Disclaimer: I only own Samantha. Not Bella, nor Edward, though for years I've been trying ...

Author's Note: And a year and a half later ... I update. Hate me if you will, but I got a little taste of my old addiction with Breaking Dawn, and here I am, crawling back for more Edward cuteness. Just to let any new readers know, this story takes place after Twilight, and does not include any of the new developments of New Moon, or Breaking Dawn. It's my own take on Edward and Bella overcoming the issue of having their own child, and of Edward's search for self, in a way. I hope you enjoy it. I can't say when or if I will update again, my life has gotten pretty hectic lately. However, take this chapter as a happy little read and if I do choose to continue, then all the better. My favorite thing in the world, by the way, is reviews. When I don't get reviews, I don't feel like you love me, and when I don't feel like you love me, I keep my Edward stories in my head, for they are happy there as well as on fanfiction, lol. Anyhow, please read and please review, and most importantly, please enjoy, because that's what this is for, is it not?

The evening of Samantha's kidnapping was spent in our hotel room

The evening of Samantha's kidnapping was spent in our hotel room. Edward ordered room service for Sam and myself, sat back, and watched us as we ate. This habit of his had always made me a little nervous, but I endured this evening only for the fact that most of Edward's attention was focused on Samantha.

Though, while I tried to keep up conversation with the young orphan, Edward merely sat with his chin in his hands, nodding sometimes and smiling others.

"Washington?" Sam was asking, when I'd mentioned that Edward and I weren't actually from Chicago.

I nodded, "Mhm. We drove all the way here."

"Just to find me?" Samantha asked.

Again, I nodded. "Actually, Edward-" but then I stopped myself and looked quickly at Edward, who was shaking his head very subtly and staring down at his hands on the table.

So, just about finished with my meal, I nodded decisively and changed course. "Well," I said, "I'm sure you're tired. And Edward says he's got a big day planned for us tomorrow anyhow. We should all get some sleep."

Edward nodded his approval and I helped Sam to the bed where she took off her vest and starched collar shirt to reveal a thin white undershirt. "We'll get you some proper pajamas tomorrow," I reassured her, and tucked her in. I felt incredibly comfortable falling into this motherly role.

I turned off the overhead light and sat next to Edward by the window, watching his expressionless face by the lights of the city. Noticing my presence he reached out a hand for me, and I willingly curled up beside him. "She's a doll, Edward," I said to him quietly. I could hear from her even breathing that Sam was already asleep – it had been a long, eventful day for her.

Edward nodded his agreement and said, "I don't want her to know about me. Not yet. I'm not ready"

"Alright. But you're going to tell her eventually, aren't you?"

Edward mused for a moment, and I watched the reflections of headlights and streetlights play over his angelic face. "Yes. Eventually I will. She deserves to know the truth. Of course."

I smiled. "Good. Now I am going to bed, I'm very tired. We're going shopping tomorrow then?"

Edward smiled down on me, "Shopping, yes. I want to make Samantha happy."

I laid my head against Edward's chest. "She's already happy. You don't have to do anything for her. She absolutely adores you."

Edward didn't answer me, so I kissed his cheek and undressed in the dark, crawling into bed beside Sam.

I slept well that night, listening to the sound of Sam's slow breaths and knowing that Edward was watching over us...

Next morning Edward had ordered room service for our breakfast – the smell of which had me out of bed in no time. I sat up to find that Sam was curled into a tiny ball beside me, her arms wrapped tight around a bunch of blanket, her neat braid of the night previous disheveled, leaving tendrils of her hair splayed about her pillows, making her look angelic even in sleep.

"Morning," Edward said lightly. He turned towards me, revealing that he was dressed in his best shirt, making him appear even more godly. I sighed and pulled back my blankets, careful not to disturb the child beside me. Edward scooped me into his arms as soon as I'd set foot on the ground, and kissed me quickly on the lips.

"Edward!" I complained, smiling despite myself, "Please let me brush my teeth or something first. I look awful, and I'm sure I smell even worse."

Edward smiled at me warmly, releasing me with a roll of the eyes. I gave him a playful shove and moved towards the bathroom. I showered quickly, dressed and threw on some make-up before rejoining Edward.

Leaving the bathroom, I found Sam and Edward sitting at the table by the window. Sam was eating her breakfast quickly and without manners, as children tend to do, and Edward was watching her silently, a smile just tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Sam waved when she saw me, and tried to mumble a greeting around a mouthful of pancakes.

"Morning Sam," I chuckled, still towel drying my hair. I joined them.

An hour later, Sam was back in her school uniform. I had rewound her braid and she had washed her face. All three of us feeling refreshed, we left the hotel and hailed a taxi. Edward held the door for Sam and I and then climbed in himself. "Michigan Avenue," he instructed the driver.

Outside it was warmer than it had been, but overcast, and the wind was strong. Getting downtown took less than twenty minutes, ten o'clock on a Tuesday morning. Yet I couldn't help but be amazed by the sheer number of people. They were absolutely everywhere, thousands of them. People of all different colors trampled the streets. A man carrying a briefcase looked straight ahead and kept his face expressionless behind mirrored sunglasses. A young woman with a colorful backpack and spiked hair bobbed her head to some music which only she could hear. A lone guitarist sat on one corner, looking up at the faces of people passing by and strumming contently. A motorcycle zoomed past and almost clipped a teacher in leather sandals and socks trying to control a handful of children all with matching school tee-shirts. A group of closely-knit tourists got in everybody's way, walking slower than the rest of traffic with bulky Kodak cameras swinging from sunburned necks.

When we reached our destination, I gasped. The storefronts were endless. Names I'd only heard in magazines and on television flashed in the early morning sunlight. Edward was careful to keep in the shadows of the tall buildings. Shoppers bustled past with bags enough to hinder their walking.

Samantha, too, was completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of the city she'd never seen. She grasped my hand tightly, tripping often as her eyes darted everywhere but the sidewalk in front of her.

The store Edward chose was a less conspicuous building than the rest. We spent the afternoon pampering Sam in every way possible. She left the clothing store with several pairs of jeans, a few skirts, and more shirts than I was sure she'd ever wear. She had new shoes from another store, and from yet a third store, Edward allowed her to get herself a pair of sunglasses, some new hair ribbons, and a blue nightgown.

Throughout the entire afternoon, Edward said little. He was a constant presence beside us, but he did little more than guide us to the different stores and pay the bill when we were done. Samantha and I enjoyed ourselves immensely. Once we discovered the girl's size, it was quite easy for her to pick out everything she wanted. She was fascinated by colors after a childhood spent in navy and gray, and textures delighted her. Her nightgown was of the softest satin.

I took Edward's hand and kissed his cheek. "Where now, love?" I cooed, trying not to pay attention to the way Sam watched us curiously.

Edward looked thoughtfully for a moment. "Don't worry so much Bella, I know just where we are going."

I was immediately on my guard after Edward's smug tone, but nothing could have prepared me for where we ended up.

"A spa?" I screamed in Edward's direction. He didn't even flinch.

"Come now, Bella, allow the girl to enjoy herself today. Surely, I cannot take her inside without looking ridiculous, but you…"

"Edward, if you make me go inside, I will never forgive you," I pronounced, panic spreading through my limbs at the thought of sitting in a chair with chic women all touching my nails, hair, face ….

"I am prepared to live with that," he grinned.

"Why are you fighting?"

The young voice startled me, until I realized that Sam had let go of my hand and was standing apart from Edward and myself, staring at us with a confused expression. "Where are we?"

Sam's attention was then caught by a woman leaving the salon, her nails shining a brilliant scarlet. She looked down at her own fingernails and the envious look on her face as she watched the glamorous woman's retreating back was clearly evident. Edward was watching me pointedly. "Fine. What will you do?"

"Take your shopping back home of course, and then come back to meet you when you're through."

I looked to Sam, who was now pressing her face up to the window of the spa. "Fine. Fine, but this is a one time occurrence, Edward Cullen."

Edward smiled and kissed my cheek. "I will be back soon." With a last glance at Sam, he was gone down the busy street, and I was left to walk Sam inside. I stood only a moment watching how effortlessly he wound his way through the crowds, and how the people's eyes followed him after he'd passed.

Sam enjoyed the experience much more than I thought she would. "I've never been pretty before," she confided as tall women curled her hair and good smelling women painted her nails and beach blond women powdered her nose.

Sitting in the chair beside me, Sam let her mind wander.

"Why did you and Edward come to find me?" she asked.

I thought for a moment. "Because, you're a wonderful little girl and we wanted you to be our friend."

"Don't you have your own friends back in your home?"

"Well … yes," Sam was talking me into a corner. "But you're special, you know."

Samantha sat quietly for a minute, and then came back, "You're special too."

I smiled, "Thank you."

"Why doesn't Edward talk to me?"

I frowned. "Edward doesn't talk much. And … and he's scared of girls."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew perhaps I had made a mistake. Sam giggled and giggled, but at least I had avoided any serious subjects for a later date when Edward would be able to talk to Sam himself.

When Edward came to retrieve us that evening, I was holding my breath, feeling ridiculous. I watched as Edward's taxi pulled into view and I instinctively crossed my arms across my chest self-consciously. Sam, on the other hand, was glowing. She twirled for Edward as soon as he stepped from the car. "Look, look!" she cried. "My hair is so soft and my fingernails are sparkly!"

Edward smiled down on the child with that look that I knew well. It was the look he had of admiring something without entirely understanding it. "You … you look lovely," he choked out finally.

Sam's face was eager, waiting for more than this stuttered compliment.

And it was in this moment that I saw Edward physically swallow his fear. He knelt beside Sam and put his hands on her shoulders. "The most beautiful young woman I have seen all afternoon."

Sam was glowing, and encouraging Edward with her jubilant smile to continue. "I hardly recognize you, Samantha, you are a vision."

I knew the effect kind words from those perfect lips could create, and the high of looking directly into those smoldering eyes...

Sam broke free of Edward's hands on her shoulders and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you so much," she cooed. "Thank you for all of this…"

Edward's body relaxed after a moment inside Sam's tiny arms. I saw the ice melt, felt the bond between them click into place. Edward, given a few hours practice, had become a natural father.

Then he rounded on me, taking my hand and beaming. "Not a word," I warned.

Edward chuckled and waited until we were safely in the taxi to nuzzle the side of my face and whisper against my neck, "My love, you're simply too beautiful. I must get you home immediately. You have no right to be walking the streets looking so irresistibly appealing …"

My face burned a bright crimson and I burrowed into his side. Thankfully, Sam's face was turned up and out the window of the taxi, watching thousands of people whoosh by, living their cyclic little lives.

That night we tucked Samantha into bed together, and she smiled up at us.

"Night dear," I whispered, "have sweet dreams."

"Good night Bella," she said to me sleepily. "Good night Edward."

Edward tucked a bit of quilt a little tighter around the girl's tiny body. Then he pulled something out of a bag beside the bed – one he'd obviously left their earlier when we girls weren't paying attention. "Samantha," he said quietly, "I have something for you. I want you to hold it tight when you go to sleep, and never let it go."

The teddy bear was the softest, most adorable of its kind I'd ever seen and Sam reached for it gladly.

"Soon things might get a little difficult, Sam, and you might be a little afraid. What you need to remember is that I am giving you this teddy bear because I'm your friend, and so is Bella. We want to protect you and keep you safe, and you must always remember that. Whenever you think you might be forgetting, you need to squeeze this bear and remember what I am telling you now. Do you understand?"

Samantha was curled around the bear already and the two looked as natural as if they'd spent years that way. She nodded and knelt suddenly amidst the covers in her new nightgown, clutching her new teddy under one arm, and she took Edward's fingers in her tiny hands. "I promise," she told him with the clear honest gaze of children.

Edward smiled warmly at the solemn girl in front of him. "Good," he chuckled, "now get back under those covers! I'll have to tuck you in all over again! You're out to keep me up all night, aren't you?"

I left Edward and Sam in a fit of giggles and found myself out on the back balcony, watching the stars. I suddenly felt cold arms wrap around me from behind and knew that Edward had returned. I let my head rest back against his chest and allowed myself a moment of serenity before turning in his embrace and looking up into his face. "Where do we go from here?"

Edward frowned. "Tomorrow I plan on telling her. Everything."

"Everything?" I gulped. I could only imagine the effect Edward's confession might have on such a young child.

Edward smiled. "Ye of so little faith," he taunted. "Don't worry, Bella, children tend to take much more easily to the notion that vampires walk among them. I am sure Samantha will be far more delighted than she will be afraid."

I nodded warily.

"I need this, Bella. I need her to know, and I need her to understand. More than that, I think I need her to know me entirely, and take that part of me with her into her future."

Edward was gazing up into the heavens and I knew the look he wore meant he was thinking very carefully about what he meant to say. "My only family have all died, Bella, passed out of existence. Samantha is the only one left on this earth who possesses Cullen blood, though she may call herself a Davies. When she grows old and has children and grandchildren of her own, I want her to remember me and tell stories of me. I want my ancestors to know of me, Bella…"

I frowned, but Edward was not looking at me, his eyes were still cast upward. "I cannot have children of my own, and so to be remembered, even as a fragment of a fairy story, is all I can claim as my legacy. I love Samantha already, but she will grow and when she does, she will not see me as a father, though that is how I feel around her. In a few years, she will consider me a protective older brother, and yet I will love her still. A few years after that I will be merely an adoring little brother, yet I will still love and protect her as any father might his only daughter. Years after that, Bella, she will leave me to start her own life, and I will fade away into her memories. We did not come to her to keep her, Bella, or to give her the immortality with which I am cursed. We came to her so that she might know me, and think of me, and some part of me will go with her. Some personality trait perhaps, or some lesson, and she will pass that on. I want to live on through love and family as everyone else gets to, Bella, no matter how selfishly human that may sound."

I smiled up into Edward's face then, for once unconcerned where I fit into that dizzying puzzle of his immortal life. His wishes for the future were so … human, as he had said, and so beautiful. I wanted nothing more than for it all to come true, to go exactly as he had planned. And then, to complete my own happiness …

"And you will be there with me, Isabella. You will be my wife, and a part of you will descend down our line as well, through Samantha, for you are her mother as much as I am her father. We will not grow old, we will not pass along our stories and our love, but Samantha will."

A shadow passed across his features and Edward sighed briefly. "I do not intend to tell her all of this, of course, but she will know who and what I am, and I pray she will love me still."

"Oh Edward, she will. Of course she will."

And I was so caught up in the emotion Edward was feeling and this happy ending I could suddenly see for all of us that I let myself fall into my Edward's arms and my shameless tears dampened his shirt. And somewhere, very far away, the clouds covered the moon and the night was silent and still and perfect. Just perfect.