A/N: So here is the second chapter…sorry it has taken so long to get posted. It has taken me a day or two to come up with what exactly is going to happen.

I hope that you like it :)

We will chat below. Steph owns.

EPOV

I was really confused when I got out of the shower the next morning and Bella wasn't in bed. Where did she go? And then I smelt bacon cooking downstairs. With a confused look I grabbed my tie and things as I headed for the kitchen. When I came to the bottom of the steps I saw Bella standing at the stove fixing breakfast. I came to a complete stop on the second to last step and just stared at her.

Was she going somewhere this morning and fixing breakfast before she went? Bella hasn't cooked breakfast for me since…Hell I don't know when the last time was. She smiled at me and started to fill up my coffee mug and sat it next to the food lined down the breakfast bar. There were pancakes, bacon, eggs…the damn works were laid out for me. I was in shock and couldn't even move. Then she pulled out a thermos and put more coffee in it. When I thought she was done she reached into the fridge and pulled out a container with some of her stroganoff from last night in it.

When everything was placed neatly on the counter she started towards the stairs, "Have a good day at work." She smiled and skipped passed me.

I followed her with my eyes up the stairs until I heard the bedroom door shut. I looked back to all of the food and scoffed out loud before looking back up the stairs again. I almost expected her to come back out and join me but as I sat down and began to eat, she never did. I sat alone and finished the wonderful hot breakfast that was in front of me. This was so much better than hot pockets and McDonald's drive through every morning.

I ate and drank my coffee until everything was completely empty. I even loaded the dishwasher before I decided it was time to go. I was standing at the garage door staring at the knob with my lunch, coffee thermos, and briefcase in my hand. I just couldn't walk out the door yet. I sat my stuff down on the dining room table and hurried up the stairs. There were no sounds coming from our room so I slowly opened the door and peeped in to find Bella sleeping with my pillow curled into her side. For the first time in a long time, I smiled…truly smiled. I don't know what it was about the sight before but I knew at that particular moment that I couldn't let Bella get away from me. I had to do something to keep her by my side forever. If I had to walk from here to the ends of the earth, I would do it. If it took seeing a marriage counselor I would agree to it because she was far too precious for me to just sit back and let her slip through my hands.

I walked into the room and over to her side of the bed. Leaning down I kissed her softly on the cheek and whispered, "I love you Bella."

Then before I woke her I hurried back downstairs and to my car. Backing out of the driveway I felt a bit of hope. There was a future for us. Things were going to get better if it was the last thing I do.

"Morning Heidi." I greeted the receptionist as she buzzed me into the door.

"Morning, Dr. Cullen." She smiled and went back to her work at the computer.

I knew that Jasper was already here and I couldn't wait to talk to him. He would give me the good advice that I needed right now. Jasper knew a lot of good marriage counselors since he was in the psychological realm of college. He could refer Bella and I to a really good doctor.

"Morning." I said cheerfully as I entered his office.

He raised an eyebrow at me and asked, "Good morning? You are awfully chipper…get a good whack in during your shower?"

"Jasper," I scolded him. He didn't need to be talking like that in a pediatric clinic. Not that we had any patients in this early but still.

He laughed once and shrugged. "Well I haven't seen you look this optimistic since…" he narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "Ever."

I rolled my eyes and sat down in the seat next to his desk. "I was wondering…"

"If you could possibly be gay after all this time?" He asked and I could see the smile teasing his lips. He has liked to joke around a lot lately because he knows that this is a rough time on me…he understands. He has tried to encourage me to get help for me and Bella for quite some time even.

"Jasper this is serious. I can leave and find someone more mature to discuss this with if you would prefer? I think Mrs. Johnson is bringing her five year old in at eight this morning. I am sure he would be more attentive."

Jasper rolled his eyes and said, "Ok, I am a giant big ear waiting to hear this…what is it?"

I sighed and said, "I think that I am ready to see a counselor with Bella."

His eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he stared at me in shock. "Really?" Then his entire appearance changed. "Wait, what happened?"

I sat my stuff down in the seat next to me, not missing the way Jasper eyed my lunch. "Well last night when I got home Bella had made this really nice meal for me. She was all dressed up, opened the fancy wine, candles and everything. At first I was afraid that she was telling me she wanted a divorce and then she said she just wanted to make dinner for me. It really made me think, you know? I love her. I don't want to lose her because I am a jack ass and I don't know how to be a husband. I want to fix this. She has done so much for me and I am not doing anything in return…I can't let her slip through my fingers, Jasper. I won't let it happen."

He was leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed snugly. "I told Alice last night it wouldn't take long for you to come around…what did she make for dinner last night? Stroganoff? Is that what's in the bag?" He eyed my lunch again.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my stuff heading to the break room to put my lunch in the fridge.

"Can I have some?" He called after me.

"Fuck off…it's all mine." I said and turned out of his office starting down the hall.

He laughed loudly and shouted, "Be sure you give Timmy Johnson his vocabulary lesson at eight o'clock Dr. Cullen."

I laughed once and rolled my eyes, ignoring him. I made it all the way through my morning appointments when Jasper came to me with a name and number on a prescription paper. I looked at and back at him.

"What's this?" I asked and looked back at the name. John Denali…never heard of him.

"Old friend…I called him up and he said he would be happy to meet with you."

I rolled my eyes and wadded the paper up to shove it back in his coat pocket. "Jasper, I am not gay."

He laughed and shook his head. "No, he is a counselor."

"Oh." Well that changes things. "Great, I will call Bella and see when she is free to meet with him."

I started to walk past him but he put a hand on my shoulder and stopped me. "Just a minute…he isn't that kind of counselor. But I think that he can help you guys a lot. Besides, Bella and Alice went running and she probably doesn't have her phone with her."

I raised my eyebrows and scrutinized my brother. "What kind of counselor is he, Jasper?"

He smiled and whispered. "A sex counselor."

"A what?" I screamed at him loudly and felt my blood pressure start to rise.

Jasper looked around to make sure no one heard me flip out. "Calm down, it's not what you think it is and I have talked to him about stuff with me and Alice before. He really helped me a couple of times."

I felt my eyes get even bigger. "Does your wife know that you have talked to a sex shrink?"

"Would you shut the hell up?" He whispered at me. "Are you kidding me? I would be in the hospital recovering from an unprofessional nonmedical procedure of a ball removal if she knew that. Of course I haven't told her but honestly Edward…when was the last time that you and Bella had sex?"

I rolled my eyes. "That is none of your business." I spat at him quietly.

He sighed and shook his head. "That long huh? Just think about it Edward…talk to him just once. If you don't like it then I will get a good marriage counselor for you but just give it a try. What could it hurt?"

I sighed as he turned and walked away from me. Looking down I stared at the crumbled piece of paper in my hand.

"Look, Dr. Cullen." I heard a little girl say behind me. "I pee peed in a cup."

I turned and smiled down at her. She was my next patient. Little four year old Michelle. She was a cutey. I laughed at her and said, "Good job, Michelle…let's give this to a nurse and get your ears and throat checked out."

I took the cup from her and handed it to the nurse walking with her. I picked the little girl up and walked her to the exam room. "Have you heard in little birdies in your ear lately?"

"Yep." She grinned widely and said, "Mommy says that it's because I have an nafection in my ear."

She meant, infection. I smiled and sat her down on the exam table as her mom came in behind me.

"Well how about we get you some medicine and get rid of that nasty nafection?" I asked and pulled my light out to look into both of her ears.

"Ok, can I get a sucker too?" She asked excitedly.

I smiled and said, "Absolutely."

"Goodbye Michelle." I said and waved to her as she stuck her sucker in her mouth and waved.

"Dr. Cullen?" Heidi said as I was heading back towards my office.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Your wife called earlier. She would like for you to call her back."

Bella called? Why? She never calls. "Thank you Heidi."

I stuck my hands in my jacket pockets and handed towards my office when I felt the crumpled up paper with the name and number on it. I slipped into my office and shut the door as I pulled the paper out of my pocket and stared at it for a few minutes. By the time I pulled my eyes away I had the number memorized I had stared at it for so long. Giving my brain a rest I figured I would call Bella and make sure that everything was ok.

I called the house phone first and thought I would try her cell next. She answered on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Did you need something?" I asked softly and hoped that my question didn't sound rude. Why couldn't I have said something more polite like, hey baby I saw where you called what's up?

She hesitated before saying, "Well Charlie called. He wants us to come up tonight for a cookout. I told him I would let him know once I checked in with you."

Oh…great, a family get together. I am sure her family hates me by now and Emmett would probably pound my face in if he knew the way I treated his sister. But I wanted to do this for Bella. Her family is important to her and I do love them too I just don't know how they feel about me. I looked at the clock and saw that it was barely after noon. "What time?"

"It is at seven but I know you don't get off until six thirty so we don't have to go if you don't want to." She said almost nervously as if I was going to bite her head off or something.

My last appointment was at four so I would be getting off earlier today anyway. She didn't know that though. I had previously just planned on staying around and working on some paper work until six thirty or so. But this way I would get to spend time with her and it would hopefully bring us closer together. Hopefully.

"Yeah…I will try to get home a little early so we won't have to be late." I said, smiling.

"Ok…" She stuttered out. I had probably just shocked her nearly into a heart attack.

"Bye." I said quickly and hung up the phone just as Jasper entered the room.

"Was that John?" He asked hopefully and I shook my head.

"No, that was Bella. I haven't called John." I sneered the man's name and felt a little queasy at the thought of calling him.

Jasper sat down and said, "I talked to him just now, he called and said his four thirty appointment cancelled and he could get you in today if you wanted. Coincidentally your last appointment is at four…enough time to make it to his office."

Jasper wiggled his eyes before leaving me to the number on my desk. Shit. What could it hurt? With a loud sigh I picked up the phone and dialed the number I had just spent so much time staring at.

"So, Mr. Cullen." Dr. Denali started and I could feel a migraine coming on.

"Edward, please." I corrected the man and rubbed my temples.

"Alright, Edward. I can see that you are getting a little stressed." No shit? "Why don't we just talk for a minute?" I nodded in response.

He leaned back in his fancy chair and crossed his hands at his stomach like he was observing me. Why the hell did I agree to do this? I was going to fucking kill Jasper for convincing me that this was a good idea.

"So, I really want you to view me as a friend Edward. I'm a guy that's married…you're a guy that's married. What do you talk about to your other married guy friends?" He asked and raised his dark eyebrows at me.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Sex…or the lack thereof. It seems to be a more popular topic with married men."

He grinned and nodded. "I would have to agree. It's like when the rings get on the interests goes."

I shook my head and started to relax a little. "Not for me. It was never like that. Up until now."

Tense again.

He narrowed his eyes and said, "From man to man…when was the last time that it was really…really good?"

I grinned widely and said. "My birthday."

John Denali laughed and said, "Me too. Then again my birthday was three days ago."

I didn't respond, only looked at the pictures of the beautiful woman around his study. Must be his wife. She is gorgeous…no wonder they have great sex. Bella is more beautiful…why don't we have great sex? Why don't we have sex? Oh wait…because I am an asshole. Right.

"What I want you to do Edward is think about the last time you and Bella had the best sex you can ever remember. If it was your birthday then think about that…I just want you to think it over for a minute and then tell me why it was so great."

I sighed and considered walking out but instead I just sighed and closed my eyes and remembered my birthday. It was two months ago.

Bella was going to see her dad and we got into a huge fight because she wasn't feeling well and she didn't want to go to my parents for my birthday dinner. It was a tradition. We always had dinner at my parent's house for my birthday. I was mad at her and I was convinced that she absolutely hated me because she wouldn't come to my parent's. We fought on the phone while I drove to the familiar house all alone. We fought in text messages while I was there. She finally told me that I should enjoy the time with my family and she would see me at home. Well I was pissed and I didn't want to be around them and I just wanted to be at home in the bed or to have my wife at my own damn birthday dinner. But her father was sick and she insisted on being there. I didn't blame her, I really didn't but I still wanted her to be with me. It was my birthday. Besides, Charlie had Sue to take care of him. He was a grown man, he could handle his own.

Right before I left my parents house Bella sent me a message that said she was sorry and that she loved me. I didn't respond. As soon as I ate some of my favorite apple crumble that mom always made for me I left. I went home angry, with all intentions of making Bella feel like shit because she missed my birthday. When I got home her car was already in the garage. I got out and slammed the car door before walking into the house. I stomped into the kitchen to find Bella and immediately all of my anger melted away. She had a small birthday cake with one candle in it. She was in some kind of sexy lingerie piece that made my dick rigid with just a glance. I looked at the cake and it said, I'm Sorry. I just looked at her as she stared at me with those big brown eyes. I blew the candle out before taking the cake away from her as I grabbed her hand and pulled her to me…

I snapped my eyes open and looked at him before I could let my mind continue down that path. The last thing I wanted to do was to get a raging hard on in front of Dr. Sex Therapist. Why was I here again?

He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Well?"

I know what he wanted. He wanted to know what made that time so good? There were many perverted things I could have said, but that's not what he wanted and I knew that they weren't what made sex with my wife so good.

"We loved each other." I answered him and he turned his head to the side.

"Loved? Past tense?" He asked and leaned forward until his elbows were on his knees.

I shook my head. "No, I still love her. I wouldn't be here if I didn't love her."

He nodded and said, "And that is what makes a marriage, Edward. Commitment, responsibility of our actions. The knowledge to know when we are at a point in our lives that something has to be done to fix our mistakes, and that is why you are here today right? You know that you have to fix your marriage with Bella somehow and if this be it…you are committed to her enough to do it. I know how hard this is for you…I can tell that it is a strain for you to be here but you wouldn't have walked in that door if you didn't think it would help your marriage. Am I right?"

He was right. "Yes, surprisingly."

He laughed and said, "I want to help you Edward and I truly believe I can but you have to be willing to let me. Are you willing to do that?"

I took a deep breath and nodded. This was going to work. I was going to get help in fixing my marriage. "Yeah, I am willing to do whatever it takes to fix this."

Dr. Denali smiled and said, "Good. I'm very glad to hear that. Now I spoke with Jasper earlier and he mentioned something that I would have to agree with. I think you and Bella should take a vacation. I think that you should take some time and get away from the things that cause you to be stressed and the things that cause friction. It is always healthy to step outside of the box sometimes. I think it would be a great idea."

"I guess that I could arrange something for this weekend?" I questioned and he grinned brightly.

"Great." He encouraged. "Go some place exotic and completely different from home. Somewhere that doesn't even make you think of Washington. Plan lots of outings together. Like go to an island and hike to a waterfall. Do things that put you in situations where you have to talk to one another. Do things that remind you of why you first fell in love with her. You get the picture…recreate your first date…recreate your first time." He nodded and I nodded with him.

"I've got some books that I want you to take home and read. They might help you some." He said as he walked over to one of his shelves and pulled down a couple of books as he continued to talk. "A lot of times in marriages, one partner is completely willing to have sex as much as possible but they feel that they don't know how to approach it or that their spouse doesn't have the same sex drive and may not want it as often as they do. It's not always the case but it is a major thing to consider. Maybe Bella has cooked a nice dinner and breakfast for you because she wants something in return…you have to consider these things sometimes. Women are much more complex than we are and rarely ever do they just come out and say what they want so communication is a big part of a marriage. I always say that there's communication and then there's sex. They aren't the same thing, they are two totally different topics and should be approached that way. And from what you tell me Edward you and Bella are lacking in both communication and sex but you need to know that you can't just go home and sweep her off to bed and it make everything ok. Communication has to be their first. So talk to her more…compliment her more and then get to the sex."

He handed me the two books and patted the one on top. "This one talks a lot about communication, the other one more about sex, so see if those help you. Plan the vacation. You have my email and phone number you can call me anytime that you need to. Alright?"

I nodded and stood up extending my hand. "Thank you."

He smiled and patted my shoulder. "No problem, Edward. Have a good day. I will email you soon."

"Goodbye." I said as I left his office with my arms full and my mind racing of the different vacation areas we could travel to this weekend.

I sat in my car for nearly forty five minutes reading the book about 'sex' as Dr. Denali had called it. Rekindling Desire: A Step by Step Program to Help Low-Sex and No-Sex Marriages. Sounded interesting enough. Before I knew it I was already in chapter four and it was fifteen till six and I had to get home so that Bella and I could head over to her father's.

A/N: So…what do you think? I am really liking this EPOV stuff :) Can't wait for the rest.

Next chapter will be the family dinner. See what happens when Emmett corners Edward to give him some "advice"

The book that Dr. Denali gives Edward is a real book that I don't have any rights to, just mentioned it in a passing the book belongs to the authors and not me. (Just for safety reasons)

Leave me a review and let me know what you think about the story so far :)

Thanks to all!

*KRay*