Author's Note: I know that I have not finished "Darkest Night" and I promise that I will keep working on it. This is just a one-shot conversation between Bella and Alice between the last chapter of Eclipse and the epilogue that shows Alice's slightly more serious side.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse or any of the characters found within them. I wish I did, but they actually belong to Stephenie Meyer who I thank for letting me play with them for a while, especially Edward. No copyright infringement is intended by this story.

Even though the danger posed by Victoria had completely passed, Edward was still reluctant to leave my side for more than a few minutes. Not that I minded. In fact, this is exactly how I pictured our future together. I never wanted to be parted from him. Still, until we completed my upcoming renovations, I knew that Edward needed to leave me to hunt.

Lately, he had allowed his eyes to become so dark that I was worried he was causing himself unnecessary pain because of me. Every time I urged him to go hunting with his family, he found some excuse to stay with me. I finally had to beg him to leave with Emmett on a hunting trip for a couple days. Only after I said please again and again did he finally agree to go. Even then, he made me promise to call him the moment I missed him so he could come home. I was both frightened and excited by the fact that I had finally learned how to dazzle Edward. It was exhilarating to know that I had could do to him just a little of what he does to me on a daily basis. I hoped that I would still have this ability after I was changed.

My house had been very quiet since the day Edward and I told Charlie about our engagement. Charlie and I had never been particularly chatty with each other, but recently he had stopped even using words to talk to me. His only form of communication had become the occasional grunt.

Rather than moping around my silent house until Edward returned from his hunting trip, I decided to stay with Alice. She and I had come to a reluctant truce over my involvement in the wedding plans. She agreed to take care of everything without asking my input over every detail and I agreed not to complain about the cost as long as she didn't go completely overboard.

Due to our truce, I did not feel at all guilty lying on the sofa in the living room re-reading Pride and Prejudice while Alice sat on the floor flipping through fabric samples, poring over what looked like architectural drawings of the Cullens' backyard and taking copious notes in her large wedding binder. With the volumes of materials fanned out around her on the floor, it looked a bit like the materials were planning Alice instead of the opposite.

I had been wondering for quite some time why she had insisted on making such a big production of our wedding, especially when she knew that neither Edward nor I needed anything more than the piece of paper stating that we truly belonged to each other. Although I did not want to hurt Alice's feelings, my curiosity finally overtook me. "Alice, why are you really doing all of this? You know that Edward and I would be happy with just a simple ceremony in front of our families and nothing else."

She looked surprised at my question. "Bella, you know how much fun I have planning parties. Besides, I don't want you to miss out on anything – especially your own wedding."

"Yes, but you have already thrown two elaborate parties for me. I really don't need anything else." I winced at the thought of how horribly my 18th birthday party had turned out over a paper cut and decided it was better not to mention that to her.

"Seriously Bella," Alice said, "this is your wedding day. I know you. You are not like Rosalie who has a new wedding every few years out of boredom. I know that you will never have another wedding just to have one. Of course, Edward would marry you every week if that was what you wanted, but I know that you would never ask for that."

She continued. "So, this is the only wedding you will ever have. I won't let you miss out on something that I know will make both you and Edward so incredibly happy. I want you to have wonderful memories of your wedding day for the rest of your existence together. I want you to feel that everything was perfect."

I thought about that for a while. I already had started worrying about how much of my human life I would remember once I was changed. "But what if I don't remember our wedding after I'm changed?" I whispered.

"You will remember your wedding day Bella. I promise. If you forget even one detail about it, Edward and I will fill you in. We all will remember your wedding day as one of the happiest days any of us have ever experienced."

She continued. "I know you think that my main motivation for planning your wedding is to live vicariously through your 'human' experiences. But, I do have an ulterior motive. You can't understand the change that you have made in Edward. Before he met you, he was so quiet and alone. I think the only one of us who ever has come remotely close to understanding how Edward felt is Carlisle and even he always had his medical practice to keep him company. Until he met you, Edward's only companions were his books and music. He would sometimes go days without leaving his bedroom. He had to be coerced into joining any family activities."

I felt my eyes filling up with tears at the thought of this Edward who seemed so different from the Edward I knew and loved. "But now . . ." I started to say.

"Now," Alice interrupted grinning widely, "we can't get him to shut up. He laughs and smiles all the time. I think the first time any of us heard Edward truly laugh at something was the first night you watched us play baseball. I think Emmett compared the sound of Edward's laughter to a bear choking." Alice laughed lightly.

I shivered at the memory of that night, but I had to smile as I remembered how Edward's loud laughter had startled me.

She continued. "Bella, you have made Edward so happy. And his happiness has in turn affected all of us. I will never be able to show you what a wonderful difference you have made for our family. Throwing you an amazing wedding is just the first step."

Happy tears flowed down my face. I blubbered out my thanks to Alice for everything she was doing for me – for us.

She laughed loudly at me now and poked me lightly. "See – I told you that you would thank me some day soon. It hasn't even been fifty years," she teased. "So, do you want to see your wedding invitations now? They are absolutely to die for."