Edward spends the rest of the evening huddled over instructions, written in two point font, trying to figure out how to set up a crib. He's reluctant to buy it at first, citing that her parents could be found at any moment. Though, he still couldn't see the harm in making the purchase. Even if she was only here for one night, he'd feel better if she wasn't sleeping in a car seat. He could just donate it. So, he has her seated a decent distance away, trying to ignore her confused gaze for the couple of minutes she managed to keep her eyes open, as he wrestled with bolts and screws.
He should've called Emmett. He knows he should've called Emmett. The thing would've been up in a matter of seconds if he'd just sucked it up and just called his brother, but he just hasn't figured out how to explain the predicament he's managed to get himself into this time. Especially with it coming so soon after the last debacle, he felt like a disaster magnet.
So, he takes the hour to put up the crib before carefully placing her into it.
Then, he just stands there staring down at her.
He thinks he'd feel better if he set up the baby monitors. He wrestles with the cords and finding a place to sit the camera where he could see her face. He listens to see if he can hear her little breaths through the speaker.
When he looks up, it's five in the morning.
What has his life become?
Before Edward had found her on his doorstep, he'd be doing other things. What other things? Grading papers. The next assignment wasn't due until next week, having been pushed back by his little predicament. Looking over autopsy files. There weren't any recent cases that involved autopsies, majority of the people who died in Forks were going straight to the morgue. He was just there for the odd outlier. He couldn't go to any appointments and, even if he could, he didn't want to bring home any germs. There was no work currently available to distract him.
In his free time, he would go hunting. He peers over at the monitor, mind conjuring up an image of a tiny face looking up at him from a sling while he tries to hunt a deer. It feels as ridiculous as it sounds.
So, he spends the night staring at the baby monitor.
In order to get out of his own head, he pretends to need breakfast. He gets up from his recliner, takes a shower, gets dressed, and chooses between a light pink and dark pink onesie before they pack up for their little trip. He finds a small diner that he's only ever seen the outside of and ventures inside. In contrast to the rusting sign atop the building and old advertising in the windows, the interior of the building looks cared for. It gives off the impression that someone takes pride in the clean checkered floors and the juke box in the corner that somehow still works.
He's distracted from the children shoving quarters into the machine by a waitress who seems eager to get him into a seat. He places the car seat inside of the booth and plops down next to it. The woman opens her mouth, teeth beaming with a genuine smile.
"So, what can I get you to drink, Honey?"
To his surprise, she doesn't linger. He watches as the woman goes running off to get him water, leaving him to glance over a menu.
He doesn't spend too much time actually looking, eyes scanning quickly over the words before he decides to just pick the next thing his eyes land on. The process only distracts him for a moment before he's focusing on the way the baby is wriggling in her car seat. He pushes the cover back so she can see that he's still there. They stare at one another for a second before he hears the sound of the bell above the door ringing and, as he's whipping his head around, he catches sight of a cop car parked outside.
Officer Black saunters into the diner donning his uniform, but he doesn't look like he's there for anything important. He greets the waitress and an easy-going smile finds its way onto his face. Edward's never even seen him smirk. He assumed the man had reached a point in his career where he just didn't have much to smile about.
Black's quickly seated in a booth. He must be a regular because he's served coffee as soon as he sits down and he isn't handed a menu. Edward tries not to watch him. He tries to keep his eyes on the dingy, laminated pictures in front of him, searching for something he can pretend is appetizing for the next ten minutes.
That was the plan, until the baby begins to quietly whine in her seat. They're just quiet little whimpers at first, nothing to get alarmed over. He tries his best to get her to calm down, but the quiet whining only evolves into louder cries. He slips her out of her seat, pulling her into his arms and bouncing her. He checks for the usual culprits. She's dry, she just ate, and she barely kept her eyes open so she couldn't be sleepy.
Edward's been stared at most of his life. It came with his particular type of lifestyle. People's eyes were always on him, he'd become accustomed to it. However, the way people's forks dropped to peer over at him felt a bit different. They weren't oggling him as much as they were staring in disapproval. He was ruining their breakfast. How dare he?
He can feel himself beginning to panic. He's had all of the answers so far. Granted, they've been pretty cut and dry. He didn't feel like failing with a restaurant full of people watching. He's about to grab her car seat and head for the door when he realizes that Black is no longer at his table. In fact, he's standing directly in front of Edward and saying something.
"Let me..." He says reaching for her, and for some reason, yet again, Edward trusts him. He hands her over without putting much thought into it. He doesn't understand where this newfound trust is coming from. The officer bounces her lightly, her tiny figure resting on his left forearm and chest, while his right hand pats her lightly on the back. He must be holding her for about a minute at the most before she lets out a little burp and goes quiet and slack against his shoulder. It feels like the moment lasts for about ten minutes as the restaurant once again has eyes on them. It's less people this time, but they caught the eye of a particular group that can't seem to help themselves.
Black leans down to hand her back over and when he moves to straighten up there's a woman, who can't be taller than five feet, looming behind him
"Oh, isn't she precious. I remember when..." That's all it takes and she's going on and on,"...is she yours?"
It's an odd question to ask.
The woman looks between the two of them. Edward would think nothing of it at this point, if Black hadn't walked in and sat in a completely different booth. In fact, the waitress was heading out of the back with a tray in tow with what looks to be a giant stack of pancakes, bacon, and eggs that she intends to sit next to his coffee.
It doesn't click until she turns fully towards Black, smile beaming, baby and potential partner forgotten in the background. This is about the fifth time this has happened to him in the span of two days, he's used to it. He wouldn't usually even react, wiggling himself out of the uncomfortable situations like his life depended on it. Though, this time felt a little different.
The way she placed herself in front of him as if that would make Edward disappear and she'd suddenly be the center of Jacob's attention. The way she threw her hair over her shoulder and it almost touched the baby who was sound asleep at this point. The way she stuck her chest out and swayed her hips. It's not only that it didn't make sense, it insulted him in the process.
"Yeah, you mind." He hears Jacob say over the top of whatever it was the woman was saying.
At first, it clearly doesn't register as she continues her spiel. She's talking about relationships and how they can be strained once a baby is involved. Edward's almost getting the creeping suspicion that Jacob knows her or maybe she does this all of the time as he barely gives her a second glance. Instead, his eyes are wide, eyebrows raised as he stares at Edward.
He has this expression on his face like he's trying to communicate something. It's about the equivalent of Edward staring wide eyed in the baby aisle of the grocery store while Jacob stares at dog food.
It's not until Jacob leans over her to give Edward a quick peck on the cheek that he understands. He tries to school his face as to not look as shaken as he feels. Honestly, this was getting ridiculous. He barely knows this man.
She looks stunned as Officer Black straightens himself up.
"I need to eat and get back to work. I'll see you tonight, okay?" Then, he was headed back to his table, leaving the woman to stand there dejectedly watching him retreat.
Edward decides he isn't, in fact, even faux-hungry.
He stands up from the booth, gives the woman a taut nod as he nudges her out of his way, and quickly heads for the door.
Maybe ma-and-pop diners just weren't for him.
It takes a solid twenty-four hours before Emmett and Jasper are standing before him, innocent-enough looking smiles on their faces, as they huddle into the living room. They were peering over at the bundle of blankets in Edward's arms as if they were waiting for something to pop out.
"Did you get the wipes?" Edward asks with a resigned sigh. It was strange, he was aware, but they weren't the ones having to take care of her. He'd spent the last hour staring down into her crib trying to make sure she was still breathing even with the tiny monitor at his side.
Jasper seems to shake himself out of his shock, leaning forward to hand a grocery bag to Edward.
"Any luck finding the parents?" Jasper asks, as he goes back to staring at the wriggling form that's beginning to get a little cranky.
"Not a lot to go off of." Edward mumbles, distractedly, standing up from the couch to head over to the kitchen. He can hear Jasper and Emmett shuffling behind him as he grabs for the formula on the counter.
"Tried getting prints off of the car seat?" Emmett asks, from somewhere behind him.
Edward pauses, staring down at the bottle heating up in front of him.
That seemed like a genius idea if her parents were in the system. He stares down at her little face that was beginning to turn red from frustration.
"Maybe we can get some blood work. It might not find her mom and dad, but it can help us figure out what region they're from." Jasper points out.
Edward gives a low hum, popping the bottle out of the bottle warmer and testing the temperature before allowing her to finally drink.
They're both solid enough ideas. The only issue is that they worked in a lab where autopsies were performed. They weren't taking her to the hospital and getting blood work, they were taking her where they solved the latest murder that came across their desk. He's not sure he wants to take her where the dead come to get justice. It was weird. He can't be the only one who thinks it's weird.
"Ed?" He hears Emmett call.
They sanitize everything, of course, but he just...
"Ed!"
He spins around to face them. Emmett's looking at him with raised eyebrows, question still prevalent on his face. Are we doing this or not? Jasper has a different expression. It's clearly one of confusion, but Edward can practically see his brain trying to put pieces together.
He stares back at them blankly for a moment and Jasper tilts his head like he does when he's figured something out.
"Well, until then, she needs a nickname!" Emmett booms, coming around to get a closer look at her.
She stares back up at him, eyes mildly interested as she sucks on her bottle.
Emmett puts his hand on his chin and taps as if he's truly in deep thought.
"Looks like a Boo Bear to me." He says after about a second of staring down at her.
"Boo Bear?" Jasper asks incredulously, standing up from his seat and gliding around the island to take a closer look at her.
"Yeah, Bear for short." Emmett doubles down, leaning in closer as if that was going to help his case.
Jasper looks over at him as if he's lost his mind, but doesn't offer an alternative.
"Welp, we have to get to work." Emmett says, smacking Jasper on the shoulder. The transition in conversation feels abrupt. Edward looks up from the baby's face to glance at the both of them. Emmett seems insistent on leaving, eyes practically shooting daggers into Jasper who's rooted to the spot.
It doesn't seem like genuine hurry. If anything, it seems as if he's trying to rush Jasper specifically out of the house, ushering him with a hand on the back of his neck when Jasper doesn't immediately start moving towards the door. Emmett gives another tug.
"Who is it?" Jasper asks abruptly, ignoring Emmett incessantly urging him to leave.
Edward's not expecting the question. He doesn't even know what the question means. What is he even referring to? He feels as if he blacked out and skipped some of the conversation.
"What?"
"Who's got you like this?" This time his tone is more accusatory. Like Edward's withholding valuable information, like he knows damn well what Jasper is talking about.
"I don't understand."
"Is it her mom?" Jasper says gesturing to the baby, "Is it someone from work? School?"
Now he's completely lost, turning to Emmett who looks reluctant to be having whatever conversation they were apparently having.
"You've got that look, y'know, like you found someone." Emmett timidly jumps in.
Found someone? He hasn't found much of anything besides a headache and a baby on his doorstep. Besides, he doesn't get 'a look', that was more reserved for Emmett. He's the one who looked like he found new meaning in life with every blonde he meets.
"What look?" He knows he's sneering, but it's honestly insulting at this point.
"That look you get when you meet someone new." Jasper reiterates as if that was going to help him understand where they were pulling this from.
"Last time you got like this, you almost tied the knot." Emmett mumbles.
Edward wasn't sure what face he was making but his brother looks like he immediately regrets.
"You know I don't mean it like that, I mean just because that didn't pan out doesn't mean you have to hide whatever it is you're getting into now." Emmett follows up quickly.
"I'm not getting into anything!" He bellows, immediately regretting it as the baby begins to cry. He changes her position from being cradled to being pressed against his chest, ignoring the way his brothers glance at one another.
He doesn't understand where they're even getting the notion that he's interested in someone. Hell, he'd thought he'd made it pretty clear after his last relationship that he was pretty much off the market for this particular century.
Eventually, she's calm enough to continue having her breakfast and once the house is quiet again, they realize that there is someone knocking at the front door.
Edward's never felt so grateful for a distraction.
He's not sure what he's expecting when he opens the door, but it's not Black. He looks stern, brows furrowed and jaw clenched as speaks to Edward, completely contrasting his lax demeanor in the diner.
"You're needed at the station."