14 Obstinacy

Sunday was actually sunny. The best weather that Forks residents could usually hope for was dry and overcast, but every now and then the clouds actually managed to part and the sun shone through. On a day like that, it was nearly impossible to stay inside. Alice consented to wear a pair of overalls instead of a dress, and she and Edward spent lots of time in the back yard, playing in her sandbox or kicking her new rubber balls to each other. Alice was terrible with the balls, but Edward thought he was starting to see the beginnings of some improved coordination after they'd been at it for a while. Though maybe she'd just managed a couple of lucky kicks.

Their play was interrupted frequently by Esme's summonses. She'd set herself up at the table with knives, bowls, and cutting boards, and once in a while she would call to Edward to move dishes around or retrieve spices that she needed to work with. Alice always came running behind him, declaring that she would "hope Muzzmay!" and then Edward had to give her something to do so that she would feel included. With all of them contributing, they managed to get a delicious-smelling coconut korma in the Crock Pot, and then Esme joined them outside for some ball-rolling on the porch.

But it wasn't quite all fun and games. After the food was prepped, Esme decided that she was overdue for a proper shower. She'd been surviving off of sponge baths since she'd broken her leg, but her hair needed washing and she and Edward set out to figure out how to do it. There was some experimentation with various ways that they might get her head under a shower without getting her cast wet, but nothing was very practical. In the end, she'd ended up with a neck-wrenching shampoo job in the bathroom sink and another sponge-bath for everything else. It wasn't ideal.

"There's got to be a better way," Edward said.

"Gotta be. Do you think there's some kind of cast-cover? That's better than just wrapping it in plastic?."

"No idea. I've never broken a bone."

But Google was their friend, and yes, there was a cast cover. It was bulky and awkward-looking, but it would keep Esme's leg dry. Edward ordered it and had it over-nighted.

"I bet we could get a chair for the shower, too," he suggested. "I wonder if there's one that Charlie and Billy use."

Which was a perfectly legitimate question and not at all just an excuse to text Bella. If he wanted to text Bella, he could just text Bella. It wouldn't be weird. Not that he necessarily wanted to text her; he just wanted to know which of these fully Google-able shower chairs would be the best shower chair, and she was the only one he knew who might have experience. It was all about helping Esme, because he was a great friend.

Her reply came a minute later:

You know, if standing up in the shower is too much effort, you could just take a bath. :P

Edward smiled to himself and snapped a photo of Esme's cast. He sent it to her with the caption:

Asking for a friend.

Ouch. In that case, yes, I have a recommendation. Get a transfer bench. It lets you sit down outside of the bathtub and then slide over. It's a little trickier with the shower curtain, but it's much easier than having to step over the side of the tub.

Edward showed the message to Esme.

"Oh, perfect!" She pulled out her own phone. "What's it called? A transfer bench?"

"Whatever. It's my house, I'm buying it. Oh, hey, speaking of adaptive tools . . . look at this." He showed her the ad he'd just seen of a motorized wheelchair with a compact profile that made it easier to maneuver indoors.

"Don't get carried away, Edward. I don't need a wheelchair."

"Couldn't hurt though, right?"

"Stop it." She tried to snatch his phone away from him, but it wasn't like she could even stand up. He just held it higher and continued placing the order.

"There's such a thing as too generous."

"That's bullshit and we both know it. Anyway, this is mostly selfish. If you can get around the kitchen, I don't have to help you cook."

"I should have known. Always the ulterior motives with you." But she squeezed his knee and shot him a grateful smile.


The Clearwaters arrived early that evening to go over the details of the fund that Ted had set up for Leah's healthcare. Edward finished coaxing Benadryl down Alice's throat and then handed her off to Esme while he sat in the office with Leah's family and discussed account management with them. The whole thing bored the hell out of Seth, so his parents took pity on him and released him to entertain himself outside.

When the explanations were finished, Sue accepted the necessary paperwork from Edward and gave him a warm hug. "It's so sweet of you to help us with this. Thank you."

"No problem. Anytime you need an advisor, just let me know."

Sue and Leah both left the room, but Harry stayed. He hadn't even stood when the others had, and it seemed clear that he had more to talk about. So Edward took his seat again.

"What's up?"

"I didn't understand all of this at first," Harry said. "This thing with Leah. I still don't, really. I was mad that anyone thought my son wasn't perfect the way he was—especially my son."

Edward nodded, recognizing the delicate line he had to walk here. "Yeah. That sounds rough."

"Sometimes you do things for your kids because it's what they need. It's not what you wanted or what you planned for, but they need it. It's bigger than you."

"I can understand that."

"Good." He nodded, looking satisfied. "Good. You'll stay in Forks, then."

"Whoa. Hang on. What does my staying in Forks have to do with Leah?"

"It's for Alice. She needs to be here."

Edward frowned, trying to figure out why Harry would care about where Alice lived. "How do you figure? Because, no offense to Forks, but I'm pretty sure I can get her into a better preschool in Olympia."

"There are more important things than preschool."

"Yeah. Actual school. Olympia's got some good private options; Forks, not so much."

"Alice should go to school in La Push."

There was no way in hell Alice was going to school in La Push. Edward was judicious enough not to say it out loud, but he was pretty damn sure that reservation schools were even more woefully underfunded than public schools. Alice was his responsibility, and he'd be making sure she got the best possible education.

"Look, I'm sorry, but it's a non-starter. I'm not moving to Forks. I work in politics; I live in the capital city for a reason."

"You have a more important reason to move here. Alice is Quileute. Her people are here."

"I'm her people."

"There are white people everywhere. Po-oke are only here."

"I'm in Olympia."

"And you'll change that." He stood up. "Because this is bigger than you." He patted Edward's shoulder and headed out of the office to greet Carlisle, who had just arrived.

Edward wanted to chase after him and argue. He wanted to point out that kids followed their parents, not the other way around. He wanted to tell him that Forks sucked, and that a person's soul could literally starve on the lack of culture in this god-forsaken place—while the body starved from lack of interesting food. He wanted to remind him that he'd taken custody of Alice because she was family, and that blood mattered. He wanted to snap that his culture was just as good as Harry's, thankyouverymuch.

But he kept his mouth shut, because he wasn't a hundred percent sure he wasn't being just a little bit ethnocentric. Anyway, if he started a feud with the Clearwaters, he might lose Alice's favorite babysitter. That was an awfully high price to pay for the privilege of running his mouth.

So he smiled and greeted Carlisle, then introduced Esme to the Blacks and then the Swans, and when he thought he'd blow up at Harry for trying to dictate his life, he left the room and went outside to where Seth was juggling his old soccer ball.

"You've got pretty good ball control," he said, squashing down his annoyance with the boy's father. "You ever play?"

"I used to play on a junior league." The kid barely looked at him, and Edward tried to remember whether that was normal. He couldn't. He hadn't actually paid much attention to Seth the previous week.

"Yeah? You play on any school teams?"

Seth peered up at him from under his shaggy hair and shook his head. "My school doesn't have teams."

Underfunded. Edward felt a smug satisfaction over that—because he was right, dammit—even while he kind of felt sorry for the kid. "That's too bad. I think I'd have withered and died in high school without soccer."

He shrugged. "We have canoeing club. It's pretty fun."

Okay. Well. Maybe he was wrong. Canoeing sounded okay too.

Seth kicked the ball to him. Edward juggled it a couple of times and kicked it back, and they messed around for a couple of minutes.

"Are you playing soccer without me?"

Edward glanced at the door, where Jacob was emerging with Circe. He unhooked her leash and patted her rump, and she ran out into the yard. A moment later, Alice ran out the back door and eased herself down the porch steps so she could chase after the dog.

"We should have a match." Several of the others were coming out onto the porch, and Edward waved to Bella. "Bella! Come play soccer with us!"

She shook her head as Jacob joined them on the grass and accepted a kick from Seth. "I'd prefer to stay out of the hospital today, thanks."

"Aww, come on!"

She declined, but Jacob was already moving on. "Gracie! Come play!"

"Can't. I have to feed Phoebe."

"Mom," Seth called, jumping from one foot to another. "Come on!"

"Are you sure?" Sue asked. "I wouldn't want to embarrass you too badly."

"Ooooh." Edward scooped up the ball that Jacob kicked to him. "Let's make her eat her words, Seth."

They designated goals and then started to play in earnest. Sue was just as good as she claimed to be, and Jacob wasn't bad either. Edward had been pretty good in high school, but he'd done a lot of sitting at a desk since then, and he definitely saw the impact on his endurance. Seth seemed to have boundless energy, though, and they managed to keep the game relatively even. After about a half hour, each team had two goals and Jacob was driving hard toward another. He kicked the ball and Edward groaned as Seth dove for it and missed. It was headed directly between the sand-digging tools that they'd used to mark the goal when Circe ran in front of it. The ball bounced off her side and back out to the field, and Edward and Seth both cheered.

Alice cheered too, as she ran past them in pursuit of Circe.

"Oh, not fair!" Jacob called. "That was totally in! Our point!"

"No way!" Seth protested. "If it doesn't go in the goal, there's no score!"

"It was obviously going in!"
"But it didn't!"

"Ref!" Edward called. He turned toward the porch, where some of the others were gathered on patio chairs. Billy, Charlie, and Harry all claimed that they hadn't been watching, but Bella had, and she shrugged.

"It's backyard soccer. Sometimes you have to play around obstacles. I don't think it's any different if those obstacles are mobile."

"What?" Jacob demanded. "Are you kidding?"

She shook her head, looking amused. "No point."

Jacob and Sue booed her decision while Edward and Seth high-fived.

Esme leaned out the back door and beckoned them all inside. "Put the ball away and come get food," she said, and that ended the game. They went inside, Jacob still grumbling, and he shoulder-checked Edward, offering him a feigned scowl. "You bribed the judge, didn't you?"

Edward smirked. "Slander! I would never!"

Jacob snickered and loped up the steps ahead of him.

"Alice, come on," Edward said, looking back. She'd caught up with Circe, and the dog was crouching in the grass and allowing Alice to mount her like a horse. "It's dinner time. Let's wash your hands."

"No! Payf Soo-see!"

"Circe needs to eat dinner too." He didn't even know if that was true, but he figured Alice was going to pitch a fit if the dog didn't follow them to the porch. He headed out to where they were playing and lifted her off of the dog. "Let's go. Come on, Circe."

She leapt to her feet and danced along after them, making Alice laugh with her playful romping.

Ted's porch didn't have room for the tables that Carlisle kept on his deck, but Edward had moved a bunch of chairs outside and set out a few TV trays that he'd found tucked in a closet. There wasn't enough for everyone to have one, but he thought it would be convenient to have a place to set drinks.

He made a plate for Alice and then hauled her high chair outside and got her settled into it. He left her there, with the others taking seats around her, and went to help Esme get a plate as well. When he got inside, though, Carlisle and Esme were standing at the table together. Carlisle had two plates in front of him and was consulting with Esme about what she wanted. Edward smiled to himself and collected his own plate of food. When he returned to the porch, Alice had made headway on her fruit salad and left the rest of her food untouched.

"Okay, listen. You've got to eat a variety of foods. Man cannot live by fructose alone." He started scooping the fruit off of her plate and onto his, and Alice protested loudly.

"This is what we're going to do," he said. "You have a bite of your rice, and then I'll give you some fruit. Okay?"

"Hassum bowees!" Alice said, reaching for her stolen fruit.

"Sure, you can have some berries. Take a bite of your rice first."

Alice wasn't paying attention to what he was saying in her distress over her stolen fruit salad, so he took her spoon and scooped up some of the rice and coconut korma. He held it up to her mouth, but she leaned away.

"No, I do it!"

She took the spoon and fed it to herself, and Edward grinned. "Good job! Now you get some fruit." He put a blackberry and a raspberry onto her plate and she snatched them up and put them on her spoon.

Edward was a little surprised that his strategy had worked, but it kept on working. As long as he micromanaged every single bite of food she took, he actually managed to get her to eat what he wanted her to have.

Of course, it helped that Circe was distracting her. Alice had lost her shoes and socks at some point, and Edward hadn't bothered to put them back on her because the grass was soft and relatively dry. Now Circe was sitting at her feet and occasionally nosing at her bare toes. Alice burst into delighted laughter with every nuzzle, and with her attention on Circe, she didn't always think to refuse the food Edward was urging on her.

"That kid needs a dog," Jacob said.

"Yeah. Such a shame that she's allergic," Edward replied in a tone that made it clear he wasn't at all disappointed.

"You don't like dogs?"

"I'm a cat person."

"How?" Grace demanded. "I don't understand cat people. Dogs are sweeter, more useful, and more fun in literally every way."

"Yeah, but cats are lower maintenance. Besides, dogs are happy with anyone. You can be a complete asshole and your dog is still glad to see you. Cats make you work for it. If you're there for them, day in and day out, providing food and mostly trying not to step on them, then they'll eventually reward you by crawling into your lap and purring. And that means something."

"What are we talking about?" Bella asked, appearing from inside with her plate of food.

"Edward thinks dogs are sluts," Jacob said, and stuffed a forkful of rice into his mouth.

"Huh." She settled into the seat next to Edward and reached across the porch to place her cup on the tray next to Jacob. "You're one to talk," she said to Edward with a playful quirk of her lips.

"What do you mean?"

"Every time I see you, you're with a different woman."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Tori at the library," Bella said in an amused tone. "Rose at the diner. Tanya at the memorial. And now . . ." she gestured to where Carlisle was helping Esme into a seat beside Sue at the opposite end of the porch.

"Everyone's noticing," Grace added. "You're getting quite the reputation around here."

"Psh." He dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand. "I'm hardly sleeping with any of them."

"So, Esme, then?" Bella asked. "She's the girlfriend?"

"Nah, Esme's a coworker. So are Rose and Tanya."

"Isn't Esme living with you, though?" Bella asked, looking puzzled.

"Well, yeah, but that's temporary."

"So Tori's the girlfriend," Grace concluded. "She's the redhead, right?"

"No. I mean, yes, she's the redhead. She's not my girlfriend. We just . . . we're close."

Jacob grinned. "Friends with benefits?"

"Um." Edward ran a hand through his hair. That was such a flippant way to look at it. He really loved Tori, though he figured the two of them in an actual relationship could possibly end with the destruction of the world. They were both too goddamn stubborn and self-absorbed to function well together. But that didn't mean he didn't genuinely care about her, and the occasional sex was just the two of them blowing off steam. But he didn't really have another label for it, so he just shrugged.

"So you're technically single, then?" Grace asked. "Because at least one woman has been asking about you."

"Oh, yeah?" Edward leaned over and put a couple more pieces of fruit on Alice's plate. "Like who?"

"Lauren Mallory."

Edward drew a blank. He frowned, trying to remember who that was.

"She works at the nail salon," Grace supplied. "Blonde. Stacked."

"Oh, yeah, the manicurist. Edward gave a one-shouldered shrug. "She's pretty hot. Think I should take her out?"

"You should," Bella said. "I mean—you'll tell her you're not staying in Forks, right? Because she might read more into it than you expect her to."

Edward was weirdly disappointed to hear Bella advocating for him to take someone else out. But Jacob's hoot of laughter distracted him.

"You just want someone else to be the one moaning about their bad dates!"

"They might have a really good time," Bella protested, but then she smirked. "And if they don't, yes, it would be nice to be on the fun side of the schadenfreude for a change." She turned her smile on Edward. "One of us is really going to enjoy this."

That smile made him feel like it would be worth it. He would absolutely suffer through a bad date to hand Bella the opportunity to laugh at him. He wasn't sure that was a healthy sentiment, but he wasn't overly concerned by that. He just wanted to create a connection between them.

"I'm sorry," Bella said, shaking her head. "That's not fair to Lauren. It's super petty of me to try to turn her into my entertainment."

"She'd do the same to you in a heartbeat," Grace pointed out.

"And if I did it to her, I'd deserve it." She turned to Edward. "You should ask her out, but only if you genuinely want to. I bet she can be pretty fun."

This just got more and more disappointing. Edward didn't like the way this conversation was heading.

"How about I ask you out instead?" he said, trying to turn things in a more promising direction.

Bella let out a loud laugh. "Yeah, sure."

"I mean it. Let's do something next weekend. Are you free on Saturday?"

"Nope. I'm still three weeks away from date night, and I've already got one lined up. Thanks anyway."

"What's this gomer like?" Jacob asked.

"He's a software designer from Clallam Bay, and he somehow doesn't live with his parents. Which means he's already the cooler one in this particular arrangement."

"You'll get him to reveal the worst side of himself. I have faith in you."

"Alice, look at Circe!" Bella said in an excited voice. As soon as Alice was focused on the dog, Bella flipped Jacob off.

"So chyoot!" Alice gushed, and Bella agreed as she tucked her finger away.

"I saw you!" Colin cried from the other end of the porch, pointing at Bella. "You're naughty! I saw it!"

"Dammit," Bella muttered under her breath. "Um, no, Colin, I was just showing Jacob this . . . papercut. On my finger."

"You're lying! You're lying!"

She sighed and whisper-yelled, "Don't tell my dad! You're going to get me in trouble!"

Colin clapped his hand over his mouth and looked at Charlie, who was sitting a couple of feet from him and who had obviously seen and heard everything. Charlie just shook his head at Bella. "What kind of person did I raise, anyway?"

She hung her head in feigned contrition. "Sorry, Dad."

"You should be. Next time, have the sense to distract all of the kids first."

Harry laughed at that, and Edward apparently failed to hide his scowl, because Bella bumped his foot with the side of hers. "Everything okay between you and Harry?"

He shrugged. "Fine."

She raised her eyebrows and he sighed.

"He thinks I should move to Forks."

"Um. Why?"

"Because of Alice. He says she should be near other Quileutes."

Grace gave a little head wobble. "There's something to that. It's hard connecting to your non-white roots in white America."

"I mean, sure, but if I can get her into a really good school somewhere else, wouldn't that be more important?"

Jacob made a face. "There's a long, ugly history of Indian kids being separated from their families and cultures for the sake of education."

Edward frowned. That was true. Some of the old boarding schools in Canada had been in the news lately because long-forgotten remains of missing First Nations children had been found on their grounds, and Edward knew that was only part of the problem. It had once been a major project across North America to try to "civilize" the "savage" children by sending them to live in white-run schools and forcing them to renounce all of their cultural customs. Edward didn't dispute the cruelty of such measures, but it wasn't like he was forcibly breaking up families here.

"It's not the same."

"It's functionally the same for Alice, isn't it? She'd grow without a connection to her people. She'd learn white customs but not Quileute ones."

"But I'm not taking her away from her family."

Jacob allowed that with a nod. "Still. She's half Po-oke. It would be sad to let that half get neglected."

"Surely I can teach her about her culture some other way." He turned to Bella. "Maybe there are books or videos or something that I could get?"

She pressed her lips together. "There are one or two . . . but that actually gets kind of complicated."

"How so?"

"Stories are property to my people," Jacob told him. "Songs and dances, too. They're passed from parent to child like any other legacy. So most of them don't get recorded, and for someone else to tell the stories is theft."

"But there are some," Bella said. "Raven Tales," she said with a nod to Jacob.

He agreed. "Yeah, that one is available."

"A few books and videos, though," Grace said, shaking her head. "You don't internalize culture that way. It's really not enough."

"And I'm sorry," Jacob said gently, "but you're white. That's awesome for a bunch of reasons, but it means that you're never going to completely understand what it's like to be a minority."

Edward ran a hand through his hair and then messed it up in a moment of frustration. "So I'm not enough. I can't raise her on my own."

"It takes a village, right?" Bella asked.

"Specifically this village," he muttered, shooting a side-eyed glance at Harry. "The one where I can't get good takeout."

"I'll make you some kimchi," Grace offered.

Edward shot her a grateful look. "No promises," he told Jacob, "but I'll think about what you said."

He dipped his head in agreement. "Cool."

The subject turned to lighter topics, and they continued their casual chatter until long after the food was eaten. When Alice lost patience with mealtime, Edward released her to run out into the yard again. At some point, Esme decided she wanted to enjoy the sun, so Carlisle helped her down the porch steps and sat beside her while she lay in the grass. Bella gave the two of them a speculative look and then turned to Edward.

"I wouldn't have thought the tattoos and piercings would do it for Carlisle," she said, quietly enough that only Edward would hear.

"Right? But there's definitely something there."

Bella's gaze lingered on him for longer than was strictly necessary, and he was pretty sure he knew what she was thinking.

"She's really just a colleague."

"Who moved in with you."

"Temporarily."

"Okay."

"Is that really so hard to believe?"

She shrugged. "I don't know you all that well, but I can see the tattoos and piercings doing it for you."

"I mean. Yeah. She's fucking hot. But you don't dip your quill in the company ink, you know"

"But you invite the company ink to move in with you and ask it to cook dinner for your friends?"

He shrugged, feeling a little sheepish. "She likes to cook."

"Uh-huh."

"We're helping each other out. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement."

"I've read at least a dozen romance novels that have that exact sentence somewhere in the beginning."

Edward laughed out loud. "I'm sorry to defy such a classic genre trope, but in this case we really are just coworkers. And friends."

"Well. The friendship is a problem. In the novels, the protagonists with mutually beneficial arrangements usually dislike each other."

"There, you see? Our great romance was doomed from the start due to our mutual fondness."

"Shame. Still, I'd hate to be your girlfriend. There seems to be an awful lot of competition for your attention."

That seemed like an unnecessarily extreme position for her to take, Edward thought. Not that he had any particular interest in Bella as a girlfriend; that was impractical for all kinds of reasons. But he didn't like how easily she had dismissed the whole idea. He was a pretty great boyfriend . . . probably. Yes, all of his previous relationships had ended, but that happened with most relationships, so it really wasn't a good criterion for basing a judgment upon.

Anyway, he needed to have a particular discussion with Bella, and this seemed like a good time to change the subject. "Hey, do you mind if we go inside for a minute? I want to talk to you about something."

She gave him a curious look but nodded and collected her dishes. They headed inside, stopping at the kitchen to drop off their plates, and then Edward led her down the hall toward his bedroom. She stopped at the doorway and frowned at him.

"No, it's not—" He shook his head. He didn't quite know how to invite her into his bedroom while making it clear that it wasn't, like, a bedroom kind of invitation. "There was no place else to put the file cabinet."

"The file cabinet."

"Yeah. I was going through Dad's files and I found something."

"Okay."

She was apparently curious enough to proceed into his bedroom with him, so he moved to the cabinet and pulled out the folder that Carlisle had shown him.

"It seems like Dad was putting together this . . . thing. For Charlie and Billy." He moved to sit on the end of the bed, and Bella sat next to him. He opened the folder and pulled out the architectural drawings and the various pages with feature details. Bella looked it over and shook her head.

"I don't understand. What is this?"

"It's plans for an addition to your house. Look. It's like a separate apartment built specifically for accessibility. The counters would be lower so they're easier to use from a wheelchair, and the laundry facilities would be front-loading. And this . . . ." He pulled out another page that had schematics of an adapted van.

She was frowning, which wasn't exactly the reaction he was hoping for. Still, he wanted to give her time to think through the implications. So he waited in silence until she looked at him and then away again.

"That seems . . ."

He waited some more, but she didn't finish her sentence, so he prompted her. "What?"

"Expensive."

"I guess, but the cost isn't your problem. It's already funded. Dad set aside the money for it." Which wasn't strictly true, but it sounded like an easier version to sell.

She shook her head and pushed the folder closed. "He was really thoughtful, but it's not going to happen."

"Why not?"

"Why not?" She looked at him like he was being stupid. "Edward, come on."

"What? I'd have thought you would like this."

"It would be nice to have, sure, but . . ."

"What?"

"You're not going to remodel Charlie's house for him."

"Why not?"

"Because—" She didn't seem to have anywhere to go with that sentence, and she shook her head irritably. "Because people don't do that."

Edward leaned back and arched an eyebrow at her. "Really? That's all you've got?"

"For heaven's sake, Edward! You're being completely dense."

"I'm being dense? You're exhausted from trying to do everything for everyone. This would give Charlie and Billy the ability to pitch in a little so you don't have to do it all. Why in the world wouldn't you be excited about it?"

She was shaking her head again. "It's too much. It's way, way too much."

"Who are we to dictate what Dad does with his money? If he'd left it to you in his will, wouldn't you accept it?"

"He didn't, though, did he?"

"Only because he probably didn't figure on dying all of a sudden."

Bella stood up. "Look, Edward, this is really nice, but the answer is no."

"That's a stupid answer." He stood up too. "Just think about how much this could help you. All of you. You'd actually have some free time every now and then, and Charlie and Billy would get some independence back."

She hesitated, her eyes drifting back to the folder, so Edward flipped it open again. "Look at this bathroom," he said, and he shuffled through the pages until he found a concept drawing. "It's a wet room. No bathtub to step into, just even floors and transfer bars everywhere. No bathing assistance required."

She wanted that, he could tell. The bathing thing had to be really hard on her. But she shook her head and turned away. "You're not remodeling my dad's house for him."

"I'm not. like I said, Dad already put aside this money. This is from him."

She gave him a look that made it clear that she wasn't buying his bullshit. Obviously that money was his now, whether or not Ted had earmarked it for a project, and she wasn't accepting his implication that it was somehow separate from his inheritance.

"Just think about it. Please?"

"I'll think about it, as long as you understand that I'll mostly be thinking that it's never going to happen."

"How about you think instead about how nice it would be if all three of you could share in the housework?"

That earned a wistful smile from her, but she still shook her head. "Edward, look. It's just . . . my turn."

"What do you mean?"

"Charlie has been there for me my whole life. More than just child support and summer visits, I mean. Like, going to school in New York? I never could have paid for that on my own. He sacrificed a lot to get me there, and it was amazing. I loved it so much."

"Okay."

"And now it's my turn. He needs something from me, and it involves sacrifice. So I'm doing that, because that's what you do for the people you love. You show up for them."

"I'm not asking you to stop showing up. He's still going to need you, even if he has an accessible place. The front-loading washing machine isn't going to help him do his physical therapy."

"We're getting by," she said, and her voice sounded more resolute. "We're okay. It's hard, but we can do hard things."

"Wouldn't it be great if they were just a little easier, though?"

He could see in her eyes that she wanted to say yes, but she shook her head. "We're fine."

"You're stubborn."

"Without a doubt."

He sighed. "But you'll think about it?"

"Sure."

Her tone of voice didn't inspire confidence, but at least the subject wasn't fully closed.

"Good. When you realize how impractical you're being, just let me know and we'll book the contractor."

"Don't hold your breath."

Edward tossed the folder on the bed and followed her out of the bedroom. They met Carlisle and Esme in the hall, and Edward gave them a teasing grin. "What are you two doing back here?"

"What are you two doing back here?" Esme shot back, mimicking his grin and looking pointedly at his bedroom.

"I made Bella the offer of a lifetime and she shot me down."

"You have a pretty high opinion of yourself, don't you?" Bella asked with a smirk.

"There might be a reason for that."

Esme just laughed and guided Carlisle past them. Edward expected them to turn into her bedroom, but instead they went into the bathroom, where Esme produced a bottle of jewelry cleaner and started talking to him about it. Edward shrugged, wondering about the quality of Carlisle's game, and then headed back out to the porch. No sooner had he reclaimed his seat, though, than Alice's shrill cry of distress had him on his feet again.

She and Colin had been out running around in the grass with Circe, but now she was sprawled out on the ground and howling at the top of her lungs.

Edward hurried to her side and knelt down next to her. "What happened?"

Alice wailed and rolled over, clutching her knee. Edward carefully rolled up the pants of her overalls and examined her knee. It was scraped, and a few little beads of blood were seeping through her skin. He shook his head , making his voice deep and grim. "I don't know, soldier. It looks pretty bad."

"Iss byeedeen!" Alice wailed.

"Yeah, you're losing a lot of blood. I think we might have to operate."

Alice stopped crying to listen to him. "Opoowait?"

"Come on. We never leave a man behind." He scooped her up and carried her inside, where he fished a first aid kit out of her diaper bag.

"This part is going to be rough," he told her, ripping open an alcohol swab. "And we don't have any anesthesia, so you're going to have to be tough. Do you think you can do that? Can you be tough?"

"Uh-huh." She sniffed. "A-tuff."

"Okay. Here we go." He swabbed the alcohol pad across her knee, and she whimpered from the burn.

"Hang in there, soldier," he said. "The pain will stop in a minute." He started dabbing antibiotic cream onto her knee, and then he pulled a couple of band-aids from the kit.

"Habba ban-aid?" Alice asked.

"I think this one is a two-band-aid job," he replied seriously.

She sniffed and nodded.

Edward carefully applied both band-aids and then pressed a kiss to the top of them. "It was touch-and-go there for a minute," he told Alice, "but I think you're going to make it."

"Uh-huh. A-maytit."

"Are you ready to get back out there, or do you need some more time to convalesce?"

"Payf Soo-see," she said firmly.

"I like your grit, kid. Never say die." He picked her up and carried her outside and down the porch steps, setting her down on the grass. "Vaya con Dios."

"By Dios," she agreed, and then took off across the grass to join Colin and the dog.

Bella's eyes were shining when he mounted the steps and retook his seat beside her.

"That was the cutest thing I've ever seen."

He chuckled.

"Credit where it's due," she said, her voice growing serious, "you've really stepped up for her."

Her compliment made him feel a little embarrassed, though he was pleased that she had noticed. "It was the right decision. I'm getting awfully attached to that kid."

"Seems like it's mutual."

He smiled to himself. It did seem like Alice was starting to trust him, and that was terribly gratifying. "Well, you know. I provide food every day and mostly try not to step on her."

Bella's brow furrowed. "What?"

Right. She hadn't been there for that part of the conversation. He just shrugged and waved it away.

The evening was long and pleasant. There was a lot of congenial chatting, and they managed to make it through the night without Edward getting yelled at even once. He still felt a little sour whenever he thought of Harry ordering him to move to Forks, so he tried not to think about that, and his strategy made everything more comfortable. But eventually people started leaving, and Edward helped Bella fold the wheelchairs and load them into the back of the truck after Charlie and Billy were seated in the cab.

"An adapted van sure would make this easier . . ."

"I can do hard things."

"You don't need to."

"I'm fine."

"But are they fine? Don't you think they'd like to be able to get around by themselves?"

"Edward," she said, her tone making it clear that she was losing patience.

"Just think about it."

"I said I would."
"With an open mind, please."

"I'll give it as much consideration as you give Harry's suggestion that you move to Forks."

Edward scowled at her. "Fine. I'll consider that with an open mind too."

She gave him an amused smile as she climbed into the truck.

"Bye!" Alice was standing on the ramp, waving at Jacob and Grace's car. "Bye, Soo-see!"

Edward picked her up and waved with her. "Bye, Circe! By Colin! Bye Phoebe!"

"Bye, Soo-see!"

Edward chuckled at her single-minded adoration of the dog and carried her inside.

Carlisle had already gone in, and now he was collecting dishes from the back porch. Edward set Alice down on the kitchen counter and started rinsing dishes and loading them into the dishwasher. Alice "helped," which basically involved splashing water all over herself and the counters.

"Oh, my," Esme said, limping into the kitchen on her crutches. "Alice, you're so wet you might not even need a bath tonight."

Alice's head popped up. "Habba baff?"

"You want one anyway?" Edward asked.

"Oh, yes!"

"I'll start filling the tub," Esme said.

Alice made grabby hands at her. "Tumishoo!"

Edward lifted her down from the counter and let her run off to the bathroom.

Carlisle entered with an armful of glasses and started loading them into the top shelf of the dishwasher.

"I understand Esme has moved in with you," he said, not looking up from the dishes.

Edward raised his eyebrows at the phrasing. Did Carlisle think . . . ? "Yeah."

"That's very exciting. Congratulations."

Well, damn. He did think. Edward laughed. "You know we're not in a relationship, right?"

Carlisle's eyes flicked up at him before dropping to the dishes again. "No?"

"No. She's just in transition—and now she has a broken leg. It's briefly convenient for both of us for her to stay here, but we're not a thing."

"Do you . . . want to be?"

Edward could have so much fun with this, but there was something too vulnerable about Carlisle's forced casualness. Edward couldn't bring himself to tease him much.

"Nope. She's a free agent."

He rolled a glass between his hands, utterly failing to come across as indifferent. "So you wouldn't mind if I asked her to dinner?"

"Not at all. But . . . you should plan for whatever this is to be temporary. I mean, you two can do whatever you want, but you should go into this with your eyes open. Esme and I are both only here for a couple of months."

He finally looked up at Edward and smiled a smile that almost looked happy. "I suppose that means I'd better seize the day."

"Seize away."

"Is there anything I should know? She's vegetarian, right?"

Edward wondered if Esme had mentioned it, or if Carlisle had just noticed her dietary choices. "Yep. She loves true crime podcasts and chili lime pistachios."

"Any dislikes?"

"Toxic masculinity."

Carlisle blinked in surprise.

"And poorly designed websites."

Carlisle leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. He stared off into space, and though Edward wasn't certain that he realized it, after a moment he started smiling.

"You making plans over there?"

He pulled his gaze back to Edward's. "Do you think she'll come to the Historical Society fundraiser?"

"Yeah, it sounded like she and Rose were planning on it."

"Perfect."

Edward thought about telling him then. About confessing that he was developing a little crush himself, on a certain overtaxed librarian. But he wasn't sure he could handle Carlisle's optimism. He was sure that the man would encourage Edward to follow his heart and see where it took him, but Edward was pretty sure he knew where he would end up. Bella didn't seem like a casual-fling sort of person, and anyway, she hadn't looked the slightest bit interested in entertaining his date invitation. They could be friends, and frankly, Edward was lucky to be getting that much from her.

So he kept his peace and scrubbed the counters while Carlisle silently made his plans to romance Esme.


A couple of notes on this chapter:

The information about stories and songs being intellectual property comes from Twilight on the Thunderbird: A Memoir of Quileute Indian Life, by Howard Hansen. However, as he discusses in the book, there's some tension between wanting to respect intellectual property and wanting to preserve Quileute culture. So there are some stories that are made available at quileutenation dot org, including a PDF of Raven Tales: Traditional Quileute Stories of Bayak, the Trickster. Content warnings on that last story, though . . .

I don't actually know whether the Quileute Tribal School has ever had a canoeing club. They don't seem to have a strong (or possibly any) athletics program, but they do have clubs and activities. Canoeing is an important cultural element, and in this particular moment in 2022, when the story is set, the school was located right on the beach. A canoeing club would have been very easy to have in place.

My main point here is to give some push-back to Edward's assumptions. Reservation schools can often struggle to attract good teachers, and there's a legitimate gap in the standardized test performance of kids who attend Bureau of Indian Education schools and those who attend public schools. So his concerns aren't unfounded. But reservation schools offer something that's unavailable anywhere else. Cultural connection doesn't come from textbooks. Seth's canoeing club is here to show Edward that even though the school in La Push might not offer an experience just like his, it still offers a valuable one.

On the subject of the school, though . . . until summer of 2022, the building was located very close to the ocean. Nice, but dangerous. It meant that one tsunami had the potential to wipe out the entire future of the tribe. The Quileute Move to Higher Ground project was established to try to raise money to move the school above the tsunami zone. They were able to get some education grants to help, and a really beautiful new school has been constructed. However, there are still lots of homes and community buildings in insecure locations, and the project continues to raise money to help them relocate.

Which brings me to my call to action. We Twifans and fic writers have been participating in the appropriation of Quileute culture for decades now, and the Quileute people have largely been really good sports about it. It maybe wouldn't be the worst thing if we sent them a thank-you in the form of donations that would help them preserve their homes and community spaces. If you've ever loved a Jacob, in canon or in fic, please check out mthg dot org to see if it's something you would consider including in your charitable giving.