Disclaimer: I own nothing except a below-minimum-wage-paying job.

The first time they met, Bella had latched onto Edward like her life depended on it.

More importantly, it did. The eight year old had been on the monkey bars, happily going from one bar to the other one, confident in the fact that she was the best acrobat out there in the school's playground. She was waiting for her brother to arrive, since he was a middle school student. Sometimes, she helped him with his English homework —though that was a secret that nobody else knew about.

She was too confident though, and too involved in her own thoughts, so she didn't realize she'd miscalculated the next iron bar. Down she went, and even though she'd braced herself for the fall, she landed on something incredibly soft.

"Ow!" Bella whimpered, digging her elbow into something —something that yelped in pain. Wincing, Bella looked up.

It was a boy. Prettier than any she'd ever seen before. Wide green eyes, hair like pennies.

He could be her prince.

"Oh my God Bella, you ok?" Jasper immediately rushed to her side, ever the worrywart. He didn't give two hoots about his best friend, currently crushed beneath his little sister. He was thankful she'd had something to fall on top of.

"I'm ok," Bella said, braving the pain even though she could tell she'd skimmed her elbows. Instead, she looked down at the new, very pretty boy. "He broke my fall."

Briefly, Jasper looked at Edward; the dude was fine, and soon he snapped his attention back to the light in his life.

"Anything scraped? Does it hurt?" Jasper asked, pulling his sister up by the armpits and setting her straight. Bella shook her head, hiding her elbows.

"Are you ok?" Bella stared down at the fallen soldier, wondering if he was ever going to get up. The boy did, eventually, first sitting up with a groan.

"Man, you're heavy."

Glaring, that was the first time that Bella Swan realized that men were stupid.

When Bella was thirteen, Charlie Swan died.

He was a cop, so he'd always suspected he'd die in the line of duty. He died a hero, and that was more than he could say for many of his co workers, who died nameless in a sea of bodies. He recognized a kid who'd been missing for three months, made contact with him and had him hide —then he contacted the kidnapper, managing to apprehend him and locking him up in the cruiser... but was killed in the ride to the police station. Chief Swan died honorably in the car crash, though cruel as fate could be, the perp survived.

When news reached the Swan children, the first one to break down was Jasper. He was nineteen already, a college freshman. He was grieving for his father, and for his sister, who'd grow up without their father's warmth during her teenage years, and for himself, because he too had lost someone who loved him more than life itself. Bella, meanwhile, could only hold her older brother, wondering how they'd survive.

"It's gonna be ok," Bella murmured, holding onto her older brother with all the strength that she could. Like she alone could hold him up.

It wasn't long before the news reached the Cullens, who instantly hopped on a car and flew over to the Swan's household. The first one to barrel through was Esme, who held onto Bella with all she had, while Edward gripped his best friend in the tightest hug he could. Carlisle wrapped his arms around both women, knowing that moments like this were best processed in silence and warmth.

"It's gonna be ok," Esme echoed Bella's previous words, running her fingers through the girl's hair with the loving touch only a mother could have. Bella didn't manage many tears, because she was too busy trying to hold everything together in place of her older brother.

Both of them loved Charlie with everything they had.

"What if we try and contact Ren—" Bella heard Carlisle begin to suggest, but before he could finish, Jasper had jumped out of Edward's arms in protest.

"No! Bella is my sister, and I'll take care of her, even if I have to work five jobs to pull us through. Renée isn't a part of our lives," Jasper said, a fierce look coming over his face that challenged anybody to say otherwise.

"But honey, you're only just starting college. You need to finish your career," Esme said gently, letting go of Bella softly, still running her fingers through her hair.

"Bella comes first." Jasper said, and those words etched themselves into Bella's heart forever. She had the best brother in the world, and she was thankful that despite all the pain she could still see that.

"I don't want you to throw away your future for me," Bella said gently, disentangling herself from Esme and walking over to her brother. She smiled up at him, her lips quivering. "I'll finish high school as soon as I can, and get a full ride somewhere."

Jasper shook his head vehemently.

"Bells, dad wanted you to live out your school life like a normal kid. I want to honor that." Jasper insisted, but he knew he was no match for his little sister.

She sighed.

"I'll finish junior and senior year, how does that sound?" Bella was currently a high school freshman, having skipped a few grades anyway. What she was proposing would've sounded ludicrous, had it been anyone else.

"You'll live with us for those two years," Esme suddenly declared, and though it had been a proposal that came out of nowhere, Carlisle and Edward nodded their heads instantly.

The Swan siblings instantly tried to back out, but they had nothing on Esme Cullen. She was a fierce mother, and a caring soul, and she loved those two kids almost like they were her own children. Almost, because no mother ever loves someone else as much as she loves her own kid.

"You'll live with us and that's final," Esme reiterated. "Jasper will have a place to come back to during the holidays, and Bella will have her own room."

At that moment, Bella had never loved the Cullen family more.

-.-

The first month after Charlie's death, Bella lived like a ghost. She barely ate, she could hardly even sleep, she just spent all her time studying. She started spending all her free time at the library —she'd never liked online reading much, so she poured over books on biology, biophysics and chemistry in the hopes that she'd understand how Charlie had died. How he couldn't have been saved by anyone. That was how she started falling in love with medicine, when nothing else could fill the hole left inside her, the aching need to right all wrongs.

It was the Thanksgiving holiday when Edward had come back home and made a stance on pulling Bella out of her shell.

"You're coming with me," Edward said, when he felt like his silent support wasn't working anymore. He'd been back every weekend the last two and a half months, playing songs on the piano to drown out her crying. He was busy with his Hollywood life, but never too busy to take care of his best friend's little sister.

"Where are we going?" Bella simply asked, too drained from life to have enough energy to fight him.

"You'll see," Edward grinned, and soon, he was driving her somewhere in the middle of the night. Curious, heartbroken and tired, Bella let herself be led away. He didn't speak at all during the ride; he just turned up the radio's volume and let Elvis' Bridge Over Troubled Water play on. It took them twenty minutes to get there, and in that time Bella had already fallen asleep. When she woke up, she was suddenly in front of a big screen, with lots of cars around them parked, and already there was popcorn in her arms.

It was a drive-in cinema.

Curious, Bella turned to Edward with a raised eyebrow.

"I wanted to see Casablanca, and I thought you just might be the right partner."

Bella loved dramatic movies, and she understood his love for Humphrey Bogart better than anyone.

They watched the whole movie in silence, never saying a word.

When Edward drove Bella home, he played another song on the piano —this one much happier than the last ones he'd recreated. Bella went to sleep without crying, a single thought running through her head:

Edward Cullen might be the cutest guy I know.

There was one specific moment, Bella remembered, where she thought that she was crushing on Edward Cullen and there was no turning back.

It was a couple of days after her fourteenth birthday. She'd had dinner with Carlisle, Esme and Jasper, having pleaded that she didn't want a big event —it would be her first birthday without Charlie, and it didn't feel right to live it up. That day, she agreed to go bowling with her friends as part of the quaint celebration.

She was always insisting on public transport, so she told her friends she'd get there by herself. It was a venue she went to often, liking the staff and the mood.

She found the whole space rented out, filled with her best friends, her pseudo-parents, Jasper and Edward.

He'd grown even more handsome while he was away, if that was even possible. He seemed taller, but she suspected that was because of the muscle that now corded his arms; his hair even seemed to have found its own style, where before he'd had a mess of a mop.

Open-mouthed, she'd walked up to Edward with a quizzical, albeit excited, expression.

"I couldn't do nothing for your birthday, Bells. If it helps, I only rented out the space to avoid a mob," Edward said, and it would've sounded convincing if she hadn't known him for so long already. Three years into the Hollywood business, he was already a face to be reckoned with; girls tripped over themselves to meet him, and Bella had to wonder how long he'd been here making sure none of her friends made a fuss.

"I said nothing big," Bella complained, but it lacked heat. She was touched, truly.

"And it's not," Edward nodded to himself. "Pinky swear."

Bella knew his promises meant shit.

By the end of the night, Bella'd eaten more pizza than anyone should, had gotten a five-tiered cake and even had a movie session inside the bowling alley. Money could get you an awful lot of things, but thoughtfulness wasn't one of them.

At home, once the festivities were over, Bella and Edward met up by his piano.

"You went big, despite what I wanted," Bella pointed out, sitting next to the older boy. He gave her a thoughtful smile.

"I understood where you were coming from, wanting something modest," Edward said, then bumped her shoulder. "But Charlie would've tried to surprise you with something outrageous. You were always his baby girl, and it was his and Jasper's privilege to embarrass you in public."

Bella gave him a wobbly smile, feeling the beginnings of her tears start to leak out.

"Sometimes, I miss him so much I feel like I forget how to breathe," Bella admitted, then laid her head on Edward's shoulder. "Thank you for today."

He kissed the top of her head sweetly.

"You're very welcome."

He didn't know it, but his words, coupled with the sweetest kiss she'd ever received, made her heart pound in her ribcage.

Fuck.

Edward had only gotten truly angry with Bella once in their whole friendship, and it had been, quite frankly, not her fault.

Back then, he hadn't known what had possessed her. One moment, he was happily chatting with his cousin Alec, and the next, he'd heard his girlfriend screech across the room since one Bella Swan had tossed her drink in said girlfriend's face. Evidently concerned, he rushed to their side, ready to find out what had happened.

"What the fuck?" Jessica Stanley screeched, drenched from head to toe in wine. She was a well-known pop singer, so famous that even Bella had known of her before she'd started dating Edward; she was also Edward's first girlfriend, which was surprising given that he was twenty-three when they started dating. Bella knew why though; up until he got scouted for Hollywood, music had been his life. Before being a star, his only kiss had been during senior prom, and he'd come home with a disappointed look in his face asking if that's all love was about. He'd made out with countless actresses since then, but he'd always shown the same indifference, choosing to further his career and stick to being a homebody.

Then Jessica came along.

It wasn't love at first sight or anything for Edward, Bella knew, but rather that he got to know someone he felt a connection to. They were both into the same kind of music, both were amazingly beautiful, and both of them liked black and white movies. That's how it started, at least, and then they grew to love each other —much as it gutted Bella. By the time of The Incident, Bella'd already lost her virginity to Felix and been sex friends with Jake and Riley. She'd have preferred for Edward to have been into casual sex, too, rather than in love; it hurt much more.

And Jessica was… Well, pretty perfect, really. Had a sailor mouth, but you'd never be able to tell if she didn't want you to know. Only occasionally bitchy, which Bella guessed must've been an achievement for a celebrity of her stature. Smart, though not as smart as Edward.

That's why everyone at the family gathering was currently in shock over the kid genius throwing her drink in Jessica's face.

"What the hell, Bella?" Edward snapped at his friend, instantly grabbing napkins and patting at his girlfriend's face first, then moving on to her shoulders; Jessica's dress was ruined. He couldn't even turn to look at his friend, too astonished by what had happened. Bella's face was flaming red, and though everyone thought it was from embarrassment, she knew it was because of anger.

"I—" Bella started to say, but soon enough Edward had remembered himself and had turned to glare at her with his own temper at hand.

"Why in the world would you do that, Bella? Seriously dude, what the fuck? In front of all these people?"

Simultaneously, Bella remembered where she was, and she felt a little part of her break off. She'd completely muted the rest of the world, blinded by her anger. And now, her stomach was in knots over hearing Edward, the most patient and kindest being on Earth, not only angry with her but calling her dude. She was beyond the friend zone. She was in the dude zone. Feeling her eyes well with angry tears, Bella pursed her lips and squinted her eyes. She squared her shoulders, because even if this was the man who'd run away with her heart, even if they were surrounded by famous people as well as friends and family, she was still Bella fucking Swan and she wouldn't let herself be humiliated.

Jessica's eyes were like daggers.

"You little—" Jessica started cursing, but Edward quickly grabbed her arm tightly.

"Don't." Edward said quietly, and that was what broke her down. That despite him being evidently angry and disappointed, he still wouldn't let anybody insult her. Bella let her tears start falling, and doing what she'd sworn to herself she'd never do, she bolted like a princess running from a ball.

Emotional, but never bonkers, she fled to the comfort of her old room.

She cried it all out; everything she'd felt stuck for the last year, Bella made sure to cry it out. The fact that her first love was in love with someone else. The fact that he'd yelled at her, though he hadn't once in nine years of knowing each other. That while she looked at him like he'd hung the moon and the stars, he only saw her as a little sister.

She was mid-drama when a knock interrupted her bawling.

"Go away!" Bella blubbered, certain it was the last person she wanted to see on the other end.

The voice, however, surprised her.

"Please let me in, Bella," Felix said, and it was such a surprise that Bella felt like she had no choice but to do as asked. Silently, she made her way across the room and let in the guy she'd lost her virginity to during one very awkward night. "Damn, you look terrible."

Bella laughed despite herself.

"Thanks."

She let him in, then closed the door behind him.

"You gonna try and get the gossip out of me?" Bella asked, and surprising her once more, Felix shook his head and gave a small grin.

"I overheard you two talking, so I'm all filled in already," Felix confessed, giving a small shrug. "I would've thrown more in her face than just a drink. She deserved it for her comment."

Yeah, saying that fat people should've been aborted had, to say the least, gotten on Bella's last nerve. She'd felt so disgusted that truly, a face full of wine had been the least she could do.

"I mean, how vain and vapid can you even be to think that way? And she…" Bella let a couple of extra tears slip through. "Does she even know how chubby Edward used to be?"

It was true. Edward Cullen hadn't been just chubby; he'd been quite fat up to junior year of high school, when he shed all the weight and started getting really into exercise. When he'd broken Bella's fall that fateful afternoon in the monkey bars, the fall hadn't hurt because his weight had absorbed it all, though he hadn't been at his peak weight back then. Still, she'd thought he looked like a prince.

"It felt like a knife to the gut. Like she was telling me Edward was better off dead, and that hurt, Felix. And now Edward's gonna ask me why I did that, and I'll have to repeat those awful words, and Jesus Christ I think I'd puke if I had to do that," Bella rambled. She was spared from further word vomit by a knock on the door, and Jasper was poking his head in, glaring at seeing Felix and Bella standing in the middle of the room.

"I came to check in on you, Bell. What happened back there? Ed's pretty pissed off," Jasper offered, prompting Bella into a fresh round of tears. Felix glared at him, but he also took a step back.

"Nice work, man." Felix stuck his hands in his pockets. He looked at Bella again, the tension in his shoulders softening. "You did something good, Bella. You didn't let someone stomp over those you love."

He gave her an awkward pat on the shoulder, gave a final stinky eye to Jasper, and left the room.

Confused, Jasper closed the door behind him and moved to wrap his arms around his sister.

"Want me to explain things to Edward?"

Bella shook her head.

"No, that's ok. If he asks me, I'll tell him. I just… Don't want to hurt his feelings."

"Alright."

-.-

Edward didn't ask for another two months. He left to film a movie in Europe, and he only regained contact once he was back home. But back then, Bella was living in Baltimore for med school, which had left Edward no choice but to, as rich people could, fly to Maryland.

He was waiting inside her dorm room when she got back.

"Edward!" Bella let her mouth gape open at seeing her childhood friend casually sitting on her bed, reading what was probably a script. "How'd you get in? What are you even doing here?"

He gave her a cheeky smile.

"I have my ways of getting in. And I'm here because you and I have a conversation pending, don't we?"

Damn, she'd hoped he'd forget all about it.

She sighed.

"Give me a minute. I bought ramen." They'd known each other long enough that she didn't have to ask anymore if he wanted some too. Of course he did.

They were silent as Bella 'cooked', and once she had both cups ready, she handed chopsticks to Edward and sat beside him. Still a few minutes went by before Bella spoke.

"She said fat people should've been aborted." Bella explained. "It made me nauseous, and that was the first thing I thought to do."

Edward didn't insult her by asking if it was true; obviously, it was.

He processed her words.

"And you thought about how I'd been fat almost all my life." It was a statement, because that much didn't need to be asked either.

"I mean, yes, but she could've said the same about anyone else and it still would've horrified me. You know how distasteful I find that kind of comment. Everyone makes mistakes, but you're not accidentally a terrible person." Bella bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to say bad things about Jessica, but it's pretty hard right now."

Edward nodded; he knew Bella. He knew her so well he'd known, even in his anger, that whatever had prompted her reaction had to be serious.

"I broke up with her a couple of days after. I had a hunch, and Jasper told me to trust you."

Bella gaped.

"You broke up with your girlfriend because you had a hunch?"

Edward gave her a small smile.

"Bell, you might be by far the smartest person I know, but you're also the nicest. So it could only mean it had taken something pretty bad to hurt you that way, and I want nothing to do with someone who can hurt Bella Swan."

She felt like crying. Like admitting how much she loved him. Like she could soar.

"I love you, Bell. You're like my little sister."

… like she could shrivel up and die.

When Edward woke up next to Bella, his first thought had been: shit.

The second had been: Jasper's gonna kill me.

And the third: I failed.

Truth was, Bella had been woefully wrong by thinking that, prior to that night, he'd only seen her as a sister. He'd stopped looking at her that way long before that. How could he? The summer before she'd turned nineteen, his parents had thrown a pool party. She'd shown up with this black two piece bikini that looked like it had bandages, and suddenly he'd realized how absolutely fuckeable her boobs looked, and how much he wanted to grab her ass. Not only had the thought unnerved him, he'd had to hide a boner while wearing a swimsuit; not an easy feat. And then, one year after that, she'd worn the famous Princess Leia costume for Halloween, and boy had he had some vivid dreams after that.

The dreams had been few at first, but they'd progressed to the point that he'd started thinking of new ways of fucking her every night. Then it wasn't just about the sex, but about taking her out on dates and introducing her to the world as his. Dangerous thoughts to have about your best friend's sister, most people would say.

So when he woke up to find himself in a bed that wasn't his next to the woman who'd been plaguing his dreams, he felt equal parts worried and relieved. Worried about what would happen now. Relieved that he'd finally let the inevitable happen. He'd let himself look at her for a little while, wandering at the way a few words escaped her unconscious, at the little crease between her eyebrows and the faint snoring coming from her. Then she woke up, and the illusion that they were a couple waking up was broken.

Immediately though, she'd asked him to do it again —she wanted to be sex friends, she'd said, and that exclusivity wasn't necessary. He'd almost said no —he wanted a real relationship with her, even then— but he knew he had to take it slow with her, and instead insisted they keep being friends.

"So now what?" Bella'd asked. A mistake, because she'd had one whole boob out; Edward could hardly think of anything unrelated to sex when he saw Bella's boobs, a fact that would never change.

"Now we explore."

The first couple of times had been awkward, to say the least, because they didn't know how to be lovers and friends at the same time. After that, they just remembered all the pent up fantasies and simply went at it like bunnies. As all things should be.

During an interview

"Alright, so setting aside the movie, I wanna talk to you about what's had everybody buzzing for the last two months: your Wired interview. They say your publicist even quit."

"I mean, only for a couple of days. I managed to convince him to come back, though I did have to give him a raise."

A laugh.

"So, everyone's been curious for the longest time. What made you break your silence? You're famously private, and all at once you revealed you had a wife and a baby —which, congratulations by the way. Eve, right?"

"Eve, that's right. And thanks man. As for a reason… I don't know. I think maybe we were just ready to let the world know, in a way. My wife's a homebody, as am I, but even we like going out every once in a while. All the sneaking around got old real quick."

"Tell us about your wife. All we know is she's a renowned neurosurgeon, and one of the youngest ones too, having finished at twenty-six though most finish well after thirty. That's incredible."

"She's incredible. I couldn't ask for a better partner in crime. She supports me in every single thing I do, and all she asks in return is that I do the dishes. As for her… Well, her brother is my best friend, so we've known each other forever."

"Oh, so you're childhood sweethearts?"

Another laugh.

"No, not at all. I'm older than her, so I didn't see her that way until she had nearly graduated from med school. It took a few more years for us to start dating, but we've been together ever since."

"What changed?"

"Nothing, I suppose. We realized we liked each other and took it from there, at our own pace. It didn't help that both of us have crazy schedules, so we were both a little slow in establishing a relationship."

"How does she handle your fame? Has she gotten annoyed yet by all the paparazzi?"

"She's a good sport, much better than I am. We still do our best to avoid the public eye though, because we're both essentially still very private people. I love meeting fans of my work, and she also loves all the same running into grateful patients. It's nice, though few and far between is less tasking."

"On the note of privacy, one last question that's had all our listeners intrigued. How'd you manage to keep it a secret?"

"Fake names, wigs and hidden spots."

~.~

"Welcome back, baby," Bella greeted her husband at the door, their four-month-old baby finally asleep in her room. She was wearing a dress, much to Edward's delight. "How'd the interview go?"

He gave her a sweeping kiss, glad to finally be home.

"It went real well. I always have a good time with that radio show host. Did our daughter behave herself?"

Bella winked.

"I didn't give her much of a choice. I put on some Debussy and we both fell asleep."

Edward scowled; he was always fighting with his wife not to make their daughter a classical-music hater. So far, he was losing, and he wasn't used to losing against her. Even though he was wrapped around Bella and Eve's little finger, and even though Bella was a hell of a lot smarter than him, he was usually the one who won fights. He wanted a relationship? Done. He wanted to get married? Done. He wanted to announce to the world they were married? Done. He wanted to name their daughter Eve instead of the monstrosity that Bella had thought up? Done.

He was simply way more persistent than his wife, which in turn helped him win almost all arguments.

"I'd like for her to like some of my hobbies, you know, so we can spend time together," Edward muttered, petulant, taking off his shoes as he went. When they started living together, Bella had started placing some rules around the house, one being that the shoes came off at the door. Nowadays he didn't even think about doing it.

"Oh, you're gonna share lots of hobbies. At least you have some," Bella mumbled, making her way to the kitchen to heat up Edward's dinner. He felt his stomach clench.

During their relationship, Bella had gone through a few hard times related to her job, but none hit as hard as the time she had to take two weeks off work because her appendix burst. It wouldn't have been so bad, had Edward not been off shooting in Turkey. He'd almost come back from the stress of being away from her during her surgery, but she'd managed to convince him she'd fare without him… and that by the time he got back she'd be well on her way to recovery.

Still, the hardest part? Realizing that apart from medicine and her relationships, she had nothing going on in her life. She didn't like cooking, she got bored of novels quickly, TV rarely ever hooked her, watching movies was only fun with Edward, and really, nothing was worth doing for those two weeks. She'd heard once someone say that doctors who only knew of medicine, didn't even know medicine; the phrase had bounced around her head the full two weeks, depressing her more and more. She'd felt… empty. What did she use to do, back in high school, to pass the time? Read biology books, she remembered. Her hobby, so to say, had always been medicine. And though she was still just as passionate, a part of her didn't want to read the latest neurosurgery issue during her recovery time anymore. It made sense, now that her hobby had become her job. So, what did she have left? How could she not have anything left to fill the void?

The question had stayed with her for a long time, and when Edward had come back from Turkey, he'd found Bella desperately trying to find something she was passionate about apart from medicine. She'd tried almost everything: reading, painting, photography, writing, cooking, knitting… any hobby she could do without moving too much.

Nothing had worked.

This had lead to Bella becoming even more depressed, which had distressed Edward more than words could say. He couldn't solve that kind of thing for Bella; she had to find out what she loved herself. He understood, too, why she was feeling that way. Why she felt as though her life had something missing, because that's how he'd have felt if he didn't have the piano. Life had been harder on Bella than on him, so it was only logical that she hadn't had time to find something to spend her free time on —after all, she might've been a genius, but if she hadn't put in the hard work she wouldn't have been where she was.

This was still an issue troubling his wife. She'd gotten better and back to work, then they'd gotten married and the troubles had been placed on hold. Even when she'd been on maternity leave, Bella hadn't had much free time, being busy raking up credits by publishing scientific articles every week. Now, though, that she had graduated from neurosurgery and had a little more free time, she was back to the same worries.

Sighing, Edward went after his wife and hugged her from behind.

"You'll find something that's just yours, B. Something you enjoy enough that sometimes you'll lose sleep over it because you're so excited, something apart from medicine," Edward assured her, resting his chin on her head.

"I already have something like that, ya know. You and Eve," Bella said confidently, surprising Edward. She wasn't the type to whisper sweet nothings, and she probably didn't think she was being cheesy right now; she was simply stating the facts.

"I love you so much," Edward said instead, feeling his heart warm up. "But you know what I mean."

Bella turned off the stove with a shrug.

"Yeah, I do. It's just hard," Bella admitted. "I feel like I have way too much free time, now that I'm not working."

When she'd graduated from her residency, Bella had instantly started working alongside Emmett, as well as getting hired as an attending for the neurosurgery ward. Once her maternity leave was over, she'd decided she wanted to take off a year to be with Eve, not wanting to go through the hassle of breastfeeding, missing her daughter and working. Bella was such an asset that the hospital told her she'd still have a spot when she decided to come back, and Emmett told her he wouldn't get another permanent first assistant.

So for now, Bella was a stay-at-home mom.

"Well, use this time to get the hang of being a mom and finding that mystical hobby. Once you go back to work, you'll have to get used to being a mom and a neurosurgeon. Life will be way too hectic then."

Bella leaned back against Edward's chest.

"You know, I'm really glad that your work schedule can compliment mine. When you're too full of projects, I'll slow down the surgeries. And vice versa." They'd talked before, and while they both wanted to be present parents, they also wanted to feel accomplished in their careers. Neither was tied down to a desk job, which gave them more flexibility.

"Kind of like we're soulmates, if you think about it," Edward hummed, hugging his wife tighter.

Life wasn't easy; nothing ever was. Bella had a hard time adapting to life without work, and Edward was always fighting for that little piece of privacy the public was so unwilling to let go of. Having a newborn was difficult because they cried for no good reason. Hawaiian pizza still existed. The world was plagued with political, economical and social problems. But still, they had confidence they'd work through every and all problems together.

Bella huffed jokingly.

"Then let's not," Bella said, wiggling her butt.

He groaned.

"Yeah, let's not."

And they sealed that with a kiss.

Hi folks. Remember when I said I'd be gone for a while? Well, I didn't lie. I'm still not officially back; I mean, it took me like six months to just write this. I tried answering a few questions I saw in the review section, so that's why I chose those moments. As for why now, I just wanted to distract everyone from the mess the world is going through. A tall order, I know, but I also needed to distract myself. I won't go into details for once, because that's how sick I am of talking about this. Refer to other author's notes to figure out why I, especially, could be so tired from this. Anyways, I know it's been a year already since we last saw each other, and believe me when I say I miss writing. And even though I've sucked at replying to your reviews, please know I've read, awed and appreciated every single one. You're still the best readers, and I promise as soon as I have a semblance of normality in my life I'll surprise you all again.

Leah.

P.S. Stay safe everyone, and take care of those you love.