A tulip.

And there's a giraffe. Or was it a coconut tree?

That one's a kitten, pawing at the air.

There were so many stars in the sky tonight, all mismatched and scattered throughout the dark, never-ending vast of space above the earth. Some connected quite easily and formed recognizable shapes, but others were trickier, like that giraffe…or was it a tree?

I sighed in frustration. Giraffe, it was definitely a giraffe.

I turned my gaze back to the sleeping girl in my arms; Bella never failed to hold my attention. She was breathing steadily, little warm puffs of breath coming out of her mouth regularly and blowing over to land on my cheeks. Bella's warmth was just one of the many things I adored about her. So in order to protect her from my hideous, cold, hard skin, she was wrapped securely in her comforter, but still snuggled up against my chest. My one arm was around her waist and my other hand was gently caressing her scalp.

After Bella had finished talking in her sleep, saying things like "Edward, I love you" and "Dinner's almost ready, Charlie" and "Kiss me, Edward" and "Alice, no more shopping", her body had relaxed comfortably into mine and slept peacefully. That's when I had glanced out her open window and noticed the star-littered sky. It was chilly tonight, I probably should go close that window…but no, I won't disturb my Bella.

I lay with my love contently for a few more silent moments before she started twitching and fidgeting. I watched with worry as her little hand began gripping and fisting in the blanket, little noises emitting from her mouth, and her body squirming in the sheets. Her nose was scrunched and her eyebrows were furrowed in a way that obviously indicated that a peaceful rest evaded her.

Oh, no.

She was having another nightmare.

Bella had been having nightmares almost every night, sometimes more than once, lately. It was probably because of all the added stress she's been dealing with-Victoria after her, the Volturi watching her, impending damnation, pesky werewolf problems...I wished I could eradicate all those things from her life, permanently, and let her sleep worry-free from now on. But I couldn't, and I felt so wretched because of that. A boyfriend was supposed to protect their loved one, not bring the problems directly to her, time and time again.

She wriggled in the blankets some more, a soft whimper escaping her lips. That's it, I was done for. Once I heard that little sound, I had to wake her up immediately. There was no way I was just going to lay here while she suffered and cried out in her dreams. I was far too weak for that.

I lowered my lips down to her ear and whispered, "Bella…Bella, love, wake up. Wake up sweetheart."

Eventually, after some more words and prodding on my part, she awoke with a start and a gasp, clearly disoriented and drained from the nightmare.

"Edward?" she whimpered quietly, tears beginning to pool in her chocolate brown eyes.

Ah, those tears. My undoing.

I pulled her closer and rubbed her back up and down, doing my best to comfort her. "Shh, Bella, it was just a dream. I'm here. I'm right here."

Her shoulders continued to shake lightly with her hushed sobs as she buried her wet face into my shirt. She sometimes fretted about ruining my clothes with all her crying, but I could care less. Bella's emotional well-being was so much more important than a measly shirt, very much so.

"Edward," she said again, her voice breaking.

"I'm here, you're okay. Shh, calm down."

I continued to rub her back and occasionally plant tender kisses on top of her head. A few short minutes later, she seemed to have relaxed considerably.

Lifting her head up to meet my worried gaze she whispered, "That was a bad one."

Ungh. How I wished to endure the dreams that frightened her so over and over, if only to keep her from having a single one.

"I know, Bella, I know. Do you want to talk to me about it?" I asked, though already having a feeling about the probable answer.

She hesitated for a moment and drew her bottom lip into to her mouth to chew on while she deliberated.

She took a deep breath and began her recollection of her most recent nightmare, "Victoria came. She found your family first and killed them all," her voicing breaking audibly on the word 'killed', "then we came home from a date and made me watch while she…she…" she was interrupted as her tears overcame her again.

I hushed her and tucked her head under my neck, rocking us back and forth as best as I could lying down and still tangled in the blanket. I knew what she had been trying to say-that Victoria made her watch as she ripped me limb from limb and destroyed my life. Poor Bella. That would be utterly unendurable if the situation was reversed and I was the one being forced to witness Bella's murder. But that would never happen.

"Don't worry, love, it was just a dream. Just a dream, that's all. Victoria is never coming, and I won't let anything happen to you, ever," I reassured her, but knowing that she would have an objection to my statement, corrected myself, "Or my family, or yours, or myself."

She nodded in agreement and tried to stop the flow of tears, her body still pressed tightly against mine. Not that I minded of course. No, not one bit.

My hands continued their patterns along her back, my lips still kissing along her hair. Soon, her tears would stop and she would lapse back into slumber, and I would remain alert, insuring no more bad dreams could enter her mind tonight. It's the least I could do. And, as she slept, I would be begging those starts in the sky to let my Bella make it out of this mess-meaning her many pursuers-alive and happy. She deserved as much.