AN: Ugh. I have such a bad case of writer's block when it comes to this story. I haven't abandoned it, but I am having trouble with the next chapter. I'll get it up when I can. In the meantime, I've started a new HP fic called The Journal. Check it out. It's flowing pretty easily.

So yeah. Here's the next installment. Enjoy. :)

That Moment

Chapter 22 – Friendship

BPOV

The park was deserted. On a day like today it was to be expected. The clouds overhead were low and dark. A fine mist clung to the windshield as I sat there waiting for Mike to drop Charlie off. I had my Kindle out, trying to read the latest book I had downloaded, but I couldn't focus on it.

I kept thinking about the conversation I'd had with Edward and the Chief. Not that I was really a part of the conversation or anything. I just sat there listening as they planned out my "protection duty". It was like they thought I needed a twenty-four hour babysitter. It made me feel so pathetic. At least I did manage to talk them out of a police escort to and from work. Instead I had a brand new can of pepper spray in my purse, and I had to promise to keep my doors locked at all times. I felt like it was a good compromise.

In addition, Edward had even called in reinforcements. He would be working the evening shift at the hospital for the next few weeks and was worried about the nights I would be at the college late. So he called Emmett to see if he could wait for my second class to be over on those nights and follow me home. I was perfectly fine with that arrangement as well. I never felt comfortable walking out to my car that late at night all alone. I felt bad about inconveniencing Emmett like that, but he assured me that it wasn't a problem.

The conversation with the Chief had gone as well as could be expected. It turns out that Jacob is the son of one of Dad's good friends, and is apparently the son that the Chief never had. He was reluctant to believe that Jacob would ever hurt me and chalked it up to a "harmless crush". He changed his mind about how "harmless" it was after I showed him the bruises on my wrists, though. I'm not sure I've ever seen his face turn that red that fast before. He determined that for his part he would keep a close eye on Jacob. I wasn't entirely clear what he meant by that, and I wasn't going to ask. I was pretty sure I wouldn't want to know.

Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention so I turned my head to watch the black Dodge Caravan pull in next to me. It had barely stopped when the side door opened and Charlie jumped out.

"Mommy!"

I opened my door and he threw his arms around my neck and squeezed as hard as he could.

"Hey Buddy! Did you have fun with your dad this weekend?" Mike had gotten out of the van and was holding Charlie's bag in one hand.

"Yeah. We went to the museum and saw the dinosaur exhibit. It was awesome!" He released my neck and ran around to the other side of the car while I took his bag from Mike.

"Thanks for bringing him home today. It's been a crazy weekend."

He watched me as I put the bag in the back seat. As I moved to get back in the car, he stopped me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Leave it to Mike to pick today to become perceptive. A little bit of that while we were married would have been nice. I rolled my eyes at my own inner-voice and shrugged my shoulders at him.

"Nothing. Like I said, it's just been a bad weekend."

"Give me some credit, Bella. I know you well enough to know when something is wrong. You aren't fighting with Prince Charming already, are you?" He smirked at me. I bet he would love it if Edward and I were fighting.

"No. Everything with Edward is perfect." I held my left hand out so he could see the engagement ring.

"Wow. I can see why you've had such a bad weekend. The size of that rock must be killing your arm."

I took some satisfaction in the sad look in his eye. Petty, I know, but it isn't like he didn't have his chance. I gave him thirteen years of my life only to be taken for granted and unappreciated.

"There's just been some other stuff going on. This guy was bothering me and it kind of shook me up."

He studied me for a few more moments before stepping a little bit closer and putting his arm around me.

"You look like you need a hug."

I fought the urge to push him away, mainly because I really did need a hug. It was just a little strange and awkward coming from him. At the same time it was familiar and comforting. If only he had done this more often while we were married, maybe we would still be then I never would have reconnected with Edward.

I let him hold me for a minute before I pulled back and gave him a little smile.

"You know I still love you Bella. You can come home anytime you're ready."

And he ruins the perfect little moment we just shared. Since he was being all uncharacteristically sweet, I thought that maybe it was a good time to talk some sense into him without the yelling and hatred that always seemed to accompany our conversations.

"No you don't, Mike. I'm sure you'll always care about me in your own way, like I'll always care about you. We shared thirteen years and have a wonderful son to show for it. The thing is, the last five or six years were hell, and you know it as well as I do. We grew apart. We never talked unless it was fighting. We never went out. We barely ever had sex. There was a time when we loved each other. That love morphed into something different. The attraction disappeared. The excitement disappeared. We became more like roommates sharing a bedroom than husband and wife. You know it and I know it. If I came back, we would both be miserable again. I'm happy here. Edward makes me happy. And you'll find someone that makes you happy, too. But that won't happen until you realize that you need to move on."

"I miss you." He pushed a lock of damp hair away from my eye and hooked it behind my ear. His eyes were so sincere, it almost broke my heart.

"You know what I miss? I miss my best friend. I miss the guy that I could talk to for hours about movies or politics. The guy that listened to me bitch about work and always sided with me no matter how petty I was being. The guy that took me to see the Star Wars exhibit at the museum and then laughed because I was the only woman there that didn't look bored to tears. Those are the things that I miss. The rest of it, the fighting, the arguing, the name-calling, the swearing, the hatred and the tears. All of that stuff I can do without."

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed deeply.

"Yeah. Me too."

We stood there in the parking lot, with mist falling gently around us, and we smiled at each other. It had been many years since I had seen that smile. That smile reminded me of why I had fallen in love with him in the first place.

He pulled me into his arms for another hug and whispered in my ear, "I'm sorry for hurting you, Bella."

I started to cry. I couldn't help it. The stress of the weekend, everything from Esme being a bitch to Jacob attacking me, and now this. The tears came, and Mike held me as I cried.

I don't know how long we stood there, but eventually the tears slowed and I pulled away from him.

"Thank you, Mike. I, um, I need to go. It's getting late. And you have a long drive home."

He looked at me for a moment and gently wiped some of the tears off of my face.

"Alright. I'll talk to you later." He said goodbye to Charlie and got back in the van as I was getting in my car.

Before either of us left, I sent him a quick text. 'Be careful'.

He texted me back, 'u2'.

I smiled to myself as I started the car and backed out of the parking space.

"It's about time. What were you guys talking about anyway?" Charlie asked, not even looking up from his video game.

"Just talking. So you had fun at the museum?"

He spent the next ten minutes telling me about all of the dinosaur exhibits they had seen and describing his favorites to me. I just listened as he talked and soon we were pulling into the garage at Edward's house. Our house. That was still going to take some time to get used to.

Once we were inside, I had him take his bag of stuff upstairs and told him to bring his dirty laundry back downstairs with him. With the laundry started we sat down at the dining room table and started on his homework. He only had a math worksheet and a social studies paper to do. I had learned a long time ago that his homework got finished a lot faster if I was sitting next to him keeping him on task. If I left him alone, it could take several hours to finish what should take less than one.

Working together we were able to finish his homework in about forty-five minutes. After that I started dinner while Charlie went to watch Phineas and Ferb in the living room. I was cutting up the tomatoes for taco salad when he came into the kitchen.

"Hey Mom. Are you and dad getting back together?"

I stopped what I was doing and turned around to face him. His hair was getting to long again, the fringe covering his big blue eyes that were staring up at me.

"No Honey. Your dad and I are not getting back together, but we're going to try to become friends again. Like we used to be a long time ago."

"Like before you had me?"

Gulp. I knew this was coming. Sooner or later, it seems, children of divorced parents wonder if they are the reason their parents split up.

"Before and after, actually. We were good friends up until we started fighting all the time. That's when we stopped being friends. It didn't have anything to do with you, you know."

He nodded and wandered back out of the kitchen. I watched him go before returning to the tomatoes. A few minutes later, as I was taking the shells out of the oven, he came back.

"Are you going to marry Edward?"

I froze, contemplating my next course of action. Should I just tell him now? Or wait until Edward could be with me to tell him? No, he asked me a question and I wasn't going to lie to him.

"Edward asked me to marry him, and I said yes."

His eyes widened. I was so worried that he would be upset, until his mouth curled up into a big grin.

"That means we get to stay here! Yay! I love it here. And I like Edward. He's pretty cool. But...wait...I don't have to call him 'dad', do I? Because I don't think Dad would like that very much." His excitement about staying in the house that he had grown to love was quickly overshadowed by the other ramifications of my decision. "Do I have to change my name? Will I still be Charlie Newton? Or will my last name change too? I don't even know Edward's last name!"

"Your dad will always be your dad. Okay? You don't have to change your name. And Edward's last name is Cullen."

The rest of the evening passed by rather quickly. We sat down to eat dinner together and Charlie continued to fire off random questions about our upcoming nuptials. He wanted to know everything. When were we getting married? Are we going on a honey-moon? Could he come? If not, where would he go? The questions kept coming and I answered them the best I could. For some of his questions I told him he'd have to ask Edward, and then I laughed to myself picturing the look on Edward's face during that particular conversation.

After dinner we sat together on the couch and watched Lab Rats, one of the few Disney XD shows that are actually worth watching. Then it was bath time and bedtime. It felt like everything was back to normal. It was the same Sunday evening routine we'd had for years, the only difference was the location.

With Charlie in bed, I had the house to myself. It was nice and quiet. I ran a hot bath and turned on some relaxing music before settling myself into the sudsy water and allowing myself to just relax. It truly had been a stressful day, a stressful weekend for that matter, and I wanted to just think about nothing at all.

I stayed there until the water got tepid, then I got out and got ready for bed. It was so strange going to bed without Edward, but I knew he'd be in soon. His shift would be over at midnight and it was already eleven o'clock. I drifted off to sleep thinking about him, imagining that he was there with me, and subconsciously I sighed when I felt him slide into bed and wrap his arms around me.

EPOV

I did not want to leave her alone and go to work. I didn't want to, but I had to. I could not miss work again. Well, that, and Bella threatened to castrate me if I stayed home to 'babysit' her.

I know what you are thinking. No, I am not scared of her. On the other hand, I am not willing to risk Edward Jr. on the hunch that she wouldn't actually hurt me, either. Let's just call it what it is – self preservation.

The first six hours of my shift went rather quickly, after that not so much. Once Urgent Care closes for the day, the hospital becomes a deserted wasteland. Occasionally you'll have a car accident or an injury at the mill, but for the most part the last four hours of my shift are always quiet.

The quieter it is, the more time I have to think. And the more I have time to think, the more I miss Bella. And Charlie. I've never minded the evening shift before. Then again, I've never had a woman like Bella and a kid like Charlie sitting at home waiting for me, either. More often than not, I catch myself watching the clock, wondering what they're doing, trying to picture it in my mind. She sends me the occasional text throughout the evening, not to check up on me like some women would do, but to let me know that she's okay. She knows how worried I am about her being there alone.

Actually, I'm not sure 'worried' is a strong enough term. What is the word for something stronger than worry, but slightly less intense than panicked? Whatever that word is, that's what I feel whenever I think about what could possibly happen to her while I'm not there to protect her. What if the asshole that vandalized her house were to track her to mine? It's not like we've been secretive about where she's living now. What if Jacob Black came to the house while I wasn't there and caught her off guard? Would he try to steal more than a kiss from her this time around?

Hell, maybe Black will never bother her again. Maybe he realizes he went too far and that he has no chance with my girl. Maybe he'll just disappear and we'll never hear from him again.

Maybe.

But I doubt it.

Forks' is a small town. It's not that easy to disappear around here, especially when you're a police officer and the object of your obsession is the police chief's daughter. No, we haven't heard the last of Jacob Black. It was only a matter of time now before he would make another move. I was sure of it. Absolutely. I was also sure that we would be ready when it happened.

I was wrong.

After three long hours of watching the clock, I was finally in the home stretch. Only one hour left before I could go home and crawl into bed next to the incredibly sexy woman of my dreams (quite literally).

As I started my countdown, I received a text from her, one of many that I had received over the last several hours. She wasn't taking our first evening apart in weeks any better than I was, really. Anyway, her text said she was going to bed. I looked at the clock. Again. Forty five minutes to go. I replied to her quickly to let her know I love her and I'd be home soon. It didn't seem like enough, but it would have to do.

I finished my reports from the Urgent Care Clinic and turned them in twenty minutes before my shift ended. Then I wandered down to the ER to make sure no calls were coming in. Toby, my replacement to work the graveyard shift, walked in the doors just a few minutes later. As he got ready to start his shift, I got ready to finish mine and head home. I was just walking out the door when a call came in. Single car accident, one victim.

"Go on, Edward. Go home to that beautiful fiancée of yours. I've got this covered." Toby grinned from ear to ear, probably just glad to have something to do for a little while anyway. Whatever the reason, I didn't argue with him. I wasted no more time in getting out of there than I absolutely had to.

The house was quiet when I pulled up. The light over the front door was on and it looked like a light on the stairwell inside had been left on as well. Other than that it was all dark and quiet and peaceful.

I went inside the house. My house. The same house that I had hated for so long and kept only as a reminder to never again let anyone in. My house, that was now, finally, beginning to feel like a home thanks to the placement of one woman and her son. I locked the doors and armed the security system before making my way upstairs.

I checked on Charlie first. He was snoring away in his bed and had managed to kick his blanket off his legs and onto the floor. I quietly crossed the room and covered him back up. Watching him sleep like that, it's hard to reconcile him with the bundle of energy that is usually bouncing off the walls. He looks so serene. I watched him sleep for a few more minutes, wondering at this kid that has let me into his life, let me into his mom's life, and wondering at how easily I had let him into not only my life, but my heart as well.

I left his room and closed the door quietly behind me before slipping into Bella's room. When I lay down in the bed next to her and wrapped my arm around her waist, she relaxed into me and sighed deeply.

In that moment, I knew what it felt like to be truly content. In that moment, I knew what it felt like to be at home.

That moment was short lived, though. I should have known after the weekend that we'd had, this peaceful moment was far too out of place. It simply did not fit into the chaos that is our lives.

As I held Bella against my chest and listened to her deep, even breathing, I felt myself start to slip away into dreamland as well. I was getting closer and closer to falling into a deep sleep when the sound of a cell phone chiming startled me back into the land of the living. With a quick glance at the clock I realized it was one o'clock in the morning. Nothing good can ever come from a phone call at one o'clock in the morning. That's always been my experience.

I groaned out loud and reached over to the bedside table to grab my phone. At the same time, Bella sat up and mirrored my actions, reaching over to her bedside table and hitting the talk button on her phone. I had my phone in my hand before I realized that it wasn't my phone that was ringing at all.

"Hello?" Her voice was deep and groggy with sleep, but her movements suggested that she was wide awake.

"Hello. Is this Mrs. Isabella Newton?" I could hear the woman on the other end of the phone. It was a voice that sounded oddly familiar.

"Yes. This is her."

"Mrs. Newton, I'm sorry to bother you at this late hour. My name is Grace. I'm calling on behalf of Forks Memorial Hospital."

Grace. That's why the voice sounded familiar. I had said good bye to her less than an hour ago. Now I knew something was terribly wrong. Bella could feel it too. She immediately reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tight as she waited for Grace to continue speaking.

"A patient was admitted this evening after being involved in a car accident, and you are listed as his next of kin. I'm going to need you to come to the hospital as soon as you can."

I wrapped my arm around her. She didn't sink into me as she normally would have, though. Instead she stayed tense, poised to strike at a moment's notice. She swallowed thickly and ran her hand through her hair. I could barely see her in the dim room, only the light from her cell phone illuminated the contours of her face. I could see her jaw set in a hard line, and her eyes staring straight ahead at nothing at all as she tried to comprehend what Grace was trying to tell her.

"Who?" She tried to ask, but her voice was cracked and barely came out as a whisper. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Who was it?"

I remembered watching the ambulance pull in the parking lot just as I was leaving the hospital. It had to be the Chief, right? What would he have been doing out that late at night? Why the hell didn't I stay and help Toby?

Bella was still, completely unmoving as she waited for Grace's reply. I don't think either of us were ready for the reply from the other end of the phone line.

"Huh? Oh, right. Uh…oh, here it is. A Michael Newton."

AN: K. Leave me a review. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. I have to get past this writer's block somehow.