Good morning all! What am I doing up at 4:00a.m. on a Sunday? I don't know. I'm crazy, but luckily, I can take a nap later. I hope you all had a great week, if not, then hopefully this makes things a little better. Enjoy!

P.S. So, in a previous chapter, several people mentioned that something about Edward's car after his and Bella's date when he was swept away on business. Welllll to put it simply, I completely forgot! It's a tendency of mine. I will write as much as I can in one sitting, but sometimes I have to leave and come back to it. That's how I operate. So, unfortunately, I do forget little details such as that.

Chapter Thirty-Three

I met Edward right before dinner, and I had skipped lunch, so I was starving at this point. Bordering on the line of hangry. Of course, Edward was a great sport about my anger. He was great about a lot of stuff.

"Thank god," I said, my stomach wheezing. "Can we grab a burger before we see your—, are you okay?"

His eyes seemed darker, and his face seemed very gaunt. It was his usual peppy self which caused a wave of concern to wash over me. He looked much older and darker. I didn't like this new, somewhat defeated, and angry look.

"Yeah." He said gruffly.

"You don't look fine," I said. "What's wrong, seriously? Don't bullshit me."

He sighed heavily. "It's really stupid, so I just want to drop it."

"Edward, if it's upsetting you, it's not stupid. Please tell me. Maybe I can help."

"There was a board meeting today. All of the big suits were there. My father's colleagues, his friends… and all of them wouldn't shut up about me just getting out of prison and still being a kid, not married, no—Fuck!" He slammed his fist against the steering wheel.

I jumped in my seat, staring at him with wide eyes. I'd never seen such an angry reaction from him, it was terrifying. I used to think my dad had a wicked temper, but that was only fishing and only when a fish stole his bait. And the only thing he ever did was curse. He never hit anything.

"I'm sorry." Edward bit out before exhaling. "I'm sorry. I'm just… fuck I'm just so pissed."

"I s-see." I said, trying my best not to stutter in fear. "I mean, maybe you just—,"

He reached over and squeezed my hand gently before looking at me.

"I'm sorry. I should snap at you. I just hate not being able to do anything. Or say anything. I'd love to out all of those assholes to their wives. 'Course, their wives are so fucking drugged up with pain killers and vodka they probably wouldn't remember."

"And these are your dad's associates?"

"Yeah. I've known them my entire life, pretty much." He let out a sigh. "That's why they razz me. They've known me for so long they think it's okay."

I smiled softly at him. "Well, it's not okay."

He looked over and smiled at me. "Thanks. Sorry for acting like a dick."

I waved my hand dismissively. "It's cool. I get it."

"My mom's bringing dinner tonight. She should be headed to the hospital now."

"Perfect. I'm starved!"

"And uh, my grandmother will be there," He said as he took off. "I asked her to behave. And if she can't then I told her just to not talk to you."

I laughed, "Man, I'm causing a lot of problems, huh?"

"No, not at all." He chuckled. "We'll keep things civil. We're used to having to do that with certain family members. My grandmother has quite the reputation with my mother's family. My aunts hate her and they're loud and not afraid to let her know."

"I'm surprised she still runs her mouth then."

"Yeah but they've never punched her." He said, side eyeing me with a grin. I rolled my eyes and settled down into the seat.

Hospital

"Is it weird that I feel nervous?" I said as I smoothed my blouse out. I was still wearing my usual jeans, but my shirt was a little nicer. It was a light blue button up, not over the top but it did take me out of the realm of homely.

"You look fine." Edward said as he grabbed my hand. "Don't be nervous. It's just my family. You've seen them a million times now."

"I know, but before you and I were just friends…"

"And now?" He asked, looking over at me with a hopeful smile.

I blushed. "I guess you're my b-boyfriend now… if you want to be."

His smile widened. "Hey, I'm the one who mentioned the idea to your dad, so, you know I'm on board."

"Okay," I said, smiling a little. "You know, I've never had a boyfriend."

"Yeah, I figured."

My smiled dropped and I gave him a look. His eyes widened when he realized why I was looking at him with such a sour face.

"Not like that! No, you're freaking awesome, I just meant you're very focused on your goals and don't have much time for a boyfriend. The only reason I passed the finish line is because I bugged the hell out of you for almost three months."

I started smiling again. "Okay, I'll accept that. Thanks."

"Phew, almost started our first fight."

"We've fought plenty of times."

"Yeah, but now our fights aren't flirty. They're relationship fights and those are never fun."

"Well, our fights can still be flirty. Only now you have to buy me food so that I can forgive you."

He laughed. "Oh really? And how do you know you won't be the cause of our fight?"

"My dad told me that a woman never starts a fight and should never have to apologize for one. That's the man's responsibility. He thinks men should buy the woman flowers, but I prefer food."

He laughed even harder. "Now I know where your confidence comes from. You're a daddy's girl. Now I know I'll never be good enough."

"No you're not, but I still like you anyways," I grinned, pressing my shoulder into him.

He let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Thank you so much. I'm glad I have the honor of being your boyfriend."

"It is an honor. You're very lucky" I said teasingly.

He let out a chuckle and placed his other hand on my cheek to pull me in for a kiss. I raised onto my toes and placed both my hands on his chest. After a moment, I was clearly flustered.

"We should go in now," Edward whispered. "Before my parent's come out and see you groping me."

I giggled. "Alright fine. Let's go in."

We walked into Carlisle's room without knocking, against my wishes. I wanted him to knock in case he was doing something private, but Edward didn't seem to care. I guess when you're a part of a big family, privacy really isn't an option.

"Hey old man," Edward said as we walked into the room.

Carlisle made a face at Edward, but it was Esme I happened to focus on. Her eyes lit up when she saw me and Edward holding hands. Mrs. Cullen however, made an almost ugly sneer.

"Ha, ha." Carlisle said as he adjusted himself. "I can't believe Bella brought you here. I was hoping she'd leave you behind." He chuckled as he winked at me.

Emmett jumped up and clapped Edward on the back. "Nice to see you." Emmett seemed happier than usual.

"What's up with you?" Edward asked as he pulled a chair up to the bed and whispered for me to sit.

"We just learned the sex of our baby," Rosalie beamed as she rubbed her belly. "So, he's really excited."

"Oh yeah?" Edward grinned as he sat in the chair beside me. "And what are we welcoming to the family?"

"It's a secret," Rosalie said quickly. "We're having a reveal party on the Halloween party."

"Bella, are you coming to the Halloween party?" Alice asked. "Please tell me you're coming; it's going to be so much fun."

"We're still having it?" Edward asked. "I thought, you know, with dad—,"

"I'm well enough to party," Carlisle said. "We host the Halloween party every year. It's tradition."

"And all of the plans are set," Esme said as she pulled out a large, shoulder cooler. "I hope you're all hungry for a very healthy meal. Your father has a new diet plan, and everyone is following it for family dinners."

Carlisle looked at me and whispered. "Help."

I giggled, "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine. To be honest, I'm ready to get out of here."

"Have they started you on fibrinogen?"

"Yes. It makes me tired as all get out though. And now coffee can only be decaf, I don't know how I can survive."

"Well, the caffeine is only temporary. Until they sort everything out, so have hope. You may be allowed to have a reduced daily caffeine intake."

He chuckled. "I love your optimism."

I looked over to see Esme walking towards Carlisle with his plate. I got to my feet and pulled his bedside table over his lap and then clipping it into place, so it didn't move.

"Here you go, dear." She said as she placed it in front of him.

"It looks delicious honeybun," Carlisle said with a wink.

"Ew," Edward and Alice said in unison.

"Oh you two hush," Esme chastised as she served the rest of the plates. "You should be happy your parents are still madly in love. Most parents in our circle hate each other."

"Yeah, but I don't want to get a call from the hospital about you two," Edward said as Esme gave him a plate. "Now that I'm in charge, I don't want you two embarrassing me with your extra curriculars."

"Do we need to bring up the strip club incident? In front of Bella?" Carlisle asked Edward. "Do you want me to embarrass you in front of your girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend!" Alice, Rosalie, and Esme gasped. Mrs. Cullen said nothing, she just stared at Edward with a horrified expression.

I blushed. "Uh, yeah, how did—,"

"Edward told me yesterday," Carlisle said as he cut into his chicken.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Esme asked Carlisle. "You tell me everything."

"We've just declared it," I said quickly, my face now burning with embarrassment. "It's very, very new."

"Okay, well then we definitely have to coordinate Halloween costumes now that you're Edward's girlfriend." Alice said. "So, we're dressing up like princesses—,"

"Bella, don't let her bully you like she's bullied us," Rosalie smiled, "I wanted to dress up as Bonnie and Clyde, but Alice is forcing us to dress up as princesses with their princes for some reason."

"It's not me, I'm just the messenger." She said, giving a pointed look at Jasper.

"Hey, don't blame it on me. I just asked which Disney couple we were dressing up as and you took it upon yourself to make everyone else dress up the same." Jasper quickly said before giving me a quick, discreet look.

My eyebrows raised as I realized why he was giving me that look. I did my best to control my smile.

"That's because you've never shown an interest before! So, it must be for some special reason."

"I guess dressing up like a princess would be fun," I said.

Edward snapped his head at me. "Really? You want to dress up like a Disney princess?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that? Am I not princess material?"

"No, no you are. But I remember you specifically telling me how much you hate the Disney princess thing. So, I'm surprised you're on board," He leaned closer and whispered. "I honestly thought you'd want to be a demon or something with how cheeky you are."

I playfully smacked his arm. "Shut up. Now, I'm going to be Belle and you can be the beast 'cause you run your mouth so much."

He laughed, "Fine but I clearly remember you stating how much you hated that girly stuff when you were younger."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, we're dress up so suck it up."

Esme finally sat down with her plate just as everyone. Esme had cooked grilled salmon, broccoli, and cut sweet potatoes. It looked pretty good, though I would've killed for a burger, but this food was for Carlisle, and I wouldn't be rude to Esme.

Mrs. Cullen scoffed after taking a bite, "Esme this salmon—."

She stopped short when her eyes glanced as me. She stared at me for a moment before biting a piece of potato. I realized that she had stopped running her mouth because the last time she did, I punched her. I smiled to myself, knowing that I was the one who made this old crone keep her mouth shut.