Edward

I brought clothes for James to change into. Everyone was clearing the room to give him privacy.

I was waiting for Bella and then realized she was not leaving.

The caveman in me growled. I did not like the fact that he refused to change without her present.

I noticed James's nervous eyes dart to me but never looking me in the eye. He looked scared and he should be. If he touched Bella I would kill him.

"Edward," Bella's voice called me from my growling thoughts. "If you're going to stay, could you please take off your belt and set it outside the door."

My eyes snapped to my waist and I realized that was where James had been looking. "Fine," I agreed trying to sound nice but failing.

I handed my belt to the deputy outside the door and watched as Bella tried to coax James to take off his shirt and put on a clean one.

His eyes never left me, as if he expected me to pounce on him any second.

He was right; I would if he did anything to upset my Love.

"Edward," Bella called me over to the cell and whispered to me, "He won't change unless he feels safe. You need to quit scowling," she scolded me. "Say something nice to him so he knows he's safe."

I nodded and stepped back by the door ready to grab a deputy for keys at a moment's notice.

"So, Jamie, Bella tells me you like animals. I have to admit, I'm a little jealous that you get to go live with horses and puppies."

James looked at me surprised. "Um, you can come, too," he offered timidly to my surprise which was the last thing I expected.

I smiled. "I would love to come see your new place. It sounds like a lot of fun," I tried to encourage.

He smiled in return and slipped off his shirt.

I withheld my reaction, trying to remain cool when he turned to pick up his new shirt, exposing his bare back to me. There were scars upon scars; so many that you could barely make out the gunshot wound he had recently received.

My eyes flashed to Bella's and she gave me a sad smile of understanding.

She motioned to me to smile and I realized James was turning around again and would see my shocked face.

He was holding his pants and I fought down my urge to pull Bella away from him.

To my surprise, he showed her the pants and she nodded not saying a word, turning her back to him. He stood behind her with one hand on her shoulder for balance and put his pants on. I watched his facial expression the whole time; never once did his eyes portray anything other than childlike innocence.

Once dressed, he whispered something to Bella and she smiled, turning around hugging him.

"You did great, Jamie," she said and I realized that changing with me in the room was probably a big thing for him.

Bella

Edward was being much more gracious than I expected. I was relieved when I heard him make preparations for our flight to Colorado.

I had always heard it was beautiful there so I tried to share my excitement with Jamie.

He sat curled up next to me on the private Jet. Edward had arranged to have Charlie come but he sat in a different section because Jamie was afraid of him.

It broke my heart that Jamie was scared of my dad but I couldn't blame him.

I was finally able to get Jamie to settle down enough to fall asleep and looked up to see Edward watching me.

"How are the kids?" I asked. I had been worried about them and missing them for weeks now. I hoped to get back to them soon.

"They miss you. My parents have them, they're helping pick out the house."

I didn't know how I felt about living with Edward again. I didn't know how he felt about living with me.

It was awkward at best. I didn't deserve to be welcomed back after my breakdown.

"So, they have a doctor there that sees outpatients," Edward said quietly.

My eyes shot up to his shocked ones.

"I think you should see someone, Bella. You've been through a lot, with the memory loss, pregnancy hormones and now dealing with James, I think it would be a good idea."

He didn't get it. He didn't see that I left, that I broke down because his so called friends hated me and let me know it.

I shook my head at him. "I'm fine, Edward."

"No, you're not," he snapped.

"No, I'm not, but not because of the reasons you listed. I'm not fine but you're wrong. Just…" I couldn't even finish my sentence I was so annoyed. I couldn't handle it; after months of ridicule by everyone around me, I lost it. That shouldn't have been a surprise to him.

"Bella..." he started but I just glared in response.

He'd better not blame my leaving on anything but the assholes he kept company with.

I felt Jamie stir and knew I needed to settle down. He could read my mood and I would have to be calm and happy if this was going to work.

Edward and I were silent the rest of the flight.

We were greeted at the door by a nice looking woman named Dr. Katz. She smiled sweetly at Jamie and he didn't seem too afraid of her.

She gave us our room number and said she would be up in a minute with our welcome package.

The room was on the top floor and when Jamie looked out the windows he let out a sigh.

I peeked to see what he was looking at and was please to see the barn and corral in his view.

There was a light knock on the door and I was surprised by the giant teddy bear I saw when I opened it.

"Jamie, come see this," I called and he hurried over excited.

"Hello, Jamie, I'm Dr. Katz and I have a welcome package for you," she said cheerily.

Jamie watched her with excitement. "I have a new watch for you that beeps to let you know when to come eat food and when to get up. I have a bed buddy here, too," she said shaking the teddy bear. "He can snuggle with you when Ms. Bella can't be here." She pulled a basket off her arm. "But most important, Jamie, I have someone I want you to meet." She opened the basket and Jamie peeked in and clapped his hands in excitement.

"Bella, look! Look inside!" he squealed.

I looked in the basket and then reached in and pulled out an adorable puppy. "Oh my, Jamie, he's adorable, what's his name?" I asked Dr. Katz.

"That's up to Jamie; do you think you'll be able to handle taking care of him?"

"Yes, oh, yes, I can!" Jamie said taking the puppy from me.

"The watch will beep when it's time to feed him or take him to go potty, okay?" Dr. Katz informed him.

He nodded, eagerly agreeing with her.

"I trust you'll help him find his clothes this evening?" she asked me.

I took Jamie to get ready for bed. I had called ahead and so they left large cups in the bathroom for him to use to wash with.

I found that was the only thing that didn't make him nervous.

Running water was out of the question.

There were several pairs of sweats and t-shirts boasting the Oasis logo on them.

I laid them out for him. He dressed quickly and all four of us went to bed: Jamie, the giant teddy bear, Thunderbolt, the new puppy and me.

Needless to say, we were crowded but I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly.

There was a beeping going off and I realized it was Jamie's new watch. I sat up to see the puppy licking his ear while he slept.

Jamie started to stir and smiled widely when he saw the puppy was waking him.

"I think he needs to go potty, your watch is beeping."

Jamie jumped up and kissed Thunderbolt on the head and went to the door. When he opened it, he stopped in his tracks.

There was another man outside the door with another puppy; I assumed he was taking his puppy out as well.

The man turned and smiled brightly at him. "Hi, I'm Scotty! This is Captain; I heard we were going to get a new friend. I'm so excited that you're here."

Scotty was overly friendly and had Down's syndrome.

He was really sweet but Jamie was still scared so I stepped forward to introduce Jamie and myself.

"This is Jamie, he just moved in. He named his puppy Thunderbolt."

"Thunderbolt! Wow, that's a great name. I like it!" Scotty said with genuine enthusiasm. "Come on, Jamie, I'll show you where we take the puppies to go potty and then it'll be time for breakfast."

Jamie looked at him warily. Scotty frowned thinking Jamie didn't like him.

"Scotty, Jamie is a little scared; there were bad people that hurt him."

"Hurt him?" Scotty said shocked. "Like, hit him?" he asked carefully.

I nodded my head yes and he looked at Jamie tenderly. "That's not nice. It's not nice to hit. I don't hit, I promise, and neither does anyone else here. We don't hit, it's not nice," he said the last part firmly.

I noticed Jamie's eyes darted to Scotty's waist checking for a belt. Of course, Scotty was dressed the same as Jamie in sweats and T-shirt, sporting the Oasis logo.

"Hey, look at that, Jamie, you two are matchers," I pointed out.

Scotty smiled. "Yup, everyone here is matchers because we're all friends. Will you be my friend, Jamie? I'll show you the play ground."

"Play ground?" Jamie asked a little interested.

"Yup, it's big just for us so we can play all the time when the puppies are in training."

Jamie nodded understanding and then asked, "Do they have horses here?" he pointed in the direction of the barn.

Scotty's eyes went wide. "I have to tell you, horses are HUGE. I thought I would like horses because I love the carousel but real horses are way bigger. They're like this tall!" Scotty said showing Jamie with his hands.

Jamie smiled. "But they have them here?"

"Yep, they do, but maybe Tami will take you down to see them because they make me nervous."

"Tami?" Jamie asked curious.

As if being summoned, another girl with Down's syndrome came skipping down the hall. "Hey, boys, let's go outside. The puppies have to pee!"

They both looked down at their puppies and Scotty smiled at Jamie. "Don't worry, she's nice, too, even if she is a girl," he said with an eye roll.

The rest of the day went beautifully. We ate breakfast and Scotty introduced us to several friends.

All were very friendly and happy to see Jamie. I think he had never felt so welcome because by the end of breakfast he was smiling.

Scotty and several others quickly led him out to a huge iron bar play ground.

It was like a children's playground on steroids.

They quickly made it to the swings and I gave Jamie a push to start him off. I had never seen him smile so much. I was so grateful a place like this existed.

After lunch, the puppies were returned to us and Jamie was to practice helping his puppy to sit. He was taught how to help the puppy sit by putting a finger under its chin and lifting it up so it forced it to sit when he said the word.

He was given puppy treats to give him when he listened on his own.

Tami and her puppy, Flower, showed us out to the barn. To my surprise, they had chickens as well as a cow and horses.

We laughed as the puppies barked at the chickens.

Tami showed Jamie how to brush a horse and said when the horse lady, Julie, came she would show him how to put a saddle on and ride it.

By dinner time, I could tell Jamie was doing well. He hardly spoke to me and didn't cling to me like before. He actively talked with his new friends and I felt relieved that he finally had a place where he fit perfectly.

That night I put my old t-shirt on his giant teddy bear and tucked him in with Thunderbolt the puppy.

Jamie snuggled into the giant teddy bear and I was grateful they had thought of everything.

As I left that evening, I met Dr. Katz and thanked her for helping with Jamie and made sure she had my contact information in case I was needed. She suggested that I come and visit on the weekend, letting him get settled more with his new friends.

I found a hotel room and crashed on the bed. I glanced at the clock. It was just after eight o'clock. I missed my kids. I really wanted to see them but I would be happy to just hear them for now. I needed some rest.

I texted Edward. 'Is Liz awake?'

His reply was one word. 'No.'

I didn't feel like fighting with him right now so I just rolled over in my bed. I would call and set up a time to visit them tomorrow.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!