Chapter 1 - Underestimated

I wrapped my arms and legs tightly around Edward as he ran like a blur through the trees. I was getting more comfortable with this mode of travel and was enjoying the rush of speed as he jumped over dead fall and skirted under overhanging branches. All too soon we emerged from the forest and he set me down gently by his car.

I could feel the reality of what had just occurred in the meadow on the third finger of my left hand and I chewed on my lower lip trying to form a plan in my head.

Edward turned to me and lifted up my chin so he could see my face. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders lightly. "I'm trying to come up with something to tell Charlie." I hesitated and took a quick breath. "Remember when I told you that I wasn't that girl? Part of it was because I know what Charlie will assume; most people will think the same thing", I said.

A look of confusion clouded Edward's golden amber eyes. "Bella, you lost me. The only reason two people get married is because they love each other – what else is there to think?"

I could feel that familiar heat starting to flood up my throat and into my cheeks as I tried to explain. "You know…….everyone will think that I'm…….that we're……" My face was crimson now. "Oh, come on Edward!" I looked at him with exasperation, "Charlie is going to think I'm pregnant!"

"Oh!" Edward was genuinely surprised. "I hadn't thought of that. It's not something that I ever really considered since it could never happen." He looked at me clearly finding this amusing, and took my face in his hands. "We'll figure something out. Everything will be fine."

He slowly bent down to kiss me and brushed his cool, stony lips against mine. My tongue gently traced the contours of his lower lip as my arms reached up to encircled his neck and my fingers weaved in his bronze hair.

The lightly falling rain added to the sensation as my lips and tongue danced with his and a soft moan escaped my throat. My breathing became ragged as I pressed my body into his. His hands trailed up and down my back, his cool fingers making my skin tingle through my thin t-shirt.

This is the point when Edward usually started to gently pull away fearing a loss of control, but as I feathered kisses down his neck and throat, he let out a low groan. His hand came to the back of my neck and his fingers entwined in my hair. "Bella", he sighed, and covered my mouth with his.

I ran my hands down his chest and started fumbling with the buttons on his shirt when his resolve returned and he took my wrists in his hands. He kissed me once more softly before he stepped back. "I'm sorry," he sighed. "You know I don't want to stop."

I bridged the distance between us and looked up into his beautiful face. My wrists still bound, I lifted one hand and cupped his cheek. "Then don't," I teased as I pulled his face toward mine.

"Bella, you know why I….." The phone was to his ear before it even registered in my brain that it had been ringing. "Saved by the bell," he smiled and winked at me.

I scowled and stuck my tongue out at him teasingly as I walked around to the passenger side of the car. As I opened the door about to get in, I caught my name in Edward's conversation.

"I don't know if Bella is going to like that, Alice." I listened more intently looking at Edward quizzically.

He held up a finger to me and shook his head. "Alice, you promised you wouldn't go overboard. It's complicated enough as it is." They must be talking about the wedding.

Whatever Alice was saying, it was clearly not to Edward's liking and he struggled to conceal it in his voice. "No, Alice! We can talk about this later. We'll be home after we tell Charlie about the wedding and you can ask her yourself. Bye!" Edward hung up the phone and placed it in his pocket.

"What hugely embarrassing thing does Alice want to do for the wedding?" I asked meekly. Maybe I shouldn't have given her full reign over the planning. The last thing I wanted was a huge, black-tie affair with hundreds of guests. I hated being the centre of attention but Alice, being Alice, thought it was good for me and pushed me into the spotlight whenever she could. I mentally cringed as I remembered prom in junior year, and my 18th birthday……

Edward looked at me sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Bella. She means well," he sighed.

The rain started to come in earnest. I took a deep breath to calm the butterflies in my stomach and gave him a small smile. "I know, but I can't think about that right now because we still haven't figured out what to tell Charlie. May as well get it over with." I stepped into the car and buckled my seat belt. "Carlisle is working at the hospital tonight, right?"

Sliding into the driver's seat beside me, Edward eyed me curiously and frowned. "He's on late tonight I think, why?" He turned the key, and the engine roared to life.

I glanced at him wearily than stared down at my hands. "Because I want the best doctor in town taking care of Charlie after the heart attack we're about to give him," I replied glumly.

Edward took my hand and brought it to his lips. He opened my palm and kissed it, then proceeded to kiss each of my fingers. He laced his fingers in mine and squeezed my hand in reassurance. "It will be fine, Bella. Charlie is a good man, he will understand. He wants you to be happy."

"I hope so," I muttered.

"I know so." Edward squeezed my hand again as we started toward Forks.

My breath caught as we turned the corner onto my street and I saw the cruiser in the driveway. I had half-hoped he had decided to go fishing with Harry or watch the game at Billy's place. It's now or never, I thought to myself. Edward and I weren't going to have a second chance to do this right. And though Charlie wouldn't understand it, I was doing this for him.

Even though I loved Edward with every piece of me, I'd never been keen on marriage. He was forever 17, I was only 18 and it felt…wrong, somehow. Well, maybe not wrong, but at least weird, very weird. I never thought I'd be the girl who got married right out of high school. I knew that Edward thought it was a great idea and had used it as a bargaining chip in our negotiations that would turn me into vampire. I had always wanted Edward to be the one who turned me. Not that it mattered really. It would still be days of agony going though the change, followed by a year, at least, of laughable vampire impetuousness, immaturity and unquenchable thirst. But knowing that it would be Edward that changed me, that it was his venom in my body made it kind of erotic. So in exchange for his bite, I agreed to be his wife.

We could have just as easily have been married after he turned me - Rosalie and Emmett had been married numerous times already. But Edward wanted me to have as many human experiences as I could, and though I didn't care, it seemed a fitting way to say good bye to my friends and family. Since I wouldn't be able to see them after I was turned, our wedding was to be a goodbye party of sorts. It would leave them with wonderful memories of me and they would see how deliriously happy Edward made me. They were the sacrifice I would have to make to be with him forever, and though they would never know, it was important to me that they see why I would be willing to pay such a hefty price.

Edward parked his shiny silver Volvo behind my beat up, old, red '57 Chevy truck and held my hand as we walked to the front door. "Just breathe", Edward whispered in my ear as I turned the knob and pushed the door open.

"Bella?" Charlie called from the kitchen. I could smell the catastrophe he was attempting to cook for supper.

"Yeah, it's me dad….and Edward." I added. "Why didn't you just wait for me? You know you're a horrible cook!" Edward followed me into the kitchen where I saw Charlie bent over the counter, trying to pry something charbroiled off a baking pan.

"Here, Charlie. Let me try," Edward offered politely. Charlie glared at him and scraped the pan harder. He had still not completely forgiven Edward for leaving me resulting in the "misunderstanding" last spring when I took off for three days leaving only a vague note. Charlie didn't know that I went to Italy to save Edward from the Volturi. He thought I was in L.A. Edward understood my father's anger and did not take it personally. He knew Charlie was only looking out for me and through Charlie's mind, Edward knew the pain we both went through after he left; my pain, the gaping hole in my soul at losing Edward, and Charlie's pain from watching me.

Trying to hide his distaste for Edward, he turned to me. "Sorry, Bells. I just couldn't wait any longer. I wasn't sure when you were going to be back so I thought I would try a new recipe Sue gave me. Well, the recipe was for you, actually……"

I laughed. "Well, maybe next time I'm not home, just stick to ordering pizza, ok?" I filled the sink with hot, soapy water and threw all of the dishes in. Charlie finally got the charbroiled thing off the pan and I immersed that too. "May as well let them soak for awhile. So did you manage to salvage anything to eat?" I asked him.

"No, I over-cooked the vegetables too. I threw them out already," Charlie smiled like a guilty child.

Edward cleared his throat. "So, why don't I call for that pizza and you two go relax on the couch." He turned his amber eyes on me. "There's something we should discuss tonight, Charlie."

Glaring at Edward, I led Charlie to the living room where he glanced uneasily back and forth between me on the couch and the open kitchen door. We could hear Edward placing the order.

The tension rolled off Charlie in waves as he sat down beside me. Edward returned, said the pizza would take about 30 minutes and perched on the arm of the too-small couch beside me. He must've heard my heart racing because he put his cool hand on the nape of my neck to steady me. "Remember, just breathe", he whispered.

Charlie looked at us wearily. "What is it that you want to talk about?" he asked stiffly.

I didn't know where to begin. I sucked in a deep breath and remembered why I was doing this. This was something I was doing for Charlie, not to him! But I was so nervous I couldn't even look at him. My pale hands trembled in my lap hiding the ring on my finger. He reached out to calm them then must have thought better of it and pulled away.

"What is it Bella? What has you so upset?" Charlie asked.

I was at a loss. I turned imploringly to Edward and lost myself for a moment in his liquid gold eyes. His eyes held mine and he smiled at me encouragingly. His thumb stroked up and down on my neck as he cleared his throat and turned to Charlie. In his velvet voice, he said simply, "Charlie, I proposed to Bella today and she said yes. We are asking for your blessing."

After a minute, Charlie swallowed loudly and stared at me blankly. His eyed turned to the floor and it seemed his face turned every shade of red and purple. As he struggled to compose himself, Edward stiffened behind me. His body turned in a subtle defensive pose and I knew he must be reading Charlie's thoughts. Without thinking I stood up and placed myself squarely between my father and Edward and opened my mouth to speak. But before anything could come out, Charlie was on his feet too, shooting deadly glares at Edward over my shoulder. Edward stood up readying himself.

Calmly and slowly in a low voice, barely more than a whisper, Charlie said, "You have five seconds to get out of my house, Edward. Not a second more."

"Dad, wait -," I started.

"Bella," his voice was getting louder and more forceful. "Stay out of this."

"I can't dad," my voice was pleading, willing him to understand. "I'm already in it. I love Edward and nothing you say or do will change that. This isn't the end of the world, I'm just getting married," I tried to reason.

Charlie was yelling now, "Just getting married? Not the end of the world? How could you be so careless, Bella? This will ruin your life! You were supposed to go to college in the fall! How are you going to…….what are you going to…….I don't even know what to say to you anymore, Bella! You dated this guy for a couple of months then ran off to Phoenix and almost got yourself killed falling down the stairs to see him."

"Careless?" Edward murmured, confused.

"Dad, that -," I tried to explain. Charlie cut me off.

"Then he turned around and left you after ripping your heart out. You were in such poor shape, Bella," his voice breaking. "Your mother and I were talking about a sanitarium for God's sake! He destroyed you!"

I glanced at Edward silently listening to my father's tirade, anguish flashing in his eyes as he saw those pictures in my father's mind. The blood started rushing to my face as anger filled me.

"Dad, that's enough," I forced through clenched teeth.

"Then you took off for 3 days to L.A. doing God knows what, trying to help him after what he did to you? And now this? I like to think that I've been a very patient man, Bella, but this is too much. You're such a smart girl; I just don't understand how you could have been so careless. You told me you and he weren't….." He threw is hands in the air, defeated, and slumped down to the couch.

It was what I had feared; Charlie assumed I was pregnant. After all, what fools would have followed in his and my mother's footsteps without reason? Charlie's thoughts must have cleared enough for Edward to finally understand what Charlie was thinking. He relaxed and let out a low chuckle.

Charlie was on his feet again, hands curled into fists at his sides. "I thought I told you to get out," he spat viciously.

"Look, Charlie – ," Edward started to say.

I shot him a quick warning glance and shook my head lightly. I turned to face Charlie's fiery stare and said, "Dad, I'm not pregnant. Edward and I haven't even…….He wasn't raised that way." I sighed as the anger drained from my voice. This wasn't going well; I had to make him understand before he tried to physically force Edward to leave. I wasn't a very good liar, and I had to come up with something fast. My heart raced as a suitable explanation started to form in my head. "We just love each other and want to be together, is that so bad? And I am going to college, Dad. Dartmouth actually." I smiled at the silent "O" he was making with his mouth. "I got in. Full scholarship and everything." I glanced back at Edward and he grinned. I vowed to myself that I would pay him back, somehow and I focused on Charlie again. "Edward and I are going there together. In fact, that's part of the reason we want to get married. If we're married we get better housing on campus. We've thought this through carefully; it just makes sense for us," I lied. My eyes were pleading. "We are going to do this with or without you, but I…" I smiled at him sheepishly, "I was hoping my dad would walk me down the aisle and give me away."

Edward stepped forward and took my hand. "Charlie, I –." Charlie raised a single finger sharply, not looking at Edward. He was still struggling to take it all in.

After what felt like several minutes, he let out a mighty sigh and sat back down on the couch putting his head in his hands. I looked at Edward anxiously and he squeezed my hand and nodded.

"Dad, are you alright?" I asked, sitting down beside him and putting an arm around his shoulders.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." The anger was fading, being replaced by acceptance. "I guess I could see this coming really. You love too fiercely, Bella. And you're too stubborn. Once you get something in your head, there's no changing it." I breathed a sigh of relief. He dropped his hands and turned to me. "But that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it", he glanced at Edward to emphasize his point.

I looked at the floor. "I know, dad," I breathed, "…….thank you."

He took a deep breath and rose wearily from the couch and turned to Edward. "Edward, I respect Bella's choices, I just wish that you could wait for a little while, maybe a year or two….?"

Edward smiled and replied, "Charlie, there is nothing I would like more," I knew he wasn't talking about the wedding. Edward wished I would stop insisting on being turned so soon. "But Bella won't let me pay for a house off campus so this is the only way. I hope you can understand." He paused and smiled down at me with those dazzling amber eyes. "We really are happy, Charlie. And I will to spend the rest of my life trying to be good enough for her."

Charlie looked at Edward, searching for any hint of doubt or deception. "Do you promise that you won't ever leave her again? I don't know if Bella could live through that a second time, and I can't watch her try."

Pain flickered across Edward's face as he continued to look at me. He clenched his jaw to try to control his voice but it still wavered. "It wasn't a very good time for me either Charlie, and I'm not trying to make excuses, but I couldn't see any other way." Edward took a breath and looked at Charlie. "Yes, I promise I will never, ever leave her again. I will do everything I can to keep her safe." He added quietly, "I would die for her, Charlie."

My father hesitated. No one moved, I barely breathed.

"Alright, Edward," he sighed. "I believe you. I will offer you both my blessing, but…..it still doesn't mean I'm happy about it."

Edward and I both grinned and I stood up to throw my arms around my father. "Yeah, yeah," he said as he hurriedly patted me on the back. I knew how uncomfortable he was with mushy emotions so I stepped away. He stretched out his hand toward Edward and quietly said, "Please take care of her." Edward's breath caught as he took Charlie's hand and shook it. "Forever, I promise you I will," Edward replied.

A smug smile started to spread across Charlie's face as a new thought dawned on him. "Uh, oh," Edward said under his breath and I looked at him quizzically.

Charlie sat on the couch and picked up the remote control. As he turned on his nightly game he laughed and said, "I wonder what Renee is going about think of this…."

Edward smiled and pulled me loosely into his arms and chuckled. "Oh crap," I groaned.