I awoke to a slight chill, that surprisingly wasn't caused by the arm that was wound around me, although Edward was contributing to it. "Bad dream?" he asked in a quiet voice. "No, it was nothing." I replied, though the dazed look gave me away. Edward raised his marbled hand to my cheek and stared at me with his deep topaz eyes. "Like I said before, you're a terrible liar. Bella, i've never seen you so startled from a dream." he said with a bit of concern, as he turned on my lamp. I looked down. "But you'll be upset." I said sadly. He just stared at me patiently waiting for an explanation. I sighed knowing he wouldn't give up. "Well you know what today is." I said, the last word lingering on the tip of my tongue. "Maybe... my mind was still set on your promise." I added slowly. He kept his gaze, and I was surprised when he grinned at me. "Only if you finally agree to my condition." he said with a laugh as he pulled a small box from his pocket, giving it a small shake. My face suddenly changed from doubtful to exasperated. "You actually opted for a ring." I sighed. He leaned close and kissed the top of my head. "Well, I never know when you might say yes." he said with a hopeful look. "Give me a couple of minutes to think about it, okay?. I said as I started to weigh my options. I came to the conclusion that Edward was more important than a career or college right now, me being human was the main reason Edward and I were usually put in danger and that's why we usually ended up apart for a while. I even thought about when I first asked about Emmett and Rosalie's marriages and how much I hoped he might want to have married me someday. So I decided that I wanted to be with Edward and that my death was the only option. I leaned close to him placing my hand in his. "Ok, you win...as usual." I said in a low tone. I swear I could hear him let out a sigh of relief. "So scared you decided to breathe?" I chuckled. "Well you could have said no again" he said, placing the ring on my finger. Suddenly I noticed why he went all out for the ring. I stared at the stone in the center and it was almost as if Edward was staring right back at me. The topaz stone sparkled in the dim light as I tilted my hand. "Edward...I..." I was silenced by his hand brushing the tears from my eyes. "Bella, it's still early." he started as I glanced at the clock, it was nearly 4:45 in the morning. "You should go back to sleep and we'll talk about it more in the morning." he finished. He reached over to turn out the light as I curled up next to him and I soon drifted off to sleep. I could have sworn I heard him whisper happy birthday to me as he kissed me.

I awoke a few hours later to the sound of the cruiser pulling off.. "Charlie's left to go fishing?" I asked with a groan. Without waiting for an answer I sat upright with a jolt suddenly remembering the events of last night. At first my eyes flickered to my hand then to Edward who was staring back at me. "So I wasn't dreaming?" I asked as I flashed the ring on my finger at him. Edward grinned at me. "And neither was I when you agreed." he said. "Wait a minute Edward, how exactly are we going to do this? I mean Charlie won't be to happy with the idea of giving me away...especially to you." I asked, remembering that Edward still wasn't back on Charlies good side since I ran off to save him from the Volturi in Italy. "Well there's always vegas." he grinned. My face turned serious. "When?" I asked. Edward was shocked "Well how about now." he started. "You can leave a note for Charlie. Be sure to include a month for the honeymoon "transformation"." he said. "I thought it only took 3 days?" I asked curiously. "Yes, but I need to teach you how to control your hunger, we wouldn't want you attacking Charlie or Renee would we. I also want some time alone with you when I don't have to be so... careful." he said as his lips brushed against my jaw, the last word sending a chill down my spine. "Should I start packing then?" I asked. Edward shook his head. "I'll pack, you leave Charlie a note." he answered. A sudden look of fear struck me, Charlie would kill Edward for this, well figuratively speaking of course. I nodded as I headed towards the bathroom to clean up. The ritual only took a couple of minutes since my mind was racing to get out of Forks with Edward by my side. I ran down the stairs nearly tripping over my feet twice and sat down with a pencil and paper thinking about what to write.

Dad, I started.
Please don't be mad,
i'll be back in a month.
I've gone away with Edward to marry him.
Don't be mad with Edward either, I wanted to go. I promise i'll be back in a month.
I love you.
Bella.

I placed the note by the phone and ran over to the door. With a quick glance I saw Edward waiting in his volvo staring at me. I grabbed my keys and bolted out the door heading for the car. By the time I reached the car he was already out of the car holding the door open. He shut the door behind me and a minute later we were on our way to the airport.