A/N: Sorry it's taken another few days. I'm awful at this nowdays it seems. Anyway I hope you like it, and I plan to have The Christmas chapter up tomorrow. I'm sorry if this seems rushed or anything, because it kind of was. I hope you like it anyways! We'll see how it all goes! Thanks guys for reading and everything! Review if you like please!

Chapter 4 Shopping With Alice and Skating

Those next few days went by in a blur. I still hadn't gone to see Jacob yet; he hadn't tried contacting me either. Two days ago Alice and Edward forced me outside into the freezing cold again. It was snowing this time, but it was still fun. We acted like kids again, making snowmen and snow angels. I hadn't ever thought that the snow could be so enjoyable. I was happily surprised by finding this out.

Yesterday Alice took me out shopping because I really hadn't done much of that yet. She helped me find a nice new gun for Charlie, clothes for Rosalie, and new home furnishings for Esme. I still hadn't gotten anything for Emmett, Edward, or Jasper though; Emmett would be appeased just if I were able to trip up the stairs a few times though.

Alice told me that Jasper wouldn't care what I got him. In fact, he wouldn't care if I got him anything period. I felt kind of bad when she said that, but she assured me that he said only because he didn't need anything from me to make him like me any better. However that wasn't the point. I already knew he liked me just fine. I was just trying to be nice. In the end, I just made up my mind that I would keep my moods under control, and that I'd promise him free control over my emotions for a few hours. I was sure both him and Emmett would get a kick out of that, so that took care of Emmett's present as well.

Edward was the hard one. He was so ridiculously difficult to find something for. I knew that I could get him anything, and he'd love it just the same as anything else. That was the problem; he'd love anything I got him.

Even though I told them all that they weren't allowed to spend very much money on me, I was sure I knew a few of their presents already. For instance, that little Audi out in the garage? Yeah, that was mine. From Edward no doubt. Why he thought I couldn't see it was beyond me. Did he think I never left the house?

And that was another problem. He would spend so much money on me on something that I really didn't need, but I couldn't think of anything, no matter the price, to get him. Not even one little, or as the case may be, big present. I was hopeless as a wife.

There was nothing I could get him that he couldn't get himself. No music, car, clothes; I couldn't even think of something to get my own husband. Of course I could get him a new car, but honestly, does he really need more than two he has already? I don't know that he doesn't have every album of every artist that didn't belong in the 60's or 70's. And clothes; he had so many of those, and I was sure Alice was getting him that anyway.

However, at this point, clothes were my best bet. I could always just buy him a lot of black; shirts, jackets, pants. He looked even better in that color, if that were even possible. I sighed. That meant I was out to go shopping again today. And on Christmas Eve no less. It was going to be awful; I could see that even without Alice's crazy visions.

I looked over at the clock on my nightstand. It was 5 am. That meant that if I got up right now, I could take a shower, and get to Port Angeles with Alice by six.

I slowly got up to a sitting position, yawning and stretching. I curled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I looked at the other side of the bed to see Edward lying there peacefully with his legs crossed at the ankles, a book at his nose. My own personal Adonis, lying there waiting. The only problem was that this particular Adonis could only go so far with me, much to both our chagrin.

I didn't know how much longer I'd be able to last waking up next to this god-like perfection knowing that we still hadn't accomplished my goal. After all, there was only a few more months left for me to get my last human experience accomplished. I could just imagine it; all boundaries gone, nothing holding either one of us back, his cold lips pressing hungrily to mine, his tongue running through my mouth…

"Morning Bella," he said velvety soft as he placed the book down. He looked at me with those intense eyes and a small smile on his lips. I couldn't help but be dazzled.

"Good morning," I said with a slight blush on my cheeks I hoped he wouldn't notice. He interrupted my much needed daydream of what seemed could never be.

He did. "So early in the morning too," he said while brushing his fingertips across my face. "What are you thinking Bella?"

My blush deepened and I just buried my face in my arms.

I felt the mattress beneath me begin to shift. I felt as his cold hands tugged at my wrists and he pulled me into his arms. He drove his nose into my hair and breathed in deeply.

"Aren't we past all the evasiveness now?" he asked, bringing back my words from years previous. I snuggled up closer to him. I hated it when he embarrassed me like that.

"It was nothing. Just daydreaming," I sighed, curling up against him further.

He seemed to understand what I meant. His arms tightened around me and he kissed the top of my head as he sighed in sadness.

"Bella, love, I'm trying. I promise you, soon."

I tried to let his soft voice calm me as it always did. After a moment I was able to look back up into his eyes. He was staring down at me with such love, such devotion, it almost hurt.

I gave him a small smile. "I know. But can't a girl dream?"

He gave me a slight chuckle before bringing his hand up to rest beneath my chin. "I'll make your dreams come true," he promised before lowering his mouth to meet mine. I saw, just before my eyes slid closed, that his eyes had visibly darkened to a deep brown, meaning he was hungry, not for my blood, but for my body.

I couldn't quite remember the last time he had kissed me like this, his hands searching, his body pressed so firmly to mine. Oh that's right, the night before we left to come back here to Forks.

By the time we were finished my heart was beating too fast for its own good. Edward smiled at me as he bent his neck to rest his ear against the left side of my chest, listening to my heart fly away. I sat there, perfectly still, not wanting to break his concentration.

After a moment he looked back up into my eyes. "Alice tells me she's in a bit of a hurry and needs you to hurry up. She's saying something about shopping." He raised an eyebrow at me, knowing my dislike for shopping.

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm not finished with getting my Christmas presents just yet. I have a couple more things to get, and then I'm all done. I'll be back before you even know that I'm gone," I promised him.

He gave me a half smirk. "I doubt that, but that's okay. I have some stuff I need to do, so it's probably best this way. Go hop in the shower. I'll see you when you get home love."

I gave him a quick peck on the lips before jumping off our bed and skip dancing my way to the bathroom. I heard him laugh from behind me but I chose to ignore him.

I took a quick shower since Alice was now pestering me from outside the bathroom door. I didn't even bother to dry my hair before I pulled it back into a pony-tail. Alice told me to go and change it, that she had the patience to wait that long, but I told her no. She wanted me out quick, and she got quick.

We went out to the garage and hopped into her 911 Turbo. She still couldn't get enough of this car. Ever since that stupid Italy run…

We managed to get to Port Angeles, even considering who was driving. It was record timing that was for sure; twenty-five minutes flat.

Alice didn't even bother to go to every shop she saw today. We would walk by stores at a time before she actually got to one that she deemed worthy enough to be graced by her presence. A lot of the stores weren't even for my shopping needs. She'd go in there because of a sale, and she wanted to get something for me, or Jasper, but never could we find something she thought fit Edward.

I told her not to buy me anything, but every time I tried to say that, she refused to listen and openly ignored me. I rolled my eyes ever time she had me try something on; it's not like she didn't already know what would fit me or not.

When we reached Hollister she finally found something that had Edward written all over it. It was this nice black polo shirt, along with this dark navy blue zip up hoodie jacket. I loved it. And according to Alice, Edward would love it too.

With those two things, I also grabbed a pair of jeans to along with them. I figured that that was as good as I was going to get with Edward. I honestly couldn't think of anything else that could even begin to make Edward's Christmas better.

And yet, Alice had other things in mind. I don't know what she was thinking when she brought me to this store, but I about fainted when she started to pull me in by my arm.

"Victoria's Secret? Alice, are you mad?! Do you even know who your brother is? He'd die!" I quietly yelled at her. She looked at me blankly for a moment before grinning away.

"That's the point," she said with a smirk and a wink, and dragged me in, literally, to the store.

And I'd never been more embarrassed in my life. I couldn't believe all the things she had me try on. I mean sure, I wear lacy things now days; I have ever since I figured Edward wanted me physically, but nothing was quite as… revealing as these. Who the hell needs a straight lace strapless push-up bra anyway if you're not even sleeping with someone to begin with?! Or better yet, a too tight corset made to make your waist look smaller and your hips look bigger and wait for you to faint from not being able to breathe. But it's all lacy and see-through, so don't even worry about it; it's obviously worth it.

I didn't even want to know what things she bought me, or didn't buy me. I wasn't interested in the least, and I made up my mind that I would never wear them in a million years anyway; or at least not until I was turned into a vampire and could actually use these things.

Finally Alice drove us home and we made it back by ten, before a lot of the late sleeper shoppers began to arrive. I was very grateful for that. Somehow Alice managed to go on a shopping spree that only took about three hours. Today was definitely a miracle day.

I got back and quickly wrapped my present for Edward. I didn't need him to see what I got him, even though I'm sure he already did through Alice's mind. Which made me wonder, where was he right now anyway?

I walked up the stairs and went straight to mine and Edward's bedroom door. Before I had even had time to reach out my hand and grab the handle, Edward came flying out from our room.

"Hello, love," he said, putting on his perfect crooked smile while closing the door behind him.

I tried to sneak a peak inside to see what it was exactly he was hiding from me. If Edward was hiding things from me, that was just not a good sign in and of itself. He pushed me away from the door so that I couldn't see.

"Edward," I asked him with suspicion in my voice, "what's in our room? And why can't I go in there?"

"Oh that," he nodded his head back toward the door. "Oh, that's nothing, nothing at all. Just give me about five minutes, and you can walk right on in."

He turned the handle quickly and locked it before I was able to twist it and let myself in.

"Edward Cullen, you get your sorry butt out here this instant if you expect me to even sleep in the same house as you! Do you hear me?" I fumed at him. This was ridiculous. This meant that he had gotten me something, and it was much, much too expensive.

He didn't come out, and so I left and strode toward Alice's room. At least she'd have me.

I knocked on her door lightly. "Alice, can I come in?"

Alice didn't answer. My head dropped.

"Alice?" I asked again.

I pushed open the door slightly and then felt two cold arms grab my shoulders and pull me back.

"Ouch! What is it today with people not letting me into rooms in this house?! Ugh!" I rubbed on my shoulders, trying to lessen the pain. It wasn't helping.

"Sorry," Alice said to me. "It's just, I've got lots of presents in there, and it wouldn't be good if you went in there just yet. And who else won't let you into rooms?"

I grimaced. "Edward is being difficult and won't even let me in my own bedroom. Would you care to explain?"

Alice was now biting on her bottom lip. She knew something. I knew she did, I just didn't know what it was. "Alice. Now."

"I can't. You'll find out tomorrow, and you'll love me for it. Trust me please."

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Fine, fine. But I swear to you, if he so much as spent anything over one hundred dollars on whatever it is that's in there," I muttered.

"Don't worry about it. It's much, much less than that I can assure you," Alice told me quickly. I sighed in defeat and began nodding my head absentmindedly.

Stone arms locked themselves around my waist. I turned around to glare up at Edward. It didn't last for long though; he had the saddest expression on his face right now.

"Bella, love, I'm sorry. You can go in there now. I just didn't expect you home so early. If I had known…"

"Forget it. You're forgiven. Let's just, go do something okay? It's Christmas Eve! We have to do something fun," I complained to him. I wasn't wasting our first Christmas together inside this house.

"Alright, I have an idea."

He grabbed me up in his arms and ran me down the stairs. He told me to put on a coat some warm socks.

He led me out the back door and picked me up again.

"Close your eyes, Bella," he commanded. My eyes slid closed and then we were off.

"Edward, you know that I don't mind the speed so much anymore," I hinted, wanting to open up my eyes to see where we are going.

"Nice try, Bella, but that's not why they're closed. We'll be t here in a minute."

The wind continued to rush by but when it stopped, it hadn't even been close to a minute like Edward had first said. He placed me down on my feet and then sat me down on something. I couldn't tell what it was. A bench maybe? Tree stump? I had no idea.

His cool hands began to untie my shoes and then slid them off my feet. My toes scrunched together because of the chill.

"Edward! What are you doing?" I screamed at him.

I could almost hear the smile in his voice. "Relax, Bella. You'll be able to get up in a second."

I felt something else take the place of my shoe and I couldn't help but wonder what it was. He tied it on tightly and securely before lifting me up and pulling me close to his chest.

"Okay, you can open your eyes," he whispered gently into my ear.

I opened my eyes and looked around. It was so beautiful. The river was close by and the trees were still covered with snow everywhere. I saw that we were standing atop a pond and I smiled. I made my way to turn around and hug Edward for showing me such a pretty place but then realized where we were. We were standing on a pond and that could only mean one thing. I couldn't stop myself from turning now, and it was too late as I felt my feet start to come up from under me.

"Edward!" I screamed as I began to fly to the ground. He caught me up in his arms and pulled me close to him again. I stared down at me feet and gasped. He didn't.

"What are you thinking?" I cried at him. "Ice skates? You have got to be kidding! I trip on thin air, on a flat surface, and you take me to go ice skating?" I asked him in disbelief. Surely even Edward wasn't that stupid.

All he did was grin down at me. "Bella, love, it's all in who you're with. I won't let you fall," he promised me before taking my hand.

I wouldn't really move at first. I couldn't force my legs to do so. They were frozen stiff from fright. Finally Edward just tugged me along with him.

I don't know how many times I fell within the first five minutes, but I knew for sure that I was going to have some bruises in the morning, and it was definitely not going to be comfortable.

After a little longer of attempting to keep me standing on the ice, Edward finally gave up.

"Thank you," I said, feeling my heart rate finally begin to slow.

"I didn't say we were done. Come here," he smiled at me.

I couldn't help but follow him when he looked at me that way.

He gently wrapped his arms around my waist and held me close to his chest. He had me facing forward so that he was behind me.

"Alright, now just lift your foot same time as mine. Or you can even just put them straight and let me do the driving alright."

I nodded my head fervently and decided to do the latter; it'd be easier to not let my feet trip up if I did it that way.

He started off slow at first, just going around this pond, gently swaying from side to side. I liked this. Just letting him guide me, show me where to go. I leaned my head back on his chest.

I started to move my feet just a little bit. I figured that I couldn't just let Edward do all the work. I realized again, too late, that I should have just stayed how I was.

My feet got all tangled up in themselves and managed to take over Edward's legs as well. We both went flying to the ice and no matter Edward could do, he couldn't save us both from this.

He twisted me in his arms so that he landed on his back with me on top of him.

I curled up against his chest and rubbed my nose on him, breathing him in.

"Smooth Edward," I muttered to him and he laughed.

"I thought it was rather fun actually."

I grunted.

"Oh, come on, it wasn't all bad now was it? I thought for a moment there that you were actually enjoying yourself."

I sighed in agreement. "Alright, I was for a little bit there. Until I started to move that is."

He laughed his musical laugh again and this time I joined him. I tried to turn myself so that I would be more comfortable and I felt pain shoot through my foot and arm.

"Do you have somewhere that hurts?" he asked, slightly concerned.

I grimaced a little before answering. "Yeah, my ankle hurts a little and my arm, but it's okay. It'll be fine," I assured him.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Do I need to kiss them better?" he asked, with a smirk on his face.

I glanced down at my foot then back up at him. "Yeah, I think so. Right here," I tried to point it out to him. He smiled before he bent low to press his lips to my ankle. His touch sent shivers down my spine.

"Where on your arm?" he asked in a low voice.

I pointed again on my arm and he kissed it softly again. He continued kissing up my arm and across my shoulder to my neck.

"You know," I started, trying to make a coherent sentence, "I think my face and lips hurt a little too. Maybe you ought to kiss those better as well."

I felt him smile against the skin on my neck. He continued to kiss and lick his way up my neck until he reached my lips.

"My pleasure," he mumbled against them before pressing his lips firmly to mine.

We lay on that ice for a while, until he finally pulled back so I could breathe. I didn't want to let go of the hold I had on him right now, but he seemed to be not willing to budge. I went to kiss him again, but he gently dodged out of the way. Instead I turned my head and began kissing up his neck.

"You know," I said again, "your family still hasn't gone on that hunting trip," I reminded him.

I heard him moan slightly as I bit his skin softly. "Bella," he whispered so low I could hardly hear it.

"Bella, love, stop. Not here," he said with a little more confidence. "Not now, later."

I stopped abruptly and let my head slump against his chest again. He reached down and pulled my chin up to look him in the eyes.

"Soon, Bella," he promised again. "Soon."

He brought my lips to his once again for a few more seconds before pulling away again.

He got up and reached for me.

"Come on. It's late, we need to head back. You need to sleep before Santa Claus comes tonight," he laughed.

I looked around and realized that it was dark. I didn't know that we had been out that long. Maybe ice skating was more fun than I had given it credit for.

Edward picked me up and ran me back to his place in no time. He brought us both up the stairs and walked us into our room. I looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was already past ten.

I slowly walked over into the bathroom and suddenly realized how very tired I was. Looked like it was going to be an early night for me.

I changed my clothes and got into my silky pajamas before walking back out to the room to meet Edward. He lifted me up on the bed and lay down next to me with his arm wrapped gently around my waist.

He kissed my cheek and forehead softly before whispering, "Good night love," in my ear. He began humming my lullaby, and within minutes my eyes drifted off into a dreamless sleep.