Chapter Four
They were seated and driving, Tibby in the back with a childproof carseat which Alice had lying around. Yeah right… Bella had thought when Alice sauntered over toward Edward's Volvo with the seat. Tibby immediately was in heaven and was now contently snuggled up in the seat. Bella was surprised how well Edward fit into this picture. She had known him quite long because he had been in every magazine that like to cover Seattle's jetset stars. Edward was definitely belonged there. He dated a bunch of gorgous models that made Bella sigh in defeat. The problem was she was irrevocably attracted to him. That much was clear when they had been standing in the elevator. But even more frustrating was the fact that he seemed to grow hot and cold within an instant if he wanted to. He had comforted her more than he probably realised when he assured her that she was not a bad mother and that he knew what was wrong with Tibby. However, he reacted with an attitude when she told him not to feel sorry for her. Well, she did deserve that one because somehow whenever he was around, her temper was flaring and she had no way to control it. Ugh… She did not understand him. He was not as easy to read as other people were to her.
"Mommy, where are we going? I can't see…" Tibby said breaking her train of thought, quite effectively. She had not even worried about where Edward was taking even though she hated surprises.
"I don't know, Tibbs. Maybe you should ask Edward. He's right here, you know." Bella said, turning to Tibby. Tibby had a knack to ignore people and fire all her questions at Bella, who didn't know all the answers.
"Oh… Edward, where are we going?" Tibby said understanding what her mom had said. Edward had listened to the exchange silently with a smile playing around his lips.
"Well, we're just outside Seattle and I am taking you to a beautiful lake. We should be able to see it soon." Edward answered Tibby's question clearly to her satisfaction because she started to stare out the window, probably searching the lake. Now that Edward had succesfully distracted Tibby, he looked at Bella, who flushed when he caught her staring.
"The lake is a sight to behold but I need you to explain to Tibby what it is she is seeing, ok? She needs to hear this from you. I am just going to be here to confirm if Tibby asks." Edward whispered to her, lowering his voice so Bella was straining to hear it.
"Okay… but what exactly is it that we'll be seeing?" She whispered back, leaning toward him slightly. His eyes met hers and there was an intense moment of silence.
"Fireflies." He said softly and at that moment they rounded a corner. Above the shimmering water, ten thousand tiny sparks or stars were dancing, twisting and twirling.
The three of them were struck with awe and the car slowed to a stop. Tibby started squirming around in her seat and Edward stepped out to help her. Bella had temporarily lost the use of her arms and legs. It was indeed a sight to behold.
"Momma, momma! There're sooo pretty! So pretty…" Tibby squealed besides Bella's ear.
Bella turned to her daughter and a glowing smile spread across her face. She picked Tibby up and turned to Edward with grateful eyes. She mouthed 'thank you' with Tibby looking over her shoulder at the thousand tiny stars. He gave her a somewhat shy smile which turned out to have the same effect on Bella as all he other smiles had and her knees gave out. Edward watched as Bella flushed crimson -again- and saw her turn around in embarrassment. However, with Tibby on her arm she was slightly unbalanced and she seemed to find a flaw in the flat surface while trying to walk toward the lake. He reached out and steadied her before she could fall.
"Clumsy…" She mumbled but Edward just chuckled.
When they got closer to the edge of the water, they could vaguely distinguish the fireflies.
"Mommy, what are they?" Tibby asked still in awe. Edward and Bella shared a look as Bella set Tibby down and knelt before her.
"Tibby, all those tiny sparkles are fireflies." Bella said sweetly, trying not to scare her daughter. Tibby's eyes grew wide and she started to back up slightly.
"Not all things that have to do with fire are out to harm us, Tibbs. Look how beautiful they are dancing..." Bella said not breaking eye contact with her. Tibby's eyes flickered toward the lake and back to Bella for a second. Bella felt it was safe to continue.
"They look like stars in the sky, don't they?" She whispered, "Do you remember what I told you about Gran, Tibbs? How she is with the stars now? Those stars are all tiny suns… And the sun…." Bella reached out to her daughter and pulled her close.
"...Warms us." Tibby said softly, looking at her mom in wonder. She was seemingly beginning to understand what Bella was trying to tell her. Bella nodded and smiled at Edward. Tibby did the same.
"Edward, are fireflies dangerous?" She asked, looking carefully at him with a scrutinizing eyes. Edward smiled and shook his head.
"No, Tibby, they are not. They produce the light themselves because of a chemical reaction inside them and they use the light to communicate with each other. Would you like to see one up close?" He asked.
"Yes." Tibby said determined.
"Good girl.." Bella whispered, very proud that Tibby seemed brave enough. They watched Edward walk to the end of the pier. When he returned, he carried a small glass tube which was radiating with light.
"Look at that, Tibby. That's beautiful." Bella said while Tibby looked intently at the lighting bug buzzing inside.
"It doesn't hurt you." Tibby stated because Edward's thumb covered the opening, while the fireflies bumped against him, again and again.
"No, it doesn't." Edward said softly, smiling at Tibby reassuringly. He then freed the bug and it danced away over the water. They stared after it and then Bella took Tibby by the hand guiding her back to the car. Edward started to follow when his phone went off.
"Hello?" He answered, while Bella started fastening Tibby in her seat.
"Hey Edward, Jasper just got back and he said that Rose seemed to have gotten everyone a place to sleep as well. Don't ask me how but she did. Could you ask Bella if she and Tibby would like to stay with Jasper and me. I am sooo into a sleepover!" Alice said in one long series of words and sentences which registered slowly. Bella was looking at him concerned, probably because of the look on his face.
"Why don't you ask her youself, Alice?" Edward said and handed the phone to Bella. He watched her and saw her slowly nodding her head. Edward felt a sudden glow spread through him as he saw her getting more enthousiastic. When the conversation was over and she handed him his phone, they drove back to Seattle.
Bella was sitting on the couch with a mug of tea, staring out the window, looking at an incredible view. Tibby was sound asleep in the kingsize bed in guestroom. Bella never knew a guestroom could like that. They even had their own bathroom. Alice never did things halfway. She looked up at her clear sky and could distinguish the stars with ease. She remembered how the light had showed Edward in an even more beautiful way than she already had seen him. How he looked, smiling shyly at her while his hair was a rainbow of autumn colours. God, if she kept this up she would be head overheels in less then twenty-four hours. Slowly something drifted into her ear, a melodious tune. So soft and lulling, Bella thought she imagined it but as she strained to listen carefully, she could identify the tone of a piano. She was so lost in the music that hearing Alice's whispering voice in the other room, shocked her.
"I never heard him play this one before. Do you hear it, Jazz? It's beautiful." Jasper grunted something clearly half asleep. Bella was curious who the person playing the piano was then. Alice seemed to know him and there was a sentimental, almost relieved tone in her voice when she said it. Gradually it dawned on Bella that it could be Edward playing the piano. She finished her tea and went to bed. The song was lulling her to sleep with a ten thousand fireflies dancing above her head.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
This chapter is based on the song 'Fireflies' by Owl City. I absolutely love this song and I think it suited this story very well. I saw that already people have an alert on this story or added in to their favourite stories. I am on a roll, right now and I love writing this story. Thank you timidvampire for your comments :D I hope others have some comments too. Please tell me what you think of it so far.