A/N: okay, this is an extended scene from Breaking Dawn. It's what I think happened before Chapter 2 begins. If you can't remember, go have a look in the book, this little piece sort of does a full circle with it. Reviews are still lovely, and I still don't own anything. le sigh.

By This Time Tomorrow

The house was quiet when I shut the door behind me. Charlie was asleep, and I knew the only reason he wasn't waiting for me in the living room was that I was with Renée. I could hear him more distinctly as I made my way upstairs. It was almost impossible not to hear him, actually. I didn't realize how loudly he snored. I was suddenly thankful that his room wasn't so close to mine. There was no way I could fall asleep with that amount of noise, with nightmares or without them.

I took my time in the shower, even though it was nearing midnight and very cold (yes, even in August) and I suspected the hot water wouldn't hold for much longer. And yet I lingered under the stream as I closed my eyes and tried to think of absolutely nothing. Of course, that soon turned out to be impossible. By this time tomorrow… my skin tingled as the thought evaded my mind, not even for the first time today. I was doing it the entire day, thinking what I would do in exactly 24 hours from then. But by this time tomorrow I'd be entirely his, body and soul, and there was nothing I wanted more. My whole body ached for it.

I stood in front of the mirror in my tiny room, releasing my hair from the hasty bun I put it in before I went in the shower. The room was strangely bare; most of my things were already packed. It was strange to think of it as my last night there. It was almost surreal. My clothes for tomorrow were neatly folded on a chair; Alice paid a visit to my room in my absence, no doubt. I smiled. Yes, I wasn't a fan of huge wedding productions, especially not when the wedding was mine, but no one could better orchestrate those than my future sister-in-law.

A shadow suddenly fell against the lamplight. I started and looked at the mirror again. A hand slid the window aside slowly, effortlessly, and Edward slipped into my bedroom. I turned with a gasp as he straightened up. He was paler than the moonlight, and a thousand times more beautiful. The color of his eyes matched his hair almost perfectly. There was this sneaky grin curling at the corner of his lips. No other girl on this planet was as lucky as I was. I smiled and hurried to the circle of his waiting arms, my lips meeting his halfway.

We kissed for a long moment, until my vision blurred with annoying little spots. As if he could feel my knees giving way, he slowly pulled away from me but stayed very close, his forehead touching mine. "What are you doing here?"

"I missed you."

Three words was all it took to make my heart flutter. "No one ever told you that seeing the bride before the wedding is bad luck?" I teased.

"I thought we already agreed there was nothing traditional about you and me," he replied, his thumb drawing small circles against my cheek.

"How did you get away from Alice?"

"I think I managed to hide it well enough from her," he said, flashing his crooked smile at me.

"What about your bachelor party? You'll hurt your brothers' feelings."

"They'll get over it," he shrugged dismissively.

"But – "

"So many questions," he murmured, closing the distance between us again. He pressed his lips to my collarbone. "I'm getting the impression that I'm slightly unwanted here. Perhaps I should go."

"No!" I clung to his shirt. I raised my eyes to his. "Stay," I said, in that tone I knew worked its magic on him.

He raised an eyebrow, unaffected. "Is that the best you've got?"

I stood on tiptoes to lay a soft kiss against his lips. "Please?" I whispered, kissing him again, and again, and again. "Please stay?" I could hear his breath getting ragged beneath my touch. His eyes got darker, his hands were cold against my hips beneath the thin tee shirt I had on. I didn't give him a chance to reply before my lips fully covered his. I laced my fingers in his hair, forcing him closer. His arms wound around me, holding me tighter against him. A moan escaped me, but it was muffled by his lips. He carried me to bed, but I barely noticed. And then his lips were everywhere, on my cheeks, my forehead, in my hair… he wrapped an afghan around me to keep me warm against the cold that sipped from his skin. I had to let go of him as he did that. I watched him as he tucked me in. Then he moved to lie close beside me, tucking his feet against mine.

"I won't be able to stay long," he said then, very low next to my ear. "I'm fairly certain Emmett and Jasper stalked me here. They're keeping a safe distance only because they know I can hear them, but if I'm not leaving in an hour, they will make their presence known."

"What if I hide you in my closet?" I asked, my fingers fumbling against the buttons of his shirt.

"Not under your bed?"

"I'd rather keep you in my bed, thank you very much."

"That's not going to be that difficult to carry out," he said, pinning me against the bed with a kiss. His lips brushed mine with unusual urgency as he shrugged his shirt off once I got it unbuttoned all the way. It landed with a soft thud on the floor by the bed. My hands went instantly for his chest, my fingers roaming back and forth. He pulled away from our kiss just so he could groan my name by my ear. It made all sorts of funny things to my heart. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

"Do you realize…" he murmured, gently sucking on my earlobe, "…that by this time tomorrow…" – a kiss to my collarbone – "you'll be…" – another, to my jaw – "Mrs.… " – to the corner of my lips – "Cullen…?"

I was too lost in the sensation of his lips as they came crushing against mine, that the rest of his speech was entirely incoherent to me. It was messing with my heart, making me hot and cold all at the same time. I buried my head in his shoulder to hold back the sound I could feel building up within me. I didn't think Charlie would appreciate it if he woke up, stepped in here, and caught us like… this.

"You're forgetting the more important part," I breathed when he brought his lips to my neck again.

His face screwed up in feigned obliviousness. "What can possibly be more important than spending eternity with you?"

I flashed him a wicked grin and slipped my hand down his chest in one swift motion that literally took his breath away. I could actually hear him gasp. My smile widened. I reveled at the power I had on him. It felt strange, almost wrong; how could anyone overpower him?

"You little devil," he murmured, catching my hand halfway. "An impatient, little devil."

"You can always change your mind and call off the wedding," I suggested casually, keeping an innocent face.

He snorted. "I'm afraid that won't do much good to your impatient human hormones."

"No, it really won't," I giggled.

"Bella." His tone shifted completely. Suddenly, he was very serious, and also very still beside me.

"Yes?"

"I need to know… I need to make sure… that you're not doing it from the wrong reasons. I need to know that you're marrying me because you want to, not because I'm forcing things on you. Because if this is the case… we'll just call it off and we'll do it your way, in your time."

"Last minute cancellations are rude. Especially when weddings are concerned."

"I wouldn't care, if this is what you want."

"It's a bit late for doing it my way, isn't it?" I asked softly. I didn't mean it as an accusation, but I couldn't understand where it all came from all of a sudden. I was finally complete with my decision… well, as complete as I could ever be with a decision of the sort… and now he wanted to call things off? Was it a sort of a test? How was I supposed to reply?

"It's never too late," he protested. "Say the word, and the wedding is off."

He looked so scared, so anxious. Was he really expecting me to call it all off now? Did he really think my "impatient human hormones" were a good enough reason to throw all caution to the wind and marry him against my better judgment? "Silly vampire," I murmured, reaching out of my cocoon to touch his face. "I love you, and I'm marrying you tomorrow whether you like it or not." I was surprised as he seemed to be by the determination in my voice. I didn't think I realized how caught up with the whole thing I really became until I said the words. I guessed it was like he had just said. It was never too late. There was always time for change. Suddenly, I couldn't wait for the following day.

He laid his hand against my face then, shaking me off my reverie. I reached for his hand, pressing it against my lips. "And I promise it's not just my human hormones speaking, okay?"

He traced a line from my temple down my cheek as he gazed at me with disbelief. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" he asked, half to me, half to himself.

I smiled. "I was asking myself the same thing."

He leaned down to kiss me again, knocking my breath away. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him on top of me, locking him in place by wounding my ankles around his. He smirked against my lips but didn't pull away. There was a sort of finality to his kiss now, and I knew even though he had never said it that he was ready to go.

"I miss you already…"

"I don't need to leave. I can stay…"

And you should know how it goes from there…