Bella

Hi, Edward, I know it's better that we're friends, but I was hoping you would do me a favor and ask for my dad's blessing for a fake engagement.

There. That didn't sound so bad.

Bella stood on his doorstep, shaking her head. It sounded awful. Why on earth should Edward help her? Why should he even talk to her after the way they parted? She pressed the doorbell, listening to the chime as it rang out from the other side, and held her breath. There was a pause, and she almost pressed it again but when he opened it, Edward's brows drew together as he saw her there. His eyes bore into hers soulfully. His shoulders looked so broad and his arms so strong as she imagined them hugging her tight. His lips, so soft, though, curved downward.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Edward. I was hoping we could talk."

"We can talk right here. Nessie's away at camp. What do you need?"

"I…" She clamped her lips together, and the spicy scent of his cologne reached out to her. Edward opened his mouth, but then closed it and bowed his head. A moment later, he opened the door for her to pass through.

It was homey enough with white cabinets and bookshelves with so many pictures on the wall. Bella noticed the blonde in the photos though she hadn't had time to see her features. Renesmee's mom. Edward's wife…

"So, that's your…that's Renesmee's mom?"

"Her name was Rose."

Edward gestured for Bella to sit on the couch and took a seat on the recliner across from him. The room could have used a little lavender to diffuse the stale energy. It was going to take all the good vibes she could conjure right now. As he met her gaze, Bella couldn't believe she was really here. What the heck, Bella?!

Edward cleared his throat as she fumbled for what to say. Come on, throat chakra!?

"What do you need?" Here he was, cutting to the chase. No pleasantries to be had.

"I've been thinking a lot about you and Renesmee."

"And?"

"And…" she sighed. "Look, Edward, I'm just gonna come right out and say it…" She paused.

He chuckled.

"Something funny?" she asked.

"The verbose Bella Swan is at a loss for words."

She closed her eyes. "I need a favor."

"From me?"

Bella wrung her hands, but then caught herself, and placed them on her knees. "There was a little mix-up…with a photo on my phone…okay, I'm going to start again."

He tapped his foot. The way he was looking at her was making her a little flustered.

"Please do."

"My dad is dying, Edward."

His brows pulled together. "I'm sorry to hear that." The words, though, came out stiff, impatient.

"He's given up, doesn't want to try any treatment, and he agreed that if I brought my fiancé over to ask him for my hand in marriage…then he'll agree to try…because he wants to walk me down the aisle."

"Shouldn't be a problem."

She looked at him.

But then his lips pressed together. "Oh…you mean you don't have a boyfriend who will ask for your dad's blessing."

"That's… where you come in."

"Me?"

"I had our picture on my phone, and he saw it…and…" She couldn't bring herself to say it. But his silence told her she was going to have to say every..single…word.

"And?"

"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?"

"Why don't you just say what it is you want?"

"I want for you to pretend to be my fiancé and ask for my dad's blessing. There." It was killing her. She hated being at the mercy of anyone. Rarely had there been a time where there was a problem she couldn't solve herself, and certainly not an issue with someone who disliked her.

Edward crossed his arms and had the nerve to appear amused. "That's all?" She couldn't read anything else into his expression.

"That's all."

"Well, why not just ask me to go house shopping together…or start picking some baby names for our future child…"

"Edward…I realize this is a big ask. I wouldn't do this if I weren't desperate."

"So, let me guess: he assumed…or you led him to believe that we're engaged. Bella…tell me why…."

"I led him to believe it. That was so wrong, I know. But, I already told you why. My dad's dying."

"No…tell me why I should help you. After all that we've been through, why should I do anything for you?"

Uh…because she was a good person with a good heart?

"And why would you tell a lie like that?"

His response was perfectly rational, but she was on the defense. "I said I was desperate. Desperate enough to come to you. Look, Edward, my relationship with my dad has been strained for a long time, and I really wanted to make peace with him while he's still on this plane."

"I see. But that still doesn't tell me why you would expect me to help you. After everything."

She sighed and rose. "This was a mistake." But it wasn't. She was guided here. "I missed seeing you, Edward, and I miss your daughter so much. But you know, if you did this for me, it would just be a few hours of your time and then he would agree to chemo or be open to alternative remedies for curing his cancer. Then you'd never have to see me again." She even considered paying him, not that he needed money. But there was something else he wanted from her…

"Yeah. That was your choice. And, no. It's not a good idea. I'm very sorry about your dad, Bella, but I don't like the idea of lying, even if there was a chance for us."

"We won't post the video from the seminar…of you and Ness." She'd been holding onto it. It was still in editing…and she'd been holding off giving the final approval to post it because of Edward anyway.

His eyes widened. "You must be really desperate."

"I am. Please? I will keep my word." When the Swans made a promise, they followed through. If she wasn't convinced of Charlie's conviction she wouldn't even be here.

He exhaled a breath. "Okay. When?"

Bella jumped up and down, smiling and then hugged him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" But, when he didn't hug her back, she backed away. "Okay, sorry."

His arms stayed at his side, but she noticed something on his face, like she'd poked a teeny tiny dot in his resolve. "Well, I guess we have to pretend then…that we're engaged."

"It will be quick, okay?"

"So, okay then when he's cured, won't he be expecting to attend your wedding?"

"He'll expect that, sure. But people break up all the time. I won't ask anything else of you, Edward. That's it."

Edward

He wanted to say no and mean it. And he more than enjoyed watching Miss Bella Swan squirm. But he couldn't ignore how giddy she made him feel. How he'd been sitting at his laptop, unable to work, feeling sorry for himself all alone in the house, and then she seemed to turn up…perfect timing.

But this favor? Now, that was crazy. But he knew as soon as she asked it, he would agree, eventually. He just had to torture her a little first. As he sat in her electric car, inhaled that magical scent of jasmine she wore, and mused at the instrumental music on the stereo, he could no longer deny it. He still liked Bella. A lot. His head told him this was a bad idea but that magnetic quality she had was still present, making her into some sort of desirable element. He avoided her gaze and looked out the window at the cars on the freeway, imagining what Renesmee would think if she knew about this favor.

"I watched your video," he said.

"Which one?"

"Grief. The latest one." It was mostly out of curiosity to confirm that she hadn't included Edward. She gave tips about feeling your feelings and letting them be what they were, allowing yourself to crawl into that horrible space you often deny but letting it be. Not only that, grief was something that needed to be healed again and again. How many times since Rose died had he allowed himself to just break down? He shook his head now, just thinking about it. There were so many better, more productive things to be doing than just sitting around and crying all day.

"Oh?"

They had a 2-hour drive from this point, so this was all good. "I think that I've already expressed all I needed to."

"Did you? I mean, of course, I don't know. I wasn't there. But, are you trying to convince yourself?"

"Bella, you don't understand. I've been doing the best I can with Ness." His daughter was too sensitive—she needed her father to be strong.

"I do understand, and it looks like you've been doing an amazing job with her, but this isn't about your daughter."

He admired that she'd acknowledged that, sure she was not prone to false flattery, even if he was doing her this favor. "Look, I understand about expressing emotions and all that, but there's a time and a place…and…"

"Right. And did you take that time and place since you lost your wife and express them? What else have you done to move on, Edward?" She glanced at his ring finger, finding its place on his left hand, gold and shiny. He covered it with his other hand.

In his mind, the ring occupied its rightful place. He hadn't once been compelled to leave it behind. This represented the new normal he'd been thrust into, as much as he hated it. "I live, I work. I spend time with my daughter. What else do you want from me?"

"The question is: what else do you want for yourself? Do you want to move on?"

His eyes darted back and forth. "I thought that's what I was trying to do…on the ship…with you." The feelings had been there…he genuinely liked the way she felt in his arms. And he could argue all day long about how her beliefs may have misled others, but in the end, she had a good heart. Edward would've counted himself lucky if that heart wanted his.

Bella didn't have a retort for this, and his gaze went to the window again. Ouch. It was a rejection, again, and he had to remember why he was here…doing this.

"I'm sorry, Edward." Her hands remained tight on the steering wheel. It seemed there was a lot more to say, but she stayed quiet. "Listen, I want what everyone else wants. I don't want to share you with your dead wife."

Was that what he wanted? Or was that what the ring signified to her? What is it that he wanted? He'd never imagined getting into a new relationship. Rose was a once in a lifetime type of love. He knew he was lucky to have had her for the 10 years he had, thankful that he had that part of her in Nessie. Plus, Bella had just given him an admission of her own.

He removed the ring from his finger after watching the video, convinced he was fine, totally over it, it was like the recognition of the feelings, acknowledging that piece of his life was healing in itself. But seeing the flash of Rose's face appear in his mind's eye was too much to bear. He put it back on. There were so many layers…

"We don't have to talk about this, Bella."

"I wish I could help you, Edward. I really want to."

"I'm fine. We're fine." Ness and him were before she made an appearance in their lives, and though his ego was a little bruised, he'd be just as good without her.

They were quiet as the rest of the song played on the radio when she spoke again.

"So, do you like your job?"

Now, she was going after his job? "It's…okay, Bella."

"It's okay. It pays the bills. But, wouldn't it be better to do something you love?"

Something he loved? Composing.

"I have a confession. I was there in the lounge. It was very beautiful what you wrote."

She'd been there. He felt raw just then. As though she'd seen him naked, but not just the flesh but actually tore through the skin all the way to his soul. "Why did you do that?"

"Are you mad? I'm sorry. I just wanted to know more about you. And it was amazing. Blissful."

Edward wanted to be upset. He wanted to tell her it was an invasion of his privacy. That he didn't play for anyone…except for Rose. That the first composition had been dedicated to her. "You shouldn't have done that."

"I apologize again. I'm sorry I brought it up."

That was a very intimate time, and to know that she'd been there had been a personal affront to his being.

"I have an idea…you know a lot about me. Why don't we talk about something painful about you?"

She scrunched her nose. "Why does it have to be something painful?"

Because they were on uneven ground. He wanted something…anything to show that she was a vulnerable person, that she was human. "Ness told me you were divorced and had a miscarriage."

Her jaw clenched. "That's on my profile. Everybody knows that."

"Okay. Why?"

"Because I got married just out of high school, thought I knew everything, looked at life through rose-tinted glasses. But it was also because I got pregnant and thought that we would be the most amazing little family. That we would defy the odds, that I wouldn't end up like my mom, divorcing my dad."

"And you lost the baby."

"The baby was just a catalyst. It showed me that things would eventually turn bad for us. It hurt like hell. I cried every day for 2 years, so I understand grief very well. But I also had to let go of the part of me that I romanticized. The loving wife and mother…that I just wasn't ready for that. And neither was he."

"I'm sorry," he said. "That must have been difficult."

"Loss is always difficult but it's part of life. And I believe it's here to teach us more about ourselves, and what we are doing here, and who we're meant to be."

"Who we're meant to be?"

"Yes. We're all connected, Edward. Before we were born, we chose every lesson we came here to learn."

"See…I don't believe that. I think that was made up to make you feel better, but nothing is decided. Shit just happens."

"Well, that's a big difference between you and me. Personally, I'd prefer to think that I chose this because it's made me who I am. If I'd had the baby, I would've ended up divorced, unconscious, raising a child as a single parent. Probably struggling to make ends meet."

"But you would've been fine."

"I'm fine now. I take a lot of comfort in knowing that I can affect change…that my grief and other experiences can help others."

No matter how much she believed it, he still couldn't conceive of choosing this. Why would he? It had been too painful. This simply wasn't the way it was supposed to be. Rose and Edward were supposed to grow old together, have a son, send them to college, become grandparents…he was robbed. No, he didn't bring this upon himself. He refused to believe that.

"So, tell me then, oh wise one…what is my purpose here on this earth?"

"To share your gifts with the world. To become the best version of yourself."

"Oh, is that all?"

She smiled. "That's all."

"Oh well, I wish someone would've told me sooner," he laughed, shaking his head. "All this time…I've just been trying to get by…"

"You can make fun…but that's how I believe. Obviously, you don't, and it's fine. Whatever suits you. But I'm not going to make you wrong for it."

"Isn't that what your videos are about?"

She turned to him. "I don't know what videos you saw, Edward, but I think you missed the point. I'm trying to help people to become that best version. But nobody gets there without doing a lot of healing work on themselves. Everybody has something that needs healing. That's why my videos are so well-received."

"Yeah, well, what makes you the authority?"

"We're all connected, Edward. I'm not telling you or anybody anything you don't already know."

"I don't know any of this that you're talking about."

"Correction: you don't remember it."

He sighed as she continued to tell him that they came to Earth, forgetting how they were unlimited beings, who chose to come here, but they had to have their memories wiped, in order to experience more of themselves. It still sounded like a lot of Sci-fi New Agey mumbo jumbo, but if she believed this way, what did it really hurt?

When they arrived in Forks, he considered Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle. It really was a small world.

"So, Carlisle didn't have any therapies to suggest?"

"Charlie refused to consider it. He's been a heavy drinker all his life, he's lonely, miserable. Doesn't really have a reason to live."

"And so, why don't you share all your nuggets of wisdom with him?"

"Because he has to want it for himself. No one who doesn't truly want to be will be healed. So, all I'm doing is giving him a reason to live."

They stood at her father's doorstep, and Bella took his hand in his, and the buzz charged through him as their palms made contact. "You ready?" she asked.

Edward nodded and squeezed her hand, but he recalled the ring was still on his finger. She hadn't asked him to remove it, but it didn't make sense for him to have a ring on his finger when she didn't. He took it off and slid the band into his pocket. When he met Charlie Swan, he couldn't believe that he was only in his fifties. Deep wrinkles creased his forehead and mouth and deep bags circled underneath his eyes. Edward recognized that sort of reaching, pulling vulnerability Bella had in her father's expression. His gray hair and slumped posture made him look well beyond his years.

"Dad, this is Edward, my fiancé."

"So you're Bella's man?"

Edward extended his hand to him to shake. "I'm Edward Masen. Nice to meet you, Sir."

"You've got a lot of nerve, now don't ya?"

Edward looked at Bella…and she shook her head. "But, Dad, I told you…"

His gruff expression fell into a smile. "Come on in, Lover boy. You want my daughter's hand, we gotta talk."

Oh boy. She'd coached him a bit on what to say as to not invite too many more questions, but, Edward did not feel prepared for this.

A/N: Thanks to EdwardsFirstKiss for all her help with this chapter—I so appreciate her! Thanks to you all for reading, and many, many thanks to the reviewers and followers. Now, do you think Edward will win over Charlie?