Sorry for the huge delay. I have had a lot going on, including a hospitalization. I am doing better now.
I am working on the next chapter, so it will be a bit, but there is a lot going on in my mind with this story, and this chapter took me in a place I hadn't previously planned it to go. However, I go where my mind takes me and hardly ever use a outline.
No copyright infringement is intended, and Twilight doesn't belong to me.
Thanks to LaPumuckl for her help talking out the story and catching issues. Thank you to the wonderful and talented Dowlingnana for again wielding her red pen, to shape me into a better writer.
Any and all mistakes are mine, I still dabble. Thanks for the story love, see you at bottom.
Etched Swan Chapter 17
"You want me to be the mother of your children?" I ask.
"Of course I do, Bella, there is no one else on earth that I would ever trust with that job. You're the most amazing woman in the world to me. You steal my breath when you enter the room. There is nothing about your wonderful giving heart that I would change. You are it for me," Edward says.
I kiss him, having no words that could outshine the ones he just said.
Pulling back, I look at the clock and see it is close to lunchtime already.
"Since we don't have to go to the shop today, what do you think of going to get our household shopping done with me? When we come back, we can have lunch and then work on meal prepping for when everyone invades?"
"I think that is a good idea, but on one condition," Edward states.
"What is that?" I ask.
"We have to make a bunch of ravioli," he smiles.
I laugh at him because where he is not a huge eater like Alice and Emmett, he does seem to love my homemade pastas, especially ravioli.
"I was already planning on making some pasta dishes. What kind of stuffing in the ravioli do you want?"
"All of them," he smiles.
"So, beef, mushroom, and ricotta herb?" I ask.
"Yes, yes, and yes!"
"Okay, let's head to the store then," I say as I grab my keys and purse.
We take the truck because it has more room. I drive since Edward can't drive a stick with only one foot. When we get to the store, I point to the motorized cart and raise my brow at Edward.
Edward reluctantly uses the motorized cart, and I push the other cart. We end up filling both baskets to the brim, and then some. Edward pays the bill and sticks his tongue out at me when I go to argue. Thankfully the store worker helps load the truck, but I know unloading at home will be a task.
"I'm calling Emmett, he said to let him know when we are on the way home. He is going to help unload the truck," Edward says.
"You think of everything, but I'm not afraid of hard work," I say.
"I know that! You are one of the strongest women I know," Edward says.
When we get to the house both Rose and Emmett come over. Within twenty minutes the food is in the house and put away.
"Wanna grab lunch with Rosie and me?" Emmett asks us.
"Sure, what are you thinking?" I ask.
"Well, I really want to go to Tsui Sushi Bar, I love their sushi and the appetizers are the best."
"That sounds good," Edward says.
"Yes, sounds good as long as you don't get carried away," I say with a raised brow.
"I won't," Emmett states.
"And I won't let him," Rose smiles.
We make our way downtown in the Escalade. We're lucky it is not busy and find a parking space right away. Once we have all ordered, we talk about the new addition. Emmett told me he let Jim know we will be buying, and Rose says she talked to Aro already. Aro suggested we use the attorney we used for the transfer of the business from Jerry's estate to us. He also suggested a contractor and designer to help us combine the two buildings. Even though they share a wall, it's best to have the places surveyed and get a creditable architect company in to make sure all load-bearing walls and such are supported correctly. Aro said he would call back with an appointment for us to meet with his guy.
After we are done eating our fill, we decide to go by the shop and check in with Alice and Jasper, and see if we can catch Jim too.
The shop is busy, Jasper is dealing with some walk-ins and Alice is doing a piercing when we get there. It isn't long before Emmett, Edward, and I are helping out when a group of ladies who are walk-ins from a bachelorette party, all want to get their noses pierced.
I help them find jewelry, and Edward and Emmett help with the piercings.
Before I know it, we have been at the shop for an hour. I walk into the workspace room and see Rose sitting on the sofa with Jim.
"Hey, Jim," I say, grabbing a bottle of water. "How are you today?"
"I'm good. I just wanted to let you know I heard from Mr. Volturi, and he said that his brother-in-law and us are set to meet on Friday morning. We are doing a warranty deed. Apparently, he has already gotten the title opinion completed and has the abstract. We don't have to do the buyer agreement until then, and all you kids have to do is have the cashier's check for the sale price."
"Yeah, we talked a bit at lunch, and Rose told me Aro said he would handle it for us," I say.
"That Aro has his hands in lots of pots," Jim says.
"That he does. Once you have made him a friend though he will use all those pots to help you," Rose laughs.
"Yeah, well part of him helping you kids so much has to do with that daughter of his," Jim says.
"Yeah, she did have her times of being rotten, but you would be surprised to know she really settled down and is doing well at NYU," Rose states.
"I'm glad, I know that girl gave her parents a lot of heck," Jim laughs. "She reminds me of my son's daughter, she too is a handful. I sure am going to miss you, kids. You've always been so kind to Margie and me. My plans are set though and I will be leaving to head south in two weeks."
"We are going to miss you, Jim," I say as the guys walk in.
"That was brutal," Emmett says and Edward nods.
"That one chick was concerned you wouldn't be able to pierce her nose because you didn't have two feet."
"She may have had two feet, but her brains weren't firing on all cylinders. I mean really," Edward says and Emmett nods at him.
"Well, if you all are done, I want to get home and get some pasta made. I have to start a new batch of my sauces too."
"You are making pasta?" Emmett and Alice both say together.
"Yeah, I was planning on it," I say.
"Will you make me a pan of lasagna, please?" Alice all but gets on her knees begging.
"Yeah, I was already planning to make a big dish of lasagna anyway. Bring me over your pan, and I will make one for you guys too."
"Hey, what about me?" Emmett asks.
"Rose already brought over two of your pans, one for lasagna and one for manicotti."
"Yes!" Emmett says fist pumping.
"You do make some of the best pasta, I will miss that for sure," Jim says.
"I will bring you a few dishes of stuff Jim," I say.
"You kids are too good to me," Jim says as he stands to leave.
"See you later, Jim," I say, giving him a hug.
"See you Friday, dear girl," he says, hugging me back.
Jim leaves after making his rounds to say goodbye to everyone. Things are slowed down, and after we talk to Alice and Jasper, we head for home. I even agreed to grab pans from Alice and Jasper's house for their own dishes of lasagna and manicotti.
Rose and Emmett go home, and after I grab the pans, Edward and I make our way into the kitchen.
After washing up, I start on making a big batch of pasta dough. I know I will need at least four batches, so I pull out both of my kitchen aid mixers.
"I didn't know you had two of them," Edward says.
"Yeah, the older one, my dad got me, and I use it mainly in times like this where I know I need to make big batches of pasta. I also use it when I am making a bunch of cookies."
"Why did you get a new one, it seems to work well?"
"It does work fine, and I take good care of it, but I got the new one because they had a deal on it and it came with all of the extra attachments for dough and grinding."
"Well, you are an amazing cook, so I can see needing more than one."
"It comes in handy in times like this. Can you start cracking eggs into those bowls for me?"
"Eggs I can crack," Edward jokes after he drops one on the floor.
I grab a paper towel, pick it up, and give Edward a raised brow.
"Sorry," he smiles.
"It's all good," I tell him with a laugh.
After two hours, I have four batches of pasta dough resting, and the first batch ready to roll. I have a big pan full of the meat and sauce for the lasagna. Separate bowls of meat and mushroom mixtures cooling for the ravioli, and a three big bowls full of my ricotta mixture for the lasagna, manicotti, and ravioli. Edward is grating fresh cheeses for me, as I start to roll out the first batch of pasta sheets.
"How do you manage to get the pasta so thin that it seems like you can see through it?" Edward asks.
"A lot of rolling, adjusting the thickness, and making sure it is at the right consistency," I answer.
I lay the sheets down on the flour-dusted counter, and when the first batch is rolled out, I begin to cut the sheets into lasagna. I drop them in the boiling salted water, they don't take long and I pull them to cool in an ice bath, before starting another batch.
I had already greased my pans, so when the sheets are all cooked and cooling, I begin to layer the pasta and fillings. I have three big pans done in no time. I cover them and set one aside for Rose and Emmett and Alice and Jasper, the other bigger one goes into my fridge.
Then I roll out more pasta dough, get it cooked, and make three big pans of manicotti. Again, I cover them and split them the same way.
I check the temperature of the mushrooms, and the meat for the ravioli and find it is perfect. I roll out my pasta dough and lay the long thin sheets on the counter.
I begin putting down my fillings, and before you know it, I have all the mushroom and meat ravioli cut.
"Do you ever make tortellini?" Edward asks as I roll out the last batch of pasta dough for the cheese ravioli.
"I can make it, but I'd personally rather have ravioli, because it has more filling in it, and it is also more time-consuming to roll and fold them just the right way."
"Yeah, that makes sense. Are you putting together some containers for Jim?"
"Yeah, I have to finish cooking the stuff for Jim, so all he has to do is heat it. He prefers the ravioli like you do, so I will cook some in the morning and make him a few meal prep containers."
"Why are you waiting until tomorrow?" Edward asks.
"I have to make more sauces for them anyway. I will make the cream sauce for the mushroom, brown butter for the cheese, and the marinara for the meat."
"So, cooking again in the morning?" Edward asks.
"Yeah, but it will likely be done when you get up," I laugh.
It isn't long before, I have three big pans of stuffed ravioli put away, ready to boil.
"You make all of that look so easy," Edward says.
"You make a great sous chef," I say. "We did a lot in four hours, but now I need a break.
"I know we just went to the store, but what do you say we order supper, and chill out with a movie?" Edward asks.
"Sounds good to me, I already feel like I spent the day cooking," I laugh.
"That might have something to do with all the prepping you did," Edward laughs with me.
The movie is not even close to being done when I start dozing off on Edward's shoulder.
"Bella, go in and go to bed, I will turn off everything, and be right in," Edward says.
I nod sleepily and get up off the sofa. I make my way to the bedroom but decide I am too tired to shower. I use the bathroom, brush my teeth, and change into a clean tank and boy shorts.
As I enter the room, I see Edward grabbing some clean boxer briefs.
"I'm showering in the morning," I tell him.
"I'm going to clean my leg, and put more cream on it, and I will join you."
I lie down and start dozing back off almost right away. I feel the bed move and cuddle next to Edward before completely submitting to sleep.
I wake when the sun is rising, and stretch before making my way to the bathroom to shower. After doing my morning routine, I head to the kitchen and grab my pots to make my sauces. Once I have the sauces done, I start boiling my ravioli. I get several individual dishes done and three big pans, one of each flavor cooked off. I jar up the rest of my sauces, so we can use them later. I am just heading back to see if Edward is awake when I hear his cell phone ring.
"Hello," Edward answers as I enter the bedroom.
I don't say anything to him, because I can hear talking on the other side of the call. I open my dresser to get clean clothes since I got sauce on my shirt.
"What?" Edward says in a raised voice.
I turn to look at him and he is looking at me with his eyes wide open and a look of complete surprise.
I go to him and touch his hand.
"What's going on?" I ask quietly.
"Just a minute," Edward tells the person on the phone. He puts the call on speaker. "Can you please start over, from the beginning, my girlfriend Bella is here with me now, and I want her to hear this."
"Yeah, this is Paul Roberts from the Chicago office of the FBI, we met several weeks back. We are going to need you to come to the office here in Chicago. During interrogations with several people, and confirmation from Irina Diavol we need to inform you that your daughter is safe and currently with the State of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services."
"What daughter?" Edward asks.
"The child was living in the Diavol home with Irina, and we were under the impression that she was the child of Luka and Irina Diavol, but during the interrogation with Irina Diavol after she found out Kate was in fact dead, she told us the true identity of the child. Kate gave birth to the child about five months after you enlisted, and Irina was raising her. According to Irina Diavol, no one but her, Luka, Tanya, and Kate knew of the child's birth. Since you are the claimed biological father of a child, we need you to come here and submit DNA. We will decide from there, what is the best course of action."
Edward is just sitting there, so I speak. "I will book a flight and get you the information. We need to make some calls; can we reach you on the number you called from?"
"Yes, sorry for the shocking news, I will text you both the contact information once we hang up," Paul says.
"Okay, thanks, bye," I say, ending the call.
"Edward, are you okay?"
He looks up at me and has tears in his eyes. I wrap my arms around him and hold him close. "It's going to be okay," I whisper.
I hold Edward for a few minutes, before leaning back to look at him. I dry his tears and smile. "Let's get plane tickets figured out, call your parents, call Diego, and let everyone here know what's going on. If we conquer and divide, we will get more done, so what do you want to do first?"
I call our family and friends, while Edward calls his parents. Alice assures me that we are good to go and she will book our flights and call us back within half an hour. Rose calls Aro and using his connections, we will have an attorney when we arrive in Chicago. I grab a suitcase, and pack clothes for both of us, from the dresser in my room.
"Can you go downstairs and grab the suit that is in the closet for me?" Edward asks, before going into the bathroom to shower. I go downstairs and grab his suit, and then go back upstairs and get myself a nice business suit from my closet too.
My cell rings right as Edward is coming out of the bathroom, and I see it is Alice so I put it on speaker.
"Hey, Ali," I say.
"Okay, I got you and Edward booked in business class leaving SeaTac in three hours. You will arrive in Chicago at O'Hare around eight tonight, their time. I talked to Carlisle; he is picking you guys up from the airport. Edward will need to give a DNA sample at Northwestern after you guys arrive. The attorney Aro called will be meeting you at the Cullen residence first thing in the morning and test results are being rushed so he should have them when he arrives."
"Thanks, Alice," Edward says.
"No worries, we got you and Bells covered. You guys go and take care of things in Chicago and come back home soon."
"We will," I say but reach out my hand for Edward's and give him a smile.
"Thanks again, Alice," Edward says as he pulls me to him.
I wrap my arms around his middle and he hugs me close to him.
"Everything will be okay, Edward."
"Only because you are with me," he replies.
A/N: Welp ... see what I mean about my mind taking me places that I wasn't expecting. What do you think will happen when they get to Chicago? I look forward to reading your thoughts, so please share them with me. I am still unsure where my mind is taking me on this journey, and as I said above I am working on the next chapter now. Thanks, Kasi