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Chapter 210


Edward


"Becky's rape," I said softly, putting a hand on my angel's shoulder as Jazz assured my son he would explain what a process was when he had a chance.

Bella slumped down a little in the chair.

I felt on my hand, however, that this had no health origin. Rather, Bella would have been just a little startled by this news. I suspected that she had long forgotten about the pending trial.

"Bella?", I addressed her gently.

She covered my hand with hers.

"I didn't even thought about that anymore," she admitted quietly, looking up at me.

"But we have thought about it, my heart ... However, Becky hasn't thought about ... the subject in a while," I reflected, looking at Jazz. I had faltered a little ... looking at Ced. I had been understood. For Ced, rape was not an appropriate topic.

"I didn't let her forget it," Jazz smiled.

Becky and Jazz were still talking regularly. As I now gathered from my brother's thoughts, they had talked at great length in the meantime about the possible course of the trial. Jasper had explained everything to her in great detail and had really knowingly not let her forget it, so that she would not have an emotional relapse today.

"Becky was always aware that this day would come, and I prepared her for it to the best of my ability. I think she'll be more relieved that it's finally here and that she can put this chapter behind her."

"I see it similarly," I nodded in agreement.

"That's nice that you've taken such good care of Becky ... I'm more worried about Jake, though," Bella made clear.

I knew what she was alluding to. My fingers tightened for a moment as a nighttime event came clearly to mind.

"The last time when Jake was confronted unprepared with this issue, more specifically with Mr. Corbin announcing himself on short notice, Jake ... growled at me and broke the paternity to Edward. In a very violent way," my angel continued to explain, whereby she only whispered in the middle of it all because of Ced.

Our baby pricked up his ears strained when she had become quieter, but now peeked quite offended because he had not understood her.

I, on the other hand, nodded affirmatively in Jazz's direction.

I hadn't told anyone about Jake's freak-out that night.

"It was when Becky slept at home the first night and you were standing guard with Alice under her window. He had a panic attack and worked himself up into a fear that something might be up with Becky," I added.

"Panic attacks don't follow any logic, but arise from emotions that you can't control. How did you manage to calm him down?" our family psychologist asked in surprise. In his mind, he added the words 'without me' to the question, since he was in charge of emotions.

"I gave him a slap when he would have been ready to attack Bella," I whispered so Ced wouldn't hear.

"That slap must have been really hard," Jazz reflected.

"It was!", I confirmed. My own emotions about this act were very conflicted. I was ashamed of having hit my son, which is why I hadn't told anyone about this incident until now. How could I lay a hand on someone I loved? I looked down at my wife. How would I be able to kill the woman who was everything to me? ... Idle subject. On the other hand, at that moment with Jake, I had seen no other way out. He had mentally referred to his mother, my purpose in life, as nothing, justifying a possible attack on her. That's when my proverbial fuses had blown. It had not necessarily calmed him down, but he had been dazed by the power that had been behind it. It had forced him to calm down. It had worked. But did that make up for the fact that it had been wrong in itself?

"Since I am aware that Jake is much more sensitive than would be expected, I have also not told anyone about Mr. Corbin's call yet. I wanted to leave it up to you guys to tell Jake and Becky. However, I actually didn't consider that Jake might lose his temper in that sense," Jasper said apologetically.

"You couldn't have known," I assured him. It was my fault for not asking Jazz to talk to Jake, too. Also so that Jazz would know about Jake's hypersensitivity in this regard.

"So when is it going to start?" asked Bella.

"Monday. Only one day of hearings has been scheduled so far. Mr. Corbin is very confident that this day will be enough. The evidence speaks for itself. I expect the witnesses will receive their subpoenas today or tomorrow. So will you, Edward. Becky will also receive a letter," he explained further.

"But didn't they say Becky didn't have to be there?" Bella wanted to know.

"She does not have to attend the trial, that is correct. But her previous testimony, which she has already given, will be read to the judge and she must be present. In case she wants to add or delete something. But it will not be in the courtroom in front of the jury and possible onlookers, it will be in the judge's chambers. Mr. Corbin will be there. And Jake, presumably. Afterwards, this will then be presented in the courtroom as Becky's testimony."

"So no cross-examination by the lawyers, with words being twisted around in your mouth, like you see on TV?"

"No. Not for Becky. But for all the other witnesses, of course, it's possible and assumable. Edward, Carlisle, Dr. Bennett. The list of witnesses is not particularly long and includes hardly any counter-witnesses," Jazz smiled winningly.

Since we had to go to school, we broke off the conversation.

However, everything had been said for the time being. We would tell Jake after school that the jurisdiction would now go into action.

Bella and Ced walked me to the front door as usual.

I admonished my baby not to get on Esmé's nerves, whereupon he looked at me as if he were the sweetest baby in the world.

Well, he was. He usually was.

And I admonished my wife.

Stricter. Much stricter!

She was to drive carefully and please report back when she arrived in Portland.

Jasper peeked quite interested as I was seen off by my angels.

He had not seen this in this form before. It reminded him of a time when the world was still black and white. Metaphorically speaking. When people in movies mainly saw an ideal world. Doris Day, Cary Grant, and the like.


"What would your life be like if we hadn't happened to run into Bella again here?" pondered Jazz as we sat in the car.

"To be honest, I'm pretty sure that sooner or later I would have asked you to end my existence," I admitted, which I had also never expressed to anyone before.

He was silent for a brief moment, mulling over my answer.

"Why me?"

"Because you would have been the only one to understand and know that it would be my redemption and not murder."

"But you were doing pretty well before we got here."

"Not really. Samantha set me back. Looking into her face anew every day made it harder to keep up the fantasy world I had built up. On the other hand, my imaginary Bella started talking to me after Samantha tricked me. This made her even closer to me ... But how long could I have hidden in my construct? Certainly not for all eternity. At some point I would have learned that my real Bella was no longer there. I think then everything would have collapsed on me. One possibility at that moment was that I would have given in to Samantha so that I could have at least keep a Bella, but we both know how unlikely that would have been."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Your feelings toward her were always very mixed up. Anger followed indulgence. Hate on understanding. Maybe with Samantha by your side, you would have found life worth living."

I looked at him very very very skeptically.

I had hated Samantha to the core. Especially after she had double-crossed me.

Jazz smirked and raised his arms defensively.

"Okay, the possibility is very unlikely!" he admitted. "Far more likely would be that you would have broken down the moment you learned of Bella's passing. Emotionally ... On the other hand, probably physically as well, if I include the events in the school parking lot in that consideration. The morning Jake had shown you the memories."

"I would agree with that, and I wouldn't have lasted very long."

"Under the circumstances, I probably would have really helped you," he muttered to himself.


We reached the school's parking lot .

My kids were standing around their usual bench with their friends and Jake and Leah were looking at us quite skeptically.

After all, Jazz had never ridden to school with me before.

But it had also just been a coincidence that Jake had left a few minutes earlier than usual to fill up the car.

We quickly came up with the excuse that Jazz had brought me documents. In truth, I had already taken them yesterday and was now on my way to the secretary's office with them. I speculated amusedly about the forthcoming faces of Cathlyn Turner and Charles Taylor.

"Good morning, Edward. Did something happen to make you show up here before class?" she asked.

Curious what I wanted here. Skeptical, since she knew my relationship with Bella. But overall not unfriendly. Brandon, as far as I could tell from her thoughts, had said nothing about our wedding and Carlisle had excused me from class for family reasons without elaborating.

The school bell began to ring for class, and I waited briefly for the echo to subside.

"Good morning, Cathlyn. Yes, you could say that. But it's rather pleasant," I replied.

While I was looking for the documents in my bag, Mr. Taylor came out of his principal's room. Apparently only by chance, as he handed something to Cathlyn and gave a little instruction about it. He casually greeted me politely.

I smiled when I saw the dedication in my pocket.

Like every time my eyes fell on it. The Christmas gift from my angel.

I pulled out the two sheets and put them on the counter.

"A marriage certificate?!", Cathlyn stated to herself.

Slightly questioning. And taken by surprise. The face was better than in my wildest imagination.

She looked at me in disbelief and the principal went back to her. He quickly put on his glasses, which he had only been holding in his hand to look at the paper.

"Yes. Bella and I got married," I cheerfully stated, to which Mr. Taylor now looked at me as well instead of continuing to read.

Nervously, he pulled his reading glasses down again.

He thought over the words he intended to address to me.

"You do realize, however, what kind of impression this makes when you rub our noses in your marriage certificate here like that, just like that?! To wantonly undermine my personal opinion," he stated sourly.

He sought confirmation for his assumption.

"But it's not like that!", I assured. Actually, it was, but not willfully. Circumstances had simply turned out that I loved a woman twenty years older than I looked. "I can assure you that Bella and I are not playing games with each other. We didn't get married to prove anything. You can think of it what you will, but Bella and I love each other and only entered into marriage with each other for that reason. To tell you this directly today is not because I want to rub this document in your face, as you called it, but because my marriage has changed my personal information. I have taken my wife's name. Surely this should be noted promptly in your records so that an accurate certificate can be issued to me in the summer."

The gentlemen sorted out the words.

His face was still so much better than Cathlyn's. I stored each still so smallest detail of it attentively. It wasn't necessary that I concentrated on it, a vampire doesn't forget anything, but I just enjoyed it. Bella would have a blast when I could show her later through Ced's gift. My angel had insisted on that, if she couldn't be there live.

"There is one more change," I said, pointing to the paper under the marriage certificate. The copy of the adoption.

Cathlyn held both in her hands, but had not yet taken note of the second sheet. They read it together. Cathlyn's gaze again darted up to me, while Mr. Taylor almost missed an office chair, which he dropped into.

I suppressed my gleeful chuckle.

"But ... you're ... younger than Jake and Leah," Cathlyn stammered.

"Yes, I am," I admitted. "We've been talking to Child Protective Services in the course of getting married. Bella and I, Jake and Leah, but likewise our parents. Since I am still a minor, this is standard procedure. An attorney advised us on this and gave the motion that I wanted to adopt the twins as mine, along with our intent to marry, to the court to have it decided together. As you can see, the judge ruled in our favor. Leah and Jake are my children!"

I especially gave Mr. Taylor a moment to process what I was saying.

His facial expressions continued to be delicious. Annoyed, because it contradicted his view of decency and morality. Confused because I was now a student and a parent in one. Piqued because, contrary to his opinion, the law was on our side.

Cathlyn even smiled a tiny bit.

She was undoubtedly surprised, if not startled, by the facts at hand, but the principal's reaction also amused her.

"I would like to say, however, that we will not forget our promise to you as a result. We respect your concern for the other students, as our lifestyle is truly not conventional, and we will continue to not display our love publicly. Leah and Jake's friends know about us. You know them all, Cathlyn ..." She nodded in affirmation. "... To everyone else, however, we have made it believable that Bella is involved with my 'father', which explains the intimate relationship between me and the twins. One won't get to see this one, as he is often away on business."

"But isn't Dr. Stone from the hospital your father?" echoed Cathlyn.

"Dr. Stone is also the team doctor for the volleyball players," Mr. Taylor interjected.

"Does it actually say so in your files?", I asked a counter question. We never gave exact degrees of relationship, in case we had to vary. So all that should be noted about us is that Carlisle was the legal guardian. And if classmates asked us, we answered them correspondingly vague. In the sense we all felt like siblings or something similar. "But it's also irrelevant. The students have no insight. Your statement to Brandon from the beginning of the school year might have been inaccurate, if he talked about it outside of his circle of friends. Especially since I remember an evening in our backyard discussing who were the biological and who were the adopted children of Carlisle. There was no agreement, which amused me greatly. That's why I remember it so well. In that respect, one or the other nephew could well be there," I lied unabashedly. I had not been present at that time. Leah had shown me this only once in her own memories.

I also pointed out that it would also make sense to have Carlisle listed as the contact person for the school, when my supposed father would be away on business all the time.

"What it ultimately comes down to, though, is that we want to continue to be discreet about our relationship. The twins are not ashamed of who their parents are, and they have accepted me as their father. I have in no way demanded or even expected this of them. But there are others who might not understand this and might attack our children in various ways just because their parents do not conform to the general assumption. In this respect, I would like to request that you also keep this information confidential. You are, of course, still free to contact my wife in school-related matters, but I would ask you to reconsider the contact person in this regard. My wife is currently working on her dissertation after Arnold Hanks arranged for her to be fired."

"Oh ... Bella's finally getting her PhD?" asked Cathlyn excitedly.

"Yes. She works with a retired professor from Brown University."

"Arnold Hanks?" asked Mr. Taylor absent-mindedly.

"Yes," I said again. "Mr. Hanks saw to it that Becky's father lost his employment, he was unsuccessful with her mother, but he was successful with Bella's employer. ... Speaking of which, I can tell you directly that Jake, Becky, and I will not be coming to school next Monday. The trial is finally taking place. For Becky and me, you will of course receive a copy of the subpoenas as proof, and Jake I hereby excuse!"

With that, I immediately showed off my freedom as a legal guardian. This was really fun towards him, even though the occasion was not so amusing. He would prefer not to accept my apology and send me packing, but he peered at the adoption document inconspicuously. There was no doubt that my name was written there. Moreover, it was about the trial of a rapist whom he wanted to see behind bars just as much as we did.

"Of course," he therefore replied.

"There's no subpoena for Jake?" however, Cathlyn dug deeper.

"No. We kept him out of everything, so he wasn't listed as a witness anywhere. This had the advantage that he could stay with Becky at all times, even when she was being interrogated. However, circumstances have since changed somewhat. He could refuse to testify because of bias. After all, it's about his fiancée," I stated.

The truth was somewhat different. Jake would want to testify. He would want to illustrate how much his star had been tortured. And if the opposing attorney started picking apart his testimony word for word and questioning it, Jake would want to go after Mike. Regardless of the fact that they would be in a courtroom.

"I heard that already," Cathlyn smiled.

She knew the young couple and thought they were very cute together. But she was mostly amused by her own son at the moment. Brandon had told her about the engagement at home, but was now worried. If his best friend was now thinking about getting married, would he himself now have to start acting like an adult? And how did one go about doing that?

I had thus clarified everything I had intended and would bring back for Bella some nice exhilarating impressions from this conversation.

The two would keep my name and marital status change to themselves. Nor would they inform any of our teachers about it. Some faculty still had very conservative views. Only on my graduation certificate would the name Edward Anthony Black be read. However, Mr. Taylor reserved the right to continue to defer to Bella on school matters, as I might be involved and/or biased. I could live with that.


I went to my class and excused my tardiness.

English advanced course. This semester it would be prose.

In the meantime, I received Bella's text message. She had arrived safely at Professor Stewart's.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

In music, I got talked into playing piano for the graduation ceremony in a few months. But that was only because Becky would play with me to accompany the choir. A piece for four hands, moreover, I had encouraged her. So I guess it was my own fault.

We looked at the sheet music together while sitting in a corner and I started humming the tune right away.

"That sounds complicated as it is," Becky puffed in resignation.

"You can do it!", I encouraged her.

Becky certainly had musical talent, perhaps not necessarily for a great solo career, but nevertheless I wanted to continue to encourage this hobby as much as I could. I didn't want her to neglect music in her life.

After that, math and health class followed, and I could go home.

Tomorrow, however, would be the first time in a long time that I would get to experience the entire school day.

I had also discussed this with Mr. Taylor in the morning. More precisely, I had informed him about it. When Bella was pregnant with our angel, Carlisle had excused me from class for health reasons. After the Christmas break, I had gone back to school half-time because I supposedly couldn't take any more. Since my afternoon schedule was the same as my children's, however, I now wanted to do a little schooling with them. One afternoon a week at first, so that my health would get used to it again. Allegedly. Then in a few weeks I would expand to two afternoons and maybe later to three. No more. After all, the afternoons with my baby were nothing to sneeze at either.


I smiled as I pulled up our driveway in the rain.

Bella's motorcycle was parked right in front of the garage.

Apparently, she had immediately run into the house in the rain instead of bringing the machine into the dry.

I pulled the hood of my jacket over my head and took care of that. Then quickly take the bag from the passenger seat and a slow - human - sprint to the house.

I unlocked the door. The TV was on, but otherwise it was unusually quiet in the house.

Too quiet!

A statement while I put my jacket and bag aside. I hurriedly entered the living room.

"BELLA!" I exclaimed, startled.

She was lying on the floor next to the sofa. Unconscious. What had my angel done this time! I really couldn't leave her alone!

She did not respond to me, but she was breathing, and her heart was beating. I could not make out any injury.

I stumbled when Bella made a low humming sound that sounded very familiar.

When she was asleep. Uh ... I suffered the most severe heart attacks here and she was just sleeping? On the floor?

"Bella?", I gently stroked her cheek.

"Mmm ...", she made disturbed.

She turned on her side, but pulled my arm with her, so I had to follow.

I must have looked a bit silly, half lying on the floor and still kneeling.

"Why are you lying on the floor in the middle of the living room?", I dug deeper.

"Because I can," she mumbled ... waking up.

"Yes, you can. Do you realize that you'll scare me so much that it will cost me years of my life?" I wanted to know.

"How many years then?"

"A hundred. At least!"

"And how much is infinity minus a hundred?"

"Wasted years I'll miss with you!", I whispered, with Bella turning back to me.

She smiled.

"This is unforgivable!" my angel stated, running her tingling fingertips over my lips.

A request that I had understood. A request that I very gladly complied with. And very persistent. Her sweet lips took my senses again every time, so that I craved for more, the longer this kiss lasted. Apparently I was not alone in this opinion. One of her hands pushed onto my neck, the other under my sweater to my waist and she pulled me towards her. Of course, I complied with this request as well. How could I not?

We kissed passionately while I slipped my shoes off my feet, turned with her and pulled my angel onto my lap. My sweater landed behind us, Bella immediately fumbled awkwardly with my T-shirt, and I unbuttoned her blouse.

I could already see that she was still wearing some useless piece of clothing underneath.

"Daddy! Mommy!" our baby interrupted this little unplanned lunchtime liaison.

Damn!

"Stop! First the wet jacket and boots are taken off!", Esmé was heard determining and she pulled our sweet treasure back into the hallway.

Thank goodness he had not yet come far.

"Thanks for our little troublemaker!", I sighed to Bella.

"Yes. I was happy to!" she replied, just as disappointed as I was, but gave me a smiling kiss.

She wanted to get up from me, but I held her back. I looked down at my lap.

"Give me a moment," I begged her. I didn't want to present my bulging crotch to my baby or my mother.

Then Ced already came running and wanted to cuddle with us. He climbed cheerfully laughing between us, without regard to where he stepped so. We got big smacks on the cheeks.

"Where did you come from?", I asked him.

He had a colorful balloon on his wrist. Thereupon also directly his hands patched against our previously kissed cheeks.

This looked like a children's party. Booths with cakes, sweets, and cocoa. A bouncy castle, trampoline, clowns. Handmade gym sacks were sold. Small enclosures with hamsters or rabbits could be admired. And a clown sold balloons. Ced had a lot of fun.

"The kindergarten in Kennebunk is having a small party today to raise funds to upgrade the playground," Esmé explained additionally.

She would certainly have donated so much that the playground would be named after her. She could hardly be stopped at something like that. It was nice to know that our money was also supporting meaningful things.

"And why are you sitting on the floor together?" asked Esmé.

"I'd be interested in that, too!", I opined, looking to my wife.

"I was a little worn out when I got back from Portland. No one was here, so I zapped through the TV program. There was a guy on a talk show who was talking about 'relaxation'. That it was important to relax and that there were little simple exercises to do that. He then demonstrated one. You should lie down with your back on the floor, your legs a bit bent, close your eyes ... and I didn't get much further. I fell asleep by then."

I shook my head in amusement, gave Bella a kiss, and rose with my two angels.

Yes, I could rise again without danger. My arousal had receded.

Bella thanked Esmé as always for taking care of Ced.

Actually unnecessary, but that's just the way my wife was. Esmé was always very happy to see her youngest grandson.

They arranged for her to babysit again on Thursday.

Bella gave our little angel a bottle of blood, whereby she sat on the kitchen counter while I made them a snack.

"How's your work going?", I inquired.

"Quite well, actually. I just had some trouble today because it's been almost two weeks since I was last there. I am still missing some tests which I want to do for proof ... Milton, by the way, gave me a wedding gift for us ... I still have it in my purse," she pointed her chin in the direction.

A gift from my former professor. A man I had learned to appreciate very much at that time.

I was curious and quickly fetched it. On the way, I took the mail into the kitchen, which Bella had only put on the dresser in the hallway.

Ced interrupted his feeding to unwrap the gift.

It was a book that made Bella and me smile. It was called 'The Biology of Love'. It was actually a reference book and written by a very renowned scientist with several doctorates. And it dealt exclusively with the phenomenon of love. Everything that caused it was studied and expounded in this work. Starting with the butterflies in the stomach. What touches caused in the body. About the release of various happiness hormones when kissing. Up to the emergence of new life. There was also another book.

Rather it was a bound booklet. My own doctoral thesis.

Bella immediately began to leaf through it curiously. She read some passages aloud, impressed.

"How long did it take you?" she asked as she put it aside for the moment and set our son on the floor.

"If you ask Milton Stewart, it was about three months," I replied, putting the food on the two plates.

"And in reality?" she dug deeper.

"Put together ... three days," I said.

Bella contorted her face in shock.

"The lab tests had slowed me down a bit," I added, somewhat arrogantly, and gave her a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Three days? ... I've been sitting on it for three months and I'm not even close to being done."

"But you're only human," I replied.

"Right. There was something," she admitted, and we sat down to eat.

I opened the mail in the process.

A few greeting cards. Both one for us for the wedding, but also for the twins were three pieces. I didn't open them, of course, but put them aside for my children. I could just tell by the type of envelope and that they didn't contain regular paper. Bella was reminded of a routine checkup at the dentist. Bills I kept right with me. Advertising for a super cheap life insurance policy. At least in their opinion. A letter for Leah. Return address Kate Everson.

We were surprised. I put it aside, unopened.

And my court summons.

"Then the letter will probably arrive at Becky's today, too," Bella reflected with a sigh.

"Probably," I agreed, sighing as well.

If we were unlucky and Jake brought Becky home after school, he would find out about it there. That would be a little unfortunate if our son's emotions did indeed boil over again.

We therefore decided to call Eliza.

We asked them to hide the court letter and not say anything about it should Jake show up at their house after school.

After dinner, Bella sat at the table with her laptop while I played with Ced. She entered the results of her lab test today in digital form.

Rather, let's say she tried.

"You're supposed to be working!", I admonished her as I caught her gaze once again.

She watched us for the most part, smiling adorably happily. But she would never finish her dissertation like that.

"How am I supposed to concentrate when I keep seeing your ass in front of me!" she accused me.

I smirked.

In fact, I was currently crawling happily around the sofa with Ced while we played tag. So she had a clear view of my rear end.

"Then I guess it's better if I disappear," I stated.

"And where are you two going in this weather?" she doubted.

The rain had stopped only temporarily, instead unpredictable rays of sun came through the clouds.

"Should we visit Sonya and Emma?", I asked my son.

He stretched his arms in the air, giggling enthusiastically, stood up and walked to the hallway wardrobe.

My baby tried to put on his boots. Alone. Didn't work. But it looked cute. I could watch him, forever, but Ced didn't have that kind of patience.

I helped him, put on his jacket and cap, and we said goodbye to Mommy. While doing so, I took a cursory glance at what she had written so far.

For one thing, it wasn't much yet, and for another, it was wrong.

"You should reconsider that," I indicated to her.

"Out!" she rumbled, slapping my butt.


We walked along the edge of the woods to get to our neighbors. Ced walked holding my hand, but surveyed every little puddle on the short walk.

I knocked on the patio door and Emma immediately came running. She greeted me as usual by jumping into my arms and giving and demanding a kiss. Afterwards, it was Ced's turn.

She was so cute. Just a few more weeks and our little smooch ball would turn four. She lived in the belief that she would be quite a big girl by the time she was four. Much to the chagrin of her father, who also came from the kitchen.

Ced ran at him first and he was spun through the air by David.

"Will you play something with me?", Emma asked me meanwhile.

"Sure," I replied.

"Then you two aren't here for a reason?", David dug deeper.

"No. I only impede the concentration of the prospective PhD," I said.

"How so?"

"With my presence."

The four of us played 'Memory', where Ced could already keep up with Emma.

They played another game by themselves while David and I sat in the kitchen.

I asked how Sonya was doing and where she was, I didn't hear her heartbeat. But she was at yoga, and she was doing great.

"... But that was always the case. The whole pregnancy was always textbook. She never had any significant problems with pain, discharge, or anything else that might happen with others. Just the usual stuff. Back pain, her getting tired faster, heavy legs and the like. It's only when she goes into labor that she starts to deteriorate rapidly," he explained to me, but I was already aware of all that.

"Don't worry about Sonya. You won't lose her," I said reassuringly.

"Will you give me that in writing?!"

"Sure!"

Everything was already planned. After Easter, after their short vacation in Los Angeles, David, Sonya, and Emma would temporarily live with Carlisle and Esmé. Until the baby was born. It was a few short weeks from then until the expected due date, but Carlisle didn't want to take any chances. The flight to California and back just fit within the airline's regulations. Our friends had really lucked out on that one. A week later, they could have refused to transport a pregnant woman. Daniel was at boarding school during the week, so they would pick him up over the weekend. Luces and Deacon would stay with us during the weeks, as they still had to go to school.

When Sonya came back in the afternoon, I could confirm that she must be fine.

She looked great. She was in a good mood, bursting with energy and radiant from the inside out. I knew the latter from Bella, when she had still carried our Knob under her heart. Only the ever-growing belly increasingly restricted her.

David retreated to his study.

"Somebody's got to bring home the bacon around here!" he grinned.

With Sonya I continued to play with our little angels. In the meantime Luces and Deacon joined us and it was five o'clock.

"Can I leave Ced with you guys for a little while? We have something unpleasant to discuss with Jake," I asked a little apart from the children who were romping with Cookie.

"Sure. What's going on? Did he do something wrong?"

"No. The Becky's trial begins. It could be that Jake might go a little crazy. Last time, he almost went after Bella, just because the lawyer announced himself on short notice," I explained briefly.

"You're not worried about Becky in this? After all, she's the victim."

"Of course, but Jazz has prepared her for it. In fact, he's convinced she'll probably be happy about it because it means she'll never have to deal with it again after this."

"And Jake he forgot about in that regard," Sonya concluded.

I nodded.

"Just leave him here. You can forget him here for all I care."

"That certainly won't happen!", I assured.

"Just as we wouldn't forget Emma with you," she winked at me.

We shared the same fate again in this regard. We were infatuated with each other's child.

I gave her a kiss on the cheek and went into the living room.

"You can play with Emma a little longer. We'll pick you up for dinner," I promised my baby, who nodded in agreement.


Bella was putting away the laptop when I walked in the door.

Too bad. I thought I would have been able to take another look at her work.

"Well, my heart. Have you been busy?", I asked her.

"Yes, nothing distracted me," she purred seductively.

"Our children will be here any moment," I interrupted her seduction skills even in the beginning, before I didn't remember my children.

The children seemed to take their time today while we prepared dinner. They came only when we were almost ready, and the table was already set. At the checkroom they put down their things and welcomed us in a good mood in the kitchen.

I asked Leah to pick Ced up from over there and whispered to her to take her time doing it.

I indicated to Jake to sit down and now I wanted to talk to him about the process, but I didn't have time for that.

Jake's cell phone rang before he reached a chair at the dining room table. It was Becky, and Jake immediately answered the call.

He was confused. After all, he had just brought her home and would pick her up on his paws later. So why was she calling? What had no time until later?

Correspondingly restless, he answered and immediately asked why she was calling.

"Jake. I got a letter," Becky began.

As far as I could tell from the phone, she was on an even keel.

Jake said nothing.

What could he have said about it? He waited for details.

"Mike won't be on the loose much longer!" then Becky stated.

"How ... how do you know?" asked Jake uneasily.

"The letter is from the Portland court. The trial starts on Monday," Becky explained as I pulled my summons off the shelf and held it up in evidence.

Jake ran a hand through his hair erratically and immediately appeared agitated. But he continued to listen.

"Mr. Corbin spoke with my mom on the phone this afternoon. He will be arriving on Sunday. He said it is not necessary, but if I want, he will go over my statement with me again. I have to be in court at eight o'clock Monday when my statement is read to the judge. I have to confirm that it is my statement, and nothing has been left out or added without my knowledge. Apparently, I can disappear again after that ... You will be with me, won't you, Jake?", Becky then asked quietly.

"You're already excused," I nodded to my son.

"Of course, Becky. I won't leave you alone," he said rather mechanically.

His thoughts circled around everything that had happened with Mike and he didn't understand why Becky seemed so calm. Because his anger at Mike was slowly rising inside him, while everything came back to him in great detail. How he had found Becky, the appearance of Mike and his father in the hospital, how he happened to meet Mike at the edge of the forest as a wolf, the defense tactics of his lawyer, the meeting on New Year's Eve. Anger increasingly flared in his eyes.

"Jake," I said softly, stepping toward him.

I took his hand and opened the cramped fingers that were already digging into his own flesh.

He didn't seem to have noticed it at all. Surprised, he looked at his palm, where blood had already leaked out.

"How can you be so calm?" he then asked into the phone, whereby his own anger could not be overheard.

"Simple. Because I know it's going to hit Mike a lot harder if he goes to jail than if he runs into you and accidentally gets attacked by an animal. Now don't tell me you haven't thought about that! I know you, Jacob William Black!" she almost threatened our wolf, but he just looked dejected. "If what Marcus said about prison is even close to true, it won't be a walk in the park even for our great quarterback. Plus, it will hurt his father's reputation. And you're mine forever. That's why I'm so calm and you should be too!"

"You're really okay?"

"Yes, Jake. I'm fine. I always knew this day would come and basically I've been longing for this day. Because now it's going to be over for good! ... I also just wanted to call you to make sure you weren't doing anything stupid. So you don't have to come right back here because you might be of the opinion that I can't cope or something. I'll never feel as helpless as I did on those long ago days. You built me up again. And you'd do it again if something like that happened to me again. That's what I love you for, Jacob Black!"

"And I love you, my star," Jake replied, now considerably calmer himself. "So everything stays the same. You're going to meet Tiff right now, and I'll pick you up later," he continued.

Becky stuck to it, reassuring again that all was well.

My son hung up, but still looked thoughtfully at his cell phone.

He couldn't understand Becky's attitude, but he probably had to accept it.

"Jake. Is everything all right?" asked Bella cautiously.

He just nodded.

"Dinner's ready," she followed up, since she got no real answer.

"I'm not hungry," was all Jake said.

He looked at his mother for a moment, then at me, and then silently went to the terrace and undressed.

He wanted to be alone with his thoughts.

We watched behind as the rusty brown coat disappeared into the woods, when Leah also appeared with Ced at the edge of our field of vision.

Of course, she immediately asked what was wrong with her brother. He missed dinner, which was an impossibility.

I quickly enlightened her while Ced fetched the bread basket from the kitchen. I also told her emphatically that he wanted to be alone. Because she was already planning to run after him. After the meal.

Leah retired to her room after dinner. She tried to do some homework, but her mind was mostly on Jake. She then talked on the phone with a few girlfriends instead. Among them was Becky, who confirmed that she was doing very well. She was at home and was planning a birthday date for her friend with their boyfriend.

Ced had been eager to stay up until Marcus got back.

He came in around 8:30 p.m., after his shift at the diner.

Marcus got the usual smack.

I sat down with Bella and Ced for one last bottle of blood in our bedroom and Leah and Marcus, meanwhile, said their goodbyes again.

They were going to his mother's house to tell her about the engagement. His sisters and Maggie's fiancé Ethan would probably be there, too.

We wished them every success.

Even together, we had not necessarily found an explanation for the past weeks. Falling in love with another man and then taking back your ex after his death sounded very strange to outsiders. Marcus had also given his family no real explanation in all that time as to why the two of them had separated. Blaming Leah would have been easy, but he had never wanted to do that. In this respect, they hoped to get through the evening without any great explanations.

I brushed my teeth with my baby – out of necessity.

We put him in his crib.


And then I stood in the kitchen and prepared three sumptuous sandwiches, which I packed.

I put some clothes in the blue Chicago-bag, shoes I hung over it, Jake's cell phone I put in myself and off I ran.

It worried me that my son had been gone so long, although I was sure he wouldn't get into mischief.

The occasional rain blurred his trail a bit, but I was able to follow it just fine.

I found my son at Sebago Lake. In a hidden bay where there was even sand.

Under different weather conditions, it had to be a small, enchanted place.

Jake sat in the middle of it, naked, wet from the rain, kneading the sand with one hand.

Silently, I jumped down to him and held a small bottle of soda over his shoulder.

I heard him smirk.

"Thank you," he murmured and finished the bottle in one go.

Fortunately, I had two of them with me. He knew that - if at all - only I would come. Especially silently. He would have heard Leah because of her mass at the latest when she jumped down, but probably much earlier, when she would have dissected half the forest with her paws.

I sat down with him and unwrapped the sandwiches.

My son had skipped one dinner. He had to be on the verge of starvation.

The corners of his mouth twitched as I handed it to him.

"What time is it now?" he asked, chewing.

"Already a little after nine o'clock," I answered.

Later than he had assumed.

My son was silent, worried a lot instead.

About Becky and what had happened back then. That Jasper had apparently done a great job on his star. She was so calm. He didn't understand that. He would love to run to Mike and single-handedly make sure he could never touch a girl again. But Becky had forbidden him to do that, and her word was his law.

"I'm sure it's very nice here in the summer," I said cautiously.

I wasn't sure if my son felt like talking, which is why I had resorted to a rather meaningless statement.

He answered silently.

Yes, it was beautiful here. In this cove, Becky and he had met love. That was new information for me. If Jake ever thought of this incident, if I listened to his thoughts, I saw in it predominantly Becky and less surrounding. Jake had classified sex as something 'sacred' since his first time here in the sand. Sacred was the wrong word, but he couldn't think of a better one. It was something sacrosanct. Something beautiful. He had never felt so alive as he did in that moment with Becky. It was a whole new world he found himself in afterwards. He had no longer been a boy.

He chuckled at the thought, and I smiled with him.

"Yes, that's how I felt, too. As if the meaning of life had finally been revealed to me," I admitted.

"With Samantha or not until Mom?" he dug deeper.

"At that moment, Samantha was Bella to me," I indicated.

He remembered how I had told the twins about my first time. My involuntary experience with Samantha. She had tricked me with her striking resemblance to Bella.

Jake's thoughts quickly went back to the topic at hand, however.

It couldn't come close to matching his or even my experiences after all, if you had to force the other person to do it. It destroyed this gift that one could give to another and so it couldn't feel as intangible as he knew it could after all. Then why were there people who did such things?

"I think most would agree with you. Regardless of whether they are humans, wolves, or vampires. But there are also people who have a different relationship to some things. It's not an exact comparison, but think about Marcus' father. The latter believed that the memory of the extremely moral upbringing by means of corporal punishment of his son would prevent Marcus from becoming a violent man one day, as his stepfather had been. So others may think that violence is part of it. There are people who like to be beaten or choked during sex. Others need to prove their power or superiority in this regard in order to be satisfied. As I once put it about Marcus' father, 'Every psychopath has something that drives him.' You don't have to understand those reasons, but the person is convinced of it. Psychopath, of course, is a very drastic classification. Violent offender might be a better description. But it could be the same with Mike," I explained.

"Maybe I'm the reason in this case," Jake muttered to himself, hanging his head. "It just came back to me some time ago. I got into it with Mike on the first day of school," Jake continued to whisper guiltily, remembering.

Jake hadn't been sure which school team he wanted to join. Basketball, baseball, or football. After class, he and Brandon watched the football team practice, and Mike was already demonstrating his power on that first day of school. He bragged loudly that he came from a football family. That he wore his legendary father's number. Although he was new to the school, he didn't refrain from bossing around the so-called rookies. Among them was Jake, who had only been sitting in the stands with others. Jake had given him a piece of his mind first, as my son put it. It ended in a scuffle. At that time, this young man didn't quite have the physique of a muscle-bound athlete. Neither, however, did Jake. Jake had simply been lucky, and the entire crowd of onlookers had been amused by Mike. The coach separated the two before it turned into a real brawl and Bella was called by the principal. Right on the first day of school. Mike had made it clear to my son, however, that if he didn't expect it, he would get even for it one day. He had never done it until Jake was with Becky. Now Jake had a very heavy stone of guilt in the pit of his stomach. Maybe the rape had become that announced revenge. Then it would be his own fault that his star had been so tormented.

"I can assure you that that is not the reason. You are not to blame for it and you are definitely not responsible for it!"

"How would you know that for sure?"

"Because he had tried to do it weeks before. Or rather, he had intended to, but didn't get around to even trying. At a time when Becky and you weren't together yet," I said.

It started to rain, and I pulled an umbrella out of the blue bag.

Neither I nor Jake minded raindrops, but I didn't want to get the clothes I'd brought him soaked.

I stretched him between us and placed his Chicago-bag well protected between us.

"Luckily, neither of us will catch a cold," I explained to my son's confused face.

Then I told.

On the first day at a new school, I listened very consciously into the many thoughts of my new classmates. I had to learn to distinguish the mental voices from the real ones, but also to look out for danger for us. Vampires weren't the only ones who changed residences. So someone might recognize us. A student, a teacher, parents and so on. We smiled together as I said that I had already formed a mental friendship with Jake without knowing him when I had followed his thoughts about Becky. At the time, an unrequited love. But I had also overheard Mike, who had already planned his date with Becky for the coming Saturday. It would finally be time for sex, whether she wanted it or not. At first I hadn't taken it too seriously. Believed in a stupid saying to himself. But to be on the safe side, I had also watched him more closely the rest of the week. He was serious. He planned to take Becky to a seedy diner and then take her into the woods. So deep that no one would hear her scream. Jasper and I had gone out with them that night, although without either of the two noticing. We immobilized his car, which was already enough to foil his plans. I had accompanied Becky all the way home unnoticed.

"... Maybe it just suited him that you of all people were together with Becky, because of your first meeting, but you were in no way decisive for that! Becky would have been in that danger without you," I assured. I sighed. "It's more like I'm to blame for what happened. I should have kept following Mike's thoughts to see the danger ahead of time," I admitted.

I had already blamed myself for that a few times. After all, I knew the potential danger that Mike posed. That he would forgo a girl's consent without a second thought. Not only to protect Becky, but every other girl had been in danger, and I had been negligent in neglecting it.

"Oh nonsense, Dad! Mike didn't budge a bit all those weeks after I caught him in the hallway. We thought that would have put an end to his desire to interfere with us in any way. Then why should you have kept him on your radar? It was obvious that you couldn't listen to him all the time. With so many people in school all the time!", Jake said confidently.

I was not sufficiently convinced of this, but said nothing more about it. I had to deal with my complicity myself.

Jake instead pondered the consequences had Jazz and I not been there that night in question. Raped by her own boyfriend. Maybe Becky wouldn't have turned him in because no one would have believed her. After all, they had still been together up to that point.

"If Mike had carried out his plan that night, who knows how Becky would have handled it. You wouldn't have been there for her, and she would probably never have been able to trust a man again. You made her feel safe and with your unconditional love you made her the strong person she was before," I confirmed to my son. It could have had a lasting impact on her life if Jake hadn't been with her. It was just a speculation, but one that Jazz and I thought was very likely.

"Thank you!" he said simply, after thinking it over for a long time.

Thank you that I had saved his star from that. Thank you for reminding him. Becky had also said something like that over and over again. Most recently on the phone earlier. That he was partly responsible for her being able to handle it so well. What else could he do but just believe that? He wasn't convinced of that, but apparently no one let his opinion stand on that.

"It's the plain truth!", I affirmed.

He smiled a little.

It would be nice if it were.

My son was relaxing more by the minute.

So now it was done, no one could do anything about it and Becky had not become an intimidated scared girl. Now all that was left was to destroy Mike for good. Figuratively speaking. Jake had considerable doubts about our legal system! Here, one was innocent until proven otherwise. Apparently one did not believe Becky, nevertheless. Why else could someone like Mike walk around free all the time? Could even approach his star again, as it had happened on New Year's Eve.

"If Mike and his father had succeeded in any of their evasive maneuvers, you'd be in the dock on Monday, and you'd be glad of that legal principle," I opined.

Shocked, he looked at me.

"They had considered that you might have been the perpetrator," I reminded him.

"I completely forgot," he ran through his damp hair.

I explained that such an assertion would not stand if it were actually voiced again on Monday. However, no one assumed that this would be addressed. For one thing, it contradicted both Becky's statement and her behavior toward him. For another, my son had an alibi that half the school could confirm. Furthermore, half the school could confirm that Mike had, in a sense, announced his crime.

"Don't worry about it, Jake. Mike won't be a threat much longer. Mr. Corbin and Jasper have everything under control in that regard. Monday will be less about proving Mike's guilt, because there is no question about it. The evidence is very overwhelming in this regard and cannot be explained away. It will be predominantly about the severity of the guilt in order to remove him from society for as long as possible," I asserted, indicating that Becky was aware of just that. That Jazz had prepared her very thoroughly for the coming trial.

"... Only, unfortunately, we did not think of you. Therefore, we asked Eliza not to say anything about the letter while you were there. WE wanted to tell you that the trial is starting! In case you denied me paternity again," I said as Jake just got smaller and smaller next to me.

He remembered the night of his panic. What he had screamed in my face. How he had felt that something was broken.

It had been my heart that had burst in that long-ago moment when I thought I had lost my son.

"If I did that, I wouldn't be able to sit in the rain with you," he said with a smirk.

Emotional expressions were not necessarily his specialty, unless it was about Becky.

Therefore, I merely smirked with him.

He fiddled with my wrist until he reached my watch and read the time. He was a little startled.

It was ten o'clock through.

"I guess I'll go pick up a star at home, then," he said, rising from the damp sand.

He knocked the sand off his legs and butt. I stood up as well, packed up the umbrella again - it was only dripping - and picked up the bag I had brought for Jake.

"Thanks, Dad!" he then looked at me. "Thank you for looking for me. Alone, I probably would have gotten further lost in my thoughts and just kept getting dragged down," he said, hugging me. "I will never forget that you are my dad! And I will be forever grateful that you are!" he assured.

My arms involuntarily wrapped a little tighter around my son and he did the same.

"I am very fond of you, Jake!"

"I am too, Dad," he muttered.

However, we quickly detached from each other.

It was uncomfortable for him to let himself get carried away, even if it was the truth. Besides, it had felt a bit very strange for him naked.

"Even if I have to share you with others," he therefore added with amusement.


Thank you for reading!