"This isn't real," I said after a moment. "I can't believe you're really here."

"I couldn't stay away any longer," he explained.

"Is this…" I began, but stopped. I didn't know how to ask.

"What?" Edward prompted. He looked frustrated. "I hate not being able to read your mind."

"Is this a guilt thing?" I asked. "Did you hear about Victoria?"

"What about Victoria?" Suddenly he looked alarmed. Oops. Clearly he didn't know about that.

"Never mind, it's nothing," I tried to cover quickly. "It's under control." Thanks to Jacob.

"No, not 'never mind.' What about Victoria? Has she… has she been here?" His voice was alarmed.

"Answer my questions first, " I insisted. "Why are you…?"

"Bella, please, this is important. Victoria has…"

"This is important, too. Why the hell are you here, Edward?" He looked at me in surprised that I raised my voice to him.

"I love you," he replied simply.

"Yes, okay. This is a dream. Wow, they're getting realistic. And they had almost completely stopped since Jacob's been around."

"This isn't a dream," he said with his velvet voice. That wasn't helping to convince me.

"That's what you always say in the dreams, and it makes it that much more painful when I wake up." My voice fell.

"What do I have to do to prove to you you're not dreaming?" He said, his voice becoming urgent and he took a step closer to me.

"This just can't possible be real. You...you aren't standing in my kitchen right now. You left me. You left me because you don't love me. You told me so yourself."

Edward crossed the room in an instant and took my face between his hands, as carefully as if he were holding a soap bubble. I shivered. I had grown so used to Jacob's warm touch. "I'll prove it to you," he whispered. I fell into his dark eyes. Dark? He's hungry. Being this close to me must be torture. I couldn't get myself to care. He was so close and his sweet scent was making me wonderfully dizzy. I closed my eyes and felt his cold lips press against mine. My lips molded around his and he held me closely, carefully. It was as if the last few months didn't exist. He pulled away too quickly.

"Convinced?" he asked with his crooked smile.

"I've missed kissing," I sighed.

"I've missed you."

"If it's true," I said. He arched an eyebrow. "Okay, since it's true," I corrected myself, "I still don't understand why you've come back."

"I told you, Bella. I love you. I just can't be away from you. I've tried, and I'd rather be dead."

"But you don't love me," I corrected. "That's why I don't understand why you're here."

"How you think I don't love you?"

"Um, a little conversation we had in the woods a few months ago?"

"You couldn't possibly have believed that," he whispered.

"Why wouldn't I believe you? We've always told each other the truth. And besides, it never made sense for you to love me."

"Bella, that was the blackest blasphemy. I could never stop loving you. You are everything to me."

I didn't understand. This didn't make sense. "Then why would you have done that to me?" I felt a little betrayed. He had no idea what I had gone through because of his words. Love was the one truth in my life, and he told me it was a lie. How could I believe him now?

"I had to keep you safe. After what happened with Jasper, I knew we had to leave, to protect you. And here I come back and find you jumping off cliffs..."

"That was recreational!" I defended myself.

"...and hanging out with a werewolf..."

"You don't even know Jacob," I defended.

"...and being stalked by Victoria."

I had no defense for that.

"Maybe moving away wasn't such a great idea," he mulled to himself.

I couldn't believe it. "Are you coming back?" I asked, barely allowing myself to think it true.
His eyes flashed to mine. "Would you take me back?" he said softly.

"Yes," I replied, no hesitation.

"You don't need to think about it?" he said, but he sounded happy at my quick response.

"What's there to think about?" I countered, and lunged at him, wrapping my arms tight around his waist. He put his cool arms around me and rested his cheek against the top of my head. THis time I pulled away first.

"I need to call Jacob. He's worried about me."

"How much time exactly do you spend with him?" Edward asked, keeping his voice casual.

"We see each other every day," I replied, picking up the phone and dialing Jacob's number. Edward nodded, deep in thought.

"Hi, Billy, it's Bella. Is Jacob there?" I asked, noting Billy's cool greeting. So word has gotten around already. "Jacob- yes, I'm fine. He says so. I don't know about the rest of them. Jake? Why do you need to talk to Sam? Um, okay. I'll talk to you later? Oh. Well, call me when you can." I hung up the phone, my face falling into a frown.

"Not too happy to see me return?" Edward guessed, and wrapped his arms around me.

"It'll be fine."

"Who's Sam?" Edward asked.

"The alpha. I think Jacob's going to tell the pack you're back."

"The pack? How many of them are there?" Edward sounded alarmed.

"Five," I replied, distracted. I wondered how they would react. Oh, god, would they hate me now?

"My God, Bella, and you spent time with them?"

"Of course," I replied, not understanding. I was more concerned with making sure they'd still let me spend time with them now that...things had changed.

"Do you know how dangerous new werewolves are? What were you thinking?" He half yelled.

I looked up at him, not understanding this reaction. "They wouldn't hurt me," I insisted.

"You can't know that! How long has Jacob even been a werewolf?"

"I don't know, a month or so?"

"He could have killed you!"

"You don't know what you're talking about," I said through gritted teeth. What was going on with him? This is not the reunion I had dreamed about.

"He's not in control of himself," Edward tried to explain.

"You haven't seen him, Edward. He's taken to it really well. He's got an amazing amount of self-control."

Edward looked like he was having a debate in his head. "I don't want you to go to La Push for a while," he ordered.

"Excuse me?"

"Not while there are new werewolves there. You underestimate their danger."

"You've been gone for months and this is the first thing you want to talk about?"

He just looked at me, firm in his decision.

"Edward, they kept me safe from Victoria. If it wasn't for them, I'd be dead right now. A thousand times over," I explained. Edward cringed at that. But I couldn't just peace out on Jake. Not after all he had done for me. Not after how I'd grown to care about him.

"Bella, please," he whispered. "For me."

"We'll discuss it," I compromised. Seeing he was about to object, I quickly asked, "What story are we telling Charlie? Is you whole family moving back?"

He stored our argument away for another time. "I'm sure they will. They all miss you. Almost as much as I have," he said, his voice turning velvet again.

"You have no idea, Bella," he whispered into my hair, "what my life's been like without you."

"You have no idea what I've been through," I whispered back.

"I'll never forgive myself for doing that to you. I promise I'll never leave you again. Unless you send me away," he said. I pulled myself closer to him. He picked me up and carried me to the couch, sitting with me wrapped in his lap. My fingers explored his face, his perfect features. He was really here; I was really in his arms.