16. The Cullens

The sun tried to shine through Bella's bedroom window but the thick gray clouds prohibited much of the morning light. Bella stirred, awaking slowly, groggy and confused. I sat in the rocking chair, watching as she moaned and rolled over on her side. Suddenly she was wide awake and a surprised gasp escaped her lips as she sat up.

"Oh."

Her hair was wild and out of control, sticking up in places like long brown spikes.

"Your hair looks like a haystack…but I like it."

"Edward! You stayed!" she yelled and threw herself across the room and into my lap. I wasn't expecting her joyous reaction, however I did appreciate her enthusiasm. It made me feel good inside. I laughed out loud and rubbed her back as she rested her head against my shoulder.

"Of course," I answered.

"I was sure it was a dream," Bella whispered.

"You're not that creative."

"Charlie!" she suddenly shouted, jumping up again and heading to the door.

"He left an hour ago – after reattaching your battery cables, I might add. I have to admit I was disappointed. Is that really all it would take to stop you, if you were determined to go?"

Bella stood by the door, confusion written all over her face. I did not understand why.

"You're not usually this confused in the morning." I held my arms open, an invitation to return to my lap. However she did not. I felt a deep since of rejection and gloom. She had finally come to her senses.

"I need another human minutes," she finally spoke.

"I'll wait." I didn't have a choice. I needed to hear her say that I was no longer welcome in her home…in her life. I waited, knowing that no matter how hard I listened, I would not be able to hear anything except the sounds of her neighbors starting their day.

Soon I heard her half-run in the hallway. Her footsteps were light, not the heavy gait of someone who had very upsetting news. The bedroom door swung open and Bella walked quickly over to me. To my surprise she climbed back into my lap, placing her hand on my chest. I cradled her in my arms.

My assumption had been totally incorrect.

I rocked back and forth in silence, enjoying the serenity of the moment until Bella looked up and touched the collar of my shirt.

"You left?"

"I could hardly leave in the clothes I came in – what would the neighbors think?"

She pouted, reminding me of a child who was told they could not have a new toy.

"You were very deeply asleep; I didn't miss anything. The talking came earlier."

She groaned. "What did you hear?"

"You said you loved me."

"You knew that already," she reminded me, ducking her head shyly.

"It was nice to hear, just the same."

Bella buried her face in the crest of my shoulder. "I love you," she whispered.

A yearning sensation coursed through my body as the breathless words rolled off her tongue with ease. This was no dream. She wasn't sleeping. She was quite conscious.

Isabella Swan was in love with me!

There was only one thing I could say in response, only one phrase that could fully reiterate how much the girl in my arms truly meant to me.

"You are my life now."

There was nothing more to say for the moment. I rocked us back and forth as the room grew lighter with the rising sun.

"Breakfast time," I said eventually, casually – to prove that I remembered all of her human frailties.

Before I could move, Bella clutched her throat with both hands and stared at me with wide eyes. Shock and horror crossed her face. I was stunned to see that she would even think I meant breakfast for me, let alone that she would be my meal.

"Kidding!" she snickered. "And you said I couldn't act!"

"That wasn't funny," I fumed. But I couldn't resist a small chuckle. Her acting was a bit comical.

"Shall I rephrase?" I asked. "Breakfast time for the human."

"Oh, okay."

I flung Bella, like a human sized ragdoll, over my shoulder and carried down the stairs. She protested but I ignored her until we reached the kitchen and I sat her in a chair.

"What's for breakfast?" she asked pleasantly?"

For a second, I was caught off guard. I'd never cooked before. I barely had an idea of what people ate for breakfast. I quickly scanned the kitchen for something that resembled a meal that I could prepare.

"Err, I'm not sure. What would you like?"

Bella grinned and hopped up. "That's alright, I fend for myself pretty well. Watch me hunt."

I obeyed as she retrieved a bowl and box of breakfast cereal. I vaguely remembered breakfast but even so, I knew it was more than what Bella was eating. I remembered my mother serving eggs and bacon and toasted bread, and even hot cereal. Bella cleared her throat to gain my attention.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Just eat Bella."

We sat at the table. I gazed at her as she ate, studying her every movement. There were times when Bella seemed quite graceful. This was one of them.

"What's on the agenda?" Bella asked anxiously. I guessed my incessant staring was making her a tad uncomfortable.

"Hmmm…what would you say to meeting my family?" The question escaped before I really gave it any thought.

Bella swallowed hard.

"Are you afraid now?" I asked. Hopefully she would be afraid and say no…that she wasn't ready.

"Yes."

"Don't worry. I'll protect you."

"I'm not afraid of them," she explained. "I'm afraid they won't…like me. Won't they be, well, surprised that you would bring someone…like me…home to meet them? Do they know that I know about them?"

"Oh, they already know everything. They'd taken bets yesterday, you know…on whether I'd bring you back, though why anyone would bet against Alice, I can't imagine. At any rate, we don't have secrets in the family. It's not really feasible, what with my mind reading and Alice seeing the future and all that."

"And Jasper making you feel all warm and fuzzy about spilling your guts, don't forget that," she added.

"You paid attention," I stated approvingly. She was beginning to accept us.

"I've been known to do that ever now and then." But she grimaced. "So did Alice see me coming?"

"Something like that," I said uncomfortably, turning away so that she could not see the lie behind my eyes. But she stared at me anyway.

"Is that any good?" I asked, changing the subject. "Honestly, it doesn't look very appetizing."

"Well, it's no irritable grizzly…" she murmured, ignoring my eyes when I glowered.

Restlessly, I stood up and stared out the back windows. I saw a brief flash of pale white skin and golden hair billowing in the breeze. Rosalie. What was she doing here? Then another flash of white behind her.

Just passing through, Emmett called out soundlessly. Alice told us you were bringing Bella for sure and Rose flipped out. I'll try to calm her down. See you later!

I shook my head and turned back to Bella. I smiled as a simple thought came to mind. If she was going to meet my family…

"And you should introduce to your father, too, I think."

"He already knows you," Bella answered, matter-of-factly.

"As your boyfriend, I mean."

She stared at me suspiciously. "Why?"

"Isn't that customary?" I asked. It had been for as long as I remembered. I know it's the new millennium but things hadn't changed that much, had they?

"I don't know," she admitted. "But it's really not necessary, you know. I don't expect you to…I mean, don't have to pretend for me."

"I'm not pretending."

She pushed the remains of her cereal around the edges of the bow, biting her lip, avoiding my question.

"Are you going to tell Charlie I'm your boyfriend or not?"

"Is that what you are?"

"It's a loose interpretation of the word 'boy', I'll admit."

"I was under the impression that you were something more, actually," she finally admitted.

"Well, I don't know if we need to give him all the gory details." I reached across the table to lift her chin with a gentle finger. "But he will need some explanation for why I'm around here so much. I don't want chief Swan getting a restraining order put on me."

"Will you be?' she asked, suddenly anxious again. "Will you really be here?"

"As long as you want me to," I assured her.

"I'll always want you…forever."

Forever. Bella's forever and my forever meant two different things. Her's wasn't quite as long as mine. I am immortal. I really would live forever. I wondered how I'd ever live without her.

"Does that make you sad?" she asked, noticing my solemn expression.

I didn't answer right away. Instead I stared into her eyes for a moment, contemplating what my life would be like if she wasn't there. It was not a pleasant thought.

"Are you finished," I finally asked, sweeping away the ugly notion of Bella not being around. She was here; she was right where I needed her to be. I'd deal with the future later.

She jumped up in response to my question. "Yes."

"Get dressed – I'll wait here."

Bella climbed the stairs, a mixture of nervousness and excitement in each step. I waited patiently. I was no in rush but this was something that I had to be done, sooner rather than later.

Moments later, Bella bounced down the stairs wearing a long khaki colored skirt and the dark blue blouse that I adored.

"Okay, I'm decent," she called as she bounced right into my arms at the bottom of the stairs.

"Wrong again, I murmured in her ear. "You are utterly indecent – no one should look so tempting, it's not fair."

"Tempting how?" she asked apprehensively. "I can change…"

Shaking my head, I sighed. "You are so absurd." I pressed my lips delicately to her forehead.

"Shall I explain how you are tempting me?" I asked, rhetorically. My fingers traced slowly down her spine. My breathing intensified, coming quicker against her skin. I tilted my head slowly and for the second time I touched my lips to hers, very carefully, parting them slightly.

And then she collapsed.

"Bella?" I was alarmed as I caught her in my arms and steadied her on her feet.

What had just happened?

"You…made…me...faint."

"What am I going to do with you," I groaned in exasperation. "Yesterday I kiss you, and you attack me! Today you pass out on me!"

Bella tried to laugh but it came out all wrong.

"So much for being good at everything," I mumbled.

"That's the problem. You're too good. Far, far too good."

"Do you feel sick?" I asked. Her face was a very faint greenish in color, like it had been the day of the blood typing.

"No – that's wasn't the same king of fainting at all. I don't know what happened." She shook her head apologetically. "I think I forgot to breathe."

"I can't take you anywhere like this."

"I'm fine," she insisted. "Your family is going to think I'm insane anyway. What's the difference?"

I was lost in admiration, not paying attention anymore to what she was saying. The shade of blue of her blouse was doing wonderful things to her complexion.

"I'm very partial to that color with your skin." She flushed brightly and looked way.

"Look, I'm trying really hard not to think about what I'm about to do, so can we go already."

"And you're worried, not because you're headed to meet a house full of vampires, but because you think those vampires won't approve of you, correct?"

"That's right," she answered immediately.

I couldn't believe it. "You're incredible."

We decided to take her truck. I would have preferred running – it would have been much quicker – but I remembered the near panic attack that struck Bella yesterday and relented to driving.

Bella was impatient as we chugged along the road. I could see it all over her face but she was a quiet impatient. I liked that. We had something else in common.

I barely glanced at the road as I made the turn onto the unpaved road that led to our home. The forest encroached it on both sides but I knew the route perfectly. A few miles later the forest thinned and our large white house came into view. A tiny gasp came from Bella as she stared at the house.

"Wow."

I realized that Bella – like most people – had not seen our house. It wasn't visible from the road – seclusion was the key – and the vampire movies that she had seen certainly didn't depict our turn of the century house. I wondered what Bella had expected. Moats? And old Draconian castle, nestled deep in the woods?

But I couldn't give her anything remotely close to what she – and most imagined. Our house was normal. Its occupants were the only abnormal thing about it.

The hundred year old house wasn't scary by any means. Esme had come across it, nestled in the woods, close to the river, by accident. It was weathered by all the rain and hadn't been taken care of in years. Together, working within Esme's vision, we painted it a faded white and added a third story. Between Esme and Emmett's exemplary craftsmanship, the windows and doors were a perfect restoration of what they were. I remembered the day well, the day that we finished working on the house and were ready to move it. The unveiling was splendid. The house reminded me of the home I shared with my own parents nearly a hundred years ago.

"You like it?"

"It has a certain charm," Bella answered, still staring the house.

I tugged at the end of Bella's ponytail playfully and chuckled.

"Ready?"

"Not even a little bit," Bella answered when she stepped out of the door that I held open for her. "Let's go." She fidgeted and smoothed her hair nervously.

"You look lovely." I took her hand and we strolled up to the porch. I could feel the tension in her palm but I didn't know how to comfort her. I was too nervous myself. I wanted this to go right. I wanted to prove Rosalie wrong….this was not a bad idea. But most importantly I wanted Bella to feel welcome.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. Waiting beside the grand piano were Carlisle and Esme. I should have known they would be the first faces Bella would see.

Esme's soft, unthreatening smile eased Bella's tension at once but she and Carlisle were careful not to move, not wanting to frighten her. They had no idea that Bella was completely comfortable with our abnormalities.

Oh Edward, she's lovely, Esme gushed.

"Carlisle, Esme," I said to break the silence, "this is Bella."

"You're very welcome here, Bella." Carlisle's step was measured, careful, as he approached her. He raised his hand tentatively and Bella stepped forward to shake his hand.

"It's nice to see you again, Dr. Cullen."

"Pleas, call me Carlisle."

"Carlisle," she corrected and smiled. I felt an immediate sense of relief. Bella was no longer afraid of them not liking her.

Esme smiled and stepped forward as well, reaching for Bella's hand.

"It's very nice to know you," she said sincerely.

"Thank you. I'm glad to meet you too."

"Where are Alice and Jasper?" I asked, looking around. No one had to answer because they appeared, like ghosts, at the top of the staircase.

Here we are!

"Hey Edward!" Alice called enthusiastically as she ran down the stairs, coming to a sudden, yet graceful, stop in front of Bella. Carlisle and Esme shot warning glances at her which she ignored. I did too. Alice was just being Alice, naturally annoying.

"Hi Bella!" Alice squealed, and bounced forward to kiss her cheek. If Carlisle and Esme had looked cautious before, they now looked staggered. There was shock in my eyes too. I had not expected Alice to get so close to her. It was just her first time.

"You do smell nice, I never noticed before," Alice commented.

"Alice, what's wrong with you?" I scolded. She didn't answer and no one else seemed to know what to say. And then Jasper was there. A feeling of ease spread through all of us. I mouthed 'thank you' to Jasper. All was good in the room again.

"Hello Bella," Jasper spoke. He kept his distance though, not offering to shake her hand. I could see his struggle.

"Hello Jasper." Bella smiled shyly and then at the others. "It's nice to meet you all – you have a very beautiful home."

"Thank you," Esme said. "We're so glad that you came." She spoke with so much feeling that I realized that she thought Bella was brave.

Rosalie and Emmett were nowhere to be seen. But I was happy that Rosalie wasn't around to make the situation even more tense and awkward.

From the corner of my eye I noticed that Carlisle was staring at me, trying to catch my attention. I turned towards him, away from Bella, and listened to what only I could hear.

Edward, Alice saw us having some visitors to the area soon. She doesn't see that they are dangers, merely curious.

I nodded once, making a mental note to ask Alice exactly what she saw. My first instinct was to take Bella away for a while, to protect her, no matter what the cost. But I did not want to overreact unnecessarily.

"Do you play?" I heard Esme's voice and I turned my attention back to our guest.

Bella was staring dreamily at my grand piano, as if wishing she could play.

"No, not at all," Bella answered wistfully. "Is it yours?"

"No," Esme giggled. "Edward didn't tell you he was musical?"

I smiled innocently as Bella glared at me. I'd neglected to mention that talent since she seemed so opposed to me being good at things, though I had not forgotten to ask her if she played any instruments.

"No," she answered, still glaring at me with narrowed eyes. "Should have know, I guess."

Esme raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"Edward can do everything, right?" Bella explained.

Jasper snickered and Esme gave me a reproachful look.

"I hope you haven't been showing off – it's rude," she scolded.

"Just a bit," I teased. Esme's face softened at the peal of my laughter.

It's so nice to hear you laugh.

Esme's expression was smug as she turned back to Bella.

"He's been too modest, actually," Bella told her.

"Well," Esme turned towards me, "play for her."

"You just said showing off was rude," I protested.

"There are exceptions to every rule," was her matronly reply.

Bella looked longingly at me. "I'd like to hear you play," she said, not helping the situation any.

I looked at the other members of my family for help but no one came to my aid. Truthfully, I did want to play for Bella but not in front of my entire family. Unfortunately, it did not appear that they intended to leave.

"It's settled then," Esme said and pushed me towards the piano.

I reached for Bella's hand and pulled her along with me. She took a seat beside me as my hands hovered above the keys. I couldn't decide what to play. Then I looked at Esme and Carlisle. They wore the same blissful expression...so happy to see me happy. I decided to play the song I'd composed for them...for their love. I was so caught up in the melody that I did not notice Bella's reaction until I heard Jasper and Alice snicker. I glanced at Bella, my fingers still flying over the keys, and winked.

"Do you like it?"

"You wrote this?" she gasped.

"Yes," I nodded. "It's Esme's favorite."

Bella closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. At first I thought she was letting the melody take over, absorbing the soft cadences. But through her nearly translucent eyelids, I saw her eyes roll.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm feeling extremely insignificant."

How could that be, I wondered. She was the most significant person my life...forever. To prove how significant she was, I slowed the song and eased into the new one I had started composing...the lullaby.

Bella's lullaby.

"You inspired this one, you know," I said softly in her ear as she recognized the tune.

"They like you," I informed her. "Esme, especially."

Bella glanced behind her but the room was empty now. Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, and Alice had slipped out when I changed the song.

"Where did they go?"

"Very subtly giving us some privacy, I suppose."

"They like me," Bella sighed. "But Rosalie and Emmett..."

She had noticed their absence. I'd been hoping she wouldn't mind.

"Don't worry about Rosalie," I assured her. "She'll come around."

On this matter, Rosalie did not have choice. I made a mental note to remind her of the conversation we had on the rocks, a conversation I know she had not forgotten.

"And Emmett?" she asked skeptically.

"Well, he thinks I'm a lunatic, it's true," I admitted, "but he doesn't have a problem with you. He's trying to reason with Rosalie."

"What is it that upsets her?" Bella asked, sounding unsure that she really wanted to know.

"Rosalie," I started to explain, trying to use the right words and still leave Bella with a decent impression of my sister. "Rosalie struggles the most with...with what we are. It's hard for her to have someone on the outside know the truth. And..." I continued, "She's a little jealous."

"Rosalie is jealous of me?" Bella questioned.

"You're human. She wishes that she were too."

"Oh," she muttered, obviously stunned by the realization that the perfect Rosalie that she'd envisioned could be jealous of anybody. There weren't many people she was jealous of, but there were a few. Bella fell into the latter category.

"Even Jasper, though...?"

"That's my fault," I confessed. "I told you he was the most recent to try our way of life. I warned him to keep his distance."

I had not wanted to reveal that to Bella, especially since she was so wound up over the Rosalie thing. I saw her shudder at the possibility of what could have happened had she attracted Jasper the way she did me.

"Esme and Carlisle?" she asked quickly to conceal her worriedness. Unsuccessfully, I might add.

"Are happy to see me happy. Actually, Esme wouldn't care if you had a third eye and webbed feet. All this time she's been worried about me, afraid that there was something missing from my essential make up, that I was too young when Carlisle changed me. She's ecstatic. Every time I touch you, she just about chokes with satisfaction."

"Alice seems very..." she searched for the right word, "enthusiastic."

"Alice has her own way of looking at things," I said tightly.

"And you're not going to explain that, are you?"

No. I was not going to frighten her. And I was not going to plant seeds in her head. There was no way I'd ever admit that Alice was confident in the fact that Bella would soon be one of us.

A moment of wordless communication passed between us. I realized that she could see that I was keeping something from her. And she knew that I was not going to give anything away.

Bella changed the subject.

"So what was Carlisle telling you before?"

I wasn't sure that she'd noticed our silent conversation. Again I'd underestimated her. She was much more observant than I realized.

"You noticed that, did you?"

She shrugged. "Of course."

"He wanted to tell me some news – he didn't know if it was something I would share with you."

"Will you?" she asked, pleading with her eyes.

I sighed. "I have to, because I'm going to be a little...overbearingly protective over the next few days – or weeks – and I wouldn't want you to think I'm naturally a tyrant."

"What's wrong?" she didn't even sound slightly afraid.

"Nothing's wrong, exactly. Alice just sees some visitors coming soon. They know we're here and they're curious."

"Visitors?" she asked, a bit of fear seeping into her voice.

"Yes...well, they aren't like us, of course – in their hunting habits, I mean. They probably won't come into town at all, but I'm certainly not going to let you out of my sight until they're gone."

Bella shivered, now I could sense real fear.

"Finally, a rational response! I was beginning to think you had no sense of self-preservation at all."

Bella looked away and offered no comment, letting my snide remark go. Her eyes wondered around the spacious room. I followed her gaze.

"Not what you expected, is it?"

"No."

"No coffins, no piled skulls in the corners; I don't even think we have cobwebs..." I teased, pulling from all the stories and rumors I'd heard in the different cities and schools we'd attended. "What a disappointment this must be for you."

"It's so light...so open," Bella comment, ignoring my ribbing again.

"It's the one place we don't have to hide."

I finished the song I was still playing. The last note lingered poignantly in the silence.

"Thank you," Bella whispered. There were tears in her eyes. It was the first time anyone had cried at my playing. I touched the corner of her eyes, wiping away her tears.

I stared at my finger; the single tear drop glistened on my fingertip. I inhaled. Even her tears smelled delectable. Quickly, without thinking twice, I put my finger to my mouth to taste it. Nothing! Just a salty taste. No flavor, no hint of the fire causing scent that I endured

I caught Bella staring at me, questioning my action and I gazed back for a moment, too embarrassed by my action to actually apologize.

"Do you want to see the rest of the house?"

"No coffins?" she asked, her voice full of sarcasm and anxiety.

"No coffins," I promised, leading her away from the piano.

Hand in hand we walked up the stairs and down the wood paneled hallway.

"Rosalie and Emmett's room...Carlisle's office...Alice's room..."I pointed out as I led her past our most sacred places.

I would have continued on to my room but Bella has stopped at the end of the hall, staring incredulously at the one thing I am positive she had not expected to see in a vampire's house. I chuckled at her bewildered expression.

"You can laugh. It is sort of ironic."

But she didn't laugh. She raised her hand, one finger extended as she was going to touch the large wooden cross that hung on the wall.

"It must be very old."

"Early sixteen-thirties, more or less," I guessed. We didn't actually know. Years passed by abstractly for us.

"Why do you keep this here?" Bella wondered, staring at me.

"Nostalgia. It belonged to Carlisle's father," I explained.

"He collected antiques?"

"No. He carved this himself. It hung on the wall above the pulpit in the vicarage where he preached."

My answer shocked Bella, her face betrayed her. She started at the cross again, quickly doing the mental math. She was fast. The silence stretched on as she contemplated that the cross was over three hundred and seventy years old.

"Are you alright?"

"How old is Carlisle?" Bella asked quietly.

"He just celebrated his three hundred and sixty-second birthday," I answered. Bella's eyes were swimming with a million questions.

"Carlisle was born in London, in the sixteen-forties, he believes. Time wasn't marked as accurately then, for the common people anyway. It was just before Cromwell's rule, though."

I scrutinized Bella's face. She was quite composed despite the shock and awe she must have felt.

"He was the only son of an Anglican pastor," I continued. Bella stared intently. She wanted to hear the story.

"His mother died giving birth to him. His father was an intolerant man. As the Protestants came into power he was enthusiastic in his persecution of Roman Catholics and other religions. He also believed very strongly in the reality of evil. He led hunts for witches, werewolves...and vampires." Bella grew still but I went on without pausing.

"They burned a lot of innocent people – of course the real creatures that he sought were not no easy to catch.

"When the pastor grew old, he placed his obedient son in charge of the raids. At first Carlisle was a disappointment; he was not quick to accuse, to see demons where they did not exist. But he was persistent, and move clever than his father. He actually discovered a coven of true vampires that lived hidden in the sewers of the city, only coming out by night to hunt. In those days, when monsters were not just myths and legends, that was the way many lived.

I watched Bella's expression, knowing that I would immediately discontinue the story if she appeared to be too scared. She was fine, so I continued, though I could hear her heart thumping a little too loudly.

"The people gathered their pitchforks and torches, of course, and waited where Carlisle had seen the monster exit to the street. Eventually one emerged."

My voice was quieter now. Bella strained to hear the rest of the tale.

"He must have been ancient and weak with hunger. Carlisle heard him call out in Latin to the others when he caught scent of the mob. He ran through the streets, and Carlisle – he was twenty-three and very fast – was in the lead of the pursuit. The creature could have easily outrun them, but Carlisle thinks he was too hungry, so he turned and attacked. He fell on Carlisle first, but the others were close behind, and he turned to defend himself. He killed two men and made off with a third, leaving Carlisle bleeding in the street."

I paused, mentally editing the story. Bella didn't have to know all of the schematics of Carlisle's transaction.

"Carlisle knew what his father would do. The bodies would be burned – anything infected by the monster must be destroyed. Carlisle acted instinctively to save his own life. He crawled way from the alley while the mob followed the fiend and his victim. He hid in a cellar, buried himself in rotting potatoes for three days. It's a miracle he was able to keep silent, to stay undiscovered.

"It was over then, and he realized what he had become."

Bella's face was forlorn.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she assured me, but I could see the curiosity spiking.

"I expect you have a few more questions for me."

"A few."

I took her hand in mine and started to lead her down the hallway.

"Come on then, I'll show you."