Author's Note:

I'll keep this as short as possible, but I wanted to say again that I may fail at replying to every review, but I do read them all and I appreciate each and every one of you for taking the time to read my story. This has proven to be a very enjoyable hobby for me, and it fulfills my childhood dream of being a writer!

Now let's check out what's up with Edward.

You already know this, but I still don't own Twilight or any of these lovely characters.

Chapter 4

EPOV

Weak sunlight filtered through the wooden blinds on my bedroom window, causing me to wake with a groan. A glance at the bedside clock told me it was too early to be awake on a Saturday morning, especially considering the dream I had been having. I could still see the silky brown hair in my mind and picture it spread across my pillow as it had been in my dream. I closed my eyes and felt my body tighten with desire as I pictured the image from which the sun had so rudely pulled me. It wasn't the first time I'd dreamt of Bella in the last week, and I had a feeling it wouldn't be the last.

Ever since having coffee with Bella just over a week ago, I hadn't been able to get her out of my mind. I had known her since we were kids and she had always been sort of an extra little sister considering she and Alice had been practically joined at the hip since my family moved to the tiny town of Forks when I was twelve. Alice and Bella had been about eight, and for the last twenty-four years, I had basically still seen her as the gangly kid with a messy ponytail that trailed after me and my friends along with Alice. Of course, I wasn't blind, and on an intellectual level I was aware that she had grown into a beautiful woman, but I had always just kept her tucked into that friend box in my mind. But for the last week, I had begun to see Bella Swan in a whole new light. We'd hung out and talked amongst our group of friends countless times over the years, but we'd never really spent any significant amount of time alone.

I had clearly been alone too long if having coffee with a woman a couple of times was getting me this worked up, but there was nothing I could do about it. I shook my head and rolled over to drag myself out of bed. I knew I was attracted to Bella and as much as I wished I were free to explore the feelings I was having, I was not. With that cold truth front and center in my brain, I got out of bed and headed for the shower.

Once I was cleaned up and dressed in a pair of jeans and an old favorite college t-shirt, I headed for the kitchen to make breakfast. I knew my kid and bacon and pancakes were the best way to butter her up for what we needed to do today. Just as I flipped the last pancake on the griddle, I heard Maggie shuffle up behind me and I reached down to hug her as she leaned against my legs.

"Good morning, baby girl."

"Morning, Daddy," Maggie mumbled as she rubbed her eyes.

"How about some pancakes?" I asked her.

"And bacon?" she asked as she peered up at me with a sleepy grin.

"Of course. Can't have pancakes without bacon, can we? Why don't you set the table and I'll bring the food over.

Maggie did as I asked and reached for the plates I already had sitting on the counter and got forks out of the drawer. Once we were settled at the table, I looked at my daughter and thought about how much I loved her. She truly was the best thing I had ever done. She had my bronze hair and green eyes, and while the shape of her face came from Tanya, the features were mostly mine and I felt vaguely guilty for feeling happy that she didn't look much like her mother. I sighed as I cut into my pancakes and finally broached the day's activities and braced myself for Maggie's reaction.

"So, Mags, we need to go visit your mom today. And after that, maybe we can hit the zoo."

"I don't want to go there. Can we just go to the zoo?" Maggie whined.

"No, we haven't been to see her in a while, so we need to visit. No visit, no zoo," I said. I hated having to bribe her, but in the last several months, Maggie had gotten increasingly difficult to get her to visit Tanya without throwing a fit.

"It's not like she knows we're there anyway," Maggie grumbled under her breath as she munched on her bacon. And therein lies the problem, I thought. My daughter may only be six years old, but she was smart, and she had spent her entire life visiting the sleeping shell of her mother. Her friends all had moms that did fun things with them, and Maggie was old enough to know what she was missing now.

Technically, Maggie wasn't lacking anything. Alice, Rosalie, and my mom were always happy to do things with her, but it wasn't the same and we all knew it. I couldn't really blame Maggie for her resentment of the situation because I resented it, too. Tanya certainly had never meant for the accident to happen, much less to end up brain dead and in a coma, but it could have been avoided if she hadn't been running off with another man. Maggie didn't know that part of course, nobody did, but that didn't change the truth. As I watched Maggie push her pancakes around in a pool of syrup, I couldn't help but take a familiar stroll down memory lane.

Six Years Ago

I slowed my truck to delay the inevitable as I drove down the street toward my house. I'd already worked late, but I couldn't stay at the office all night, so I'd headed home even though I dreaded it. Home wasn't exactly my favorite place, and there were days I thought about leaving, but I'd always convinced myself to stick it out, and now I no longer had a choice.

Tanya and I had been married for a couple of years and I'd known it was a mistake practically since the wedding. Actually, if I were being honest, there never should have been a wedding. Tanya had made no secret of wanting me for years, but I hadn't given in to her advances until I'd gotten drunk at Bella and Jacob's wedding reception. I'd been a little depressed that everyone around me had been in love and settling down and I was still single, so when Tanya had asked me to dance, I'd agreed. We ended up getting a room at the hotel the wedding was held in that night, and what I'd considered a fling had just never ended. Despite never having been interested before, I hadn't been able to deny she was a beautiful woman, and we'd had fun together. She was attentive and loving and we'd just sort of ended up in a relationship without much thought. After a while, I decided it made sense. We got along and had the same friends, so I'd just never gotten around to ending it, and the next thing I'd known, we were nearly two years in, and Tanya was not so subtly hinting about marriage. I'd resisted and ignored her hints for a while. After all, I'd known from the beginning that what I had with Tanya wasn't the all-consuming love I'd grown up admiring between my parents, but I was ready to settle down, and I did love her, so I'd finally proposed.

Now, two years after getting married, I was finding every excuse I could to avoid going home, but I'd made a commitment and had never had the guts to walk away. The possibility of leaving had been taken off the proverbial table the day Tanya had told me she was pregnant. Despite my feelings, or lack thereof, for my wife, I'd never leave my child, and I was ecstatic to become a father. As much as I dreaded coming home, I had to admit things could be a lot worse. Tanya and I weren't blissfully happy, but we didn't fight much. We just didn't talk much, either.

Finally, I couldn't drag it out any longer and I turned into my driveway and pulled into the garage. I walked into the house and called out to let Tanya know I was home as I flipped through the mail on the counter.

"Where have you been?" Tanya asked as she walked into the kitchen, her protruding stomach leading the way. Regardless of how I felt about her, seeing her ripe with my child caused a multitude of emotions to swirl in my chest. We only had about a month to go, and I couldn't wait to meet my baby girl.

"Got tied up at the office. How's Sophia doing today?" I asked as I laid a hand on her belly. I still wasn't thrilled about the name we'd chosen, but I didn't hate it, so I'd given up the fight.

"She's fine," Tanya said as she turned away, pushing my hand off her. My brow furrowed as I took in the expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, following her into the living room.

"Well, I had hoped to have a little more time to talk to you, but since you're late, I'll have to make this quick. I'm leaving," Tanya said calmly, and it was then that I took note of the pile of suitcases by the front door.

"What do you mean you're leaving? Where are you going, exactly?"

"It doesn't matter where I'm going, Edward. Neither of us are happy, so it's time to let it go."

I couldn't exactly argue with that, but the thought of her leaving with the baby had me nearly panicking. "You're not leaving with my child, Tanya. If you want a divorce, fine, but let's at least wait until after she's born. We'll work out custody and –"

"There's nothing to work out, Edward," she said, cutting me off. "This is what I wanted to talk to you about, but I'm almost out of time now. The baby isn't yours, so we won't be sharing custody."

I was speechless for a minute. I felt like all the air had been sucked out of my lungs, and blackness swirled at the edge of my vision. The baby wasn't mine? The life I'd watched grow and felt move in my wife's belly wasn't mine? Suddenly, the swirling darkness was replaced with red hot rage.

"What the fuck do you mean the baby isn't mine?!" I roared. I'd never spoken to her like that, and I felt a sick satisfaction when Tanya gulped and looked a little worried. I'd never lay a hand on her of course, but I wasn't sorry to see her discomfort.

"I mean exactly what it sounds like. I've been seeing someone for a while, and the baby is his."

"How long is a while?"

"Over a year. I'm sorry, Edward. This wasn't exactly how I'd planned to tell you, but he's on his way to help me get my things," she said, not sounding all that apologetic.

I couldn't quite wrap my head around the bomb she'd just dropped, but the baby was still my main concern. "How are you so sure it's his?" I asked. "We haven't exactly been celibate for the last year."

"Okay, fine, you're right. I guess there is a chance she's yours, but that doesn't really change anything."

"The hell it doesn't! If she's my child, I have just as much right to her as you do. You're not going to run off and raise my kid with another man." I was trying my hardest to remain somewhat calm, but inside I was panicking. She couldn't just run off with my daughter. Before Tanya could respond, though, we both heard the car coming up the driveway.

"Look, Edward, I have to go," Tanya said, moving toward the door. "Once the baby is born, I'll have a DNA test done and if you're the father, I'll let you know."

"No, I'm not letting you leave until we know for sure," I said, though I had no way to actually stop her.

"You can't stop me, but I promise, I won't keep her from you if she's yours. Now, Alec is going to come in and get my bags, so maybe you should go into the bedroom or something."

I ignored her and dropped down on the couch, leaning forward with my head in my hands and elbows on my knees. I was vaguely aware of the sounds of bags being carried out the door, but I never looked up. Sometime later, I pulled myself off the couch and wandered through the house and found myself in the nursery. I dropped down in the rocking chair I'd refinished myself and ran my hands over my face, only to find them wet when I pulled them away. I swiped at my face again and realized I was crying. I was somewhat surprised at the physical sign of emotion considering I just felt numb inside. I looked around at the room Tanya and I had set up and suddenly the rage was back, and the next thing I knew, there was a hole in the wall and my hand was throbbing.

"Fuck!" I yelled and slammed my hand on the door frame as I tore out of the room. I walked into our bedroom and looked around, noticing the blank spots where Tanya's belongings usually resided. I shook my head and continued through the room and into the attached bathroom to splash water on my face. I braced my hands on the counter and looked in the mirror, staring at myself and the blank expression in my eyes. An hour later found me back on the couch, nursing a beer and replaying my whole marriage to look for signs I'd missed. I wasn't really surprised that Tanya had been cheating, and I also wasn't surprised to find I didn't care all that much. The despair I was feeling had nothing to do with my soon to be ex-wife. The part I couldn't wrap my head around was the fact that the baby girl I'd been anxiously awaiting the last eight months might not even be mine.

I dropped my head to the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling, not knowing what to do next, so I just sat there. I was startled out of my reverie by the ringing of my phone. I pulled it out of my pocket and checked the display, frowning in confusion when I didn't recognize the number. I almost didn't answer, but for whatever reason, I swiped the green icon on the screen and brought the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, I'm looking for Edward Cullen," the voice on the other end of the phone said.

"This is Edward," I said.

"Hello, Mr. Cullen. My name is Shelly and I'm with Harborview Medical Center. I'm sorry to inform you that your wife has been in an accident, and it would be best if you came right away."

I felt my heart drop into my stomach at her words and I jumped to my feet and ran for the door as I spoke. "What about the baby?" I croaked.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't share any more information over the phone. Please just get here quickly."

I hung up in frustration and immediately dialed my father as I ran to the garage and jumped in my truck. I'd never been so happy that he had accepted a job here in Seattle and moved himself and my mother closer to Emmett, Alice, and me after Alice went to college. As chief of staff of the hospital I was currently speeding toward, I knew he could get info quicker than I could. I explained the situation, then hung up and concentrated on getting to the hospital. When I pulled up in the emergency room parking area, I circled the lot, then pulled into the first spot I came across. Parking at this hospital was terrible, so I decided it would be faster to park and make a run for it than to look for a decent spot. My father was waiting at the door for me, so I ran toward him and followed him when he turned and led me down the hall.

"What's going on, Dad?" I asked as we nearly jogged to a bank of elevators.

"From what I was told, the car Tanya was riding in swerved off the road and rolled down an embankment. The driver didn't make it, and Tanya is in critical condition. The baby is in distress and Tanya has been taken into surgery. They are delivering the baby and then will tackle Tanya's injuries," he said as we arrived on the surgical floor. Dad stopped in the waiting area and told me to sit, so I did. All I could think was that the baby would be here shortly, if not already, and Tanya's lover was gone. Dad had made a comment about Tanya's client being the driver of the vehicle and I realized that everyone would likely assume she had been working at the time of the accident and that nobody knew the truth. Before I could think too long about that, Dad walked back into the waiting room and motioned for me to follow him. A few minutes later, I looked around and I realized where we were as my father buzzed us into a secure room.

"Son, Tanya's still in surgery, but I thought you'd want to go ahead and meet your daughter," he said as he turned and presented me with the small bundle the nurse had handed him. I could hear the doctor standing next to my father talking about how lucky we were that the baby survived the crash and that she was perfectly heathy, despite her traumatic birth, but as I looked down into the tiny face, I was mesmerized. Her eyes were a cloudy blue at the moment, and I knew that was likely to change, but it was the shock of red hair that was so much like my own baby pictures that caught my attention. I knew without a doubt she was my daughter, and I was immediately in love.

I smiled as I watched Maggie finish her pancakes and shook myself out of my memories. What I had thought at the time was the worst day of my life had turned into the best. Things hadn't been exactly easy since that day, with Tanya never regaining consciousness, but as long as I had my Maggie girl, I was happy. I'd felt a twinge of guilt when I filled out the birth certificate and chosen the name I had wanted instead of the one Tanya and I had agreed on, but I hadn't felt like I owed Tanya anything at that point. I still didn't, but I'd done my duty by making sure she was taken care of to this day.

I picked up my plate to carry to the sink and asked Maggie to finish up so we could get ready to go. She made a final plea to skip the visit to her mother, but I knew that making the effort to have her see Tanya periodically was the right thing to do, not to mention that Tanya's parents and my own family expected it. I didn't have any great desire to visit her myself, but I had long since accepted the situation as my reality and I continued to put forth the effort, even if I sometimes wondered if it was truly beneficial to Maggie.

Resigned to going whether she wanted to or not, Maggie finished her breakfast and brought her plate to me in the kitchen. I sent her upstairs to get dressed while I washed up the dishes and then followed her to change my shirt. Once I was changed into a plaid button-down shirt, I went into Maggie's room and helped her fix her hair. I made sure she had a couple of toys with her, including her tablet, then we loaded it into the car and drove across town to the nursing facility.

Author's Note:

Well, there you have it. A little background on Edward's situation. Let me know what you think!

Next chapter will be up soon.