Once, again, I'd like to thank my betas for their willingness to read my rough drafts and transform them into something that can be consumed by my readers: Charmie77, acireamos, SSHG316 and SavageWoman. I also want to thank Irritable Grizzzly for being my pre-reader of last resort, and always being too shy to offer me her opinion (wink, wink). She is my Rosalie with a twitchy red pen.
THE SEA
(An excerpt)
by Corinne Bailey Rae
The sea,
The majestic sea
Breaks everything
Crushes everything
Cleans everything
Takes everything
From me.
"Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm: 'Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you will answer me.'" - Job 40:6
Chapter 27 - TLC - The Lull Before The Storm
Edward was intimately familiar with the routine now—a mountain of paperwork, followed by a visit to the police psychologist—but in his case this was his personal psychologist, Dr. Ira Levy. He considered the doctor almost a friend now, or at the very least, a close confidante who just happened to psychoanalyze him occasionally. Gone were the stiff handshakes and wariness that had been their early relationship. Now their warm greetings included shoulder bumps.
They followed the script as Edward remembered with incidents involving the discharge of a firearm, until Dr. Levy was convinced that this recent occurrence had not left him emotionally scarred, or impaired his professional judgment in any way. Then he moved on to more issues of a more personal nature.
"Everything going well for you and Bella?" he asked.
Edward grinned broadly. "That would be a 'yes.' She's perfect."
Dr. Levy's brows rose. "Do you mean that literally or figuratively?"
"All of the above and then some," Edward offered eagerly.
The doctor barked out a laugh. "Then I'd say you are definitely head over heels in love. Good for you, Edward." Then he got serious. "Does it make you anxious when you think of your future as it relates to Bella?"
"Only to the extent that my general fucked-upedness might ruin it. When we were at Emmett's wedding last weekend, I could see us taking that step together someday if she'll have me. I just don't know what kind of husband I'd be, or if I could even be a good father, given my family history."
"The sins of father don't always have to be visited on the son," Dr. Levy said. "You have demonstrated your ability to move past your former way of life and have embraced a monogamous relationship. Let's just take that a step further. Can you visualize yourself as a faithful husband and loving father?"
Edward wasn't convinced. "I can't fathom being good at either of those jobs with the example I've had."
"If we took away his ultimate betrayal, what kind of father was he? Can you remember anything about his parenting style?"
Edward snorted. "Edward Cullen, Sr. was the quintessential permissive parent who wanted to be a friend rather than a father. He was like an adult version of Peter Pan. I don't think he ever wanted to grow up and take responsibility for himself or anyone else. He was the fun-loving party guy who never wanted to be identified as a parent, really. I was more like a buddy, someone he introduced into his lifestyle, but didn't trust enough to believe the truth when he heard it."
"And you'd already felt abandoned by one parent, and while your father seemed more promising in the beginning, there was no loyalty there in the end," Dr. Levy supplied. "Last time we talked, we discussed addressing ways to move into more specific areas of therapy to approach the confrontation with your father. Is this something you want to pursue now, or do you want to wait until this business with the stalker is resolved?"
"I'd like to move forward. My mother shared with me this weekend that my father's health isn't good. So, I guess there's more of a sense of urgency now."
Dr. Levy looked at his calendar. "We'll begin with our next appointment. But let me warn you, Edward, these sessions will be a lot more intense than the ones involving your mother."
"It's nothing a devil dog can't handle," Edward teased.
Dr. Levy chuckled. "You military types astound me with your confidence. But this, too, is progress. When we began several months ago, you would not have been able to joke about anything relating to your father."
"What can I say? He was never a real father to me. The military became my surrogate father when I desperately needed one, and I'm nothing if not my father's son."
"Well said, Edward." Dr Levy stood, and Edward followed suit. "With that, I think I'll see you Wednesday morning." They shook hands again.
"I'll be here," Edward assured him.
~888~
Edward left Dr. Levy's office with thirty minutes to spare before he and Bella were scheduled to be at the Center. He pulled his cruiser up to the elevator in the garage and leaned over to open the door for her as she emerged with a smile only for him. He'd stayed at her place the night before, so he was excited to see her, too.
She leaned over to kiss him good morning, and he happily puckered up to oblige her.
"Hey." She smiled against his lips.
"Hey," he said with an answering smile and then kissed her soundly.
"I'm glad you're early." She buckled in. "We're a man short today."
"Yeah?" he said as a he pulled smoothly away from the curb and headed out of the garage.
"Mmm hmm. Jan, Demetri's fiancée, called to say he had to go out of town, spur of the moment. His mother is gravely ill."
"That bites," Edward said. "I could pinch-hit for you, if you need me." He smiled a wolfish smile. "I kinda like watching the director do her thing."
Bella smirked. "Well, I have it on good authority that she wants you—and I hear she's hot."
"It's a definite that he wants her, too—and I hear he's a man that would risk his neck for his brother, man..." he said, quoting the "Theme from Shaft." They'd watched portions of the movie starring Samuel L. Jackson the night before, between other sexier activities.
She picked up the joke singing the chorus without missing a beat. "Shaft."
"He's a complicated man, but no one understands him but his woman." He half-sang this time in a deeper voice, mimicking Isaac Hayes.
Bella giggled and sang her verse in a breathy back up vocalist's voice. "John Shaft."
"Right on. You see this cat Shaft is a bad mother—"
"Shut your mouth." They said these last words together, laughing at their silliness.
They rode in silence for a few minutes, the lilting cadence of the dispatcher's voice their only background music. "Um, babe promise me you won't become a clichéd cop like that," Bella pleaded.
"No worries on that score. But I'll have to introduce you to this guy on the force who really thinks he's Shaft," he promised, and they cracked up again.
"Thanks. I can't wait."
~888~
Bella adjusted easily to accommodate the children with the manpower she had. Her dad came to help out when Edward was busy with the investigation or Captain Black had him working on other assignments.
Since the summer was an abbreviated schedule for the Center, they were not able to demand Edward's time all day as they had during the school year. Also, the two hours they were at the Center were not enough to keep Bella sufficiently occupied. She was bored to tears after 1:00 pm, especially since she wasn't able to move around alone freely.
Edward was transporting her to and from everywhere she needed to go, but when he was working and she wasn't, she was stuck at the condo. She was convinced that he had purposely made the decision to leave her car parked in front of the leasing office at her apartment complex because he didn't want her to attempt go out alone. On Wednesday afternoon she was particularly stir crazy and just wanted to go to the bookstore. She called her dad, hoping he would give her a ride to her car.
"Bonjour, mon père," she teased when he answered the phone.
Charlie greeted her happily in his broken French. "And bonjour to you ma petite. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"
"Can't a girl just call her dear old dad, sometimes?" She paced with the phone to her ear in front of the piano.
"Yes, and I'm glad to hear from you, sweetheart."
"Good." She paused. "Now, I need a favor."
Charlie laughed. "Does it involve money?"
"Funny, Dad. I haven't asked you for money since I finished at Spelman."
"Oh yeah, right. Then how can I help you?"
"I need a ride to go pick up my car."
"I thought your boyfriend was playing chauffeur for you these days. Anyway, you probably shouldn't be out riding around alone, considering there's a lunatic out there who's made an attempt on your life."
"So you're in collusion with Edward to keep me here in this granite tower like a prisoner, forever? Thanks a lot, Dad."
"Sweetheart, if you'll give me an hour, I'll come get you and take you wherever you want to go." This arrangement would just have to do.
"Okay. Thanks, Dad. I'll be ready."
Frustrated at having to wait an hour to get out of her prison, she called Angela. Maybe she would be willing to play hooky from work. All her other friends were either working, on vacation, or otherwise disposed. And Alice, Mrs. "Stay-at-home-wife" had an appointment that afternoon that she'd been all cryptic about at the Center earlier.
"Bellaboo!" Angela squealed.
"Okay, Ange, I'm sure your office mates hate you right about now." Bella plopped on the sofa lying down with her feet propped on the sofa back and her hair hanging almost to the floor.
Angela expelled an exasperated breath. "Girl, please. As much noise as they make. So what's up?"
"I'm bored," Bella said, trying not to sound like a whiney baby. "I'm trapped in this condo with no transportation, and it's getting old. Don't you want to kidnap me for a late lunch or something?"
"As great as that sounds, I've already had lunch, and today is not a good day for me to skip out. Deadlines abound. I'll probably be here late tonight."
"How about lunch tomorrow or Friday? We could go after one o'clock when the Center closes for the day." She didn't want to seem overeager, but she really needed to get out more often, for sanity's sake.
"Oh, Bella, as much as I want to, I can't. Ben is freaking out about the stalker thing, and he badgered me into making a promise that you and I wouldn't go off anywhere alone together unless I was at that impregnable fortress of a condo with you, preferably with him or Edward there."
"Look at Ben being all protective of his fiancée." Bella smiled. "I should be offended, but Edward probably wrote the manual on overprotective boyfriends."
"It's because they care about us, so cut E some slack, okay?"
"Will do."
"So, do you think you'll be out of lockdown soon? I need you to help me with wedding plans, and I'm still kinda pissed that Rosalie asked you to be her Maid of Honor before I did."
"Ange, she got married before you."
"Oh yeah, right," Angela said absentmindedly. Then she sounded a little more peeved. "I guess she just kinda pisses me off anyway. She really hogged your time for a while, Bella, and you were my sister first."
"But that's over now, and there's plenty of me to go around."
"Good. Well, I'll come by tomorrow after work, okay? And I'll bring my bride books."
"Okay. Hey, might as well tell you now so you can get used to the idea. Friday night we're having a get-together here for Emmett and Rosalie. They'll be back from their honeymoon tomorrow, so Alice talked Edward into having a party to welcome them back."
"They spent a week and a half in Aruba?" Angela said. "Yeah, well then Ben and I will be spending two and a half weeks at wherever we decide to go on our honeymoon."
Bella was surprised at Angela's competitiveness with Rosalie, who was more than likely so oblivious to her jealousy it wasn't funny.
"What's with the green-eyed monster, A? Rosalie is really great. Not just the gorgeous diva that most people see. She's self-assured, smart, accomplished, loyal, and really cares about helping people. She has a hard time trusting, but once she does, you won't find a better friend."
"She's just so intimidating sometimes, but if you like her that much, she must be all right," Angela reluctantly admitted. "So, do you need us to bring anything to the party?"
"Just yourselves and your drink of choice. Alice and I have the food covered."
~888~
When her dad arrived, Bella found she was really glad that she'd struck out with Angela. It was his first visit to the new place, so she invited him in to see it. This was her opportunity to really try to make him comfortable with her relationship with Edward.
They hadn't talked about it since the disastrous conversation on Memorial Day weekend. It was now the end of July, and Edward had been faithfully attending her father's Bible study for weeks. She was concerned that Edward was still not comfortable with her father due to his constantly morose demeanor when Edward was around. Her mother had stifled a lot of her father's attitude about Edward, but Bella wanted to nip it in the bud once and for all.
"This place really is secure, Bells," Charlie commented. "Nobody gets past the doorman down there, and I had to park a block over in a metered space and walk. Forget getting into that underground garage."
"Oh, Dad, I'm sorry. I should have called down and told them let you in the garage. I haven't driven over here in my own car, so I forgot about the protocol."
"Wow," Charlie said, looking around. "Some place. I never had a place like this on a cop's salary."
Bella closed the door and ushered him in. She didn't want her father to think that Edward was a cop on the take or a superficial nouveau riche bachelor living above his means. "Edward is a trust fund baby, Dad. His mother can trace her lineage almost back to the Mayflower, and his great-great-grandparents owned a distillery in the Pacific Northwest eons ago."
Charlie whistled. "And I thought Carlisle and Esme were loaded."
"Come on, let me show you around the place," she said. She made short work of showing her dad where she was living, thankful that she'd tidied up and none of Edward's previously-worn clothing was lying around. He admired Edward's study almost as much as his own. Then she showed him the view from the large balcony off the living room that faced Monroe Street. When they ended in the master bedroom, she showed him the view from the smaller balcony that boasted a view of North Tallahassee, which faced Tennessee Street. They went back into the living room, but Bella continued into the kitchen.
"Would you like something to drink, Dad?" She opened the fridge. "We have lemonade, iced tea, Snapple, Coke."
"We?" Charlie inquired as he approached the large island in the center of the kitchen. He sat on a barstool and folded his arms. "Bells, this isn't a live-in arrangement you've got here, is it?"
Bella took a Snapple for herself and twisted the cap. She was really offended at her dad's insinuation. "Dad, Edward is here with me a lot, because this is ultimately his place, but we don't live together. He sleeps over at my place, and I sleep here." She just didn't tell him that they spent most of their Friday and Saturday nights together because she knew he wouldn't approve. But it was her life, and she would not allow him to tell her how to live it. She gestured to the refrigerator door again. "Would you like a drink?"
He held her gaze just as he had when she'd been a little girl and he caught her doing something naughty, but Bella looked levelly into his eyes, not willing to concede any weakness. "I'll take a lemonade," he said finally.
Bella handed him a bottle of lemonade and sat on a stool across from him. "You know, Dad, you really don't have to be the chastity police." She thrust her hand out. "This ring is still on my finger because I want it to be, and Edward does, too. In fact, he's better than I am at resisting temptation if you really want to know the truth."
"Now why did you want to go and tell me something like that?" Charlie asked, his face screwed up liked he'd tasted something bitter.
"Because you don't act like you want to believe me when I tell you that Edward really is an honorable man. He's gentle, kind, compassionate, fiercely protective, loyal, faithful...and he loves me. I think he's made remarkable progress, being reintroduced to a faith he abandoned years ago. He attends church with me every Sunday, and he hasn't missed one of your Bible studies since you harangued him into coming. What more does he have to do to prove that he's worthy of your daughter?"
Charlie smiled and took her hands. "Nothing," he said simply. "Because I can see in your face and hear from your heart that he has already proven himself to you. The greatest gift he can give me as your father is to love you like I love your mother, and I see that every time I see you two together."
Bella couldn't help it—her eyes swam with tears, but they were happy ones. Charlie moved around the island and gathered his daughter into his arms.
~888~
Edward knew immediately that something was wrong when he entered the condo. It was eerily silent.
"Bella!"
He moved first into the study to see if she was on the computer, knowing that she sometimes used headphones while surfing the web. But she wasn't there. Then he practically ran down the hall to the bedrooms. She wasn't in any of them. He then started working his home like a crime scene. Spotting her cell phone on the piano, his heart leapt into his throat. Bella would never leave it behind intentionally. No wonder she hadn't answered when he'd called her steadily the last hour and a half he'd been at work.
Hurriedly, he went into the kitchen. There he found a Snapple that was half empty, and a lemonade bottle that had been totally consumed. Someone had been here with her, obviously someone she knew. He pulled out his cell phone and began calling her friends. Angela first.
"Hi, Angela, It's Edward. Is Bella with you?"
"No. I talked to her around one thirty. She wanted to go out, but I couldn't get away from the office," Angela answered truthfully. Then she shot rapid-fire questions at him. "What's wrong? Is she not answering her cell?"
"She left her phone here," he said, raking one hand frantically through his hair as he paced the floor. "Let me call around some more. She might be with Alice."
"I'll call the Swans," Angela offered. "And Edward?"
"Yeah?"
"We'll find her. Don't panic."
He clicked off with shaky fingers and hit Alice on speed dial. While it was ringing he heard an alert that another call was coming through, and he quickly answered it.
"Hello...?"
"Hey, baby," Bella said. "I'm—"
"Where are you?" he interrupted harsher than he'd intended.
There was a pregnant pause. "I'm at Borders, with my dad. I'm sorry, I left my cellphone at home and lost track of the time."
His relief was so palpable it left him weak in the knees, and he stumbled toward the sofa to sit. "I thought—"
Her tone clued him in that she immediately realized what he had thought. "I should have called you to let you know where I was going to be, but Dad and I had a really great talk at the house and I left kind of in a fog. We're leaving now. See you in twenty minutes."
Edward used those twenty minutes to shower, change, and get a grip on his emotions. Both Angela and Alice called, and he let them know she was fine. He was relieved when Bella came up alone. Edward wasn't fond of the idea of seeing Rev. Swan after this incident had practically shortened his life by a year.
When he heard her key in the lock, he rushed to the door and swung it open, and then she was in his arms where she belonged. He kicked the door shut behind them and held her for the longest time, and she held him back, realizing that she had inadvertently given him a scare.
"I'm sorry," she whispered again. "I really should have called you earlier from Dad's cell. I got caught up in the books and talking to my dad—"
Edward didn't speak; he just silenced her with a kiss. He was too upset to leave her again so soon after this most recent false alarm, and their kisses heated them to a point where neither of them wanted him to go. That Wednesday night, Edward missed the reverend's Bible study for the first time.
~888~
Emmett and Rosalie returned from their honeymoon regaling them all with highlights of their trip. All the gang was gathered at the condo together with a revolving roster of family and other friends. Of course, this was because Alice had taken over and also made it into a housewarming for Edward.
"Some of the natives were talking about that Joran van der Sloot who was captured recently in Peru," Rosalie said, a hard edge to her voice. "Wish I'd been on the case when they originally questioned him about Natalee Holloway. He wouldn't have gotten free to hurt anyone else."
"Yeah, my beautiful wife scared some of the locals with all her talk about beating him to a bloody pulp and disabling his family jewels," Emmett chimed in. Rosalie gave them all a sheepish look and continued to move hors d'oeuvres from the pan to the tray.
"We were asked not to frequent this one bar that was very popular with the honeymooners."
"Why?" Bella asked.
"Maybe you should ask what my wife did when she got to the mike during Karaoke?"
"What?" Alice piped up, a bemused smile on her face.
"She gave them her spiel about how she would have handled van der Sloot, and this was after she'd had about half a dozen Tequila shots."
They all laughed and ribbed Rosalie, and she took it well. Even though Emmett knew the score and was doing the bulk of the teasing, Bella wanted to find out if she was really okay with it.
"For realz?" Angela was amazed. "You go, Rosalie. That dude is the scum of the freaking earth."
They moved on to other subjects and began talking about the upcoming football season and what a great location Edward had for when the "Downtown Getdowns" began on Friday nights before home games.
Bella sidled up to Rose, helping her. "That was bad timing, van der Sloot coming up again right before your honeymoon. I hope it didn't make things too difficult for you."
Rosalie grinned. "On the contrary, I was very happy they finally got his ass. Now Natalee and Stephanie can hopefully rest in peace, and their parents will get some closure."
They finished the tray, and Rosalie took it into the dining area while Bella recycled the pans for imminent reuse. Edward disengaged himself from a conversation with a group of his colleagues from the force to grab Bella and introduce her. He laced his fingers through hers and brought her over to the guys.
He gestured to Seth. "You already know this scumbag, so I won't bother."
"Hi, Bella," Seth said with a cheeky grin. "Let's elope tonight. This slug isn't good enough for you."
"Gee, Seth, I can't. He's having my baby." Edward's face turned beet red, and Bella was enjoying that he was blushing for once instead of her.
The guys really gave Edward grief then, some of them shouting "Ooooh!"
"Whoa, Cullen. She's really domesticated you," a short blond guy said.
"Yeah, Connors, you know you're Ava's bitch, so don't even try to play me like that." Edward pulled Bella into his side and made introductions, as they each nodded or said hello. "Bella, this is Rick Connors, Alvin Shoals, and Terry Brock."
"Nice to meet you guys," Bella said, then turned to Alvin. "You're the Shaft cop, aren't you?"
Alvin had the perfect Isaac Hayes base voice. "You're damn right."
Bella chuckled. "And I thought Edward was making you up."
"I'm one of a kind," Alvin said, and then he looked at Edward. "She's a keeper man. Any woman who recognizes the 'cat that won't cop out' is okay in my book. Hey, if Cullen falls down on the job, I'm available."
"You just keep singing that Theme from Shaft, Shoals. There will be no falling down on the job," Edward declared. "Besides, I happen to know that Brenda will hobble you like Kathy Bates did James Caan in 'Misery' if you even look at another woman."
They continued to rib one another as Bella excused herself and went back into the kitchen to keep things flowing. She was thankful to have Alice, Angela, Rosalie and even Emmett willing to help with the food as the party had burgeoned to epic proportions. Alice's ruse had worked. She knew that Edward would never agree to a housewarming party, but if she billed it as a welcome home party for Emmett and Rosalie, he'd be onboard.
Given all that was going on, Bella hadn't been sure at all that he would agree to have anyone other than their close friends as guests in his home. The doorman and security staff were professional and handled their comings and goings very smoothly—Edward had made sure of that.
Emmett and the four women finished replenishing the party foods on the various trays and took turns making sure it stayed that way until the very last guest left. Jasper and Ben tended bar while Edward was busy mingling with the guests and touring people around the place. There was a growing pile of gifts and envelopes on the coffee table, which Edward was literally embarrassed he was receiving.
He pulled Bella aside after his last house tour almost in a panic. "Bella, what am I supposed to do with all this stuff? I probably already have at least one of everything anyone could possibly have given me."
Bella smiled. "I'll tell you what, we'll go through everything, use the gift cards and cash to purchase extra table linens, bed linens and bath towels, determine what you want to keep, exchange what we can, and donate the rest to charity. How does that sound?"
"Have I told you how awesome you are tonight?"
"Only about a half a dozen times, but just keep lavishing on the praise, officer. You might earn another massage." She winked and left him to usher the last of his guests out the door while she and their best friends began to clean up.
Finally, only the four couples were left, and they made themselves comfortable in the living room while Edward opened a couple of bottles of champagne. Bella helped him serve each guest a glass.
When Jasper took his glass and stood, they all groaned, remembering the last time he'd proposed a toast when they were together.
Alice swatted him playfully on the butt, and then glanced reproachfully at their friends. "Go ahead, baby, don't let these meanies keep you from your toast."
Jasper smiled lovingly at his wife and then cleared his throat exaggeratedly. "First, this is to Emmett and Rosalie. May your life as husband and wife be as loving, happy, and exciting as ours has been. To Ben and Angela. We'll see you two taking this step early next year, and may your journey to matrimony be equally as exciting as your courtship. To Edward and Bella. No one is as happy as my wife and I that her dear cousin and best friend finally got together. Our prayers are that your relationship culminates in much the same way as the rest of ours. And finally, to my beautiful wife..." Jasper's voice began to quiver and his eyes grew moist. "Who just made me the second happiest I've ever been; the first was when she agreed to be my wife, and the second... when she told me I was going to be a father."
All the couples touched glasses and quickly drank a sip of champagne, then promptly bombarded Alice and Jasper with hugs and well wishes.
Bella looked at Edward who still seemed to be pretty stunned by the news, but he was smiling and kind of shaking his head in disbelief. Alice was teasing him.
"You're going to be an uncle, Edward. None of this second cousin, business."
"Is that right?" he asked. "So, we can just change the rules, just like that?"
"Absolutely. Bella and Angela are sisters from another mister," she explained. "And besides, you've always been kind of like my big brother."
Bella saw a brief look of vulnerability in him, but he grabbed Alice and gave her another hug. His handsome face split into the most beautiful smile.
"Aww," Angela said. "That's so sweet."
Edward then gave Jasper a hug and made his way back to Bella's side. She smiled up at him, laced her fingers with his, and squeezed his hand. He looked down with an answering smile.
"How far along are you, Alice?" Rosalie asked, taking another sip of champagne.
"Eight weeks," Alice answered as Jasper guided her back to her seat. He was already taking on the manner of a concerned expectant father.
"So, an end of February, early March due date?" Bella asked.
"Yeah, March fifth," Alice confirmed. Then she smiled at Angela. "I'm asking the little one to stay in the oven until after your wedding, Ange."
"That's mighty kind of you, Al," she grinned and gestured between her and Ben. "But this ship is sailing whether you're onboard or not. Do you know how long I've waited to snag this man?"
"If you're wise, you'll treat that like it's a rhetorical question," Bella said quickly.
"I'm not that bad, am I?" Angela looked horrified.
Ben grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, babe, you kind of are."
Angela gasped.
"Whoa, you might want to learn how to assume the position, Ben," Emmett said wisely, "or you might find yourself on the unfortunate non-receiving end of your fiancée's affections. I'm just saying."
"I'll bring you up to speed on that, Ben," Jasper offered in a kind professorial manner. "Let's do lunch next week."
"Um, school him quickly before his primary residence becomes the doghouse." Angela pretended rather unconvincingly to be put out, and Ben got on his knees pretending to grovel.
Bella and Edward enjoyed the easy banter with their friends until the two bottles of champagne and a quarter of a bottle of ginger ale were gone and everyone left.
~888~
Three orgasms and a shared shower later, Edward and Bella retired for the night, or rather the morning. It was Saturday and they could sleep in as long as they wanted. Bella was excited about this and told him so.
"Wake me up before nine and the grumpy girl may rear her ugly head," she warned.
He just laughed and followed her onto the bed.
As they slipped between the cool sheets and snuggled together, Bella sighed contentedly against his chest.
"Thank you for everything," Edward whispered into her hair.
"You're welcome for everything," she quipped back, stifling a yawn. "I'd say the evening was a rousing success."
"And Alice and Jasper's news. Wow."
"They looked so happy." Bella looked up, and he opened his eyes. "She kinda took you by surprise with that uncle thing, didn't she?"
"Yes and no," he said sincerely. "Being the only children of brothers made us close out of necessity when we were younger. I was a little shocked at it happening now after talking about family with Dr. Levy all week. He asked if I had any younger cousins." He was embarrassed remembering why the subject of children had come up. "It just seemed so coincidental."
"I can see that. You have a great family foundation, Edward. That's something to be thankful for."
"I am. Paul helped me see that. While I was being shuffled between my mom and dad, the only constant I ever had in my family was Alice, Uncle Carlisle, and Aunt Esme. But I even took that away from them for a while."
Bella cupped his face with her hand. "But now you're all together again, and your family is growing—Uncle Edward." She kissed his lips softly.
He smoothed her hair back with his hand. "Do me a favor?"
"What's that?"
"Don't call me Uncle Edward." He nibbled her bottom lip playfully.
"Oh, come on now. I'm just standing in for little baby Whitlock. Don't you want to get used to the idea?" she teased.
He ran his hands down her sides as if in a caress and then began tickling her.
"Oh! Edw—Oh, stop, please..." She was laughing so hard, she lost the ability to speak. But then she began to struggle and fight, and they got tangled in the sheet, until the trilling of his cell phone brought them out of it.
"Who the hell...?" he muttered, one eyebrow raised in question.
"Maybe it's the precinct," she said breathlessly.
Holding her with one hand, he reached with his other to his phone on the bedside table.
"Cullen!" he barked. He wanted whoever was calling him at ass-crack o'clock in the morning to know how annoyed he was.
"I understand you've been looking for me," James Hall said calmly. "I hope you know how many rules I'm breaking by calling you tonight. My dad said you've been by the church several times..."
Edward slipped out of bed, looking nervously at Bella, who sat up and turned on a lamp.
"Yeah, I needed to ask you a few questions, the first being where the hell have you been?" Edward began to pace.
"I'm in a Christian residential rehab facility in the Atlanta suburbs. But don't mention it to Bella—"
"Too late," Edward cut him off. "You know her parents and yours have history, so..."
Bella's head snapped up. "Is that James?" she asked incredulously. Edward nodded.
He heard a laborious sigh on the other end of the line. "So, you've been there how long?" Edward inquired. "I need to verify your whereabouts since mid-June."
"Bella's there?" James' voice cracked.
"Stay focused, Hall. Can anyone there verify your whereabouts since mid-June?" Edward's voice grew hard.
How dare he inquire whether his girlfriend was with him? It was none of his business. Bella got out of bed and came around to where he was pacing. When she touched him, he stopped and wrapped one arm around her as she wound her arms around his waist. She was silently calming him.
"Yeah, my sponsor—the administration here can verify where I am. What's going on, Cullen?"
"Someone's been stalking Bella since the end-of-year festival at the Center. A car matching a description of yours and bearing the first two letters of your license plate has been seen several times in the vicinity of the incidents. As a matter of fact, you were seen in the parking lot of her apartment complex the week before you allegedly left town. Care to explain why?"
"I was going to stop by and say goodbye, let her know that I was going to Atlanta to admit myself back into the residential program, but then I thought better of it. She called me as I was headed over there, so I just sat in the parking lot and talked to her."
Edward knew he was telling the truth, and for reasons unfathomable to him, he felt sorry for the bastard. "If you'll have your sponsor call me and corroborate your whereabouts for the time period in question, we can rule out your involvement."
"What the hell? You thought I might have been stalking Bella?"
"It's gotten more serious than that now. Whoever is doing this has tried to run her off the road, vandalized my mother's car, and took a shot at me."
"Cullen, it might have hurt me a little more deeply than I realized when Bella chose you over me, but I would never do anything to hurt her. I seem to do a better job of hurting myself, or I wouldn't be back here in this facility."
Edward couldn't argue with him on that one. He wasn't sure what came over him, but he felt compelled to ask. "So, is it helping?"
"Yeah, it's been a real blessing being back here. I hadn't gone back to using my drug of choice, but the alcohol had become quite a problem. I'm here for another couple of weeks until they spring me." He paused. "So you and the TPD will make sure Bella doesn't get hurt, right?"
"That is and will always be my primary focus," Edward said with conviction.
"Tell Bella I'm doing well, and I still haven't forgotten I owe her a guest spot in my choir when I get back."
"I will," Edward promised. "James, you hang in there, all right?"
"That's exactly what I plan to do." He hung up, and Edward clicked his phone shut.
"So, he's where his folks said he was?" Bella asked, leading him back to the bed.
"Yes."
They were settled for sleep before he spoke again. "James was in love with you, you know."
"I know." She looked up into his eyes, her pain evident. "I didn't mean to hurt him."
"The music minister might have been a safer choice for you, Bella," Edward said solemnly, guilt eroding the elation they'd experienced less than an hour ago. "You've only been evading stalkers and dodging cars since you've been with me."
"James would have been a safe choice, but he could never be my heart's choice. I chose you because your soul speaks to mine in ways that his never could."
He could see the love in her eyes and knew without a doubt what they had was genuine, but it chilled him to the bone to think that someone was plotting to do her harm, just because she was involved with him. He wouldn't be any better than James Hall at getting over the heartbreak if anything happened to her. He kissed her deeply, the pain of this realization driving its urgency.
"I love you so much, Bella, but I don't want my selfishness to get you hurt—or worse."
She held his face between her hands. "Remember, I was a cop's daughter before I was a preacher's daughter. A little danger doesn't spook me, so you'd just better deal."
She kissed him this time, and he felt that kiss on his lips until he passed out in a fitful sleep.
~888~
E/N: This year, I am writing in support of The Fandom Gives Back (FGB), which will run in conjunction with the release of "Eclipse." I don't have any illusions of grandeur and there is no organized Team demanding my work, but if you believe in the cause we are supporting, please bid on this story, or any of my other offerings. There is a 5000 word minimum outtake up for grabs and a 1000 word minimum one shot, or that may be the other way around. Anyhoo, please support the cause in whatever denominations you can and we'll be grateful for your participation. Please stay tuned on Twitter or through the FGB website on when this all begins. I believe it debuts on the 29th, which is the midnight release for Eclipse.