AN: Is anyone still with me? Thanks for sticking with me guys; I know I have totally sucked at updating. ; ) But, I think this is the longest chapter yet!

Chapter Thirty-Six: Before He Cheats

BPOV

Our time with Tanya and the kids passed quickly. We used up all of Edward's days off by taking the kids to The Children's Museum, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle Bug Safari, Fun Forest Amusement Park, and every park close to the house.

I absolutely loved watching Edward with the kids. He was always so patient and loving, proving true my thoughts about him making an excellent father. I would catch him smiling goofily at me when I would interact with the one of the children.

Edward was currently at work, and Tanya and I were setting up a board game with Jane while Alec took a nap. We were going to play Scooby-Doo Monopoly. Jane evidently loved watching the show.

"I want to be Daphne!" she exclaimed loudly, grasping her piece tightly in her small hand.

"I'll be-" Tanya started, only to be interrupted by a small voice telling her that she had to be Fred. She agreed happily, and there were no objections to my being Shaggy. He was always my favorite.

We were about thirty minutes into our game when Tanya's cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID, smiling brightly at what she saw.

"Hi Laurent," she said happily, Jane perking up beside her at her father's name. Her face was clouded by confusion momentarily before she looked up at me with teary eyes.

"Jane, sweetie, why don't you go play in the living room for a little while?" I suggested. She happily hopped down from her chair and skipped into the living room.

I squeezed the hand that Tanya had resting on the table, clenched in a tight fist. Her teary eyes met mine again and she shook her head sadly, causing the tears to start cascading down her ghostly white cheeks.

She held the phone out for me and I used my free hand to hold the phone up to my ear. Immediately I could tell that what was going on at the other end of the line was rated X. I could hear loud moaning, both feminine and masculine. There was a rhythmic slapping of skin behind the chorus of breathy moans.

And then I heard the worst thing. A woman's voice screaming as she… well, you can imagine.

Only she wasn't just screaming. She was screaming his name. Laurent.

My eyes shot up to Tanya's at the sound. I knew instantly that she'd heard. Her tears were falling quickly now as she cried silently. And then the slapping intensified. Faster. Louder. More moaning.

I hung up the phone and raced around the table, hugging Tanya tightly as her tears soaked my shirt. Her cries became louder as I held her. She attempted talking, but her words were lost between gut wrenching sobs. I continued to hold her, rocking us slightly, hoping I was comforting her somewhat in spite of the emotional tidal wave that threatened to overwhelm her spirit in lieu of her husband's infidelity.

I don't know how long we sat like that, but we both had dried tear stains on our cheeks when we finally pulled away from each other.

"You and the kids are welcome to stay here as long as you'd like, and Edward and I will help you with whatever you need." I assured her. She nodded her head determinedly as she stood from the table. She cast a quick glance at her phone before picking it up and dropping it into the garbage can.

"Can you guys watch the kids for a few days?" She asked. I assured her that we would be happy to watch them for her.

"Do you want someone to come with you?" I asked before she left the dining room.

"No. I'll only be gone long enough to start divorce proceedings and get our things out of the house. Can you give me the number for your real estate agent here in Seattle?" I handed her the card which was handily hanging on the fridge. She clasped it tightly in her hand and pulled me into another hug.

"Do you want me to drive you to the airport?" I asked as pulled back. She shook her head and asked me to call her a cab.

"I'll get another phone at the airport and call you guys when I get there. I'm going to go talk to Jane a minute." She said, with one last hug and a kiss to my cheek. I gave her a few minutes of privacy before I entered the living room.

Jane was crying softly, hugging Tanya tightly.

"You're going to stay here for a few days with Uncle Edward and Aunt Bella, and then Mommy will be back here with you and Alec, okay?" Tanya was talking softly, but I could still hear her words in the silent house.

Jane nodded and loosened her grip on her mother. Tanya ran upstairs to kiss Alec before leaving the house with only her purse, and the pieces of her shattered heart.

A shrill ring echoed throughout the quiet house, and I instantly recognized the ringtone as belonging to Tanya's phone. I retrieved it from the garbage, and saw Laurent's name on the display. I silenced the ringtone, and placed the phone on the counter.

As soon as it stopped ringing, I turned the ringtone to silent and placed it on top of the refrigerator. Jane wandered into the kitchen and informed me that she was hungry, so I began cooking some spaghetti for supper.

Alec woke while I was cooking, and was mildly upset that Tanya was gone. He was thankfully easy to calm, with help from Jane. They both ate supper, and we headed upstairs for bath time.

The kids had a great time splashing in the tub, and I'm pretty sure that most of the water ended up on me. After they had their pajamas on, we all settled into the giant bed that Tanya and the kids had been using, and Jane handed me the book she wanted me to read.

What good is a moose? Agate thinks to himself, as he mopes at the edge of a lake. He looks like a tinker toy project gone wrong, he feels like a big brown mistake.

He thinks of his friends as sparkling gems, beautiful, talented, bright. Oh, how he'd like to shine like them. Agate sighs. It just isn't right.

A major star in the film Peter Pan, this guy is famous for smiles. Agate's lopsided grin could scarcely compare with Garnet the crocodile's.

With a built-in squirt gun for spraying her back and gigantic fans for ears, five-ton Amethyst always stays cool. She'll live 80 tremendous years.

The sea provides his sushi bar, his drinking water, too. Aquamarine surfs and dives, enjoying his ocean view.

What good is a moose? Compared to such gems, Agate feels like a nondescript rock. Too big, with loose lips and knobbly knees, each leg like rocks in a sock.

Diamond reaches food that no one else can. He sees for miles, he's so tall. With his long, long legs, he can run really fast. Agate feels awkward and small…

The children were softly snoring, so I closed my eyes for just a minute. The book slipped out of my hands and fell silently onto the mattress.

EPOV

I'd had another shitty day. Work had been killer, and I'd had to spend even more time away from my family. I glanced at my watch again to see that another hour had passed. Three hours had passed since the end of my shift, yet I was still here. I wrote the discharge orders for my last patient, and put the chart up for the nurse.

I told the other docs I was leaving and bid everyone goodnight. I quickly changed my clothes and nearly ran out to my car. I sped home quickly, just barely obeying the speed limit signs as I passed them.

I pulled in the driveway and noticed that our bedroom light wasn't on. Odd. Bella always leaves the lamp on if I'm working late. I quietly unlocked the front door, and tiptoed up the stairs, pausing briefly to set my keys on the table as I passed it.

I heard a quiet whimper as I neared the spare bedroom. I curiously peeked into the room to find Bella asleep in bed with Jane and Alec. She'd placed a pillow beside Alec so that he couldn't roll off of the bed. Both Alec and Jane had curled up with Bella and were sleeping soundly.

I picked Alec up and gently placed him in his portable crib. He rolled slightly, brought his tiny little thumb up to his mouth, and began sucking greedily on it. I grabbed a spare blanket from the closet and covered up the two beauties sleeping on the bed.

I kissed Bella softly on the head before climbing into bed and wrapping my arm around her without disturbing Jane. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow, dreaming sweet dreams of beautiful children that had characteristics similar to both Bella's and mine.

Alec woke before Bella and Jane did, hungry for a bottle. I had been so tired last night that I didn't even notice the absence of Tanya, but it was blaringly obvious when I couldn't find her to quiet Alec's miserable cries for his "Ma."

I was thankful that I had been helping out with the kids, so I knew how Tanya made his bottles. It took him a while to finally accept it, still upset that Tanya wasn't here. He would accept bottles from both Bella and I, but Tanya was normally with us when we fed him. He noticed her absence, and he was not pleased.

Once he finally started eating, he finished the bottle quickly, his large gulps echoing in the silent room. I walked around the room as I burped him. His fussing must have worn him out because I heard his soft snores before he finally burped. I turned to return him to his crib to find Bella in the doorway with tears in her eyes.

She followed me to Alec's crib and we both kissed his head before I placed him inside. Then Bella pulled me into the living room and explained the reason behind Tanya's absence. I immediately got the contact information for Felix. I knew we would need him.

AN: You guys didn't really think Edward would cheat, did you? Any guesses as to what exactly it is that Felix does?