Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga is the property of Stephenie Meyer. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

This chapter is going to start to set the pace for this story. Time will move much quicker in this one because I plan to span years instead of months. It won't be too jumpy, but more like the last few chapters of DwM.

BPOV

Why did I think I could plan this wedding in less than six months! I'm looking around my dining room table at the stacks of magazines and the different information packets on possible vendors and the checklist, which is the source of my current anxiety, and let out a strangled moan.

"You okay, love?" Edward was in the bedroom getting ready for a meeting with his publishers about his novel, a novel he won't let know the title of, let alone read!

"No! This wedding is going to be the death of me. I have no idea what I'm doing, and there is so much to do."

Edward came out and placed his hands on my shoulders before leaning in to whisper in my ear. "We could always elope."

"Over my dead body!" Alice walked in with Rose and Leah in tow, her hand resting on her little baby bump, and a binder in her hand.

"Why did we give her a key again?" Edward joked and Alice just scowled.

"So I can help Bella out when you go off jet setting for your book or movie or whatever media you're branching out into this week. Hey sweetie, any luck?"

Alice sat next to me and opened the binder, where there were folders and sections for each aspect of the wedding.

Edward gave Rose and Leah a quick peck before giving me a kiss and making his way to Alice. He kissed her before leaning down to rub her belly. "You keep mommy in line, okay little one?" Edward looked up at Alice and then made his way towards the door. "I'm gonna get out of here while I can still remember who holds the record for most consecutive games played by a baseball player."

And with that, I was in the lion's den. "Okay, why don't we start out easy? You go to the venue on Saturday afternoon for the menu and cake selection, so that will be all set. That's a big one; not having to worry about the catering will make this a lot easier. Now, flowers, what did you think about the florists you met with?"

"Well, the first place was really nice, but they haven't gotten back to me about what the flowers would look like. And the woman at the second place was a bitch. Any time I mentioned what I liked, she would tell me that I didn't really want that. So now I'm trying to find another florist to consult with."

Just then, there was a knock at the door and Leah came in a minute later with a floral arrangement in a simple glass vase, and a box. She sat them in front of me and I opened the box, taking the card while Rose pulled out a beautiful bouquet, and I read the card aloud.

"Sorry for the delay, but it took a little longer getting some of the samples. Based on the winter wedding theme, and the red, white and green colors, I pulled together this possible centerpiece and bridal bouquet. We can do variations on either, but I wanted to show the different flowers we could use. Please let us know what you think and if you would like to know other flowers we could use in the arrangements. Sincerely, Heavenly Arrangements."

"Oh my God, that's amazing. I can't believe they sent you a sample of both." Alice was astounded by the fact that we had these two arrangements in front of us. The centerpiece was perfect; it was a simple arrangement of red amaryllis with berries wrapped around the stems, almost like a bow. The bouquet on the other hand was gorgeous. It had red and white roses, gardenias, eucalyptus, holly and berries and green baby's breath.

"This is exactly what I wanted. All the things I told her I liked, that the other florist said wouldn't work. Get me the phone, I'm booking her."

Leah handed me the phone while I hashed out some of the details and asked to have a contract sent over so I could review it and then meet with Beth, the owner of Heavenly Arrangements, before signing it and making all the final decisions with her. I put both of the floral arrangements in water and then put the bouquet in the living room and the centerpiece on the bar.

After I got off the phone Alice went back to her enormous check-list. Edward wanted the same priest that married his parents, Emmett and Rose, and Alice and Jasper, to officiate our wedding, so that decision had already been made. We were also using the same photographer and videographer that Rose had gotten for Alice, and Nicole, the DJ at Charlie's Place had impressed Edward enough with her experience as a special events DJ that we had hired her, and would sit down with her tomorrow when we were in Portland for the opening of Charlie's Place. This, at the moment, was another source of anxiety for me.

Alice was babbling as I continued to drift in my nervous state until I heard her talk about selecting photos for the site. "What site?"

"You're page on 'the knot' silly, I've already helped Leah set it up, since I became a master during my engagement, but now she's officially taken it over."

"Alice, I don't-" I started to argue but was quickly silenced.

"Bella, please. I feel dizzy and nauseous still, my belly just popped this week, and I'm going to look like a cow by the time I squeeze into my bridesmaid dress, let me have a little fun with this."

I looked to Leah for help, but she and Alice were officially the "them" I had heard so much about, with Edward and I standing firm on the "us" side of things. I shook my head in quiet surrender as we moved on to discuss the block of rooms we had put on hold for our out of town guests to reserve once their RSVP's were in, registering for our gifts, and the truly terrifying dress shopping with a hormonal Alice. All would be handled next week, so at least I had time to prepare.

By the time Edward came home, my piles were all in the huge binder, which Alice left with me, and I had a list of tasks to get through tonight. I heard the door open and looked up to see a slightly defeated look on his face.

"Baby, what happened?" I rushed to his side and wrapped my arms around him.

"I got in an argument with one of my editors about something in the book, but everything is okay now, so the book is officially put to bed. Then after all that they started discussing tours and tie-ins and I don't even want to think about that yet. I can't wait for this book to be out and over with. How was your afternoon?"

I rolled my eyes and looked back at the table. "It isn't over yet. I hate to do this because you've had a bad day, but we have to firm up the guest list so I can send out the save-the-date cards."

Edward growled. "Can we do it after dinner?"

I smiled at him and kissed his jaw. "Sure, what are you in the mood for tonight?"

"Want to get pizza? I don't want anything complicated." Edward kissed my hair and made his way to the bedroom as the phone rang.

"Hello."

"Hi, is this Isabella Swan?" A deep voice asked on the other end.

"Yes it is."

"Isabella, my name is Tony from Executive Limousines, I'm calling to let you know that we received your contract and everything is set for your reservation on December 9th of this year."

I sighed, at least this was easy. "Thank you, you have a good night."

"You too ma'am." The line disconnected as Edward emerged in his pajamas.

"Who was on the phone?" He wrapped his arms around my waist and started kissing my neck.

"The limo company calling to let me know that everything is taken care of. Now I'm going to order dinner."

An hour later we were enjoying some pizza as my eyes drifted to the box of save-the-date cards. "I'm almost afraid to ask what's in the box."

I laughed and pulled out the printed mailing labels and sat them between us. "I need you to cut five more people from the list; it has to be 120 guests max."

"Okay let me see this." Edward looked over the labels and grabbed a pen, crossing out labels as he counted the five guests he uninvited. "There, now are we done for the night?"

I giggled at his enthusiasm for the planning to be over so I smiled down at him and handed him the special folder. "Here, I want you to start looking through this, that way we can book our honeymoon."

Edward looked at me with a strange smirk before throwing the folder on the floor. "I don't need to look at that, I already know where I'm taking you for our honeymoon."

"Really…where?" There was something about the twinkle in his eye that both excited and scared the hell out of me.

"Nope, I'm not telling you anything. I'm booking it next week, so I thought I should let you know that you don't have to worry about those details. I wanted to take care of something for you."

I got up and walked over to him, sitting on his lap and kissing his Adam's apple. "Are you sure I can't persuade you to tell me where we're going?"

"No." I continued to kiss down his neck to his collarbone, and then ran my nails over his clothed chest. "It is somewhere warm, that's all I'm telling you. And Alice knows already, because she's helping me with the registry for it."

"Registry?" I stopped as I looked up at him.

"Yeah, we don't really need too much for the house, so I found out that where I'm taking you has different packages for activities, so Alice is creating a registry so people can decide what to get us and then when we get there, we just choose when we want to go and it is already paid for."

"That's awesome, how did you find it?"

"Well, Hawaii has something similar, but what we did was create our own website, and hooked it up to a account, so people choose something and 'buy it', and the money goes into the account and then we have that money to book the different things when we get there. The only difference is, some places do it for you, but in this case, we're doing it ourselves. It makes it more personal than just giving cash, because they know it went towards the trip. Alice can show you the site, it explains it all there, and you can see it because it doesn't say where we're going either." I scowled and Edward guffawed under me, causing me to shake before I stood up and addressed the last 60 save-the-date cards before putting them all in the box so I could mail them in the morning.

"Baby, you're not mad that I'm keeping the honeymoon a secret…are you?" Edward asked as he followed me into the bedroom after I had cleaned up the dining room.

"No, I'm just nervous about tomorrow, so much is riding on the opening of Charlie's Place and I want it to go well."

I felt Edward's hand on my waist as he spun me around to face him. "Bella, everything is going to be fine tomorrow, if I have to jump behind the bar myself to keep things running smoothly. This bar is going to be a huge success, I can feel it."

"And everything is set up with the hotels and Rose got a sitter for the kids and everything?"

He took my face in his hands and smiled down at me before kissing my chastely. "Yes, all you have to worry about tomorrow is looking amazing and enjoying yourself."

I sighed and climbed into bed as we turned on Conan and fell asleep watching his crazy antics.

EPOV

From the moment Bella woke up this morning, she was a nervous wreck. She flew around the apartment trying to get things ready and calling Jake to see that things were going smooth on his end. By the time she got off the phone with him I grabbed her around the waist and threw her over my shoulder.

"Edward, what are you doing?" Bella squawked as she playfully hit my back before she flew forward as I dumped her on the bed and climbed on top of her.

"I'm trying to calm you the hell down. I can think of a much better way to release all this pent up energy." I used the husky tone that I knew made her melt as I nibbled and sucked on her earlobe. The moan that escaped her a moment later made me smile against the skin of her neck as I felt her pulse quicken under my lips. "That's more like it."

Bella skillfully used her feet to push off my pajama bottoms and gasped as she realized I had gone commando last night. As I kicked the pants off my hands immediately ran up her thighs and hooked into the waistband of her panties, pulling them off. Bella's hands pulled up her nightgown, revealing her breasts to me, which I quickly took advantage of. Kissing Bella with all the passion I had, I massaged her breasts, earning a moan that vibrated through me. As I continued to tease her she growled and bucked her hips into mine and I smiled against her lips as I slid into her.

I moved inside her and loved every bit of her as she anticipated my motions and reciprocated them. I could feel the anticipation of my orgasm building and in a split second decision I pulled out of Bella, leaving her looking confused where she lay under me. "Bella, get on all fours."

Her eyes widened and darkened as she got in position in front of me and I entered her again. I was being more brazen with Bella than normal, but we had been together for seven months, and were engaged to be married for crying out loud, I should be able to tell her what I want. In the new position neither of us lasted long, and my forehead was soon resting on her back as we both panted out 'I love you' before I went to take a shower.

Before the water was even tempered to a comfortable level I felt Bella wrap her arms around me. "Mind if I join you?"

I winked and I carried Bella into the shower and placed her under the spray. Bella pushed me against the shower wall and slid her hands down my chest as she kissed me passionately, our tongues fighting for dominance.

Bella pulled back and placed a kiss dead center on my chest, before starting a trail southward as her body sunk to the shower floor. I stared down at her in quiet awe, because I knew Bella was a little self-conscious about going down on me, because she didn't think she was any good at it, which was so far from the truth it wasn't funny.

She smiled up through her lashes and then took my base in her hand, sinking the heat of her mouth down over me. I shuddered against the cold tile at the sensations her mouth was causing. I reached down and tangled my fingers in her hair as she continued to work over me. She knew the rhythm I needed and kept it up, alternating between using her teeth and tongue to tease me on her way up. I panted her name as she continued and when her hand slipped from my length as I hit the back of her throat, I roared her name like a fucking lion as I came unexpectedly. But instead of being annoyed that I hadn't given her any warning, Bella smirked up at me and kissed my right hip before standing in front of me again.

I panted out, "Whatever asshole…told you that you were bad…at…that…was a fucking liar!" Bella just laughed and I leaned down to kiss her before we set to actually showering and then headed into the bedroom to get dressed for the day.

By 1pm everyone had arrived and we were trying to convince Alice to ride with our parents and have Emmett and Rose with us in Bella's Rondo. She refused to drive though, so it would be me and Mandy, the female voice on her TomTom, who would be getting us safely to Portland. Bella finally convinced Alice that she needed her help with some shopping in Portland, and since they were also getting ready in her hotel room, that she wanted three hours with me where the wedding wouldn't be the topic of conversation, to which Alice finally agreed.

It was 1:30 by the time we climbed into Bella's car, with my dad following behind in my mom's new Lexus RX hybrid. I shook my head at the fact that both my mother and my fiancée owned crossovers, but they loved their cars and I had to hand it to them, the cars suited them well.

We took to the highway and Emmett grumbled from the backseat that he wished he could have driven, but we all decided that we didn't need four cars for a one day trip to Oregon. As the miles passed, Bella began to tense up and I reached over, taking her hand in mine and rubbing my thumb along hers.

"Bella, why are you so freaked out?" Emmett asked from the backseat. Emmett was never the type to get anxious or flustered, so the idea of panicking over something like this baffled him.

"Because Emmett, I sunk every dime I got from my dad's house in this bar, and if it isn't successful then it would have all been for nothing. Plus, I'm not there every day, so I have no idea what I'm walking into tonight." Bella's breathing stuttered and I brought her hand up to kiss it.

"Babe, Jake is beyond capable, that's why you chose him. And if there was a problem he would have told you. Everything is going to be fine tonight."

Bella let out a deep breath and relaxed into the seat. From the back seat, I heard the loud smack that meant I had done something to land Emmett in the dog house.

"Why can't you ever be loving and romantic and supportive like that to me?" Rosalie muttered with a scowl in her voice as well as on her face.

"Honey, we've been married for nine years, romance for us is me leaving you the last slice of pizza while I bring the boys upstairs to get them changed for bed."

The car erupted into laughter and Bella turned to look back at Rose. "He's come a long way from the guy who used to bring you 'roses for his Rose.'"

I choked at the sheer sentimentality of it until Rose fired back. "Don't laugh Mr. 'To my lily among roses.'"

I froze as Emmett turned to me and then looked at Bella. "When did you two gang up on us, during one of your wedding planning sessions?"

Bella shook her head and laughed. "Nope. I've known about the flowers since 2002."

My brow furrowed, and it was Rose that answered the unspoken question. "Bella and I talked about lots of stuff when we first met, and she was fascinated by Emmett a little bit, she was blown away that I had someone who loved me enough to go through all of this with me. She acted like she never thought she'd find it."

Bella squeezed my hand. "If I was smart, I would have asked Rose if she had a brother-in-law and saved us all seven years." We all laughed again as I kept Bella's hand in mine for the rest of the trip.

When we arrived in Portland, Rose stayed in the backseat as Emmett, Bella and I got out. After a quick kiss and a honk of the horn from Alice, who had already climbed in the passenger's seat, Bella climbed in and drove off as the rest of us checked into our hotel rooms for the night.

BPOV

Alice was bouncing in the passenger's seat as we made our way to the small boutiques that Alice had googled and insisted that we shopped at while in the city. As we stepped into the first one I smiled wide because I knew I could find something special here. As we walked around the store that had everything imaginable to be personalized, I wandered around as Alice and Rose wove their own paths through the store.

I was standing in front of some beautiful champagne flutes when a soft-spoken woman with thin glasses appeared beside me. "See anything you like?"

I motioned to the glass I had been admiring and she picked it off the shelf. "I'm getting married, and I thought these might be nice as a favor, but I wasn't sure about it because I always assumed they would be too expensive."

She smiled at me and tipped the glass. "The price is all based on how many you order, so if you were planning on getting them for your wedding then you would probably be ordering a larger number. I'm sure we can work something out."

Alice and Rose found me as I told them about the idea and they smiled too, loving the idea. "I was thinking of ordering the full 120, that way I have enough for everyone and any extras there are can make up a set for Edward and I."

Lucy, as I soon learned her name, smiled brightly and pulled out a book of designs. "You can choose any of these images to have etched into the glasses as well as your names and date info. Now, if you decide to go for 120 glasses I can give you them for…" she flipped through the book and then stopped on a pricing page on the back. "$4.95 a glass and we'll ship them to you in Seattle for free. Now, let me know what design you like and I'll set up the order for you."

Lucy walked away and I looked at Alice and Rose. "What do you think?"

Rose smiled and took my hand. "I think it's perfect. Do you think Edward will like it?"

I nodded. "I mentioned it to him a while ago and he liked the idea."

Alice beamed as she gripped my arm. "So…which design do you like?"

I pointed to the holly and berries picture and they both nodded. I went to Lucy to let her know the design I wanted when I noticed the case filled with desk items under us. I quickly ordered the favors and my present for Edward while Rose and Alice went down the street to the maternity store Alice wanted to look at.

After the order was placed, I ducked into a small jewelry store and fell in love with a necklace for the girls as a bridesmaid's gift. I knew I wanted the girls in red, so this would work perfectly for them to wear on the day. I had them wrapped and made my way to meet up with the girls.

Around 7pm, we made our way back to the hotel to get ready. I quickly set my hair in curlers as I began my make-up. I was anxious to see Edward because he was the only one who could quiet my nerves, but Alice kept insisting that I would see him soon enough. As I finished pinning my hair, Alice came up behind me with a mid-thigh length dark blue cocktail dress. She was in a green and black dress, although she was wearing black tights, and Rose looked stunning in a red cocktail dress with a large bow on her waist.

I put on the dress and fussed with the asymmetrical top before Alice swatted my hand away and handed me a pair of heels that made it obvious she was living vicariously through me at the moment, because she slipped into her kitten heels with a frown.

Her phone buzzed and we grabbed our purses and made our way to the elevator so we could meet our men down in the lobby along with Carlisle and Esme.

EPOV

As I stood in front of the elevator, Jasper and Emmett snickered behind me and I heard them whisper something akin to 'pussy whipped' before I turned to glare at them.

"Boys, leave him alone, tonight's a big deal for Bella and he wants to see it go well. Don't tease him about it." My mom reprimanded them and there was silence as the numbers finally began to light up and the doors opened.

Bella looked stunning, she was wearing a short dark blue dress and I loved the way it showed off her legs. Her hair was down, but pinned out of her face and her warm chocolate eyes were focused on me. I walked up and pulled her to me, kissing her with everything I had until Emmett's attempt at a subtle throat clearing forced me to release my girl.

"You look so beautiful Bella, there aren't even words."

I took her hand as we made our way to the hotel restaurant where we had an 8:30 reservation before we headed over to the bar at 10:15 so we were there the moment Jake opened the doors.

All throughout dinner we talked about the wedding and Alice's pregnancy and the latest news from Denali, while Bella picked at her food and pushed it around, trying to make it look like she ate more than she had. "Are you okay love?"

"I don't feel well. I know it's the nerves, but still."

I rubbed my hand along her thigh and I noticed that she looked a little pale. "Bella, have you eaten today?"

She looked into my eyes and smiled. "I couldn't, my stomach's been in knots all day."

I whispered to her, "Why don't we go for a walk, try to get your mind off of it, or at least get you a bagel or something to settle your stomach." She nodded and I took her hand. "We're going to get some air; we'll meet you at the bar."

Bella and I stood up and said goodbye to my family before we made our way to the street. Bella continued to fidget as we walked and by 9:30 I gave up on calming her on my own. I walked her to the bar and knocked on the door.

"What are you doing?" Bella chided me as the door opened.

"Hey guys, I'm surprised you held out this long." Jake smiled before letting us in.

"You expected us early?" I asked a little surprised.

"I knew Bella would be nervous, so I was expecting her anytime after 5pm, you almost made it to the opening, I'm proud of you. Now go grab a couch and I'll bring you both a drink."

As Bella looked around she relaxed and settled into one of the couches. "It really is going to be fine, isn't it?"

I nodded and kissed her. "By the end of the night you will be the owner of the new college hotspot."

We sat there on the couch and I finally began to calm down as Bella did, because I was starting to get nervous that my dad would have to give her a tranquilizer to calm her. Jake came over to get us another drink and then winked at Bella.

"Here goes everything, relax and enjoy the success."

The bouncer opened the door and Alice and Jasper were the first to come in as the level of the music went up and Nik started working it. My family was around me in a moment, taking seats on the surrounding chairs and next to us on the couch. We were all settling in when we heard the hoot from the bar as Leah made her way to us and Bella sat on my lap to make room for her.

"Way to go girl, this place is awesome!"

Bella laughed and shook her head. "What is this 1996?" Leah joined in and then Bella hugged her. "Thanks, I needed this to go well."

"Bella, this place is charming, it has such character." My mom beamed at her and she smiled, I knew my mom's opinion mattered a lot.

Emmett came back with Jasper and drinks for the group. "Bella, I'm sure your dad would have loved this place." My dad smiled and Bella sighed next to me.

Emmett looked at us and then raised his beer. "To Charlie, for making this place possible, and for having a girl who turned out to be the perfect addition to our family."

I looked up at Emmett with such gratitude as Bella sat misty eyed next to me. "To Charlie." I raised my glass as everyone else raised their glasses and toasted Charlie as well.

The music got to be more hip and my parents held out until around midnight before they hugged Bella and congratulated her again before heading back to the hotel. Once our parents were gone my siblings and I had the same idea as we pulled our better halves to the floor and began grinding to the music.

Bella finally let go as she saw how packed the place was and overheard the patrons all raving about how they loved the relaxed atmosphere and the prospect of live music on a regular basis. Around 2am Alice started complaining that her feet were bothering her so her and Jasper cut out. Soon after, Leah resurfaced with a jarhead looking guy in tow.

Bella and she began talking in hushed tones before Leah grabbed the guys arm and brought him closer to the rest of us. "Everyone, this is Eli, he's a Captain in the Army." She was beaming and Bella just laughed and shook her head as Leah introduced us to him and he shook our hands. He seemed like a decent guy, but for Leah's sake I was going to keep my eye on him.

Next a fast salsa beat came pouring out of the speakers and Leah grabbed Bella and the two of them were instantly spinning and dancing like pros. I leaned back and Eli settled in next to me and watched the two of them dance. "Congratulations, Leah was telling me that you and Bella just got engaged."

"Yeah, that tiny dancer over there is my whole world. So, you from around here?"

"No, I'm from New York. I came from a long line of soldiers, so I went to med school and then went into Officer Training and joined the 62nd Medical Brigade."

I have to admit, I was impressed. "Have you been oversees?"

"Twice, once in Afghanistan and I just got back from Iraq. I'm finishing up my residency, but it's hard when you have to take a year or so off at a time."

His eyes wandered to Bella and Leah and he smiled. "They really do get on like sisters. It's overwhelming at times, so if you see Leah again, try not to make any sudden movements, especially when the topic of the wedding comes up."

He looked at me a little shocked. "Why wouldn't I see her again? If you're trying to give me the whole, 'she's like a sister to me so you better be good to her,' you're too late. Your Bella gave me that talking to over the phone three weeks ago."

Now it was my turn to be shocked. "You didn't meet Leah tonight?"

Eli shook his head. "I've been seeing her for a month; Portland is a little out of the way from the base for just a random night out on the town."

I shook my head and then turned my attention back to our girls.

After the second song ended I grabbed Bella and tried to keep up with her as she tried to teach me how to move my hips with the beat. I felt Emmett tap my shoulder ten minutes later as he and Rose headed out and a little while later Bella turned to Leah and smiled. "We have a meeting with the caterer tomorrow; we better go back to the hotel room and get a good night's rest."

Leah gave us both a hug as did Eli, as I teased her about not giving me a heads up about her new man, to which the girls just laughed.

A few blocks down we were walking past a 24 hour McDonalds and Bella stopped and then swayed as her eyelids fluttered. "Bella?"

I steadied her against my chest, wrapping my arms around her waist. "I'm just a little lightheaded; can I get something to eat in there?"

I nodded and lead her inside. As we walked up to the counter Bella shivered at the temperature drop from the summer night to the frigid fast food restaurant. I slipped out of my blazer and slid it on her arms as she pulled it closed and ordered.

"Can I have a Big N' Tasty meal with a Sprite." The girl behind the counter looked at me and I shook my head before paying for Bella's meal.

We got her food and sat at one of the bright tables and Bella dug into her burger. "You're not hungry?"

I smiled and reached across the table to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "No, I'm just glad that you're feeling better. I don't like seeing you all stressed out like that, it worries me. And then when you almost passed out back there-" I cut myself off, not wanting to think about Bella like that, even if she was just dizzy from being hungry.

Bella took a sip and then looked up from her food. "I'm sorry, it's just that I needed everything to go well tonight and when I get that anxious I don't really eat, it's a bad habit from when I was younger."

"Well from now on eat crackers or something, you scared me."

Bella reached across and stroked my face. "Edward I'm sorry, the last thing I wanted was to pass on my anxiety to you. I'm still not used to someone paying so close attention to me. Thank you for taking such good care of me."

I pointed to her nearly empty tray of food and she pushed it away. I grabbed it and threw out the food before going to the table and taking her hand. We walked back to the hotel and were soon in bed, cuddling under the thick comforter.

BPOV

The first thing that pulled me out of my slumber was the sad moan from Edward. I opened my eyes and turned back to see Edward's face contorted into one of pain and anguish and I couldn't fathom what could have him so upset. "Edward?"

The moment I spoke his arms tightened around me and he began sobbing into my back as his grip continued to tighten. "Edward? Ow, Edward wake up. Edward!"

The last exclamation woke him as he loosened his grip slightly and I spun around in his arms to comfort him. "Edward, what were you dreaming about, you looked so sad."

Edward buried his face in my neck and took deep steadying breaths. "Thank God…oh God."

"Edward?" I took his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me.

He took a deep breath. "I dreamt that…you were…"

He stopped again and I urged him to continue. "I was what?"

"Dead." His voice spoke in a whisper as it broke on the word and I pulled him to my chest.

"Baby, I'm not going anywhere. What brought this on, me almost fainting tonight? Because really, that was nothing."

Edward was quiet as I shifted to look at him and then the expression on his face made something click for me. "This isn't the first time you've had a dream like this, is it?"

He looked up at me and shook his head. "I have them every once in a while. Not often, except when I was in LA, all I could think about was how you could be taken from me in an instant."

"I know we've had a rough year, but believe me Edward, I'm here until we're sitting on each other's deaf side in rocking chairs on the porch of some huge house you've talked me into buying, carrying on separate conversations and watching the sunset over the water so you can see your ferryboats. No dying, remember?"

Edward finally relaxed and smiled slightly. "I love you."

I continued to rub gentle circles along his back as I kissed his forehead. "And I love you. But next time something like this starts I want you to tell me, we're supposed to be a team and I can't help you if I don't know something is wrong."

Edward sat up against the headboard and pulled me up with him, repositioning me on his chest as I moved my arms around his waist. "What about you love? Is there anything that you're afraid of?"

My stomach tightened as I thought about my little fears, all things I knew I shouldn't worry about, but still found their way into my thoughts in quiet moments. "I'm worried about when we try to have a family. What if my eggs aren't viable? Or they are but something goes wrong? What if they find something wrong with our adoption application and we can't get a child that way either?"

My rambling ended and Edward's arms tightened around me. "Bella, we will have a family, it doesn't matter how it happens, we will. And even if for some reason we can't…you're enough for me." He rubbed my arm, quieting the other fear I would never voice, that his desire to be a father would overshadow his love for me. I knew it was irrational, but that's what fears are, your subconscious taking the last thing you want to happen and making it seem like it is a likely possibility.

I sighed and settled back onto the bed and Edward followed me as we quickly fell back to sleep in each other's arms.

EPOV

Bella and I woke up around 9:30 and even though I was still tired, we had to head back to Seattle so we could choose our menu for the wedding. We got dressed and packed our bags and then headed down to check out, where Alice and Jasper were waiting for us.

"Okay, so just bring us with you, because I want to go to the market." Alice was going way too fast for me this morning, but before I could argue, Bella and her were in the backseat discussing food possibilities and questions to ask the wedding coordinator at the Alexis.

Jasper and I sat in the front talking about the Mariner's pitching when Alice gasped and both Jasper and I put all of our attention on the back seat. "Al, are you okay?" Jasper was trying to keep his cool, but Alice had been having a rough pregnancy so far with all the discomfort her first trimester had caused her.

"No, Bella isn't using fondant on her wedding cake!" Both Jasper and I rolled our eyes and I put my attention back on the road.

"Alice, I hate fondant, and besides, red velvet uses a cream cheese frosting."

Alice sighed and then smiled. "I'm sorry Bella, I'm going all Bridezilla on you and it isn't even my wedding. I promise I'll rein it in."

"Good, because I'm going to need your help, and I don't want to have to ban you from my little shopping expeditions."

With that Alice went silent and the rest of the trip was filled with schedules and time tables for when things had to get done.

When we pulled up to the Alexis, Bella and I got out and made our way in to let Janice know we were there. As Janice walked out of the restaurant, she quickly motioned for us to come with her as we nestled ourselves at a table in the back of the seating area. Before us were several options for each course, and Bella and I began tasting the different food and picking what we wanted our guests to choose from. When it finally came time for the cake, Janice had chosen two of the most popular options along with the red velvet, just in case Bella had changed her mind. But the moment Bella tasted her cake she knew it was what she wanted. I took a bite and agreed that it was delicious, solidifying the selection while Bella described the holly design she wanted on the cake and Janice brought out the pastry chef so he could make all of those arrangements with Bella.

It was nearly 3pm when we got out to the car and started driving home. When we got there we got straight into bed and Bella answered a quick call from Jake, hearing the details of last night and apologizing for not saying good-bye before she hung up and snuggled up beside me.

BPOV

The next week went by in a blur. The fab five, as Alice called us, went out to register for the few things I actually needed for our home. Selecting my good china and glassware was the hardest part, but Esme was very helpful and also very skilled at distracting her daughter when she got too enthusiastic. I was happy to see that Alice was doing better, because if her entire pregnancy was going to be as hard as her first trimester, then we will all need hard hats.

Tuesday was by far the most fun of the week; because that was the day we went dress shopping at Marcella's La Boutique. Alice had worked there before she got her own line up, so we were brought into one of the dressing areas, complete with the row of seating and the mini stage with mirrors for me to stand on and admire the dresses I tried on. But before I started trying on dresses, we sat down and I told my consultant exactly what I did and didn't want.

"I don't want a Cinderella type dress that is three times the size of me. I want something sexy, but tasteful. Toile, no lace. And no bows or rosettes on my ass."

Sharon, my consultant laughed with the girls, before she went in the back to pull dresses. A few minutes later, she brought me to the dressing room to try on my first dress.

As I slipped into it I knew it was pretty, but not what I wanted. I showed everyone and they quickly agreed so I moved on. The next four dresses went the same way and I was beginning to get a little nervous. When I entered in my sixth dress, Leah had finally arrived from work, and was getting the play by play from Alice. When I stood on the stage in front of them I knew I was closer, but this still wasn't what I wanted.

I tried on the next dress and told Sharon what bothered me about the last two dresses and I saw the light bulb go on over her head. She helped me get out of the dress and then disappeared and when she returned she unzipped the garment bag I was immediately crying. Everything I wanted, everything I never knew I would want, was sitting inside that garment bag and as I tried it on I knew this was the dress I was marrying Edward in. When I rounded the corner and stepped up on the stage everyone fell silent and tears flowed around the room.

"Bella, you look like a ballerina." Rose was smiling so hard as she passed the tissue box down the line to Esme who simply said.

"My Edward is going to forget his own name when you take that first step down the aisle."

Alice giggled and shook her head. "I didn't know you had it in you. That dress is diva."

Leah still hadn't said anything and I knew her thoughts were around the same place as mine were. As happy as I was, all I could think about was how much I wished my mom was here, and I knew that the feeling would creep up a lot more by the time Edward and I finally said 'I do.'

After purchasing the dress, we went to another boutique that specialized in maternity formalwear so that we could get bridesmaids dresses that looked as good on soon to be very pregnant Alice as they did on Leah and Rosalie. Going in was an adventure as Alice soon came out with a fake belly so they could have her model the maternity dresses once we had made our selections. As she sat beside the pillowed stomach she glared at it, realizing that she would in fact be that pregnant very soon.

The girls tried on a few dresses when I finally fell in love with a deep red dress with a black sash under the bust. Alice went back and tried on the dress with the fake belly and was surprisingly very excited by how the dress looked on her. The girls ordered their dresses, and Alice cringed when they wrote her size on the ticket. Esme found a lovely dress in a deep Emerald and I was so pleased that everything was going so well.

My good mood continued as I spent the remainder of the week booking the florist, ordering the invites with Alice and beginning to sift through the possible music choices with Edward.

I got the call on Thursday night that Claire had given birth to a little boy, and congratulated Quil before I told him to take the rest of the week off and spend some time with his girlfriend and son. I had some flowers delivered to the hospital, but decided that I would wait until they came home to go see the baby.

Life was all beginning to fit into place, and I was happy just to spend time with Edward, curled up on the couch watching TV and planning our future together.