And it was over. It was done. My bargain, my half, was over and done with. And maybe Alice was right. Right to say that I would forgive her for putting me through it all – the dressing up, the stares, the tears, the heartfelt statements and encouragements from close friends and family – even if it would take me half a century to own up to it.

Part of me only wanted to point out that it was because he had been there, my Edward, closely sitting by my side, his lips so gentle and . . . different. Even, if possible, more loving than they had already previously been.

Of course, part of a more poignant side reflected over the crowds again and again, searching for the face I knew wouldn't be there. I had met, with that searching gaze, so many faces that it pained me to realize, I would never see again beyond today. But I did not see the face I hoped to see. Had I not wanted Alice to not invite him? Had I not made the demand to have a guest list veto if she had gathered the nerve to invite him?

Hope was my worst enemy to date, that I had ever known of. Worst than Victoria, James, and the Volturi combined.

Jacob wouldn't come home. Not for this, not for me. I was nothing to him now, or I was too much for him, but I couldn't allow that to cause me to hurt him anymore. I didn't want him to hurt anymore than he already did. Halfway through the evening I was feeling down, and Edward mistook the sudden feeling as dismay towards the festivities, or even regret towards it.

I wasn't quite so sure what he might have thought, but I knew that if I told him what was really on my mind, he would have to share in my slow, inward twisting agony, and that was the very furthest thing that I had wanted him to feel at that point.

And still another part of me was too elated to see almost every person I had ever known in the little town of Forks, gathered in the same room and looking just as elated as this part of me felt, for the very last time. No one seemed to be repelled by the Cullens here either. Emmet seemed to be relaxing those around him with his booming laugh and jovial attitude to the newest member of his family. Rosalie attracted stares in which she seemed to lavish herself in, despite Emmet's close proximity. Carlisle and Esme were engaging Renee and Charlie, my mother and father, in conversation that had both looking relaxed and free of anxiousness.

But once I had looked over in the far corner of the room – the least populated corner – my slight suspicions had been confirmed as I had seen Jasper leaning there, head lowered, but a smile apparent on his face as he watched someone in another section of the room. No doubt he was affecting the room with his own mood as well.

Alice had been playing the hostess fairly well at my wedding, dancing and twirling around people in a way no professional dancer could pull off. I could tell she was making light conversation by the way she smiled and laughed, fully enjoying this herself, knowing Jasper was watching her.

And I couldn't be mad at her for putting me through with this. Not when I saw how pleased he looked, his eyes golden and radiant, or how Alice looked moving about the room.

Charlie had been disapproving, at first, but he had brightened by the time he was needed to walk me down the isle. He didn't bother being mean to Edward either, even getting his name right as he whispered it to him proudly with a hint of warning, passing me off at the end of the walk.

An even better feeling had crowed in me when I saw Renee, my mom, with Phil, arriving a little late for the ceremony, to the reception. She flushed and told me a million times how she was sorry that their flight had been delayed, again and again, and it took some convincing from me and Edward to put her mind at ease before she could relax.

Presently, as I looked back on the day, I felt exhausted and weak. And yet, I couldn't sleep. I think I was getting good at forcing myself awake when I was with Edward. All that practice time I had gotten during all those late nights we had spent together, and the more painful ones I had spent when we were apart, but I knew I needed sleep this night.

There was something to be said for knowing you had to do something, but being unable to do sof.

I leaned back against the seat of the now quite familiar Volvo, watching Edward as he made the payment for whatever he was getting me in the 24-hour thrift store where we had stopped for gas.

From where I sat next to the gas pump, I could see what he was wearing and the way the fluorescent light of the store cast eerie shadows on his extraordinary stone skin. He wasn't wearing his tux, like he had at our...our wedding. No, I wasn't even wearing my dress.

As soon as we had left the reception together, the people I knew and loved gone away for the night and all the goodbyes and awkward family kisses out of the way, I had stamped my foot and refused to wear the dress any longer. Alice had put on a pout, but Edward had agreed and swung by the Cullen house for a spare outfit I could wear.

I made up to Alice for allowing her to dress me, one last presumable time as a human, in a ruby colored plain short sleeved shirt, which I found was incredibly soft and was to my liking, and a dark blue jean skirt which almost fell to my knees with ruffles on either side. I noted there were no pockets on it, but I didn't mind.

She had permitted me to wear flip flops, black ones with white floral design patterns that looked strangely like it belonged somewhere on a beach, which I had grumbled about being hazardous until she hinted upon making me wear high heels. My hair was still up from the wedding, in some outrageous curly pin up bun that hung loosely near my neck, so she didn't fuss over that too much.

And of course, by the time Alice thought I was approving for public eyes and the wedding dress was stashed away somewhere I hoped I would never have to see it again, Edward had the car unloaded, the gifts from the wedding making a small and yet ominous pile, neatly stacked, in the corner of the garage.

He had been wearing a short sleeved, tan sweater with a white collared shirt underneath that; the collars of that shirt neatly folded and pressed down. His jeans were dark, darker than navy blue. He looked so. . .much like always.

Would he ever look less of a god to me than he always seemed to be? I doubted, and hoped, that he never would.

He was walking out of the store now, a slight spring in his step, the wind ruffling his bronze hair into an even more untidy mess. As he got into the car, I darted my eyes downward and started to twist the ring around my finger.

Elizabeth Mason's ring was now my ring. Forever, and never to be removed from my finger unless the situation called for it. And now that the whole ordeal was over, I wouldn't remove it with free will. I wouldn't dare hurt his feelings that way. It wasn't like it mattered anymore either. I was his, and soon that was about to be proven with one action, in one night.

Edward was humming a happy tune softly as he started the car, and pulled out. He was clearly jovial, still living off the fumes of the wedding. I wasn't about to bring him down, or attempt to with purpose.

A yawn cut my thoughts off there, making tears form in my eyes. I put my hand over my mouth to try and stifle it, but Edward would have noticed even if I hadn't opened my mouth into a gaping hole.

"Tired, love?"

There was no need for me to nod. Yawning normally proved a point before the question was asked.

I was aware that he was watching me, eyes straying from the empty late night road, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I darted my eyes down and played with the ring some more.

"You can sleep. The only thing you'll be missing is the drive." There was more to it. Most likely a plane flight as well, perhaps a cruise. Whatever he had in store, I didn't want to see how much money he had spent on me.

But he had a point. He was my husband, and I was his wife. It meant that what we owned, we owned together, for all eternity. Spending money shouldn't bother me since I really could not object anymore. But I still didn't like the idea of throwing it all away for my sake.

"Where are we going?" I asked, keeping my eyes lowered still. A slight flush was taking over my face as my thoughts again were swept back to the wedding. It hadn't been that bad, now that I had been really thinking back on it.

Edward, at first didn't answer, and I finally looked up. His eyes were on the road, a smile twitching at his lips. "Well?" I pressed, impatience getting the best of me.

"Couldn't it just be a surprise Bella?"

Yes. As long as the surprise meant he would be there. "No," I lied, but it was such a short one, I don't think he caught it. "Please, tell me where we are going?" I opened my eyes wider, leaning just slightly forward toward him. "Where could we possibly go this late at night?"

Edward's smile broke free, but he didn't avert his eyes from the road. "Such a dangerous beautiful creature you are. My dangerous little creature."

"You won't tell me?" I pouted a little, jutting out my lip.

"No." The smile widened. "And before you ask," I snapped my mouth shut as he continued, throwing me an offhand glance that seemed to linger over my outfit more than my face. I flushed even deeper, and the smile went wider until I saw all of his teeth. "I didn't spend that much money on it. Promise. Just for the flight."

Ah ha! So there was a flight involved. "And for the ridiculously high price on gas," he grumbled, and I found myself smiling as his smile disappeared suddenly. "Now, sleep. You'll wake up and find out in the morning."

I was back at my old dilemma. I wanted to sleep; I needed the sleep. I yawned again. I hadn't really been trying to sleep, really, but I supposed I could try and fall asleep with some effort.

As if on cue, Edward started to hum my lullaby over the purr of the motor. I stole a glance to the speedometer, and shivered as I saw the three digits there. "I'll go to sleep, but I'm not waking up in jail when you get pulled over."

"Silly Bella. I've told you –"

"Yeah, you've never gotten a ticket before, or been in an accident," I murmured, really sleepy now.

He laughed, then shut up and started humming again. I lay my arm against the window sill, and then rested my chin upon it.

I was aware that Edward was leaning over me, then the seat moved back. I fell back against now lowered seat, curling up in a ball on my side, muttering my thanks. I wasn't sure if Edward actually replied, but I thought I heard his voice soft and low in my ear before I drifted off into my dreams.

"You're dreams sounded pleasant," he whispered near my ear, his breath tickling my hair. My eyes shot open, but I didn't sit up.

It was weird. I faintly remembered getting on the plane, Edward supporting me while I stumbled on, and then waking up again when we landed. And now I was pretty sure I was under a comforter blanket, my head leaning against un unbelievably soft pillow, in the arms of a stone statue.

It took a short moment to register that he was under the covers with me, for once, embracing me in a sort of bear hug. Now, seeing that I was awake, he was rolling over me, his icy lips pressing ever so lightly into the indent of my throat. "Good morning Bella."

A quick check told me I was in a hotel room that looked very upscale. The windows, most likely leading to a balcony with a placid view, were drawn with the dark brown curtains covering them. The room, for the most part, was dark, with tan colored walls, but I could still make him out as he held himself parallel to me.

"Good morning," I whispered groggily back, finding my own arms being cradled in his. I pulled one free in order to wrap it around his neck as he lifted his face and kissed me. It was sweet, short, but long enough to get my blood pulsing and roaring in my ears.

Then I was struck with a question that was itching to get out. "Edward?"

He nodded once, then let his head fall back to caressing my neck, ear to ear, with his lips. "Is this where. . .when will you. . ." Okay, so there were two main questions I wanted to ask. And, as usual, I had problems getting them out without turning a deep red in color.

"Yes?" His lips asked the question, barely moving against my skin.

"Is this where," I started again, trying to take it slow. No need to ruin the moment. "You know, where you'll turn. . .and where we'll try. . ." I had to trail off suggestively.

He had pulled his head up to face mine, eyes burning with a form of a smitten emotion. "It's wherever you wish it to be, love." His voice was so soft, so quiet that I sighed in content with his simple response. We were like that for several minutes, just savoring the atmosphere.

Then he stiffened, stopping his caresses to simply kiss me where his lips were, and he looked back up to me. "We can wait for this, you know. You still don't have to rush it. You've already made it this far. Just a bit longer, please," he pressed, eyes alluring as he tried to persuade me to wait. This could not be happening, not this early in the morning at least.

I groaned.

"There's no sword hanging over my head this time. You should know I'm not doing this out of fear," I countered, taking a deep breath of his sweet scent as he exhaled in my face. He obviously knew this would disorient me. "I'm only doing this for you, so I can be there for you. . .forever." I breathed out the last word, wary of what he might say or do next. I had a habit of being distracted when he wanted to prove his point and I mine and I very nearly hated how he kept breathing in my face, a mere inch or two from my lips.

And for a while, he didn't move, which certainly was distracting whether he meant it to be or not. His bright eyes darkened into something, infinitesimally, that resembled a like to fear. An expression I'd never quite seen before flashed across his face, but only for a flash of a second. If I hadn't been so locked onto his face, I wouldn't have noticed.

And if I hadn't of noticed, his next words would have taken me by surprise, or, more by surprise. "Bella. . ." He shook his head, seeming so human in his struggle for words. "Isabella, I. . .you can't wait for even a week longer?"

A week? I studied him, confused, but he was trying hard to compose his face into a mask that would reveal none of his emotions to me. If I hadn't been struck into this current bafflement I would have growled in clear annoyance.

We had already had this discussion. I had done what he wanted of me, with so little complaint...at least for the actual ceremony. Now it was his time to comply. His turn to do something, something he might not want to do exactly, for the other.

It made me wonder why our compromises always made, at least from my viewpoint, one of us guilty for asking something of the other.

That apprehension, the same flicker of emotion that had played a shadow on his face a few minutes before, crossed his face once more, lingering now as I ran the word through my mind again and again. Could I wait just another week? I think I could give Edward another week to play with my human emotions, make this a real honeymoon for the two of us, to be happy with me for now.

I, quite frankly, didn't see a reason to wait or a rather good reason to do it all now. I was clearly stuck in the middle, unable to make a clear cut decision. I gnawed on my lip, focusing my eyes clearly onto his now.

"Why? Why a week?" I was painfully aware of how wary my voice sounded, even to me.

The shadows on his face lifted slightly, but his eyes remained dark, if they did not grow darker. "If I. . .if I said that I was not ready to make the change, would you trust me?"

My eyes opened wide with shock, all previous thoughts banished. I hadn't considered that one yet. Then they narrowed. "Are you just saying that?"

His eyes grew pleading. "Just a week, love. One more? I promise, I'm not backing out." Not for a second did I believe he would. I had Carlisle's phone number, and he knew that. Not to mention some other vampires I had acquired from his contact list. "I just want to ask you for one. . .more. . .week."

In between the words, during his pauses, he pressed his lips against my skin. Once on my right collar bone, then once on the other. He looked up to me, eyes wide and scorching.

I rolled my eyes, then absently began to stroke my fingers against his cheek. "You promise, after this week, starting today, you'll. . ." I trailed off, the words somehow managing to catch in my throat.

And I suddenly had another thought, which visibly showed on my face, for the light expression that had been taking over his face vanished when he watched my own change. "What?" he demanded, still keeping his voice soft.

"You're not just trying for one more week so I can. . .so I can have second thoughts on this are you?"

That crooked smile brightened his features, although his eyes were suddenly sad. He took my hand, which had stopped mid-stroke beside his frozen cheek, and entwined his own fingers into mine. "Bella, love, it's whatever you want. I'm just asking for another week with you like this."

He took his other hand out from under me, and brushed it along my face. From my hairline to my jaw, he traced the one side of my face with a delicate finger. A burning sensation followed in a trail after that sole finger, the blood rushing to my face so I had to look away. Content, he dropped that hand to my chest, and brought the one holding my hand over to join it as well.

"Breakable," I more mouthed the word than whispered it. But with super vampire hearing, I was almost certain that he had heard it.

Eyes closed, he pulled himself up next to me on the other pillow and lay it down with a sigh. "You can say no, and it won't hurt my feelings," he whispered, seemingly not about to react to my one word response.

Or you won't let me see them, I thought darkly. It might or might not have been the truth. It didn't matter, not at this point. I drug my eyes away from his hands and the one of mine, and brought my other up to join them as I looked into his closed eyes. "Fine."

They opened immediately, surprised and yet happy. I smiled as he did, feeling satisfied that he was pleased with that response. It was a sweet moment, and I was set on ruining it.

"So what are we doing today, if nothing I want to do?" I grumbled, rolling my eyes away from his with effort, up to the cream ceiling.

He chuckled, and it took a lot of my will power not to look back to him, lying there next to me like a fallen angel. I was feeling rather childish in my defeat. I had to wait longer still, if only for another seven days. Though that was nothing compared to a year. Not even close.

"Oh," he spoke, his smile tangible in his words, "I never said we weren't doing anything you didn't want Bella. You'll just have to wait for later. First, you need breakfast."

And he untwined his hand from mine and sat up, already fully dressed. He jumped off the bed, a strange grin playing on his face, while he walked across the room to the phone. I watched him, amazed at the hidden meaning to his words, but not questioning, at least verbally, any further.

For once, I think I wanted to be pleasantly surprised with whatever he had planned. Even if it cost him too much money. And the certain path my brain was taking for me, I didn't think of any way that whatever he had in store for me later on tonight would cost him a cent at all. . .

To be continued -

..: This is long, or longer than what is normally put on here, but it's my first one. Is there a word limit? I'm about to find out. If so, I might cry, since my writings are normally long, frivolous, and full of rambling nonsense. So if this is really bad and terrible, you know, the characters are OOC or I obviouslyput something in that's wrong, tell me about it. If you liked it, and want to read more, feel doubly impelledto write a review for this chapter. I feel like making more, and honestly I am typing out more now, but it takes a while. Plus, I'm not allowed online because, and I want to say 'because my parents hate me', but you should know that's not the case. I simply made a MySpace and they found out and got mad at me. shrug So I'm sneaking on now. Shh...don't tell them...and they'll most likely never find out. But I'll have to update this when I get the next chance, say, at a friends house or local library. I'll be eager to see if anyone actually viewed this, in the least, because there are so many Twilight Fan Fictions to read on here. It's rather off putting. . .'cause who wants to read my lame, boring story?

I'm trying to imitate Meyer's style of writing, and I know that's near impossible to actually accomplish, so no. . .is the term lemon? Scenes. I have to force myself not to go over a Teen Rating here. But to end this, please review. And remember, be gentle. This is my first time. :..