Emma and Jack Outtake

 

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Emma and Jack Outtake ~Fandom4Tsunami Submission

"Edward, man, are you sure you're up for this?" Emmett asked as he threw the bags Rose had packed for Jack and Emma into the back of the Escalade.

Edward rolled his eyes for the hundredth time and shook his head. "Why does everyone keep asking me that question? Of course I'm up for this. Isabella and I love spending time with Jack and Emma, and you and Rose deserve to get away for the weekend. What are you so worried about anyway?" Edward asked as he shut the back door once everything had been put inside.

He would never say it out loud, but he sort of shivered at how much stuff the kids needed just for a weekend trip. He couldn't even begin to imagine how much more it would have been had Jack and Emma been babies instead of five and three. Of course the next thought he had was that he couldn't wait until it was his and Isabella's baby they were packing the car for.

Emmett climbed out of the backseat where he'd been buckling in the car seats and smirked at his brother. "Brother, it's a whole different ball game when you're with them twenty-four seven versus just a few hours. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to have some quality alone time with Rosie," he said with a waggle of his eyebrows and Edward groaned.

"Em, damn it, I don't need to know what you plan on doing with my sister-in-law," Edward told him while he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Emmett couldn't help but laugh at him and then slapped him on the back. "Ed, chill, man. It's not like I'm going to give you a play by play of what I plan to do to my wife this weekend, unless you need some pointers?" he teased.

"Shut the fuck up," Edward growled, though it was with a smile.

"In all seriousness, thanks so much for offering to keep the kids. I think it will be good practice for you," Emmett nudged him, "and Rose and I really do need some time away."

"I hope you guys have a great time," Edward told him sincerely right before the front door opened and Rose, Isabella, and the kids walked out.

"Uncle Ebbard!" Emma squealed when she looked up and saw him.

Edward broke out into a huge smile and instantly thought of how sad he would be when Emma finally learned how to say her 'w's'. Really, really sad actually.

"There's my pretty girl," he laughed when she threw herself at him and he scooped her up in his arms as per usual.

"I gets to spend the nights wif you," she told him in that breathy, hyper voice that only little kids used.

He kissed her on the forehead and then gave her an Eskimo kiss, which of course resulted in the sweetest giggle, before he said, "I know! I'm so excited. I've been looking forward to this all week."

And he had, too.

When he had walked into Emmett's office and overheard him and Rose having a somewhat tense discussion, one which was totally unlike them, Edward realized how much strain his brother had been under. Ever since Emmett and Isabella had started on their project, Emmett had been working longer hours and pretty much nonstop. He only intensified that after the dinner where Edward had told his family everything. It was almost as if he was trying to prove something to Edward or make up for some unknown slight, and to be honest, Edward was getting a bit worried about him. He knew Em was still struggling with everything that he had told them all and coupled with the longer hours he was working at CP...well, it was no wonder he needed a few days away to recharge his batteries and get some much needed perspective.

It didn't go unnoticed that for once, it was someone other than Edward that was spending too much time at the office. It also didn't take much prodding on his part to convince Emmett that he should take Rose away for the weekend and let him and Isabella keep the kids. He had a moment's hesitation wondering if he should have asked Isabella first, but when Emmett's eyes lit up and he let out a long, cleansing breath, he knew he'd done the right thing.

Besides, like Emmett had said, it would be great practice for them.

"Do we have everything?" Edward asked Rose after she'd kissed Jack goodbye.

"I sure as heck hope so, if not, you're in big trouble," she laughed at him and then stepped forward. "Thanks so much for doing this. It really means a lot," she told him quietly.

Shifting Emma in his arms so he was able to let go of her with one of his, he wrapped his free arm around Rose and kissed her cheek quickly before straightening up again. "Anytime, sis, besides, we're going to have so much fun this weekend, Jack and Emma may never want to go home again. Isn't that right, pretty girl?"

"You can'ts keep me, Uncle Ebbard," she scolded him with all the seriousness a three-year-old could possess.

"I can't?" Edward said with an exaggerated pouty face. "Well, then I guess we better get to having fun seeing as we don't have long. Kiss your mommy and let's get going."

He leaned her over so Rose could kiss her and smiled when he got one from her, too. "You and Em enjoy yourselves and we'll see you both at Carlisle and Esme's."

Rose gave him an extra hug, partly in thanks for what he and Isabella were doing, but also to let him know how nice it was to see him say Carlisle and Esme's names, Carlisle's especially, without the usual frown on his face. He'd come such a long way and she was so happy to see it.

After another round of hugs and kisses, the kids got buckled into their car seats and they were on their way.

"Hey, Uncle Edward, what are we gonna do today?" Jack asked once they'd left his neighborhood.

It was a gorgeous Fall day, and even though it was just barely past nine o'clock in the morning, the sun was bright and the weather promised to be perfect.

"Well, Aunt Isabella and I," he said as he looked in the rearview mirror and squeezed her hand at the same time, "thought we'd head to the corn maze and do that, and then let you guys help pick out some pumpkins. Then we'll eat lunch and after that we'll go play putt-putt, pick up some pizza, and then go home and watch movies until you both pass out."

Emma clapped her hands at the thought of picking out pumpkins and Jack gave Edward a trademark Cullen smirk when he said, "Do you think you can beat me at putt-putt, Uncle Edward? It's not a video game, so you might have a shot."

"Kid, you just wait," Edward tried to say with a straight face but failed miserably. "Besides, your Aunt Bella is going to kick both our butts."

He chuckled when he heard her giggle and noted she didn't dispute what he'd said.

Isabella looked at him out of the corner of her eye and let out a very contented sigh. Ever since he'd told her he offered to keep the kids for the weekend, she had been beyond excited. She had to admit she'd been a tad nervous when he'd first told her, but as the weekend got closer and closer and he got more and more excited, so did she. He was so...happy...and there really wasn't a plainer way to say it.

A few months ago she never would have dreamed she and Edward would be at this place in their marriage, though it was what she'd always wanted. She couldn't imagine being any happier than she was right at the moment, unless she pictured their baby along with Jack and Emma. Every night when she went to bed the last thought she had before falling asleep was to say a quick prayer hoping that she and Edward were blessed with a baby before too long. She would never be so presumptuous as to demand, but sooner rather than later would be most welcome.

She knew he wanted it just as much as she did, and at times perhaps even more so; a fact of which made her as giddy as a schoolgirl. She couldn't count the number of times she'd let her mind wander as she tried to picture what their baby would look like, which mannerisms of theirs it would adopt, whose temperament it would most likely have. She tried to picture Charlie and Renée with their grandchild, knowing full well that the moment it was born, the child was liable to be spoiled beyond belief. Not with things, though she was sure there would be plenty of gifts, but with so much love it wouldn't even be funny.

"You okay, Beautiful?" Edward asked her when she'd been quiet for a few minutes.

He'd been listening to Jack and Emma chatter excitedly back and forth while they debated about what they wanted to do first when they got to their first stop. Emma of course wanted to pick out pumpkins, while Jack was itching to head into the corn maze. Edward hadn't told either of them that while they were there they'd also go on a hayride and for Jack, there was even the chance to shoot an air gun that shot corn cobs out of it. He had to admit, he was kind of looking forward to that, too.

"I'm great, sweetheart. I'm so excited about today and the fact that the weather is absolutely perfect," she said sweetly when she turned and looked at him.

He sure was dressed for Fall in a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of faded blue jeans that when she first saw them on him and the way they'd hugged his perfect ass, made her mouth water. To complete the casually sexy look that only he had was a pair of well-worn Doc Marten's and a pair of sunglasses.

In a word, he was hot.

Very, very...very hot.

And hers.

He nodded as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "It's going to be a great day, and we're going to have so much fun," he told her and flashed her her smile.

They arrived at the corn maze and because it was so early in the morning, there were relatively few people there.

Emma squealed in the backseat and bounced in her chair, clapping her hands over and over again. "Hurry, Uncle Ebbard! I wanna sees everyfing!"

"You heard her, Edward. You'd better hurry before she bounces right out of the car," Isabella laughed at him when he'd turned the car off.

Once Emma was unbuckled, she was out of the car like a shot and Jack was right behind her. After a vigorous debate, it was decided that the pumpkin patch would be first so that once they'd picked out the pumpkins, they could load them in the car and then spend the rest of their time doing everything else.

"Uncle Edward, what about this one?" Jack asked a short time later as he stood in front of what had to be the ugliest, most deformed-looking pumpkin Edward had ever seen in his life.

"Buddy...um...that is just..." Edward tried to be diplomatic, but was having the hardest damn time coming up with anything nice to say about the monstrosity.

"I say we get it and bring it home to show Dad," Jack said with a smirk and he reminded Edward so much of Emmett it was scary.

Edward threw his head back and laughed before he nodded his head in agreement. "He's going to flip when he sees this," he told Jack a few minutes later as they walked to the car to put up their pumpkins.

Of course, Miss Emma managed to pick out the most perfect pumpkin ever: perfectly proportioned, round, with no flaws at all. Her little arms were also full of gourds of every shape, size, and color as well as a few miniature pumpkins, too. Apparently his lovely wife had as hard a time telling her 'no' as he did.

Once everything was put away in the back of the car, they headed for the maze. It actually had two entrances and they decided to split up to see who could get to the end first. Edward and Emma were on one team and Isabella was with Jack and after many wrong turns Edward and Emma found their way out of the end only to be met with a very smug-looking Jack and Isabella.

"You didn't get lost, did you?" Isabella asked with a grin and Edward tried to glare at her but couldn't hide the fact that the corner of his lips lifted in a smile.

"Pshhh, we let you two win. Didn't we, Emma?" Edward asked and laughed when she nodded her head in enthusiastic agreement.

Isabella and Jack shared a look and then she said, "Why don't Emma and I check out the petting zoo and you and Jack go do your guy stuff and we'll meet you two when it's time for the hayride."

"This is so cool," Jack said a bit later as he aimed the air gun at the target in the middle of the field. "Hey, Uncle Edward," he said after he'd shot his last ear of corn out of the gun.

Worried about the soft, hesitant tone of voice Jack was using Edward pushed his sunglasses up on top of his head and looked down at him.

"Thanks for letting us spend the weekend with you," Jack said quietly. "It's...well...really cool to hang out with you."

Edward laid his arm across his shoulder and pulled him close. Bending down he kissed him quickly on top of the head, not wanting to embarrass him by being overly affectionate out in public. "I love hanging out with you and Emma, Jack. I'm just sorry it took me a while to get my act together."

"Um," Jack said in an even quieter voice. "Are you going to be Emma's godfather again now? I mean we both love Jasper, but well...we love you more...and I know...I mean...she's too little to understand...but she loves you so much...." he stumbled over his words.

"Jack, oh," Edward practically groaned then had to take a deep breath to keep his voice from shaking. "Yes, of course I will. I want to. I love both of you, so much."

Jack wrapped his arms around his waist and gave him a quick hug before stepping backward.

Edward chuckled at the very typical little boy reaction and then looked up and noticed that Isabella and Emma were waiting for them by the tractor that would pull the trailer for the hayride. He and Jack made their way to them and then climbed into the back and found their seats on the soft hay.

Once the tractor started and Emma jumped when it started moving, everyone settled against the bales of hay. Edward laughed quietly as he listened to Emma prattle on and on in surprising detail for a three-year-old about every animal she saw in the small pen. There weren't many, but you would never be able to tell that from the way she talked.

"What are you thinking about, love?" he bent down and whispered in Isabella's ear when he saw a dreamy, sweet smile on her face.

She snuggled closer to him, forgetting for a moment that they weren't alone and said, "How nice this is, and how I can't wait until we get to do this as Mom and Dad and not Aunt Bella and Uncle Edward."

"Ah, my sweet girl, it'll come. We just have to be patient," he told her, hoping beyond hope he wasn't making promises he couldn't keep.

Somehow, someway, he knew that no matter what his fate was, no matter how long it was until his time was up, he was sure that this one wish they both hoped for would be granted. The rest, well, he'd learned from the annoying angel person, was out of his hands.

"Edward," she began then quickly closed her mouth and tried to burrow even further into his shoulder.

"Ah, ah, ah," he prodded her as he reached with his other hand and grabbed her chin with his finger and thumb, tipping her face up to his. "You know there is no way in hell you're getting away with that move, Beautiful. What is it?" he asked softly.

She gripped his bicep, reveling for just a moment the way the muscle coiled and flexed beneath her fingers. "I don't want you to think I'm not happy, Edward, because I am...insanely so. The way things are with us now is all I've ever wanted and if that is all I'll ever have, I won't mind, I promise. As much as I want to have your child and have us be a family, I want and need you even more. I hope you understand that," she told him with all the sincerity she possessed.

"Oh, Isabella," he muttered with so much emotion he felt like he could fall apart. He picked up his hands and then ran his fingers over her cheeks before he brushed his lips against hers in the sweetest, most tender kiss ever. It wasn't a long kiss because he was aware of little eyes and ears, but it conveyed everything he wanted it to. "I love you, baby, so damn much," he whispered and pecked her lips once more before settling her against him again. "All I need is you, too. As long as I have that, I have everything."

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"Uncle Edward," Jack grinned almost maniacally, "you know the point of this whole thing is to get the ball in the hole, right?"

"Kid, you are really pushing your luck right about now," Edward grumbled and then turned around to glare at his very smug wife and his equally amused niece and nephew.
The rest of the day had gone just as well as the beginning. After the hayride, they stopped by the concession stand for a glass of lemonade and a caramel apple...and then a trip to the bathroom where Isabella had to change poor Emma's clothes. Apparently little girl and warm, gooey caramel does not a good match make.

The drive to the pizza place was full of laughter and some very off-key singing on Edward's part. He gave it a valiant try of course, but singing was definitely not his forte. In between the corn maze and the restaurant, they made a detour to the toy store because Jack made the mistake of telling Edward he could beat him in the game of Battleship and Edward was never one to back down from a challenge, even from a five-year-old. Of course Emma didn't leave empty-handed either, having sweet-talked her very willing uncle into buying her the biggest stuffed cow he had ever seen. When he asked her why a cow, she simply and very sweetly said, "Because it reminds me of spending time with you," so he bought her a stuffed pig, pony, and lamb to go along with it.

Although he was half-tempted to second-guess buying any of them anything considering each of them seemed to delight so much in his inability to putt a little ball through the opening of a windmill.

"Awww, Uncle Ebbard, don't bes mad at us," Emma said and she looked like she was about to cry.

There was absolutely no question at all on whose head that little girl thought the sun rose and set on. She loved her daddy for sure, but her uncle, well, he was her hero and her most favorite person in the whole world.

He broke out the big guns and flashed her a huge smile and said, "I'm not mad, pretty girl, I promise. Why don't you come over here and help me get this da...darn ball through this silly windmill?"

She skipped over to him, well as much as a little girl with adorably chubby legs can skip, and very seriously said, "Steps back and watch me."

And without missing a beat she proceeded to hit the little blue ball right through the door and straight into the hole...on the first try no less.

"I'll be...thanks, Emma, you saved me," he told her as he grabbed her and then spun her around in a circle.

The rest of the game passed in much the same fashion much to Edward's supreme displeasure. Even letting Isabella help him a time or two didn't help much. Although, he did rather enjoy the feel of her body pressed tightly against his of course. He'd even be willing to suffer the embarrassment at being a total failure at the nuances of putt-putt golf if he got to feel that again.

Oh, who was he kidding? As much as he enjoyed the feel of his wife's body, he did not enjoy losing...at all. And he disliked not being good at something even more.

Too bad poor Edward wasn't any better at Battleship than he was at Wii bowling or putt-putt.

"D 5," Jack said with huge, and if he was older, Edward would have said shit-eating grin. As it was Jack had thrown himself backward, landing on a pillow while he laughed so hard tears were streaming down his face.

"Hit," Edward huffed and then couldn't help but laugh, too.

The rest of the game was a foregone conclusion of course and after the game was over, he sent Jack upstairs to get ready for bed.

He wandered into the kitchen and pulled a beer out and then carried it to the back door where he looked out over the garden. For half a minute he wondered where the angel had been all day, but he figured Seth was enjoying watching, from wherever he was, him get his ass handed to him all day long.

Yeah, there was no question the know-it-all being enjoyed his humiliation.

"Damn angel," Edward muttered, though it was done with a smile.

He finished his beer while he thought back over the day. Even with all the laughing, most done at his expense, he couldn't deny it had been about the most perfect day he'd ever spent. Like Emmett told him, being around the kids nonstop all day long had been very different than only having them for an hour or two, but he'd loved every minute of it.

After he'd thrown away the bottle in the recycling bin, he made sure the doors were locked and the alarm was set before making his way upstairs. He found his wife where he knew he would, laying on the bed in the guest bedroom between Jack and Emma reading them a story. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame, and just watched as she told of a world of dragons and princesses. Each of the kids was hanging on to her every word and though poor Emma could barely keep her eyes open, she kept begging Isabella to read just one more page.

He was struck with the most intense feeling of peace and contentment as he continued to watch, not to mention the urge to make love to his wife was like a smoldering fire just waiting to to burst into flames. She had no idea what it did to him to watch her with Jack and Emma. She was the epitome of gentleness and grace, though he was fully aware of the feisty Italian siren that came out to play from time to time. He loved and adored both equally because both were the essence of who she was.

Another few minutes passed and the sounds of soft snoring filled the air as both children fell into an exhausted slumber. He smiled at her when she looked up at him and pushed off the doorway without saying a word. Holding his hand out to her, he took the book and then helped her up before kissing Jack and Emma on the forehead. He led her from the room, still without speaking, until he closed the door behind them.

"I plan on making love to you all night long, Beautiful. A perfect ending to a perfect day, wouldn't you say?" he asked before claiming her lips and tumbling her down to their bed where he proceeded to do just as he'd said.

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