4. BATS

I mumbled lightly and flipped over on my stomach. The rain pattered on my window and the wind could be heard trying to burst its way into my old but sturdy house. I mumbled something unintelligible and slept for a few minutes longer before I felt eyes on me. The occurrences that had taken place yesterday made one of my eyes pop open. But it was only Edward sat childishly on my floor cross legged. Just looking at me with his newly golden eyes. They looked so bright and beautiful, I couldn't help but smile.

"Good morning.." I said. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sat up slowly in bed. Edward chuckled a little.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Depends. Why are you laughing and what did you hear?" He laughed. My hands went up to my head and found that my hair was in a disarray. "Beautiful." I spat with sarcasm. I finger-combed my hair in a futile attempt to make myself look half decent in front of my boyfriend.

"Indeed. Quite beautiful.." He smiled warmly at me before gently catching the hand I used to comb my hair into his own. Very gently he took hold of it.

"Now tell me, what happened?" His eyes drilled me so I looked away. Anywhere but at him. The comforter. Yes. The material that covered me on my bed was so intricate. Yes, it seemed like the average, white, cotton comforter..but if you looked very, very closely-

"Bella come on, I cant read your mind.." Edward snapped. His face hadn't lost composure but he was eager for an answer. My face got red. I could feel it creeping on. I didn't want to talk about this. He made me feel like such a child sometimes. Oh, I was gonna get it.

"I was on my way to Jessica's. And I fell. And I hurt myself. But it's okay. Jessica's mom took me to the hospital and Carlisle took care of it" I kicked myself inwardly. Why did I bring up Carlisle? Did Edward read his mind at all last night before he came to me? Didn't he know about what happened? Edward rose his eyebrow at me and gave me a pensive look.

"Bella?"

"Yes?" My heart began to thud. I could almost hear it in my head. He knew. He knew. But what was there to know? I didn't do anything. And Carlisle didn't do anything...much. He had no control. It wasn't my fault. Or Carlisle's. It was my blood. Edward of all people could understand that.

"By what means did you arrive at Jessica's house?" He said in a way that made him seem more like a lawyer than a 17 year old man. I fidgeted in my bed and took a deep breath of relief. As long as he didn't find out about yesterday in the doctor's office, I didn't care if he found out about the motorcycle. What was this? If nothing happened then why was I hiding?

"I might have taken the bike out for a little spin.." I said. Giving in to his interrogation. I felt more comfortable and wiped my sweaty palms off on the comforter I was so intently examining moments before.

"Bella!" He hissed. He wasn't whispering very much. By the look of the clock, Charlie had already gone to work for the day. "How could you do something so st-"

"Stupid, I know!" I pouted.

"What in God's name would tempt you to go out, get the bike that your father locked up to keep you away from..and ride it without anyone's supervision!"

"I was bored..."

"She was bored..." He mumbled to himself. He let go of my sprained hand and stared at the ceiling. "No self preservation. Absolutely none." He turned his attention back to me. "Have you lost your mind?" He looked at me with such care. God I loved this man.

"Are you mad at me?" I asked meekly. He took my hand back into his own and gently kissed it. He sighed emphatically and stared me in the eye. I stared at him. Kneeling on the floor at my bedside. How did I ever get so lucky?

"No. I could never be mad at you. It's just, I always said I couldn't leave you alone for a second. But I didn't know that I was so...literal in saying so. Can't you keep yourself out of trouble for a day?" He smiled sweetly at me. It made my heart skip a beat.

"Hey. Whatever keeps you around and in business." I smiled and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He moved himself closer to me and gave me a kiss that made my head flutter.

"So, what are we up to today?" I asked brightly. Edward lifted himself from the floor and onto my bed. I shifted myself into his lap where he cradled me. I rested my head against his chest and waited to tell me what was on our agenda for this rainy, Sunday afternoon.

"Well..Charlie's at work...And when the cat is away..."

"The mice come out to play?" I giggled playfully at the suggestion and nipped at his earlobe. Edward laughed a deep laugh that made my own smile grow.

"The mice go watch other mice being eaten by Royal Pythons. Which are most commonly found in West Africa." I shifted my body away from Edward as much as I could without losing my place on his lap.

"What?" I asked him. Looking at him intently. Edward laughed again. He seemed to be in high spirits today. He was well fed. This was ideal weather for him. I rejoiced with him.

"Well I wanted to do something different with you today. I thought the zoo would be nice. I haven't been to one in a long while." I smiled at him. That was an awesome idea. I loved seeing the giraffes and the hippos. They were such strange creatures.

"Wow. How long is 'a long while' to you exactly? Two...20 years?" I teased. He smiled and stuck his fingers into my hair. Messing it up further. He kissed me deeply for a long time before breathing into my lips. Whispering;

"Go get dressed. I'll wait downstairs." Without another word, Edward moved me gently off of his lap and slipped out my door.

This was exciting. I hadn't been to the zoo for a long time either. For me it must have been at least nine years. I lay out the clothes I was going to wear. A green t-shirt with a white long-sleeved shirt underneath and dark blue jeans. I didn't need to do anything fancy for this date. My ensemble would be covered with a waterproof raincoat anyways. I grabbed my silk robe and my bathroom bag before going to the bathroom and setting the hot shower. I washed my hair and body quickly but thoroughly before toweling myself off and putting on my robe. I rubbed the condensation off of the bathroom mirror and picked up the brush to run through my hair. I made it to my room where I disrobed and dressed with haste, so not to keep my boyfriend waiting. After putting my hair in a ponytail, grabbing the camera that was last year's birthday present, and stumbling down the stairs, I saw a bowl that already had cereal inside. The milk pitcher sat on the table waiting for me to pour it for myself. There was also a small vase holding a single rose as a centerpiece. I smiled uncontrollably and looked to Edward.

"This is great..." I beamed. The century-old vampire pulled out the chair for me and beckoned for me to sit. After I did, he poured the milk for me.

"Thank you" I smiled. "Good job with breakfast." I chomped on the Cinnamon Toast Crunch happily.

"You humor me. I would have made something else, but you desperately need to go grocery shopping. Did you know you guys only have fish in your fridge?" I couldn't restrain a good chuckle.

"Yeah..that's my fault. It's my job to go shopping every week. I just haven't gotten around to it yet, what with my accident and all" I looked down at my cereal embarrassed. Edward didn't speak of the bike again, thankfully. "Good thing Charlie's a good provider. Hence the fish."

For the rest of breakfast, we spoke about the recipes that Edward tried making from the Food Network. It was the tale of his endeavors in making marinated veal that sent milk from my nose.

Wasting no more time than necessary, Edward and I got into the silver Volvo and made our way into Port Angeles. It was by far my favorite city now. And the Italia Ristorante was my favorite place to dine. Solely because it was where Edward and I had our first 'in depth' talk with each other. But I couldn't decide what our official 'first date' really was. The restaurant or the meadow?

After parking in the lot, the two of us made our way to the grand entrance. Plush animal booths, food courts, and small animal rides greeted us. Happy children walked around all over the place holding their parents hands. Laughing. And some crying as their parents refused to buy them an overpriced stuffed rhino.

"They're so cute..." I smiled. "And so small."

"Oh, give em about ten years and see what happens." Edward joked. I laughed in bewilderment. How could he be so cynical?

"Nice to know how you feel about kids!" I jested before smiling at him.

"I'm kidding. Yeah, some of them are pretty cute." Edward clung onto my hand as we made our way past the entryway and followed the large paw-prints on the pavement to the first exhibit. I was guessing they were monkey prints. I wasn't sure why. And monkeys usually came first from what I noticed. Suddenly, a whole bombard of children rushed from the exhibit we were heading for. They had joy in their faces. Their eyes were bright. A little boy with blonde hair and glasses couldn't dart himself away in time before he bumped into me.

"I'm sorry." He said, a little out of breath.

"It's okay." I smiled. But before I could even finish, he was running in the other direction again. Catching up to everyone else. Adorable. I laughed.

"You know..sometimes I wonder.."

"Hmm?" Edward looked as if he were rethinking what he was about to tell me earlier. I stared at him. He would tell me. Had to.

"What it would be like...to have my own. A little son or daughter." I blinked at the man standing next to me.

"Little Edwards? I don't know if the world is ready for that.." I joked a little.

His height overshadowed me by more than a foot. He cracked a smile. Edward wanted kids? That was huge news! I could almost imagine a little auburn haired boy with fair skin and green eyes like his dad's used to be. Sitting on his bed at night and begging Edward to read him a bedtime story. My head lowered considerably. I couldn't give him what he wanted. Even if he were able to reproduce, he would still refuse to sleep with me because of my blood. I took all the blame. Edward must have been able to sense my guilt because he spoke up now.

"It was just a thought, anyways. I don't dwell on it too much. And it's not your fault! It's just one of the territories that comes with being a vampire. Still think you want to live forever with me?"

I looked to my consort. Was he crazy?

"Absolutely." I looked at him with seriousness and determination in my eyes. Nothing could change my mind. So we wouldn't have kids. So adoption was out of the question. I didn't need anything but him. His hand left mine and draped around my shoulder instead. My arm went around his waist and that's how we arrived face to face with our first animal. There was more than one. Three. They swung from vines, lay lazily in trees and sat in the grass eating merrily. I moved closer to the bars to read the sign. The White-Handed Gibbon. It seemed cute enough. The sign reminded us to stick nothing through the bars except for fruit like bananas, apples and peanuts. Edward looked amused. He saw a banana lying near the cage. It was a little bruised, but fine otherwise. He peeled the yellow skin back and stuck the fruit through one of the bars. The primate grazing in the grass looked over.

"Here monkey, monkey, monkey.." Edward said. It made me laugh. The animal looked at him funny.

"He knows I'm not normal. Animals are really sensitive to these things..." Edward stated matter-of-factly.

The animal slowly rose and moved closer to us. Edward was patient. Quiet. I watched as the monkey sauntered and inched it's way closer. It's eyes intently watching the banana. I held my camera in hand. Not daring to take a picture. It would break the concentration that seemed to be going on, on both Edward, and the monkey's part. At long last, the animal stood before us. Quickly, he snatched up his hand and took a piece of the fruit. Sticking it into his mouth. He chewed it candidly. Never letting his observant eyes leave the vampire. Edward chuckled after the monkey began to grow more comfortable. And take another piece of banana. And another. When the tension was gone, I took a step back and took a picture of Edward and the monkey, seeming to bond. When there was nothing left but the peel, Edward and I clung to each other again and went in search of more animals. Before too long we were at the bat exhibit.

"Oh, your cousins Edward!" I snickered so no one but him could hear. He laughed and pulled on my ponytail gently. There was a tour guide for this exhibit. There was a long dark cave that seemed to go down into the ground that they led you through. The bats fluttered about behind glass. We followed behind a large crowd of people fascinated by the strange, flying mammals. The tour guide's voice sounded so far away, I just ignored her and read the little bits of information that was stuck up onto the artificial stone wall. The tour group moved quickly along. Edward and I strayed behind. It was dark. I wasn't scared but it gave me reason to push myself into him. To smell him and touch his marble skin. Before long, we were alone in the tunnel. Everyone else was so much farther ahead. Suddenly I took gentle hold of his arms and stopped him from his walk.

"Okay, everyone's gone. Do it."

"Do what?" In the dark I could see him raise his eyebrow at me questioningly.

"You know..turn into a bat.." I joked.

"Bella, you're absurd..." Edward laughed.

His smile lit up the whole cave. I tilted my head up farther, indicating what I wanted. The vampire leaned into me and gave me a kiss on the lips. There was something about him. And me. Here in the dark. However public the place may be. However creepy it was that bats were flying about behind Edward. But the feeling of his cold body pressed against mine while he kissed me here was amazing. I think he sensed it too. He pushed me against the stone of the wall gently and continued to kiss me. If anyone came and passed us in the tunnel, we didn't notice. But all was quiet except for the clicking and squeaking sounds of echolocation the bats made. His hands resting on my torso. This was amazing. He was amazing. How could I ever get enough of him? Would I ever get used to this? Give me eternal night. Give me marble skin and golden eyes. Give me bats, I didn't care. Just give me my Edward. Mine and mine alone. And then we had to break away to breathe. He didn't let me go. He just looked at me. Standing there against the wall. Completely at his mercy and he probably didn't even know.

"Until the end, Bella..." Edward whispered. "I will love you until the end of the world..and not a second less..Do you believe me?" His eyes pierced me in the most wonderful way. I was turning to mush in his arms again. I could barely open my mouth to speak. I nodded. He pressed his forehead to mine and exhaled. His breath touched my face. It was wonderful. His fingers ran through my hair and cupped my face. "I'm yours..." He whispered. "Do you have any idea how much I belong to you? I'm not even me anymore.."

My heart swelled. I couldn't help but let a few tears lose. He was so beautiful. He was my everything. I would die if he left me again. I kissed his forehead and held him close to me. What could I say? What could I say that I hadn't already been said? That he didn't just say?

"Edward..." I gasped. " 'Love'...the word isn't big enough."

"I know.." Be breathed. "I know.."

"But I do...more than anything. You're everything...everything. Forever... Promise me."

"Forever."

After I brought myself to stop sobbing, Edward and I ventured throughout the whole zoo. We rode an elephant together and got one of the animal trainers to take a picture for us. No need to worry about the picture turning out okay. Thank god for digital. I ate takeout food at a park table with an orange and white umbrella over our heads to protect us from the drizzle. I used the LCD screen at the back of the camera to show him all the pictures we had taken today. They turned out great. And every picture with my beloved vampire turned out model-worthy as always. Only after Edward bought me a stuffed hippo did we leave. I was a little tired. I didn't get too much sleep that night and the day had a lot of watching and sight seeing. It was so much fun. I moved as closer to my boyfriend as I could while he drove. He put one arm around me and held me to himself. As we drove home I drifted in and out of sleep like this in his arms.

When we stopped and I opened my eyes I saw that we were at his house. I began to rub the sleep from my eyes and pick up the stuffed hippopotamus that Edward and I agreed to call Harry. Before I could even open my door, Edward was already on the other side, scooping me into his arms and kicking the door shut with the side of his foot. He carried me up to the large white house and opened the door while holding me without any effort. After stepping inside he set me on the floor and removed the coat from my shoulders.

"You're back!" Alice shouted. Her face was usually cheerful but when she stopped in front of us she looked worried. "I was beginning to think I wouldn't have a chance to say goodbye." I panicked.

"Alice, what's going on?"

"Oh..Jasper has been having some trouble...he's relapsing." The pixie-like vampire looked up at both Edward and I.

"Damn it." Edward breathed. His jaw clenched and he looked away from his sister for a bit.

"Did he?" The beautiful man beside me questioned.

"No, but it was close. Emmet grabbed him just in time." There was a couple seconds of silence. I stood there confused. My heart pounding.

"Is Jasper okay?" I breathed. It was amazing how I came to care for everyone in the household. Even Rosalie.

"He's fine. But I need to get him to Alaska as quick as possible. The Succubi will be able to help, I think. We'll be back in a week if we're lucky. About a month, at the most." Edward nodded.

"We've already packed. We should be leaving soon. As in...now." Alice said hurriedly.

It was then that Jasper and Carlisle came down the stairs. Jasper looked down. Ashamed. Looking more pale than usual, which was shocking for my eyes to see. His breathing was raspy and quick. He seemed to be shaking. Edward pulled me out of the way and pushed me behind him. Jasper must have noticed this, and it made me feel even worse. The doctor had his arm around his son figure and was speaking too fast and in a tone too low for me to hear. They stopped at the door. Emmet and Rosalie came following after, carrying one suitcase each. I didn't know when Esme made her appearance, but she was at the doorway with us now, giving Jasper kisses on the top of his head and telling him that everything would be fine. That he wasn't at fault. Edward, Rosalie, Emmet, and Esme took turns hugging Alice and Jasper as they headed out the door. I was only allowed to hug Alice. Edward whispered in my ear to keep my distance from Jasper for now. Esme kissed Carlisle quickly on the lips. He was obviously taking them the distance to Alaska in his car. Would he be staying or coming back? Nobody else seemed to be bidding farewell to him, so my guess would be he was returning. While trying to think all this out, I watched him pick up a suitcase and gently usher Alice and Jasper outside. His eyes lifted and met mine. I felt a shock then. His eternally face was turned to me ever so briefly. Looking more like the statue of a Greek god than a father-figure to five younger vampires. In a second, the glance was gone. Edward rubbed my arms.

"Cold?"

"Yeah...just a little." I whispered. He moved away from the door and into the sitting room. Edward left my side and sat on a footrest near a tall shelf of books.

"This is bad..." Edward whispered. His hands were together and they were placed thoughtfully against his lips.

"At least he didn't bite anyone..." I whispered, thinking I finally figured everything out.

"Yeah. But what if? Forks is the ideal place to live. I haven't been more comfortable anywhere else but my hometown in Chicago...and even then..I can't go out every day back there." He sighed.

"Damn it..if we have to leave Forks..." I felt a shiver run through me then that was unbearable.

Leave Forks? Leave? No! I won't let you. I won't

My mind screamed. I bit my lip and looked at my boyfriend who was thinking silently before looking to me. He must have seen the distress on my face, because he looked at me then and frowned.

"I'm not leaving you again. I refuse..." After he said that, I could breathe again.

"I'll follow you anywhere..." I replied.

"I know." He nodded. "That's why you're so amazing." He grinned and reached out to me. I walked forward and allowed him to take my hand in his. I kneeled before him.

"What can I do...to prove my love to you?" He smiled. His brilliant teeth flashed and I could do nothing but lean my head to the side and push my hair away in response. Revealing my neck to him and hoping he would take my request seriously, though I was smiling.

"Don't push it..." He warned before lowering his face and kissing my neck.

Please R&R lol