BPOV

I tried to pull myself together in the truck on the way to Edward's house. Knowing that the Denali's would be arriving at any time gave me the creeps. Well… it wasn't the Denali's… just one of them, really.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Edward asked, taking one of my hands to his lips and giving it a kiss.

"Yeah," I lied, "I'm just focusing on driving, is all."

"Hmm…" he said, eyeing me over, "You've never had to concentrate on it this hard before. And you know, the speed limit is forty here. You're only going twenty-five."

I looked at my speedometer to see that he was right. But if I was really going so slowly, why did it feel like I was going over a hundred?

"Sorry," I muttered.

I pressed the petal down further and accelerated, but I didn't go over the speed limit. I usually did go over by five, but today, I was trying to keep as much distance from reality as possible, I guess. My logic was strange, but it seemed that if I drove really, really slowly, maybe we would never get there and then I would never have to meet Tanya.

"Bella… please pull over here."

"Here? But there's nowhere to park! I'll just…"

"Just pull over to the side of the road. Please?"

I looked at him like he was crazy but did what he asked anyway.

"Please look at me," he requested warmly.

I began to look toward him, but then snapped my head back to look out through the windshield.

"And please give me your hands."

I slid my hands in between his.

"And please look at me, sweetheart."

I bit my lip before deciding to slowly begin turning my head toward him.

"Not just your face, love. Your eyes too."

I moved my eyes up so that they were no longer aimed at his shoulder, but at his eyes instead.

"Now, my darling bride-to-be... Would you mind telling me what the matter is? You haven't been yourself all afternoon, and I don't want you to be under any pressure meeting new people if you're already upset about something else."

His gaze was so loving and his voice was so tender. I just looked at him, and I could feel the worry radiating out of my eyes. My brow was furrowed and my lips were pouted forward slightly. How was I going to tell him that the whole reason I was nervous was because there was some tiny part of me that was convinced that I would never be good enough for him and that I was intimidated by his tall, leggy girl-friend who was infatuated with him and would probably off me, if she could, just so she could have him rather than me having him?

"I don't know how to tell you…" I mumbled, hoping me might not hear anything at all.

Of course, he did hear though.

"You don't know how to tell me what, exactly?"

He leaned in and kissed my neck and my cheek and brushed his thumb over the line of my jaw.

"I… I…" I can't believe I'm stuttering like an idiot.

"You?" he asked, trying to help prompt me to say what I couldn't find the courage to tell him.

"I'm… I'm afraid to tell you…"

"Afraid to tell me what, love? How you feel? Please, Bella, you may keep as many secrets as you'd like from the world. But please, never, never, never keep secrets from me. Especially your feelings and what you are thinking. Now, please, tell me what it is that you're afraid of."

He continued to stroke my face and then my neck with his fingers while he waited patiently. He shot me a crooked grin, and in that moment, I knew that I truly could tell him anything in the world.

"I'm intimidated to meet your friends. I mean, Tanya. I'm intimidated to meet her. I've… heard a lot about her… from Alice and Rose. I know she is going to be beautiful and flawless, and I know she loves you and I'm afraid she is going to hate me because you love me and not her. There. That about sums it up."

I tried to look away, but his gentle hand caught me before I could. He smiled warmly and I felt a shiver of shame as I realized he must have been pitying me. The last thing I wanted was his pity. I was so embarrassed, and I felt my face flush and I thought I might actually begin to cry.

"Is that all you're worried about?" he asked.

"All? It sounds like an awful lot to be worried about, don't you think?" I wanted to melt into a puddle and evaporate away. I began to regret telling him those things and I wished, in that moment, that I could have taken them all back.

"No," he said coolly, "Actually, it sounds like nothing to be worried about, if you ask me. The fact is, Bella, that I love you completely and there is nothing that is going to change that for us. Also, it is true that Tanya is very pretty. Most would call her beautiful, in fact. But I never will. You see, she is not beautiful in my eyes. I've seen more of who she really is than most people. I've seen how nonchalant she is regarding her lovers and I've seen her be very cruel to people. I'm sure she will be well-behaved here, though, since she is with her family. And, if she gets out of hand in any way, I promise to take care of it. As for true beauty, Bella… you are truly beautiful," he said, sweeping my hair back and tucking it behind my ear. "There is no one in the world who could, who can, or who will be able to compete with your beauty, in my eyes. I've never wanted anything more than I want you and I never will. Is that not enough to comfort you, my darling?"

I honestly didn't know what to say to that. It was probably the most wonderful thing I had ever heard. I realized that he hadn't been pitying me; that he simply loved me and wanted our lines of communication to always be open. That sounded reasonable enough for one's spouse to want. And I no longer wished I had taken back voicing those worries to him. He recognized them and took them seriously while discrediting their legitimacy all at the same time.

"Oh, Edward," I whispered.

Our lips met one another's with tender, everlasting affection.

"I love you so much, Bella, and I'll never get tired of telling you that."

"I'm sorry I was so… anxious over nothing."

I could truly see that now. After his overwhelming speech of love and adoration, I was no longer worried about meeting Tanya Denali. She was beautiful to most of the world, but not to Edward, and in the end, that's what counted. To him… I was the most beautiful thing in the world.

"There is nothing to be sorry for. I'm so happy you finally told me how you feel. Did you see what happened when you did though, love?"

I gave him a stare. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to have detected.

"Um… I told you and then you showed me why I have nothing to worry about?"

"Right. You told me everything and then I told you everything, and we are both more in love with each other than ever before. Right?"

"Right."

"Then just remember, for the future, to always tell me exactly what's on your mind and I'll always tell you exactly what's on mine. Agreed?"

"Agreed. So, shall I finish driving us back to your house now?"

"Yes, please. I'm happy we were able to get all of this resolved, sweetheart. I wouldn't want you walking into a situation you weren't happy to be in; especially in our own home."

I was so happy that Edward and I had our little talk. I could finally feel relieved and ready to meet the Denali Clan.

…

"Bella!" Alice squealed as we came through the front door, "I'm so glad that you're finally here! And Edward, you'll never believe, but…"

"They're already here?" he finished her sentence for her.

"Yes… they're already here," she said, smiling, "And they're waiting in the formal dining room to meet Bella."

I began to breathe slightly faster all of a sudden. Edward looked at me and smiled reassuringly.

"I'm not nervous," I whispered, trying to believe myself while convincing him.

"Well, good. Because you have nothing to be nervous about." He leaned down and gave me a kiss, then took my hand and we walked together toward the dining room.

"Edward!" said a tall man, who stood at the sight of us entering the room together.

A woman next to him stood as well, and there were two girls and a boy sitting among Rose, Emmett, Jasper, Alice now too, Esme and Carlisle at the table. I looked around, scanning again to be sure I hadn't missed seeing anyone, but there was no head of strawberry blonde to be seen. Had she not come after all?

"Eleazar!" Edward replied, tossing his hands up to give the tall man a hug. "And lovely Carmen," Edward said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "You both look well. I would like to introduce you to my fiancé, Bella Swan."

He took my hand and led me in front of him. Carmen gave me a hug and Peter kissed my hand. They exchanged glances with one another, as if they were surprised by something.

"She is still…" Carmen began…

"Human?" Eleazar finished for her.

Edward chuckled. "No, she is not human. She was changed three months ago."

"Her heart beats, though," said Carmen.

"And her hand is so… warm," Eleazar interjected.

"Well, these are special circumstances. Bella is not exactly as we are," said Carlisle with a smile.

"You don't say. Tell me why that is?" Eleazar asked.

"Well," said Esme, "You know of our acquaintances, the werewolves?"

"She didn't strike me as particularly Native American," Carmen said, smiling, "Please forgive me. I didn't realize you were first a werewolf…"

"Oh, I'm not," I said.

"She wasn't born among them," Carlisle said, "But there was a little fiasco a few months back. One of her very good, lifelong friends discovered that she planned on becoming one of us. There was a treaty set in place by his own great-grandfather, which determined that there would be a feud among our clan and their tribe if we turned her into a vampire. He wanted to avoid war as well as keep Bella as human-like as possible. Based on the legends of his tribe, he determined the best route would be to mix his blood with hers so that her heart would always beat and her skin wouldn't change in the sunlight."

"So, in other words, the best of both worlds?" asked Carmen.

"You could say that," said Rose. "But trust me, she is one of us. She is a much-loved member of our family and in just a few days, we will be happy to call her a sister."

Carmen smiled.

"And we will be happy, from this moment of our introduction on, Bella, to call you our friend and niece," Eleazar said kindly.

"Thank you," I said, nodding my head at him in gratitude for his immediate friendship.

"You are a very lucky man," Carmen said, "For your fiancé is very beautiful. And she has a kind presence about her. Please, Bella, let me introduce you to our children. This is our daughter Kate, and her companion Garrett. That makes him as good as a son to us," she said, motioning to a beautiful young woman who looked about nineteen with warm, bright blonde hair and a tall, lean young man who looked maybe in his early twenties. "And this is Irena; another of my daughters," she then motioned to a lovely girl with chin length silvery blonde hair. Her golden eyes popped in contrast to the cool tones in her hair.

"Didn't you have another daughter?" I asked. The one I have been bracing myself to meet? The one who is in love with Edward and who makes no secret about it? The one who I think I still might be afraid of, now that I think about it?

Carmen's expression changed from pleasantness to a sort of worried look.

"Yes," she said, "We do have a third daughter. She has wandered off somewhere, though. I'm afraid she will not be joining us right away, I guess. I'm sure she'll… come around eventually. In the meantime, shall the rest of us catch up, Esme?"

With that, the subject was officially changed. Everyone began chatting about things they were privy to because they had all known each other for so long while Edward and I sat down at the large table. It was interesting to listen to everyone catch back up. They exchanged stories of their pasts together and what they hoped the future might bring them.

"Do you remember," Garrett asked Jasper, "That time back in St. Louis? Remember all that cash?"

Jasper laughed and nodded his head.

"What cash?" I asked, suddenly interested in what seemed to be a funny story the pair shared.

"Well, darlin'," Jasper started telling the tale with large gestures, as if on stage performing, "You see, back in the West, and in the early West, mind you, back when men made their own laws just so long as they could enforce 'em, well… there used to be six of us on a team, and in the eighteen-nineties we'd hold up trains, blow the safes open, damage the mail cars and all that while vexing some of the finer folk, and take off with the goods. It was a kind of flattery, you know, the authorities sayin' our heads were worth two thousand dollars a piece, dead or alive. But that's back when two thousand dollars was more like a billion dollars. No one could imagine holding that much money… but we didn't have to imagine, did we, Garrett?" he laughed.

"You used to rob trains?" I gasped.

"And ships and banks," Garrett snickered.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, completely stunned that such a nice guy as Jasper was involved in any of this.

"Well, I'm not necessarily proud of it," Jasper smiled weakly.

"Oh, don't be so modest, Jasper," Garrett stuck him in the ribs with his elbow, "You were the finest leader we ever had. And you weren't so bashful about sharing all your stories last time we were together. Hey, do you remember that kid we picked up in Sundance, Wyoming? Whatever happened to him?"

"I think he ended up robbing a bunch of Union Pacific's. He ended up with Parker's gang. They really were quite the wild bunch!" Jasper answered, chuckling under his breath a bit.

"Well, what did you steal?" I asked, wondering how bad it actually was.

"Everything," Jasper admitted, "Jewelry, coins, gold-plated cufflinks, bank notes, cash, fancy scarf pins… pretty much anything."

"Have you ever heard of the Wilcox holdup of 1899?" Garrett asked, grinning wide.

"No…" I replied, wondering if I should have known.

"Well, your brother here made quite the piece of history that day," he snickered.

"What they could never solve for," Jasper snickered as he spoke, "Is how those bank notes kept popping up all over the place after the six guys were tried and sentenced… Montana, the New Mexico territory, across Texas lines… We managed to spend those things everywhere, and no one said shit about it. I guess that's because, if they were being really honest with themselves, they didn't want to find us. They probably realized that we were too much for their pissy little revolvers and they didn't want to go risking their lives over a bunch of criminals they could get away with saying they already caught?"

"I guess they didn't care that they caught the wrong ones," Garrett shrugged.

"Nope. Sure didn't," Jasper sighed with amusement. "Not that those six who landed up in our rightful punishment didn't deserve it, though. Rotten to the core, every last one of them. They would have been caught for doin' worse sooner or later, anyway. It was for the best we let them canker in their jail holes."

"So, you robbed people and framed innocent men?" I asked, as calmly as possible.

None of this new information changed the way I thought of Jasper, or the way I felt about him, but I just had no idea that he had such a… colorful history.

"Oh, honey, they were anything but innocent. Believe you me! Whoo!" Jasper replied, still relaxed as he had ever been.

"Don't get the wrong impression of me, though, Bella," Garrett said suddenly, "I was a strict patriot until I met Jasper here. He brought out that spunk in me, just like everyone else who ever met him. I didn't know it back then that our paths would cross again one day. He was picked up by Alice and I was picked up by Kate, and low and behold, here we are… two vampires who don't just resist the ways of robbing, but who also resist the stuff that keeps us going strong. I've been free of human blood for years now. Give us some time and we'll be as squeaky-clean as those angels in heaven's choir. I admit, I've been on the bandwagon a little longer than Jasper here, but he's really toned down over the last century, I would say."

"Thanks, Garrett," Jasper nodded his way.

"You're welcome, brother. But what about you, Miss Swan? What's the worst you've ever done?" Garrett asked. He then turned his full attention on me now, waiting for my reply.

"Well, um," I started, trying to come up with something as dangerous and diabolical as them, "I punched a girl in the face at school once?"

He looked at me seriously for a moment and then blurted out a laugh.

"That's great!" he hollered, "You punched someone in the face? It's just too cute!" he laughed. "I like her, Edward. I really like her. She's a keeper, you know? I'm glad you're with us now, Bella. Take care of our man Edward here. He deserves a special lady like you."

He turned to walk off then, after giving my hand a kiss. He kept laughing lightly at the worst thing I had ever done as he murmured to himself, "Punched a girl in the face… love it…" Jasper got up and followed him away. Edward sat next to me, smiling at me. It felt like I wasn't just meeting new people, but getting to know better those I have already come to see as family... such as Jasper.

"So, Bella," Carmen said as she was coming to sit next to me. Esme was behind her, and Edward offered her his seat so that I was sitting between the two ladies.

"I'm just going to run upstairs and grab something," he said, giving me a gentle kiss before he took his leave.

"I'm very interested in learning more about you," Carmen continued. "I have never met the wolves, but I have always wanted to. Carlisle was just mentioning their new change in leadership and about the new treaty. I think their legends, from what I've heard from Carlisle, sound just fascinating. So, how is it that this… Jacob Black… how is it that his blood has made you different from what you would have been?"

"Well… there's the heartbeat," I started, "And the skin. But I also sleep a little and I still eat what humans eat. I'm not attracted to blood of any kind, though I do prefer my steaks a little more rare."

"Esme was mentioning that your body could do interesting things that ours can't?..."

Oh. I got it. She was getting at my being able to become pregnant. I was flattered that she was going about approaching the topic in such a delicate manner.

"Yes, Esme is correct. From what I understand, I will be able to have children," I answered the question that she didn't really ask.

"So, tell me, if you wouldn't mind, and I'm so sorry to be so nosey, but… do you and Edward have plans for children in the near future?" she asked.

"Um, I wouldn't really call it the near future. But someday, yes. We would both like children someday," I answered.

"I think it is just so very amazing," Carmen said with awe. It was almost a kind of reverence. "You really do have the best of both worlds, Bella. And you will have a wonderful husband, too. Edward is a perfect gentleman. We all always knew that the girl he would select for himself one day would be a very special lady. And indeed, you are," she said, smiling warmly at me.

"Thank you," I replied, blushing a little from her fondness.

"And you blush as well? My, my… you are quite a fascinating creature, Bella Swan, if you don't mind my saying so," she said so very sweetly.

"Oh, thanks."

We continued to talk, and it wasn't long before the guys all ended up at one side of the table talking about their 'manly' things while we women gathered around the other side talking of more 'feminine' things. It was over half an hour later before Edward returned to the room. He entered looking a bit disconcerted. I saw him exchange strange glances with Jasper before turning to me and looking once again like the very-well-put-together gentleman that he was.

"I'm very sorry I took so long," he said, sitting next to me and taking my hand in his.

"That's okay," I said. "Did you get what you went up for?"

"Not really."

…

A/N: There is a bit of inside humor between Jasper and Garrett. Here is an explanation on some of it: Robert Leroy Parker, aka Butch Cassidy, started a gang called the Wild Bunch. The kid they picked up in Sundance, Wyoming was Harry Longabaugh; aka the Sundance Kid. There's actually a lot of really fun history behind these guys, and I thought it would be neat to have Jasper in on it too. Plus, I could always see him robbing trains and banks in the Wild West! Can't you? :)

All of that aside, though… I wonder what Edward has been up to... What do you think took him so long? I guess we'll find out next…

Until next time,

Stephanie

P.S. Just a random vocab. word:

forthright: (adj.) going straight to the point; leaving nothing concealed; proceeding in a straight course; honest; sincere; undisguised...