Hindrance

We all know that Bella and Edward's relationship has had its fair share of obstacles to overcome, but this time, will they be able to come out on top? When Edward surprises Bella with a weekend she'll never forget, tragedy strikes. Will this hindrance tear them apart, or will fate bring them back together again? Does true love really conquer all?

Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this once (I used all of my witty remarks in To My Immortal). I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANY RECOGNIZABLE CHARACTERS THAT YOU MAY SEE IN THE FOLLOWING STORY. No profit is being made from my random ramblings. There. I'm done. No more.

Ch. 1
Edward's POV

I had it all planned out. This morning, before Bella woke up, I would leave a note on her pillow telling her that I was hunting with Alice and would be back soon. Little would she know what I would really be hunting for…

We drove into the city limits of Seattle not long after. Alice was practically bursting with excitement. "Calm down, Alice." That didn't seem to phase her. "If you don't turn it down a notch, we'll turn around and go straight home before you get a chance to even get one foot in the door of any store."

It was as if a switch had been flipped. She froze and stared at me with genuine fear in her eyes. I just laughed and parked the car. "Alright, so here's the plan. You pick up all of the clothes we might need tomorrow—and make sure the dress is something Bella will like. The two of you don't exactly have the same taste in fashion."

"Ain't that the truth," she muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, you pick up suitable attire for everyone—don't forget Charlie, Renée and Phil—and a few decorations—candles, flowers and the like. I'll get the rings and book the minister and meet you back here in two hours." She looked at me like a fish out of water.

"Two hours?! I can't do all of that shopping in two hours! Are you crazy?!"

"Figure out how," I said as I stepped out of the car. She followed suit and continued to stare at me. I smiled. "Your time's burning. You've wasted two whole minutes staring at me like an idiot. You'd best be going." That snapped her out of it. She quickly shook her head and then looked at her watch. Her eyes grew wide—well, wider than they already were—and she took off down the street. I chuckled to myself and started to hum Bella's lullaby as I made my way to the jewelers.

When I walked in the door, a saleswoman looked up and made her way over. "Can I help you, Sir?" I didn't miss the double meaning in her words.

"Yes, I've had some custom rings made, and I'm here to pick them up."

"Ah, you must be Mr. Cullen," she purred.

"That's correct."

"Right this way, please." She walked back behind the counter, swaying her hips all the way. I had to make a substantial effort to keep myself from laughing at the absurd thoughts going through her mind. God, is he sexy. Too bad he's taken. What I wouldn't give to be in his girl's place. And he's so young! If only she knew. Look at those muscles! And that ass! Whoever's getting this ring has hooked a major hottie! She's so lucky! And I'll bet she's not even that pretty. I had to refrain from growling, now. Bella was more beautiful than she'd ever be. I wanted to tell her to hurry up, but I had to remain polite.

She opened up the boxes that they were in to make sure that she had the right ones and then handed them to me to inspect. They were each made of white gold and, obviously, diamonds. I had had forever engraved on Bella's wedding band. Her engagement ring had a one-karat marquis-cut diamond in the center with other smaller gems accenting it. Mine was simple. Alice assured me that this was what Bella would want. I placed them back in their boxes and snapped the lids closed.

"Now, will that be cash, check or credit?"

"Cash." Her eyes grew slightly larger and her thoughts raced again. He's rich, too?! This guy's perfect! I wonder if I could get him to dump his girlfriend… Not. A. Chance. I quickly paid for the rings and got out of there before she had the chance to put her thoughts into action.

There was a church just down the road a short way, so I went there next. There weren't any problems. I walked to the restaurant and made our reservations. I explained briefly my intentions so that they would play my requested CD on the sound system, and so that we could get the exact booth I wanted. That left only the ballroom. All that I needed to do was request that they close the garden to everyone else except Bella and myself that night. My wallet was considerably lighter by the time all of the reservations were made.

I had everything arranged well within the two-hour time limit, so I decided to go sit in the car and think about what I was going to say to Charlie until Alice showed up.

She came running down the road a while later carrying three times as many bags as a normal human being could carry, let alone one of her size. "Could you be any more conspicuous, Alice?" I hissed sarcastically.

"Don't worry about it. No one paid any attention to me. Besides, I knew you weren't going to help, so I took matters into my own hands."

"Literally," I muttered.

"Oh, quit whining and drive." She had thrown a majority of her purchases in the trunk—all that would fit—and the rest went in the back seat.

"How much did you think you'd actually need, Alice?"

"Well, I didn't know if-"

"Nevermind. Forget I said anything." I really didn't want to listen to her go on and on about how a certain color silk would match the flower arrangements.

"Oh, and I got you a tux for tonight and a dress for Bella."

"I already have a tux, Alice."

"Well, the one I picked up will go so much better with her dress," she whined.

I rolled my eyes. How different could they honestly be? "Whatever you say, Alice."

"I like your attitude. Keep it up." She smiled playfully.

I chose to ignore her and glanced into my rearview mirror and remembered all of the stuff she bought. "Did you honestly need all of that for eleven people?"

She glared at me but didn't answer. She turned and looked out the window. "And try to keep it under 100, we've got some precious cargo."

I huffed, agitated that I had to drive slowly, but did as she said and let up a little on the accelerator. I really didn't want her to be mad at me; she was, after all, planning everything.

"By the way, the cake will be ready at noon tomorrow. I'll have Esme come pick it up."

I nodded my head in acknowledgement.

The rest of the drive was silent. I immersed myself in thoughts of Bella and tried to ignore Alice's thoughts that consisted only of wedding plans. I wanted to be at least somewhat surprised—and I couldn't see the dress. Alice had seen everything the minute I decided to propose and knew exactly what dress and what rings Bella would've picked out. Having a clairvoyant sister did have its advantages…sometimes. Other times it was just downright annoying. Take yesterday morning for example. She saw that Mike was going to hit on Bella again, so I spent all day on edge waiting for it to happen. I knew when it was coming, too, because his dirty thoughts reached me long before he did. Time and time again, my Bella refused him, but he just wouldn't back down. That was one of the reasons that I wanted to get married-to get Mike, among others, to lay off. Wherever she went, men's eyes wandered, and their thoughts—which they usually acted upon—ran wild. I even had to listen to some teacher's unvoiced thoughts! How disgusting is that?! Hopefully they would find the decency not to try to seduce a married woman. Of all of my reasons, though, that didn't rank very high. It was mostly the simple fact that I loved her. I loved her more than any of those immature fools could ever comprehend. I knew that she was the only one for me, and I wanted to spend eternity with her. I had come to terms with the fact that she would be changed, no matter how much I tried to talk her out of it. I don't know why I even bothered, really. I was much too selfish to live without her anyway. Soulmates—that's what we were. After Bella came into my life, she gave me a reason to walk the Earth. She filled the gaping hole in my heart that I didn't even know was there. She showed me the good in life, and that our kind really did have a soul and a shot at heaven. She'll never realize how much she has affected me, but the change has been enormous, and I'll be forever grateful.

A/N: I hope you liked it. Please keep reading, and REVIEW!! They inspire me to keep writing! I'm hoping for at least ten reviews for each chapter before I update again.