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Chapter 187

Recovery?

Bella

"Bella, dearest," someone whispered lovingly through my strange dream of a laundry mountain that wouldn't end, on which Ced daringly crawled.

I woke up and saw two beautiful golden eyes in front of me, as well as an enchanting smile.

"Good morning, my beauty," he greeted me and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips.

When you were woken up like this, you could hardly wait to finally be allowed to go to bed in the evening.

"Good morning, my angel," I wished Edward and sat up a little.

A little bit confused, I then looked around me. Edward was lying next to me in bed, there stood a cup and Ced's bottle on the nightstand on the other side, but I didn't see my baby anywhere now.

"I noticed that I usually take our son out of the crib, but maybe his mommy would like to do that sometime," Edward said explanatorily, and I immediately jumped out of bed.

He was right, but I hadn't really noticed that yet. Rather, I had found pleasure in being awakened by two angels.

But now I was standing in front of the cradle.

How cute our son looked when he slept. His hands held the Kraken tightly, his eyes moved under the closed lids and his legs struggled a little.

I smiled and then Edward stood with me after all.

"Isn't our little darling cute? So handsome ... like his daddy!", I noted.

"You mean like his mommy!" he tried to correct me, kissing me adoringly.

"Let's let him sleep a little longer," I said. "It was quite late for him yesterday."

Edward nodded and so the two of us sat back in bed.

I leaned upright against Edward, who played with my free hand while the other held the cup of coffee. I asked about Leah.

"She is not as well as she was last evening, but overall better than she has been in the last few days. She had seizures last night, but they were less frequent and weaker than before ... Alice and Jasper are still here and will stay until Carlisle and Esmé get here."

I nodded and snuggled into Edward's arms.

It truly did us good to have this time to ourselves, but I hoped that we would not have to rely on his family's help for much longer. That Leah would soon no longer need supervision. All my hope rested on Marcus. I couldn't quite put my finger on why that was.

Jacob Black had caught me then and led me back into the light, although we had hardly had anything to do with each other until then. We shared some childhood memories together, but had seen each other more by accident. When he took Billy to my father's house or I drove to the beach in La Push with the others from my school ... Okay, those were actually the only two times we had seen each other. The only ambition to drive to Jacob's had really been the motorcycles. We spent a lot of time together while he fixed the machines.

We talked about stupid stuff, discussed our mental age, drank warm coke. He neglected his friends, while our friendship grew deeper and deeper. Edward had gone irretrievably, leaving me behind, but in Jacob I found not only comfort for that loss, but in time the affection and love that made me forget Edward.

Well, it was different with Leah than it was with me back then. Marcus and Leah had already been through their relationship and knew each other, while Jacob and I had only gotten to know each other through those many afternoons. However, there were still feelings between them. It was those feelings for each other that I was building on. Even though they had broken up, they weren't indifferent to each other. Surely Edward was right that this time Marcus was with our daughter would not change their relationship status. Nanuk's influence would be too great on Leah. I understood that, since Leah was supernaturally bound to Nanuk. But somehow I still hoped that the last word had not been spoken in this matter.

Ced was still asleep when I finished my cup, so we quickly went to the bathroom and got ready.

We were just getting out of the shower when our little man woke up and Edward quickly brought him to us.

Well, not that it occurred to him to climb out of his crib on his own.

By the way, our angel did not like washing at all.

Teeth brushing with him we had not yet begun, he was only four and a half weeks old, and I was not particularly looking forward to teaching him. Jake at that time had fought me tooth and nail. Jake had even bitten me! But Edward said, since he already had all his little teeth, that maybe we should get him used to it slowly.

"Do you demonstrate that to him then?", I asked more specifically then.

Edward did not own a toothbrush, because his teeth could not be attacked by caries or the like. He only rinsed his mouth with water to get rid of blood or venom.

"If you insist," the vampire mumbled to himself.

With a grumpy undertone. A little bit, at least.

"I do!", I stated. But I then thought of another task he could teach his son personally. After all, it had been his idea to make up in all facets for his lost father time with the twins now with Ced. "Will you teach him how to go to the bathroom, too?"

Edward's head flew in my direction so quickly in irritation that I laughed out loud.

Ced very likely didn't understand why I was laughing so hard, but he went along with it, which caused the vampire to look rather overwhelmed.

Then after all three of us were washed and presentable, we went to Leah's room.

Alice and Jasper immediately made room for us at Leah's side.

I sat on the edge of the bed and stroked my daughter over the cheek while Ced just lay with her, demanding a place between her arms, stroking her arm, and babbling to himself.

Edward, who was kneeling next to us, was undoubtedly right.

She looked better than the last few days, but didn't seem as calm and relaxed as she had last night. She looked haggard. With shadows under her eyes, unhealthily pale, colorless lips, sunken cheeks and overall gaunt.

"Should Carlisle perhaps increase the number of transfusions?", I questioned. Apparently, she wasn't getting enough of the nutrients to keep up her strength.

"He took her blood every day. All values are in the normal range. Therefore, her physical condition is not because of possibly insufficient ingredients. Nevertheless, he is working on adapting the composition to wolfish conditions," whispered Edward, whom the sight of his daughter touched undoubtedly very close, the way he stroked over her head.

I felt confidence run through my body.

I knew it wasn't real, but I enjoyed that feeling for a moment.

Edward, too, had to be caught up in it. He took my hand, breathed a kiss on the back of my hand, and smiled at me tentatively but encouragingly.

I nodded.

We just had to never give up hope and believe in our daughter.

"Thank you, Jasper," I murmured, taking one deep breath before looking around at the other two vampires. "Also for being there and assisting her and us," I thanked them both sincerely.

"We are a family and if anyone in the family needs help, we will always be there for them!" affirmed Jazz, placing a hand backwards on my shoulder.

Alice also took a step closer to us.

"We take care of each other. Namely, each and every one of us," Alice added. Then she clapped her hands together buoyantly. "Now, get yourselves some breakfast. The rest of the family is waiting!" she demanded, emphatically cheerful.

Edward gave Leah a kiss on the forehead and dug Ced out of Leah's arms before we went downstairs.

I had just wished Jake and Becky a good morning as Carlisle and Esmé already arrived. They greeted everyone, but then went upstairs to get Leah on a new IV as soon as possible.

Alice and Jasper then disappeared. They wanted to go hunting.

In the middle of breakfast, however, Carlisle stood with us again.

He wordlessly placed a syringe on the table. He and Edward looked at each other for a moment.

"You want to try to reach the wolf in her so that maybe that will start the healing," Edward stated.

"Yes," Carlisle replied curtly.

Then his gaze went to Jake, who until that moment had preferred to focus on his bun. But now he realized that something was in the air that affected him.

"The syringe contains a small dose of epinephrine. In summary, it is artificial adrenaline. In a human, it accelerates the speed of the hearts beats, thus increasing pulse rate and blood pressure. But Leah is not human. I don't know how she will react to it. The morphine that I had given her at home at that time had no effect at all, because it was absorbed by her higher body temperature. It could be that this is also true for epinephrine. On the other hand, Leah is very weak, so I don't want to try it on her first, but on a perfectly healthy wolf," Carlisle explained in his usual calm and confident manner of the longtime physician.

Jake swallowed and stood up lethargically from his chair without saying anything.

"Could it hurt Leah, then? Or Jake, too?" I inquired. My motherly protective instincts shrilled loudly.

"For Jake, I see absolutely no risk," Edward took my hand reassuringly in his. "Should he feel any effect, the wolf healing will intervene immediately. The only question is whether the wolfish system will even be impressed by this injection. If so, based on Jake's reaction, Carlisle will weigh whether he can do this to Leah's state of health."

I looked to the side, wanting to hear Jake's opinion about being abused as a guinea pig. I knew his phobia against syringes. He had inherited this from me, but had shifted the fear. Blood made me sick and dizzy, which I wanted to avoid, but Jake had a very basic fear of needles of any kind. I would not force or coax him into anything.

But Jake was already standing in front of Carlisle, nodding decisively.

"For his twin sister, he would pretty much take on anything!", Edward explained to me.

The second Carlisle gave Jake the shot in the upper arm, the front doorbell rang.

I was too nervous and clung to my chair to pay attention to it. I just looked at Jake. He continued to stand there with his arms folded in front of his chest, quite determined. With a hint of fear that I recognized in his eyes. Edward stood behind him. For safety's sake. Since we didn't know what was going to happen, he wouldn't leave Jake's side. Becky was also visibly uneasy, but the only one to respond to the ringing.

She quickly ran to the door, with Jake always in sight.

A cursory glance at the door. It was Marcus. He wanted to greet Becky, but she was already halfway to Jake again.

"Good morning. What's going on here? Is something wrong with Leah?" Marcus asked immediately, looking anxiously up the stairs and looking as if he were still considering whether he should wait for an answer or rather run up immediately.

"Good morning, Marcus," Carlisle began to say quietly. His presence did not surprise him, as he had certainly just been told about it by Alice and Jasper. "I've injected Jake with epinephrine to see if and how his body responds. Maybe we can use it to wake up the wolf in Leah. However, we don't know how a wolf responds to this drug in general," Carlisle explained, not taking his eyes off Jake.

"You're going to try something on Leah that you don't know if it might not kill her, too?!" suddenly thundered Marcus.

Only now was I consciously paying attention to Marcus.

He walked furiously toward Carlisle, but Jake held an arm out in his path.

"It's already ...," Jake was about to say, but then broke off.

He had probably only wanted to block Marcus' way, but had actually given him a rather violent blow against his stomach. It certainly wasn't particularly painful, but it was surprising, which is why Marcus arched a bit and exhaled with a gasp.

Jake looked at his arm as if it wasn't real.

He had apparently surprised himself with this blow.

"Jake?", Edward addressed him.

Worried.

"What do you feel?" asked Carlisle.

Jake grabbed against his chest.

"It's hammering," Jake muttered.

"Are you in pain?", Edward dug deeper.

Jake closed his eyes as if he had some. He staggered a little and pushed his other hand against his head.

"No," he mumbled. "Not exactly ... A pressure ... Unpleasant ... But it doesn't hurt," he indicated more precisely.

He opened his eyes again, but he looked completely out of place.

I held my breath and clawed in the chair.

"Jake?" uttered Becky anxiously, standing next to him.

They looked at each other, but still Jake seemed very wobbly to me. He was suddenly flailing his arms as if he was looking for a foothold. In doing so, he knocked Becky over, who Marcus caught just in time. Jake staggered against Edward, who set him on the floor. Seconds passed ... until Jake shook his head and looked at his father.

"It's over," Jake noted, perplexed.

I breathed again, as Jake stood securely on his feet.

Without help, he had stood up. As if nothing had happened.

"And you want to do that to Leah in her condition?" grumbled Marcus, still holding Becky in his arms, but immediately releasing her into Jake's.

They stared at each other for a moment.

I didn't see Carlisle's face, but Marcus looked very angry.

"No, I won't. Even though Jake felt an effect for a total of just forty-three seconds, Leah is too weak for that kind of exposure. I won't risk it," Carlisle made clear.

The mood relaxed so that I finally had time to greet Marcus.

"Thank you for coming back, Marcus," I gave him a quick hug. I was really grateful for that. "Have you had breakfast yet? Please help yourself," I pointed to our table.

But he had already eaten something and went up to Leah.

While I heard Esmé come down, Edward stood there for a moment with his eyes closed. He concentrated and I waited anxiously. Then a gentle smile came to his lips, and he looked at me.

"Leah's heart is getting calmer and the faint glow of light in her thoughts is back," he shared to us.

"And that's just because Marcus is with her?" questioned Carlisle incredulously.

"That's right," Edward confirmed and went into the kitchen.

He returned with an empty cup into which he poured coffee.

"It's not for you, though, is it?" marveled Esmé.

"No, for Marcus. He's already had breakfast, but the coffee didn't seem to come close to comparing with mine," he smiled and brought the cup upstairs.

We continued to have breakfast.

This little morning excitement seemed to have cranked up Jake's hunger. He pluckily grabbed a new roll while Carlisle and Esmé sat down with us.

"I think it's amazing that Leah is responding to Marcus," Carlisle began to say.

Esmé agreed and we explained to them both how Leah's condition had changed yesterday since Marcus was there.

Without having a logical explanation for it.

Today was Saturday, but our actual plans for this day had changed a bit because of Marcus.

Jake had wanted to stay with Leah this morning, but that was now invalidated by Marcus' presence. So he said goodbye to his star very extensively at the front door.

She wanted to go home and spend time with her family, but would be back later that afternoon.

Jake went to clean his room, with energetic help from his little brother, and would keep Marcus company temporarily while Edward and I would be out shopping.

By the time we got back, Jake was standing in front of his dad, too.

"It's Saturday!" announced Jake with a look of anticipation.

My three men of different ages then retreated to the garage.

By now, the Harley had been completely disassembled and they were carefully cleaning the individual parts before they would put them back in and reassemble them.

I brought something to drink and two pastries from shopping up to Marcus. After all, Marcus had been able to keep up with our predators as far as hunger was concerned.

He just sat with her and held her hand.

Leah's eyes were just open, but she was still in her own little world where she didn't register her surroundings. But she was calm. No seizure since he was there.

Marcus was a little unsure.

He didn't know what to do. Slowly he couldn't think of anything more to say.

I suggested that he might just read something to her so that she could hear his voice consistently.

This he then did.

And I started ironing.

In the meantime, my men came into the house for a little break. My sons were hungry, but disappeared quite quickly after bottle and sandwich with their father.

For that I had other company at some point.

Sonya had come over with Emma and Cookie. David was out with his three boys. Doing some guy stuff, though Sonya didn't know anything for sure. Emma, of course, wanted to play with the baby, so we quietly crept to the back garage door.

I was curious to see how my men worked together in it.

Ced sat on the old wooden table, wrapped in a thick jacket. He held some part in his hands that he was now going to install into this metal construct in front of him. Jake and Edward were just standing there in T-shirts, trying to explain that the part wasn't on yet.

Edward noticed us, of course, and smiled gently toward us, but my sons were far too busy. Only when Emma giggled did they look at us.

Ced held his piece up proudly as proof that he was an energetic contributor here. Jake and Edward came to us to greet the guests. We then took Ced into the house while Jake and Edward continued tinkering.

I wasn't done ironing and chatted with Sonya while Emma, Ced, and Cookie played together on the carpet. They were sufficiently distracted that I reported on Leah.

Sonya then went upstairs for now.

Periodically I went peeking at Leah, including when Sonya had gone back over with her two rascals in the early afternoon and Ced wanted to go back to the garage.

I brought Marcus a coffee and cookies, relieved him when he had to go to the bathroom, which he also used to make a phone call. I had not intentionally eavesdropped, yet I heard him cancel an appointment.

"I'm sorry we're messing up your plans," I apologized. "If you have other plans ... I mean ... we have no right to take up your time all day. Go ahead and go to your appointment."

"No, it's okay. I'm quite happy to have a reason not to go out with my friends today. They wanted me to paint the town red and look around for girls, but I didn't feel like it anyway. Besides, how could I go out partying without a care in the world, knowing how Leah is lying here," Marcus replied sadly.

"You love her," I stated.

"Yeah ..." he sighed and sat back down with her. "It's been three weeks today," he began to say, lost in thought. He began to babble kind of incoherently. "Three weeks ago today, she met Nanuk. It feels like it's been forever. And yet it still hurts just as much ... Actually, Leah broke up with me, I was just the one who said it. She was more to me than just my girlfriend. Love was never our problem. Nanuk was the one who broke us up, even though he didn't really mean to."

"You're pretty mad, can that be?"

"Yes, I am, but I don't know to whom. If she hadn't happened to run into Nanuk that day, we'd still be together. Is that why I should be mad at him now? Because he followed a task he didn't choose? Or at Leah for not fighting hard enough? Or even at Edward for even suggesting the damn trip that day? On me for not fighting for her? I mustered understanding because they didn't want it and couldn't help it. Maybe I shouldn't have swallowed it all so wordlessly. Maybe Kate and I should have been more involved to stop it. Maybe ..." he talked himself into a rage and paced irritably up and down the room.

Then he suddenly became quiet and looked me in the eyes.

Seeking help.

"But it can no longer be changed ... And I'm pretty confused ... I mean, it didn't work out between us anymore and now I'm sitting with her. What am I supposed to think about that? How to deal with it? I shouldn't be here. I should finally let her go and stay away from her. Instead, I'm sitting here ... What am I actually doing here?"

Yes, Marcus was quite confused, and I felt so sorry for him. I was responsible for his confusion; I had asked him for help. But I had not been able to do otherwise. I had had to try and see if he could save my daughter. In that respect, however, I could not think of anything to say about it now. Except that I apologized for it.

Before I could start, however, Marcus took his jacket and disappeared without a word.

I had no right to stop him.

So I was left sitting with my daughter.

It passed maybe fifteen minutes before Leah became restless. She was breathing irregularly.

"Ed ...", I called out as a precaution. If she threw a real fit, there was nothing I could do but get out of her way.

But Edward was already coming through the door.

"I was already on my way," he explained to my undeniably confused expression and blew a kiss on my temple.

He knelt down to Leah, who looked like she was just gathering her strength before she would erupt. And the eruption built up slowly. More leisurely than I had experienced before, which scared me tremendously. She had been so calm and peaceful for the last few hours. First it was the breathing, her head moved increasingly jerky, her pulse became faster, her limbs twitched. She mumbled to herself, but I didn't understand. She moved. Sluggishly. As if she needed to free herself from the bed, she pressed the blanket onto the mattress, pushed and kicked it vaguely away from her, even though she was just lying on the blanket anyway, not covered. The attempt to free herself from the bed became more and more insistent.

Edward and I talked to her all the time, saying that everything was fine, but she didn't seem to hear us.

She became more energetic, hitting against Edward's hands. She reared up, kicked me uncontrollably in the side and pushed against Edward's upper body so that we both slid off the edge of the bed.

With eyes widened in terror, I looked at my daughter, who was flailing wildly.

Edward was already kneeling by her again, trying to get her hands under control, but seemed momentarily distracted. He barely stirred.

I got up meanwhile, wanting to get back to my baby, but by then Edward's arms were around me and he pulled me to the side.

To leave room. For Marcus! He was back.

"Leah!" he addressed her, and by doing so he pushed his hands to her cheeks demandingly.

She hammered against his arms with clenched fists. He groaned under the blows, but she had no choice but to look into his eyes. And she immediately became calm again. Tears ran down Leah's cheeks, but she did not move.

Marcus pulled her tightly into his arms.

I watched this in silence and only marginally noticed how Edward lifted me up in his arms.

It wasn't until we reached the hallway that I was able to look at Edward.

I was confused.

Hadn't Marcus left?

Edward gently laid me down on our bed in the bedroom and the first thing he did was pull up the side of my top to peek at what Leah might have done there with her kick.

"Ouch ...!", I made more instinctively.

"Does it hurt very much?" my angel asked.

"Not really," I said. "Will probably just be a bruise."

Then he took my hand with which I had caught my exit. I moved the hand in all directions, but there was nothing more.

"Where's Ced?" then suddenly came to mind.

"Still with Jake in the garage. The two of them are very busy discussing which part goes where. I listened closely to Leah after Marcus left the room and came as soon as her breathing changed," Edward explained.

So that's why he had been there so quickly.

"I thought Marcus had left," I stated after my state of health was cleared.

I snuggled up to Edward, who put a hand to my side to cool the spot.

"No, he did not leave. He merely went for a walk in the woods to think about this curious situation. Leah gets under his skin a lot. More so than she has been to us in the last few days. He needed some rest to get his emotions and mind back on track. Jake wanted to go with him, but Marcus preferred to be alone."

"And why did Marcus come back right now?"

"Jake called him when he realized that Leah would not stay quiet. That's when Marcus immediately ran back."

"And now?", I inquired.

"Leah is absolutely calm. You'd think she was blissfully asleep as if nothing had happened."

"So she's not asleep?", I dug deeper.

"No. I see her thoughts, if you want to call them that. The dark wall of fog through which a light is trying to pass."

I enjoyed that moment in Edward's arms, but we only stayed in bed for a few minutes.

Marcus was apparently mentally calling for help, as Edward said with a smirk.

We went over.

What amazed me was the fact that she and Marcus were still sitting there almost exactly as we had left them. The only difference was that Leah was clinging to Marcus so tightly that the latter could hardly move.

"Help," Marcus whispered in our direction.

He smiled tentatively.

We released him from our daughter, gently laid her back on her bed. She was not yet lying properly when she reached into the void with her hands in an uncoordinated way.

"Take it easy, Little one. He'll be right back with you," Edward spoke.

It actually worked. She dropped her arms again.

"She finally hears us!?", I stated excitedly.

"It seems so," Edward smiled liberatedly.

Marcus had first taken off his jacket and gone into the bathroom.

So for the time being, Leah had to wait. Patience was not one of our daughter's most outstanding qualities. Therefore, her hands nervously began to knead the bedspread underneath her and her eyes seemed to be searching for something.

I smiled at that.

I could do that because I was sure she would calm down at any moment. I just knew it. That's when the reason for this certainty came back as well.

I immediately made room for Marcus at Leah's side.

He saw the tingling fingers and gently placed his own on hers. Leah made a very soft relieved sound and closed her eyes.

And Edward and I left the two of them alone.

"It's going to be hard for Marcus if he leaves again afterwards," I reasoned.

"Yes, it will. But he doesn't care as long as Leah is okay again. She has so much to spare and cope with just because she's a wolf. She puts her own life on the line when she hunts vampires, keeps secrets from her best friends, can't have children as long as she does her duty, has lost Marcus and now even Nanuk. And as a result, her happiness in life. For him it's the least that he can apparently help her now. That he has an influence on Leah, he has now seen unmistakably. As long as he was there, Leah was calm and seemed relaxed. He will not leave her side until she is better for good."

This statement reassured me very much.

Arm in arm, we strolled down the hall and headed downstairs.

There I got a tremendous fright.

My baby was sitting in the middle of the dining room table - completely alone. I heard Jake in the kitchen, so my fright was based solely on the color of my baby's skin. It was black.

"Don't you dare touch anything - as long as you look like that!", I threatened him with a raised index finger.

He just looked more closely at today's mail, which was within his reach. He peeked innocently, but the dirt on his face and hands spoke for itself.

"What have you guys been up to?" asked Edward.

"He found the fire pit," Jake explained, who was casually leaning in the doorway with a bottle of water.

I got a similar fright at the sight of him. That one did not look any better!

Edward immediately ordered the two of them to the bathtub, with the express prohibition of touching anything on the way there.

I dismantled my ironing board and stowed it in the laundry room while Edward brought all the laundry baskets upstairs at once.

I had been diligent.

He also brought one right back down with him and had a black handprint on his cheek.

"Do you have to go to the bathtub, too?", I teased him, stroking the ash print with one finger and holding it out to him in evidence.

"Only if you come with me!" stated Edward, pulling me into his arms and kissing me in a forbidden way.

We spent the rest of the afternoon with our cleaned baby, while Jake was sometimes busy in his room, sometimes sitting with Marcus and Leah, sometimes talking on the phone. At some point we started dinner, at which point Becky arrived back at our place as well.

I brought the plate up to Marcus.

He didn't want to sit with us, as Edward said. It would feel too soon like before, which he wanted to avoid.

In the past, I considered contemptuously. It had been just two weeks since he had sat at the table with us, and it had just been natural. He was part of our family after all. But it really did feel like the old days.

"So what are we going to do with the rest of the evening?" asked Jake after dinner.

"It's Saturday night and you have no plans?", I questioned. That was strange.

"No. Nothing," Becky replied.

"Bran and Lisa have a romantic date tonight," Jake commented.

"Jason wanted to do something with Claire, too," Becky added.

"But you do have more friends than just your little group," Edward dug deeper.

"Mmm ... mmm ... All of them have something to do that we didn't feel like doing," Jake said, bored.

"You could do us a favor," Edward suggested.

I bristled.

"If this has anything to do with cleaning or tidying or homework, we'll pass!"

"But no," Edward immediately placated. "Since Bella and I won't really be leaving the house while Leah is upstairs in bed, someone would have to check on our other cottage. Not that vagrants or any animals will take up residence there if no one is there for that long. Besides, some of the food there would have to be used up before it spoils ... And if that's too boring for you, there are some neighbors there who would be happy to have you visit."

I could barely peek as fast how Jake and Becky disappeared across the patio into the woods.

But one thing did make me wonder.

"Why did you send her away, anyway? We could have done something together. We haven't for a while," I asked. Watching a movie together, Edward playing something on the theremin, sitting and chatting, playing together. Such evenings had always been very important to all of us. When I was still alone with my twins, I had enjoyed such social evenings. They were out with friends often enough that I, as a mother, had to see where I stayed. That's why I really celebrated game nights and TV evenings when my children had time for them. And it had become just as important for them as it was for me. Just being a family. And Edward had even more fun on those nights than I did. So I didn't understand why he let the opportunity pass so easily.

"Because of Marcus," he then explained to me, however. "He was part of our social gatherings, which he didn't know from his home. It would certainly grieve him to hear us down here enjoying ourselves."

We snuggled up on the sofa with Ced.

With soft music and each of us holding a book.

In Ced's case, it was a picture book, but he could delve into books like that in ways you'd hardly think possible.

Again and again we just watched him between us, as he babbled to himself. He showed us something again and again or wanted to have something explained. But at some point he fell asleep.

I was getting tired too, which is why we went upstairs already, even though it was still pretty early for Saturday night.

It wasn't yet ten o'clock at night.

However, I did not refrain from stopping by Leah's and was surprised when we entered her room.

Leah and Marcus slept - snuggled close together. As if earlier was today again.

When Edward woke me up the next morning, I was completely confused.

He seemed hectic and it was still dark outside. As soon as I had internalized these facts, I became extremely nervous. Something had to have happened.

"Bella, my heart!", Edward held my face in his hands.

A very bad sign!, I thought to myself and swallowed.

"Dearest! Leah is awake!" he said immediately, and an incredible smile adorned his beautiful face, which I could recognize despite the darkness.

It took me a moment to understand these words. But then I became so frantic that I stumbled out of bed and Edward had to catch me.

I wanted to go to my daughter.

Thanks for reading!