Hey everyone! This is my first Twilight fanfic, so I'm dying to know what everybody thinks of it. I've had the idea for it in my head for a long time, and I've finally started getting it down in story form! It took a lot longer than I had thought it would... mostly because I kept adding little bits of fluff and changing my mind on things. Oh well, I hope you enjoy. Please review. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. They belong to the magnificent Stephenie Meyer.

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I glanced longingly at the clock for the thousandth time. Still too early. I directed my attention to the pot of stew which bubbled on the stove. Stirring it with a large wooden spoon, I glanced at the clock again, hoping that time would have jumped forward while I wasn't watching. No such luck. Charlie would be home soon, but that wasn't what was making me nervous. Edward had been hunting with Emmett and Jasper and would be returning this evening. He had left yesterday afternoon and promised me he would be back as soon as possible, but it did nothing to calm my anxious thoughts. I had slept poorly without him, and I was looking forward to spending tonight with his cold form next to me.

Ever since we had told Charlie about our engagement Edward hadn't left my side for more than a few minutes. Charlie hadn't been happy in the beginning, but now that it had sunk in for a few days, he grudgingly accepted the fact that we were going to be married. He still treated Edward as coldly as before, but at least I was able to spend more time with Edward in Charlie's presence.

I was lost in my thoughts when I heard Charlie's cruiser pull up to the house. I turned the stove off and poured the stew into separate bowls while I listened to Charlie come in the door.

"Hi Dad," I called.

"Hey Bells. Mmm, something sure smells good." Charlie's head poked around the corner into the kitchen. "I'll be down in a minute."

I placed the bowls on the table while he went to his room to change out of his uniform. I took two glasses from the cupboard and gathered silverware for us both and set them on the table. I was looking over the meal, wondering if I was missing anything, when Charlie returned.

"Bella, I don't know how I survived without you," Charlie said, grinning. "I'm going to have to start exercising soon to work all of this food off."

I noticed that he seemed to be in a strangely good mood. "I highly doubt that," I said, returning his smile. "You may be eating more, but it's certainly better for you than eating take out every night."

We settled into comfortable silence while we ate. I was glad that Charlie didn't feel the need to continue uncomfortable conversation at every moment. The clock continued to crawl forward at a snail's pace, and I had to struggle to keep from looking at it every minute. I had finished and was bringing my empty dishes to the sink when Charlie cleared his throat.

"Bella, there's something I want to talk to you about." Charlie's voice was devoid of emotion as he stared nervously at his empty bowl.

I tried to contain the surprise which was surely etched on my face. It couldn't be anything bad, could it? Alice would have warned me if something horrible was going to happen, and Edward would have been here if it was something important concerning him. Charlie couldn't want to have another sex talk, could he? His last attempt at that had failed miserably, but now that he knew I was engaged, maybe he wanted to try again. I could feel my cheeks warm as I blushed. I put my dishes on the counter and returned to the table.

"What is it, Charlie?" I asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of my voice.

"Well Bells, you know I don't like leaving you alone. You tend to attract more danger than anyone I know." Charlie awkwardly looked down at his shoes. "Some of the guys at work were talking today about going to a game down in Los Angeles. They have an extra ticket and were wondering if I wanted to come along. I'd only be gone a week and I don't have to go if you don't want me to."

Charlie's eyes finally met mine. He looked like a little boy begging his mother for permission to have another piece of cake. I smiled as the anxiousness I was feeling was replaced with relief.

"Dad, you should go! You need a vacation. You've been so busy lately you probably haven't left Forks in months. I'll be perfectly fine at home," I said, hardly able to contain my anxiousness at the thought of having a week of freedom with Edward.

"That's another thing I wanted to talk to you about," Charlie said, his voice still serious. "I don't know if I should leave you at home alone. Who knows what could happen? I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you and there was nobody around to take you to the hospital."

I couldn't deny the truth in his statement. I was a danger to myself – a fact my medical record could prove. However, with Edward spending every moment with me, I knew that Charlie had nothing to fear. Unfortunately, Charlie didn't know about Edward's constant presence, and I needed to find a way to convince him that it would be okay for him to leave me home. Then an idea struck.

"I could spend a week over with the Cullens," I said, practically begging. "I'd enjoy spending more time getting to know my future in-laws. Besides, Alice has been waiting for me to go shopping with her for wedding things."

Charlie's face darkened slightly at the mention of the upcoming wedding. He was silent for a minute as he went over my suggestion in his head.

"Well, I suppose you could, but there would have to be strict rules while I'm gone." Charlie paused for a moment before continuing. "Either Carlisle or Esme have to know where you are at all times. I don't want you getting in trouble."

"No problem," I said. That wouldn't be hard, especially considering the fact that they could probably hear my heartbeat from more than a mile away.

"Second, I want you to think before you act with Edward. I know you two are engaged, but that doesn't change anything. You're smart Bella, and I trust that you won't do anything stupid that you'll regret later on."

Charlie looked uncomfortable coming so daringly close to the topic of sex, but his warning was clear. I knew what our limits were, and I doubted that even with our newfound freedom that we would ever cross our boundaries. Edward promised that we would go farther after our wedding, and I didn't want to push him.

"Third," Charlie continued, "I want you, Carlisle, or Esme to check in with me every evening. I'll keep my phone on me at all times if you need anything. I know you probably don't like it, but I don't want to be worrying about you my entire trip."

"Dad," I said. "You don't have to worry about anything. I'm sure that I'll be fine. I'll be living with a doctor if anything goes wrong, and I'm sure that I won't have a moment's privacy."

I thought about the fact that privacy in the Cullen house was a rare thing. With 7 individuals who all had an extraordinary sense of hearing, even normal conversations were likely to be overheard by someone. Not to mention the fact that every one of them seemed intrigued by the "cute, little human," and never wanted to miss one of my most embarrassing moments.

"You know how Alice likes to make me her dress-up doll," I continued, "I probably won't even have to pick out my clothes on my own. Trust me; I'll be in very safe hands."

"I hope so Bella," said Charlie. He got up and brought his dishes to the sink. "You had better call Carlisle now before it gets too late to make sure that it's okay if you spend the week. The guys were hoping to leave bright and early tomorrow morning."

With that, Charlie left the kitchen and headed off to the living room to check the current scores. I waited until I heard the TV click on, and picked up the phone to dial Carlisle's cell phone number. It rang twice when I heard the familiar voice on the other end.

"Hello?" asked Carlisle.

"Hi Carlisle, it's Bella."

"Bella, it's nice to hear from you. I'm surprised that you called me instead of Edward. Is something wrong?"

"No, everything is fine. It's just that Charlie is going to be out of town for the next week and I was wondering if…" I was interrupted by a scuffling noise on the other end of the line. An overly excited feminine voice erupted from the phone.

"Yes, yes, yes!" yelled Alice excitedly. I assumed she had just stolen the phone from Carlisle. "We can have so much fun, Bella! Just think! Seven whole days for us to plan your wedding! We can go over color samples, pick out bridal bouquets, finalize the guest list, and…"

"Alice!" I yelled into the phone. "I need to make sure it's okay for me to come over first. Could you please give the phone back to Carlisle?"

"Of course it's okay, Bella, but I'll let you hear it from Carlisle else you'll never believe me." Alice paused for a moment and continued, "Oh, and Edward will be at your house in about an hour. You might want to take a shower before he comes – you won't have much time in the morning. See you tomorrow!" Alice's chipper voice was replaced by Carlisle's smooth tone.

"Bella, we would love to have you spend the week with us. Tell Charlie that we will make sure nothing happens to you."

"Thanks Carlisle. I can't wait."

"We'll see you tomorrow morning then, Bella. Have a good night."

"Good night."

I placed the phone back in its cradle and went to the living room to tell the news to Charlie. After passing on Carlisle's message, I said good night to Charlie and wished him a good trip. I hurried to my room and packed a bag for the upcoming week. I grabbed my bag of toiletries and my pajamas then went to the bathroom to shower and brush my teeth. Human necessities now finished, I made my way to my room and slipped under the covers of my bed, snuggling into their comfortable coolness. I was tired, but I didn't want to let myself fall asleep before Edward returned.

I had just begun to drift off when I felt a touch that sent shivers up my spine. A cold hand swept the hair off of my forehead and a pair of cool lips lightly brushed across my temple. I smiled and opened my eyes to see a sight so beautiful that it almost brought tears to my eyes.

He was kneeling next to the bed, looking directly at me. The window cast bright moonlight on his face, making his pale features stand out even more than normal. I noted that he was smiling my favorite crooked smile. I looked into his eyes last – losing myself in their light butterscotch depths.

"Breathe, Bella," Edward whispered, his smile growing.

I let out the breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding in. Edward chucked quietly and sat down on the bed next to me. His hand stroked the side of my face as I continued to stare at him.

"I missed you," I finally managed to say after the shock of seeing his beauty had finally begun to wear away.

"I missed you too," his velvet voice replied. He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Alice told me about your plans for tomorrow. I'm surprised that Charlie is willing to leave you alone for that long."

"I won't be alone," I said, leaning up towards his face. "You will be with me the entire time."

Edward leaned down and pressed his cool lips against mine. A shiver passed through me as I tasted the sweetness of his lips. Without wasting a moment, Edward pulled away.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"No." I looked up into his worried face. "I'm just happy that you're home."

"You never fail to amaze me, Bella."

I smiled. "I'm far from amazing compared to you. I get a Greek god, and you get an ordinary human."

"Bella, Bella, Bella," he said into my ear. "You are anything but ordinary." He adjusted the covers comfortably around my shoulders and moved to the other side of the bed. Settling himself next to me, he reached over and ran his fingertips down the side of my cheek. "You should sleep.

Tomorrow will be a busy day."

I nodded and obediently closed my eyes. Edward began to softly hum a tune I didn't recognize, and I drifted to sleep.

--

"You don't want to sleep the entire morning away, do you Bella?"

I yawned and turned slightly to look at my alarm clock. I nearly bolted upright when I saw the time. It was 10:49 in the morning, and I had yet to do anything productive. I groaned and pulled the covers over my head, hoping to skink back into the comforting blackness of sleep.

"Bella, Alice is considering getting Emmett to come over here to drag you out of bed if you don't come soon. She wants to do your hair, and she's getting tired of waiting. I encourage you to get up soon unless if you would prefer to have Emmett break down your door."

I pulled the covers off of my head and frowned at Edward. "You would think that after all these years she would have learned a little patience."

Edward chuckled. "She hasn't had a lot of practice with waiting for humans to finish sleeping before. You should be thankful that she has even waited this long."

I stifled a yawn and stretched out leisurely under the covers. "Well, I wouldn't want to keep a vampire waiting. Give me a human moment and I'll be ready to go."

I carefully slipped out of bed, not wanting to fall, and grabbed a pair of jeans which were thrown over the back of my chair. Walking over to the closet, I pulled out a t-shirt and grabbed my toothbrush and hairbrush from the bag I had packed the night before. I headed to the bathroom to rush through my usual routine – thankful that Alice had warned me to take a shower the night before. I quickly brushed through my hair and tied it back. I brushed my teeth and pulled on my clothes. With a final look in the mirror I hurried back to my room.

Edward was waiting for me. My bag was in his hands and his face broke out in my favorite crooked grin when I walked through the door. He walked over to me and took the pajamas, toothbrush, and hairbrush from my hands and quickly put them into the bag.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Ready when you are."

"Then let's go."

Before I had a moment to think, his cold arms wrapped themselves around my waist and I found myself perched on his back. Within the blink of an eye he jumped out of my bedroom window and all I could see was the ground quickly approaching. My breath caught in my throat, but he landed softly and began running through the damp forest towards his home. I tightened my grip around his neck and my breathing became more rapid as I watched the tree trunks fly by inches away from my face. I didn't loosen my hold until we reached our destination.

Edward slowed to a halt in front of the large white house which was home to the entire Cullen family. I slid from his back and held onto his arm until the world stopped spinning.

"Bella, are you all right?" Edward's voice was full of concern.

"You… could… have… used… the… front… door," I gasped.

Edward's carefree laugh surprised me. "But where's the fun in that? Besides, your window was faster."

I didn't have a remark to answer with, so instead I opened the door and let myself into the house which would be, for a time, my future home. I stepped into the bright interior and immediately spied Emmett and Jasper on the couch watching TV. Emmett turned to look at me and grinned. Jasper looked my way and gave me a brief smile.

"Hi, Bella!" Emmett called. "How's my favorite human today?"

"I'm fine, though I would be better if your brother didn't decide that a window made a more acceptable exit than a doorway."

Emmett laughed. "What did you do, Edward? Throw her out the window?"

"Of course I didn't," Edward defended. "She was safely in my possession the entire time. She just doesn't find it as amusing as I did."

"Oh, it was a real laughing riot," I said sarcastically.

Edward took my hand in his. "Sorry Bella, but I had to get you here as fast as I could. Alice was thinking about doing something awful to the Volvo if I didn't get you here soon."

"Speaking of Alice," I said, "where is she?"

"She's upstairs on the computer. Some famous designer just decided to put previews of their new collection on the internet, so she is putting in pre-orders," Jasper explained.

I laughed and Emmett rolled his eyes.

"Bella," Edward said. "Let me put your things in my room, and then we can discuss what we can do today."

He was out of my sight before I could utter a word. I went to the couch and sat next to Emmett. Turning my attention to the TV I noticed that they were watching an old British sitcom set in a department store. I looked at Emmett and Jasper. "You two really like this stuff?"

I nearly jumped when Edward's voice answered me from behind. "They watch it nearly every day."

"They don't make good British humor like this anymore," Emmett said, smiling.

"So Bella," Edward said while leaning over the couch, "what would you like to do today?"

I was thinking about what I wanted to do when my stomach chose to give a mighty rumble that would have put even Edward's growl to shame. I realized that I hadn't eaten anything since the night before and now I was starving.

"Didn't you feed her this morning?" asked Jasper.

"Well, no," admitted Edward. "We were in a hurry to get here. I should have given her something before we left."

"Hello, I'm still standing right here," I reminded them. "And I am perfectly capable of feeding myself. You wouldn't happen to have any human food around, would you?"

Edward looked at me with concerned eyes. "I doubt it, but we can look."

We all headed to the kitchen and I opened the refrigerator door. What I saw shocked me. The fridge was practically bare except for a few random items. A bag of microwave popcorn, a jar of peanut butter, and a half-eaten package of hotdogs sat on the top shelf. A jar of cocktail onions was in the fridge door. I sighed and moved on to the cupboards. A few held plates and glasses, and I managed to find a box of ice cream cones, but otherwise they were bare.

"Well, it could have been worse," I admitted. "I'm surprised that you had any food here at all."

"We have to keep up appearances, Bella," Edward said. "Occasionally we have to go to the grocery store to pick up an 'emergency item' or two. It gets suspicious if one of the most prominent families in town never buys anything here. Usually we can get by with buying paper towels or something else that we can actually use. However, on occasion it is necessary for us to purchase other items to keep out of suspicion."

"I see," I said. "Well then, I guess we're going to have to go grocery shopping."

Abruptly a blurred pink figure gracefully raced into the kitchen. Alice suddenly stood before me, an angelic smile lighting up her excited face.

"Did I hear you say that we're going shopping?"

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So what did you think? Too fast? Too slow? What can I make better? PLEASE tell me, I'm dying to know what I can fix or improve on. I know that a lot of this chapter was just setting up for the actual "body" of the story, but I'd still love to know what's going on in your head about it. Please review… I'll give you a cookie!