It don't make sense but nevertheless
You gotta believe us, it's all for the best
It don't make sense, it don't add up
But we'll always love you no matter what

Sometimes moms and dads fall out of love
Sometimes two homes are better than one
Some things you can't tell your sister 'cause she's still too young
Yeah you'll understand
When you love someone

-When You Love Someone, James TW

Chapter 6

Edward POV

The last time I was in this living room was only ten or fifteen minutes ago but it feels like a whole lifetime ago now. Just a short while ago, I was struggling to find a shred of hope – but now my heart is full of it. Clearly, there's a lot that Bella and I need to talk about but, for now, just knowing that she's here, on the right side of the country, is enough.

As I walk back into the living room with the two bags of presents, I'm met by an entire room of curious eyes. I hold out the bags. "Surprise!"

Sophie jumps up with glee. "There were presents outside! Oh my gosh, Daddy, you're so clever!"

Freddie rushes over, too. "Presents!"

I hand over the bags and grin at the two of them but my grin subsides when I look up and see Alice's suspicious gaze. She comes to my side. "Presents?" she asks quietly. "That's your surprise?"

"Uh, yeah. They were upstairs." I decide to add an element of truth to make my story credible so I lean closer and whisper, "They're from Bella."

"Who was at the door?"

"No one." Come on, brain, help me out. "Just a neighbour. She wanted to wish the twins a happy birthday."

"Didn't you invite her in?"

"Oh no, she couldn't."

Alice raises one brow at me and I feel the full force of the bitch brow. "Really? So she came round to say happy birthday though she knew she couldn't stay long enough to pass on the message in person?"

"Well…" Dammit Alice. "Yeah. She's got a… sick… husband. He's in the hospital, she had to go there to visit him and thought she'd pop by on her way."

Alice looks like she wants to laugh at me. "Sure, brother." She smirks at me instead. "I'm so on to you." Then she walks away back to Jasper, cooing at Noah as she takes him back into her arms.

I can't help but think that Alice isn't really on to me at all. Partly because I barely believe it myself and partly because she wouldn't be so damn happy if she knew the truth of what just happened outside.

I glance around the room to see that most of my family have turned their attention back to the twins who have started their next session of unwrapping. Everyone except for my father, who is watching me pensively. When I catch his eye, he smiles at me and raises an eyebrow in question.

I nod, silently telling him that I'm fine but inside I'm wondering how much he's deducing. My father is a smart man, after all.

Suddenly, Sophie shrieks loudly from the floor. "Oh my gosh! Look, Daddy, a puppy!"

A delighted gasp follows shortly after from beside her. "Daddy!" Freddie yells and I'm not sure I've ever heard the quieter twin shout so loud.

I go over and crouch down beside them to look at their new gifts.

Freddie turns to me and there's a bright light in his eyes as he holds a piece of cloth at me. "It's my t-shirt," he shouts.

"What?" I unfold the little t-shirt and, sure enough, it's an exact duplicate of the replica cop uniform that Freddie won't ever take off.

"My p'lice t-shirt!" Freddie finds this endlessly hilarious as he shows everyone that he's wearing the t-shirt that he just unwrapped. Then, he takes it back off me and pulls it over his head. It's a size bigger, the new shirt, and a little too big but I know that he'll grow into it.

I turn to Sophie to see her holding a boxed cuddly toy. "What's that, Soph?" I ask.

"It's a puppy, Daddy!"

"Oh, wow!" I enthuse. "Do you need some help getting the box open?"

"Yes, please," she says politely and I go to the kitchen to fetch some scissors. I can't wipe the smile off my face; maybe Bella knows these kids better than I thought.

When I return to the lounge to cut the plastic ties on the toy dog, Sophie puts her arms right the way around my neck. "Thank you, Daddy," she whispers in my ear.

I hug her back. "Thank you for being so polite, Soph, but these aren't from me," I say quietly. I glance over my shoulder to see that Rose and Alice are chatting quietly amongst themselves while my parents are gushing over Freddie's new shirt. Jasper, Emmett and Ethan have, surprisingly, left the toy police car in favour of the doll house and Emmett is performing a fist fight in the bathroom between the two child dolls, much to Ethan, Elodie and Olivia's delight.

"Oh," Sophie says, a little put out. "Are they from Santa?"

I laugh a little. "No, honey. They're from Mommy."

Her dark eyes widen a little and I feel my heart swell, remembering the identical pair I'd just come face to face with on the porch. Then, Sophie's brow furrows a little. "Mommy sent presents for our birthday?" she asks.

"Of course she did. She loves you and Freddie – and Ethan – very much. She wouldn't forget your birthday."

Sophie beams at me. "Well, then I love Mommy."

And it really is that simple in her world. One good birthday present and she's won over. I only wish it could be that easy for me to sort out my complex emotions.

The rest of the evening goes down a treat. Charlie arrives at seven thirty with an armful of pizzas for dinner and, of course, more gifts for my incredibly spoilt children. The kids have a blast playing with all the new toys and the adults drink entirely too much wine. Our guests eventually leave just after ten o'clock and I hurry the children to bed. They are too tired to put up much of a fight and so I've tucked the twins in and am going to say goodnight to Ethan in next to no time. He's put himself into bed already and is sitting up with a book in hand.

"You alright, Ethan?" I come and sit beside him on the bed, ruffling his rust-coloured hair.

He gently pushes me away, rolling his eyes. "Yeah," he says.

"Did you have a good evening?"

"Yeah, it was okay. Elodie and Livvy are kind of annoying."

"You do a good job of looking after them all, though. I know Olivia is particularly taken with you. You gonna help me out with all the little kids at the party tomorrow?"

"Do I have a choice?" he quips with a cheeky grin.

"I suppose not."

"Yeah, I'll help. I want to play the piñata."

"How do you know about the piñata?"

He laughs. "Alice told me."

"Of course she did."

Suddenly Ethan's smile falls and his eyes narrow suspiciously. "Did you ask her to talk to me?"

I decide to play the innocent game. "What do you mean?"

"Aunt Alice. She was all asking me questions and saying that if I'm angry or upset at Mom then that's okay…"

"She said that?"

Ethan frowns. "Yeah. I kinda thought that you wanted her to say that. Because you keep trying to talk to me about it. About her."

"I didn't ask her to say that," I tell him honestly. There's a pause and then I ask, "Are you angry or upset?"

Ethan just shrugs. "I don't know." He hesitates and then says, "I don't think about Mom all that much. Is that bad?"

I reach out and pat his knee. "No, not bad. She's not here, you don't have to think about her all the time."

"I do think about her sometimes," he admits quietly.

"That's okay, too," I say. "I think about her a lot."

"I know." There's another long pause. Then, "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you and Mom gonna get divorced?"

It's a question I sometimes ask myself so I know I can't give him an outright no, despite the new and delicate feeling of hope in my chest. "What makes you think that?"

"Seth, my friend… his mom and dad lived in different houses for all of third grade and now they're getting divorced. He's gonna have to go and live with his dad at weekends but he doesn't really like his dad." Ethan frowns. "I don't really want to go and live with Mom at the weekends. I like it here with you."

I squeeze my eyes shut and struggle to find the words to explain something I don't understand myself. Eventually I sigh. "Your mom… she loves you all so much – and me – but she can't be here right now. Maybe… maybe she'll come back soon. Maybe sooner than you think."

"But I won't have to go away from you will I, Dad?" he asks quietly and his voice quivers a little.

"Never," I promise him and there's an intensity in my voice that scares me slightly. This time I reach out and pull him into a hug. "Ethan, you will never have to leave if that's not what you want. I love you and I will never leave you, Sophie or Freddie. Never, ever."

He nods against my chest and I feel him relax slightly. "Okay. I love you, too, Dad."

We hug for a couple of minutes and I wonder whether this is what's been bothering him. I'm glad Alice spoke to him; even if she said all the wrong things, at least she's sent him back into my arms.

Once I've said goodnight to Ethan and tidied up downstairs, I head to bed myself, keen to get as much sleep as I can before the hectic day ahead of me tomorrow. But when I'm in bed, I find that there's something I want to do more than sleep.

I pick up my phone from the dresser beside me and go to my recent calls, hitting send on the name that has my heart racing before the ringing even starts.

It rings for a while and I begin to feel disheartened, thinking that she's not going to answer. Then: "'Ello?" she answers and her voice is thick and groggy.

"I'm so sorry, did I wake you?" I whisper into the phone. "I'll let you go back to sleep. Sorry."

"No!" Her voice is a little clearer now and I find myself smiling at the sound of her voice. "No, it's fine. I'm up now."

I lie back on my pillows and grin at the ceiling. "You answered," I say, stupidly.

"Well… yeah." She's quiet for a moment and then she says, "I guess I don't want to hide anymore."

"I'm so fucking glad to hear that."

"Language, Mr Cullen," she scolds with a laugh.

"I miss you, Mrs Cullen," I respond, ignoring her admonishment.

"I miss you, too. Um… thank you for opening the door again."

"Thank you for being on the other side."

Suddenly, I can hear a smile in her voice. "Thank you for kissing me."

I laugh and it's a real laugh and it feels so good. "Thank you for kissing me back."

"Edward?" she says and she's serious again now. "Truly, thank you for everything."

"Well… you're welcome, I guess."

She pauses and when she speaks again her voice is quiet and nervous. "Did… did they like their birthday presents?"

"God, Bella, they loved them. How did you know about the t-shirt?"

I hear her breathe a sigh of relief. "I remembered…" she says slowly, "I knew that Ethan used to have one just like it so I figured it was only fair that Freddie had one too."

"He already has one," I tell her with a smile. "He has Ethan's."

"Oh no, I'm so sorry," she says hurriedly and I can hear the genuine hurt in her voice.

"No, no! That's not what I meant. He wears Ethan's but he never takes it off. He won't wear anything else. It's amazing to have another one because now he won't have to smell all the time."

Bella laughs then and it's a sound I've missed. "Oh, well… good."

There's a question I want to ask her but, also, I don't want to ask her. I steel myself, ready for the worst response, and then I man-up and ask, "Bella… where are you?"

"I'm still here," she says softly. "In Forks."

I exhale heavily. "Good." I pause and then add, "Where are you staying?"

"The motel."

"Oh. Okay." I feel relieved and I can't quite put my finger on why. Relieved that she's still here, sure, but there's something else. Am I relieved that she's alone? "Is it nice?"

"Yeah," she says but she sounds disappointed. "It's not as bad as we always thought it would be. It's basic but, you know, clean. The bed's alright."

"Good, good," I say and then I'm at a loss for words. It's an odd conversation, so personal and so formal at the same time. I know we're only talking about the quality of her motel to avoid talking about anything more substantial but I don't care; it's nice to talk to her at all. But I do need answers. If not for me then for Ethan. And for Sophie and Freddie, too. "Are you free on Monday?" I ask though I'm almost certain she will be.

"Of course," she says, sounding a little startled. "Edward, I'm always free for you."

"That's not how it's felt for the last three months," I reply icily. "Hell, the last three years!" I didn't mean for it to come out like that but I can't help it. I take a breath and calm my wild emotions. I automatically want to apologise but I refrain. I'm not the one in the wrong here.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers.

"I know." I sigh. "Look, I think you're right. We need to talk. Alone."

"We do. What time on Monday?"

"I don't know… ten o'clock?" I want to suggest meeting at a café or somewhere a bit more neutral than the home we used to share but I know Forks and I know that if anyone recognises Bella, it won't take long for the gossip to spread. So I add, "Um… you can come here."

"Okay," she murmurs.

"Okay." Here would be the perfect place to end the conversation but I don't want it to end. But I also don't want to talk about anything that's going to upset both of us. So, instead, I say, "You know Sophie has named her puppy Cookie."

Bella chuckles through the phone. "Does she really like it?"

"Of course she does. It's the closest thing she's going to get to a real puppy anytime soon."

"She still wants a pet, huh?"

"Most definitely." I launch into a story about when Sophie had recently brought her pet slug, Slimy, into bed with her so that it didn't get lonely. Of course, this ended in disaster when Slimy 'escaped' and ended up squished between Ethan's toes the next morning.

Bella's laughing hysterically by the time I finish telling the story. Her laughter warms my heart and I'm spurred on to tell her more stories about the kids being kids. The last thing I remember before I slip off to sleep is her hiccupping down the line, caught between giggling at my stories and crying about how much she misses us.

I'm awoken the next morning by someone intrusively tapping me on my forehead. My eyes open wearily and I look over. Ethan's standing beside me and he's holding the landline phone out to me. "It's MayMay," he says. "She wants to know when you're getting to the party hall."

I look over at the clock and see that it's ten o'clock. I gasp and sit up so fast I get a head rush. How have I slept so late? I take the phone from Ethan and thank him before holding it to my face, "Mom?"

She laughs lightly. "Edward, hi. Ethan said you're still in bed?"

I groan. "Yeah, I don't know what happened! My alarm must have not gone off. God, I've got so much to do…"

"Edward, don't you worry one bit. I'll be right over. I'm glad you got some sleep and the kids didn't wake you."

Oh, God. The kids… What on earth are they doing if not waking me up? "Sure, great, okay. Thanks, Mom!" I say and then hang up. I look at my dresser, searching frantically for my cell phone and then I catch sight of it on the bed beside me and groan again. Of course. I must have fallen asleep talking to Bella and forgotten to plug it in to charge. The stupid thing's died on me – that's why my alarm never sounded.

I get out of bed and hurry downstairs, sure that the kids must be up to something really naughty if they've been occupied this long without waking me. I go into the living room, half expecting a small fire to be raging. But there's nothing. Everything seems fine.

The TV's blaring out 'Let It Go' and all three kids are sitting by the new doll house, playing an elaborate pretend game. Sophie's wearing her new Frozen dressing gown and the new slippers she got from Alice and Jasper. Freddie's back in his favourite t-shirt and nothing else. There are three paper plates on the floor with a brown mush on them.

"Uh… morning," I say and three pairs of eyes turn to me.

"Daddy!" Sophie says excitedly. "Ethan let us have chocolate birthday cake for breakfast!"

"Oh, did he?" I say, raising an eyebrow at Ethan.

Ethan squirms under my gaze. "I didn't want to wake you up, Dad. You were tired."

I smile at him, feeling a surge of love and pride for my eldest son. Not many nine-year-olds would be so considerate. "Thank you. I suppose cake for breakfast is okay just this once."

Ethan grins back. "I'll remember that on my birthday," he says cheekily.

I sigh and shake my head but I can't find it in me to be mad at him. "Right. Everyone go and get dressed, MayMay's going to be here soon to help us get ready for the party."

"You too, Daddy," Freddie says with a giggle, pointing at my pyjamas.

"Yes, me too, Fred. Come on."

A few hours later, we're all dressed in our best party outfits, have eaten something more substantial than chocolate cake and the car is fully packed with games and toys. Despite these small successes, we're still somehow running late.

My mom travels with us to the party and plans to pick up her car later that evening. She's quiet for the first part of the short drive but I can feel her eyes on me and I know she's watching me.

"What?" I say eventually, exasperated.

A smile creeps across my mom's lips. "Nothing."

"Mom. I know you're being all creepy and watching me and probably making some wrong assumption about something so just tell me now so that I can correct you and we can all go back to our lives as normal."

She glances into the back where the kids are taking it in turns to play Angry Birds on my iPhone. Then she turns back to me. "You're happy," she says simply.

"I'm always happy," I growl, a living, breathing oxymoron.

She laughs. "Oh, Edward, you do make me laugh." She's watching me again.

"Mom…" I start.

Finally, she comes out with it. "You spoke to your lovely wife last night, didn't you?"

I pretend to be paying very close attention to the road so that I don't have to look at her. My mother is the only member of my family who still reveres Bella almost as much as I do. She is the only one who has never doubted our relationship, even when my own faith has wobbled on occasion.

My silence seems to tell her more than any words could and she looks back out to the road smugly. "I knew it," she says quietly.

"I didn't answer," I hiss, not wanting to alert the children to the conversation.

"You don't need to; I'm your mother. How is she?"

I sigh. "She's fine." I'm not sure whether to say anything more. I'm not sure whether Bella's staying for good or if she's even going to show herself to anyone else. I don't know what her intentions are and I don't want the children getting more hurt and confused than they already are. So I just shrug and repeat myself. "She's fine."

"Good." Esme smiles sadly at me, sensing that I'm not going to elaborate, and that's the end of that.

It doesn't take us long to set up some games, especially after Rose and Emmett arrive early to help, and then the party's in full swing.

I recognise many of the kids that come as being in Sophie and Freddie's class at school and I'm glad that so many of their Pre-K friends are still with them. The parents are all friendly and chatty and they all stay, pouring plastic cups of juice and milk for their little darlings.

Alice turns up eventually and uses her 'organisational skills' to take charge of some of the party games. I often wonder why Alice didn't become a teacher because her leadership skills really are extraordinary. You could even call her bossy… and, quite often, I do.

I'm in the middle of getting Sophie a cup of water when she suddenly shrieks and abandons me to run to the door, her drink forgotten. I roll my eyes and look over to see what she's found so interesting. A glamorous, blonde lady I recognise from the school pick-up scene is coming in with a young boy by her side and a little girl runs in front of her to greet Sophie with a huge hug. I'm sure that they weren't invited so I go over to see what's going on.

The woman smiles at me as I approach. "Hi," she says, "you must be Sophie's dad. I really hoped we had the right place."

"Er… yep, I'm Edward." I hold my hand out to shake hers and give her a brief smile.

"It was such a good idea for you to have the kids draw their own invites, Charlotte simply loves hers. It's on the fridge at our house."

"Huh." I turn my gaze on my daughter who flushes bright red when she realises that she's been caught out inviting extra people to her party but I know that now isn't the time to tell her off and I don't want to embarrass this poor woman so I let it slide. "Thank you. I'm sorry but I didn't catch your name…?" I trail off and it's a tad awkward.

"Oh!" The woman laughs, showing off an impressive set of perfectly white teeth. "I'm Maria. This is Peter, my son. It is okay that I brought him, isn't it? Only I couldn't find a sitter for him at this late notice and my ex is just a nightmare with childcare." She waves her manicured hand dismissively.

"No, that's fine. My eldest is over there and my brother's daughters are a little older, too. Perhaps you'd like to all play together?" I ask, addressing the boy. He seems shy and is hiding a little behind his mom although he's clearly older than Charlotte, the twins and most of the other children here.

"Maybe…" Peter looks uncertain but after some coaxing from his mom he lopes away to make friends.

Maria turns back to me with a red-lipped smile. "This is a great party you've put on," she says, gesturing to the balloon-filled room and bouncy castle.

"Thanks," I say, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. "I had help, of course."

"Of course," she agrees. "Is Sophie's mom here? I haven't met her yet! Perhaps she'd like to join the PTA?"

"Uh… no," I reply, unsure how to react to her flurry of questions. "She's… not around right now."

Maria's face falls in shock. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean… I mean… I didn't know…"

"It's fine. Really, don't worry."

"Well… Edward, was it?"

"Yes."

"Perhaps you could join the PTA? We could always do with more dads like you." She gives me a wink that I'm sure she didn't mean to seem so flirty.

"Um… maybe," I hedge because I have no intention of joining the PTA; goodness knows I have enough to do at home.

"I'm so glad that Charlotte's found such a firm friend already and Sophie seems like a lovely girl," Maria says and she sounds entirely genuine in her compliment. "You'll have to come over for a playdate some time. I know Charlotte would love to have Sophie round to play and then perhaps we could get to know each other a little better, too?"

I look into her eyes and they are a crystal clear blue, framed by thick, dark lashes. "Sure," I say without really thinking about it. "I'd like that."

Her lips pull up into a beaming smile and she opens her mouth to say something else but, just then, a movement catches my attention from the corner of my eye and I look over to see the door swinging open and Charlie Swan coming in. His eyes search the room for a moment and then stop when they land on me. He is as white as a sheet and I think I might know why.

"Could you excuse me for a second, Maria? I'm sorry but I really have to go and… uh… deal with something." I point over to the kitchen hatch and add, "Please help yourself to coffee and there's juice and milk for the kids."

"Um… sure," she says, a bit bewildered by my abrupt end to our conversation, but I'm already walking away.

"Hi, Charlie," I greet my father-in-law nervously when I reach his side.

His dark eyes flicker to my face and he observes me mutely. Then, his gaze sweeps the room, checking that the party will be alright without us for a second, before he nods his head to the side, the universal gesture of 'get your ass out in that hallway now'. Based solely on the fact that he looks as though he's seen a ghost, I think I know what this is going to be about.

As soon as we're in the privacy of the hallway, he turns to me. "You knew she was coming?" he demands gruffly.

"No!" I say, shaking my head.

"But you know now?" he asks, somewhat quieter.

"I…" I hesitate, hoping that we're talking about the same thing. "You mean Bella?"

"What the fuck else would I mean?" he hisses. I've never heard Chief Swan swear before.

"Uh… I saw her but… Well… she came. To the house. Last night. I didn't know. It was a bit of a… well, it was a shock."

Charlie heaves a big sigh and leans against the wall for support.

"Did she come to see you?"

He nods. "Just now. This morning. Christ," he mutters. "I don't know what to think, Edward."

"That makes two of us."

"She's my daughter and I love her but… what is she thinking?"

"What did she say?" I ask, curious to know whether Bella has shared more with her father than she did with me.

"Not a lot," he admits. "Did she say anything to you?"

"She wants to talk to me. She wanted to come in and see the kids." I pause and then add, "I didn't let her. She wouldn't promise me that she'd stay."

"Oh, she's staying alright," Charlie says with force. "I won't let her leave those children again." He takes a breath and visibly tries to calm himself down, the colour slowly coming back into his face. "You did the right thing, Edward. The kids must always come first."

"They do," I assure him. "At least… to me, they do."

He looks at me sadly, the weight of my implication hanging heavily between us in the hallway.

"I'm sure she has a good excuse," Charlie says eventually but his uncertain tone doesn't echo his sentiment.

I don't have a chance to respond because the door opens then and Alice pops her head out. "What are you guys doing out here?" she asks but doesn't wait for a response. "It's time for the piñata!"

I grin at my sister. "We'll be right there."

After she's gone back to the party, I look over at Charlie and am surprised to see him looking away at the floor. "Charlie?" I ask and when he looks at me, his eyes are rimmed in red.

"I'm just so damn angry at that girl," he says in explanation and his voice is gruff. We both know he's not talking about Alice interrupting our conversation.

"I know," I reply, because I do. I know exactly how he feels. Fury and forgiveness, hatred and love all at the same time. I reach out and pat him solidly on the back. "Come on, Chief Swan. Let's go back to the party. The kids come first, right?"

He nods and takes a deep breath. "The kids come first."

I am so sorry for how long it took me to post this chapter! Real life has been totally cruel these past two weeks so thank you for being so patient!

Thank you again for all of your kind reviews, I'm so glad that you enjoyed the last chapter as much as I did. I know this chapter was a bit uneventful after the drama of the last few but I am so excited about the next few chapters, it's going to be good! Let's just say that I'm not going to keep you guys guessing about Bella's past for much longer… ;)

For those of you asking about length, I'm not planning on this being a super long story. Definitely not anywhere near as long as THWTLAL! At this stage, I anticipate around 20 chapters but we shall see – I sometimes get carried away.

Also, I know I'm really late to the game with this comment but – how awesome was the Super Bowl last weekend?! My husband and I stay up until 4am to watch every year and it was so worth the watch this time! Sorry, I know that's totally irrelevant… but it was pretty awesome.

Please let me know your thoughts! (Ideally about the chapter but I will also accept your comments on the Patriots' epic win…)

'Til next time,

Steph xo