckle.

"How long have you been married again?" he teased, obviously amused by their exchange. "Want me to take the kids outside, so that you two love birds can kiss and make up?" he suggested wagging his eyebrows.

"No," they both answered in unison.

"Good, more kisses for me then," Emmett hollered before laying a big fat one on Bella's cheek and then scooping up one little boy under each arm and leaving the room.

AN:

Character growth

Some of you have voiced your concern that Bella's character in this story is stuck in the same pattern. That she isn't changing; isn't evolving. She comes across as stubborn, manipulative, annoying, and obnoxious even. All very valid observations. In all honesty though, there have been some, albeit small, changes in her attitude. She has gone from not wanting Edward to know about her pregnancy at all, to wanting to tell him, but not finding the right time to do so. We all know that there will never be a "right time", but is there a good time? That's the question.

Edward is clearly overwhelmed with the reality and responsibility of fatherhood. However, I hope that you will agree that he is slowly but surely beginning to show signs that he is growing as a person. He is bonding with his son and he is starting to see the error in is some of his past actions.

Remember how Carlisle said in the last chapter that both Edward and Bella carry around a lot of baggage. Edwards more tangible and upfront, while hers perhaps more subtle. I think that's the key here, I think that's why Edward's the first one to realize there are circles that needs to be broken and past mistakes to own up to and learn from. Bella will get there too, she just needs a little more time. We don't really know much about what's going on inside that head of hers. She is very guarded and keeps her issues to herself. She hates to ask for help and show weakness in front of others.

It's my opinion that in order for B &E to get their happily ever after, they booth have some stuff they need to work through.

What is Edward referring to when he speaks of breaking circles?

This is actually his third attempt at making things work with Bella. The first time around, when they were still teenagers, it all fell apart when their parents forced them to spend a summer apart. At the end of the summer Edward returned to Forks only to find his girlfriend in the arms of another guy. Edward, being both jealous and insecure, didn't believe her when she told him things weren't like they seemed. Then again, he knew nothing about the issues she had been forced to deal with regarding her father's illness. He didn't have the full story. There were simply too many things going on in her life that she hadn't told him about. The final nail in the coffin came when Edward lost his temper completely and Bella, along with almost the entire student body of Forks high, got to witness him beat the crap out of Jacob Black. Bella's shut down all attempts at communication after that.

The second time around, eight years later, things fell apart when Edward learned that Bella, once again, had been keeping vital information from him (this time regarding the stalker case). Bella was only doing her job, but Edward felt betrayed when he realized that she had known the identity of the stalker for several days without telling him. His feelings were justefied, but once again his temper got the best of him. On the plus side he didn't beat anyone up this time, but he still overreacted and acted without thinking. All forms of communication were shut down again, only this time it was Edward that instigated it. He didn't stick around to hear her side of things.

It's an endless circle of bad communication that can chip away at any potential of a good working relationship. Will third time be the charm? This time around Edward is sensing that Bella is keeping something from him, but will he be able to keep his cool when he learns what it is? And if so, will Bella be able to let him in, trust him and truly open herself to him? See, this is what I mean when I say they both have issues they need to work through before they can get their happily ever after…

So what is this baggage that Carlisle is talking about?

Let's start with what we know about Edwards issues so far….

- he had behavior problems as a teen, with a bad temper and anger management issues. As a grown up he still has a short fuse and often acts without thinking. He's the jealous kind and sometimes lets that jealously get the best of him.

- he has reacquiring nightmares, often featuring James, the sleazy photographer. I would imagine he has plenty of nightmares of Angela, the vicious, abusive stalker, as well.

- he doesn't like being restrained or bound in any way. Except he sometimes let Bella get away with it (remember how she twisted his arm into a deadlock and pushed him up against the refrigerator?). It shows an increased level of trust. He just hasn't figured out what that truly means yet.

- he's prone to panic attacks. It's been awhile since he's had one, but it's been mentioned in passing a few times throughout this story.

- he's been drugged (and abused) in the past and is therefore somewhat paranoid about always remaining in control. When he loses control, he tends to work himself up into panic attacks.

- he's adopted and has insecurities about his self worth. He is sensitive to rejection and has a subtle paranoia that is expressed as jealously or possessiveness. He feels undeserving of being loved.

Moving on to what we know about Bellas issues….

-she's had an unconventional upbringing with a mother who, for many years refused to grow up and take on adult responsibilities. She was her mother's keeper, so to speak, from the time that she was a little girl until Phil came into the pictured when Bella was fifteen. Renee wasn't the warm, nurturing type to begin with and after marrying an aspiring politician she became obsessed with public appearance and status. Her mother is more manipulative than Bella could ever begin to fathom.

- she has daddy issues. For many years Charlie Swan was a distant presence, a shadowy figure in her life. Then as Bella became a teenager, Charlie became an overbearing, overprotective cop father who even went as far as locking her up in her bedroom in order to keep her home at night. That's not exactly a healthy father daughter relationship.

- she became her father's keeper of sorts, when Charlie fell ill and started forgetting things like where he'd put his keys or left his reading glasses. Charlie's forgetfulness quickly escalated to bigger things like neglecting to pay the bills, abandoning food on the stove and nearly burning down the house and mistaking his daughter for his estranged wife.

- she has trust issues. She's never had the luxury of having someone to lean on for support. Her instincts are to tackle life's obstacles on her own.

- she's careful about letting people in close, not having many attachments. She claims it's because of her profession, but clearly it runs deeper than that.

- she's been cheated on by her husband, and has hinted that her marriage was an unhappy one. Her reasons for marrying, or even dating Jake in the first place, are suspect. She has had very few healthy relationship in her life; platonic, familial, sexual, or otherwise.

- she was taking antidepressants for about a year, as a way to cope with her husbands passing. We know the marriage died long before her husband did, though, so her depression was perhaps more a result of guilt and broken illusions, rather than mourning a lost a love.