A/N: Thank you for your reviews. Sorry I haven't been able to update in a while. I would say I was busy, because I was, but in addition to this, I had writer's block. And it was my birthday on Tuesday, so I was kind of celebrating. All of these factors hindered my ability to get out this chapter sooner. So, about this writer's block... when I was in the shower one day, I was like, "AHA!" *lightbulb turns on above head* and then I got to writing again. Huzzah.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight saga. Not in the slightest.


BPOV

His warm, soft embrace soothed me and soon I was drifting...

Edward walked into his parents' house with me trailing behind. I had been visiting with Edward a lot since I first met them, but I never felt entirely comfortable with walking in unannounced.

But Emmett took care of that for me.

"Heeyyy!!! Well, if it isn't Edward! And, of course, little blushing Bella!" He said loudly as we walked in the door, of course, triggering my blush. He laughed, which echoed throughout the house. It seemed a great contrast in emotions from the last time we saw him. He got up and headed our way.

"Hey, fattie," I joked to Emmett as he approached us. It was painfully obvious that it was muscle, but it was just fun to tease him and watch him get all defensive.

"Hey! It's not fat! It's muscle!" He defended himself while everybody else in the room – who I had not noticed before – were snickering to themselves. To this he began to flex his biceps. "See? Feel that? Yeah..." he said, admiring his own muscles.

Men.

"Sure, sure," I said, patting his large shoulder and biting my lip to hide my smile, "keep telling yourself that."

Emmett hmph-ed and walked over to Rosalie on the couch who was talking with Jasper and Alice.

Edward took my hand, still chuckling to himself, and pulled me to the loveseat next to the couch. Alice looked up and happily greeted us. Rosalie looked up and smiled.

Jasper continued to speak about whatever it was he was saying. "I know it's all soon, but think about it, because you know how there are arrangements that need to be made, and people to talk to." He spoke in a business-like tone, getting lost in his point.

Rose nodded, her eyes glazing over, deep in thought. Emmett grinned and nodded his head vigorously.

Edward gave a questioning glance to Alice. She leaned over and filled us in on what we missed in a whisper.

"After the other night's events, Jasper suggested to me that they consider adoption. I'm sure that they would have eventually thought of it, but Jazz knows a little bit more of the system from experience."

"Jasper was adopted?" I asked quietly, shocked.

Jasper turned, joining the conversation, and nodded. "Yes, let's just say that my birth parents weren't...the most competent."

His words had a note of finality to them, so the topic was dropped and we moved onto trivialities.

During the midst of our light discussion, Carlisle stepped into the room, taking in the sight of his family with a pleasant expression on his face.

He smiled and sat down while everybody else turned to pay attention to him, curious as to what he wanted to say.

"I just got off the phone to our good friend Kate." Everybody nodded and smiled. I felt a look of confusion cross my face.

Carlisle saw this and chuckled. "Kate is Tanya's sister. I'm sure you remember her? Their family is very close to ours," he said, giving me a warm smile as I nodded in understanding. He turned to everyone else and continued. "Well she has finally set a date for the wedding and it will be in a few months."

Carlisle's words were quickly followed by an interjection by Alice.

"Kate's getting married?! I have to call her. Maybe she'll let me help plan." She grinned.

Carlisle chuckled. "We are all invited. It will be in New York in December. The invites are in the mail, but she was so excited, she decided to give me a call."

The room was filled with words of enthusiasm and excitement, but I felt out of place. I did not know these people, and I felt that I would intrude if I went along. Suddenly I felt uncertain, and nervously began to fiddle with the hem of my shirt. What if Edward wasn't even going to take me? I'm sure when Carlisle said that 'we' are all invited, it was probably 'Edward plus guest' or something. Who's to say I will be his guest? What if he takes Tanya? Then again, she'll have her own invitation from her sister, but what if he doesn't take me?

"What is it, Bella? Don't you want to go?" Edward whispered in my ear and I turned to see disappointment in his eyes. Everyone else was absorbed in conversation, or talking animatedly, so our discussion went unnoticed.

"Well, I'm not sure. It's just that I don't know these people and I wouldn't want to intrude or anything."

Edward seemed to sigh in relief and smiled.

"You've already met Tanya, so that's one down. You'll just have to meet Irina, who is their other sister, and the bride and groom, and pretty much everyone else... But you'll be fine. We'll be there." His teasing tone turned comforting at the end and he squeezed my hand in his. I smiled and he kissed my cheek, dangerously close to my mouth. I blushed at this.

The next few weeks passed rather quickly. I spent most of my time with Edward or Alice, who would take me shopping, or insist we have a 'girls night'. This would involve inviting Rosalie over, and she would force paint my nails an extravagant colour, and watch mindless sitcoms and movies while we ate junk food.

Nevertheless, I was enjoying my time with the Cullens and I couldn't get enough of it. I was getting worried about Edward, who was beginning to look into jobs at the hospital. He was also talking to Carlisle a lot about this, who was helping him out the best he could. (A/N: I don't know the process so I'm making up crap here. Sorry)

I thought Edward wanted to travel and experience the world, and learn languages and stuff, just as he had told me, but it seemed that he wanted to accomplish this first.

Carlisle had a meeting with other doctors from the hospital, including the chief of staff, and arranged for Edward to come along to meet with them as well, to discuss his prospects, as he had told me. It was on this day that Alice decided it would be a good time to take me shopping with Rose. Again. Seems this girl can never get enough. Though I didn't understand why she felt the need to bring me along. She already had a willing shopping partner in Rose.

Alice had started her new job which she gushed about, saying how it 'allowed her to express her love of clothing in her designs' or something of the sort.

Edward was going to get ready and Carlisle would pick him up at eleven o'clock in the morning to arrive for the meeting at half past. He produced a bowl and a box of cereal and began to pour as I watched his muscles in his arm flex slightly with each movement.

I heard a loud repetitive noise, which effectively snapped me out of my ogling. Alice thought it necessary to bang loudly on the front door before nine o'clock. I was still roaming around in my pyjamas!

Edward moved to open the door, and as soon as the knob was turned, Alice pushed through the doorway, brushing past Edward – though not without giving him a quick kiss on his shocked face – and then freezing in her tracks as she looked me up and down.

"Bella, why are you still in your pyjamas?" Alice asked me, eerily calm.

"It's only nine. Why do we have to go so early?" I whined, pouting a little. Edward and Rose, who had followed Alice in, were watching in amusement, exchanging glances.

"Because!"

"Because what?"

"Because we just do! How can you not be excited by this?" Alice asked, truly curious, though sounding slightly exasperated at my lack of complete cooperation.

Because shopping is boring. Because you are a shopping nazi. Because I don't need to go shopping as I can conveniently make clothes appear whenever I want. Because I have better things to do. Take your pick.

"Shopping is not my preferred pastime," I replied calmly, avoiding all eye contact and ignoring the snickers coming from the others.

Alice sighed and pushed me towards the stairs as Rose excused herself to use the bathroom.

I changed in my room after closing the door, wanting to avoid Alice or Rose walk in should they catch the show of my pyjama pants spontaneously switching to my pair of dark wash jeans, and other actions of the sort.

Once I was fully dressed, which was within a few seconds of walking into my room, I slowly meandered my way back downstairs, aware that it is unrealistic to change so quickly for normal people.

I walked slowly and eventually stopped by the doorway to the kitchen, trying to buy time. Edward and Alice were in a comfortable silence, and my eyes began to drift to the paint on the walls, imagining patterns that weren't there.

Eventually Alice spoke up.

"Edward?" she started off slowly, cautiously. I could imagine her sizing him up, wondering how best to approach the subject, which I was becoming increasingly curious to know. I tried to be honourable by respecting their privacy and attempting to tune them out.

"Hmmm?" he seemed to be pulled out of a train of thought.

"How long have you been seeing Bella?" The sound of my name made me abandon my resolve to not listen. Besides, it could be of importance, seeing as how it was about our 'relationship'. I could imagine Alice's quick switch to her interrogation face as these words left her mouth. I knew it was still too soon to grace them with my presence, so Edward would have to deal alone for now.

"Uh, for a while..." Edward stalled, and I could picture him fidgeting a little bit. I chuckled quietly at how someone could be intimidated by someone so small.

Alice must have silently urged him on because he sighed and said, "For several months."

I chanced a peek around the corner and saw Alice nodding her head, seeming pensive for a moment.

"If you've been together for so long...how come the most intimate thing I've seen you do is kiss each other's cheeks and look into each other's eyes with that gooey look?" Alice started off slowly, ending her sentence snapping at him, clearly trying to intimidate him.

Edward was unfazed, despite his bout of nervousness not moments before. He slowly looked up from his cereal and looked her in the eye, with amusement clearly dancing behind his own.

"And why are the details of our relationship of such importance to you?"

Alice pouted and looked away, beginning to pace. Her back was away from me as she began to rant.

"Well you are both a pair of prudes! You are so reserved and never do anything. It's unnerving for us all." She snapped her head back to Edward, who was fighting a smile.

"Nosy." He returned to his cereal, pushing it around with his spoon.

"You say nosy, I say inquisitive." She shrugged it off, smiling lightly. Then her smile darkened as if she just remembered a valuable piece of information. "Besides, you know how Jasper is. He is good at sensing people's emotions. He even says that there is something different between you, too. Not something that a couple who have been together as long as you two have would be feeling."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Caution. Nervousness. Others of the sort. There is still the love, but accompanied by these others. From both parties." Alice turned away again. Edward's eyes were wide.

"You interrogated him?"

"Of course. I had to. Though I can't say he wasn't unwilling. He cares for you guys too. We just want to know what's going on." Alice's tone became softer at the end and I saw her look at Edward, searching his face for the answer.

"Nothing's going on." Edward feigned a look of boredom and indifference. It bothered him, and me as well, that our act hadn't been as great as we thought. And the others were more perceptive than expected.

"That's fine, Edward." Her eyes narrowed menacingly and he gulped audibly. "I'll just talk to Bella when we go out," she finished in a too-sweet voice.

Though this made him chuckle. "You're not going to get anything out of her, Alice. Not that there is anything to get out." He turned and winked in my direction, giving me a small smile.

I blushed, looking down, embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping. He didn't seem to mind though. The issue did involve the both of us. I wonder how long he knew I was there.

I smiled back at him and quietly took a few steps back before I dragged my feet a little to announce my presence to the pixie, and entered the kitchen.

Alice looked me up and down. "Tolerable," she passed my choice in clothes off. I rolled my eyes, sitting down on a stool next to Edward.

"You look beautiful, Bella." He took my hand and kissed it, looking in my eyes. I got trapped in his gaze, yet I couldn't get myself to want to pull away.

Our moment was interrupted when Alice huffed, impatiently waiting for Rose, who still hadn't come out of the bathroom. Gosh, it had been, what, twenty minutes?

Edward continued to hold my hand, rubbing small circles over my knuckles as he ate his breakfast. Alice glanced between us with that same strange look I had come accustomed to over the past few weeks since that dinner of announcements, and I realised then that the conversation with Edward had been Alice voicing her concerns. We ought to kick our acting up a notch. It seemed to be wearing thin... I decided to discuss it with Edward later.

A few minutes later Rose slowly wandered into the kitchen and sat down. We all looked at her questioningly. She looked at us all, laughed and shrugged.

"I was dragged from my house at an uneven more ungodly hour than you were, to be taken here and hardly had time to fix myself up. I just took care of it here," she explained shrugging and brushing her hair behind her ears as Edward and I chuckled and Alice rolled her eyes.

Not too long after, we were speeding along in Alice's sleek, yellow Porsche to Port Angeles. I really didn't know what Alice wanted to purchase, and if I usually asked she would reply with "Since when do you need an excuse to go shopping?" So I kept my mouth shut.

Though when we got there, we headed for a dress shop in which they found amazing dresses. I realised they were for the wedding. Alice handed me a beautiful midnight blue dress which, of course, fit perfectly.

Alice paid for the dresses, even after much of my protesting, and took us to a lingerie store. I groaned loudly and Alice gave me an innocent look.

"What? We need nice undergarments to go with our wonderful dresses. Besides," she lowered her voice, "if you wear something sexy underneath, then it'll show on the outside." She winked.

I looked at Rose and she gave me a sympathetic look, followed by a shrug.

We roamed about the store, Alice excited picking up items and holding them up to my body, while I gritted my teeth and stared up at the ceiling, willing this to be over. Rose had abandoned me – traitor – and went to find her own skimpy bits of material.

Alice gave me some dark blue set of lingerie and pushed me towards the cubicle to change. She sensed my hesitance and immediately a devious smile appeared upon her lips.

She pushed me in, closing the door behind her and put her hands on her hips. I think I knew where this was going...

"No, Alice," I stated firmly.

"What?" Her expression immediately shifted to one of innocence.

"Out. I'll try this one only, just because you are utterly impossible, but I am not discussing my personal life in here."

"How did you know that I wanted to discuss your personal life?" she asked with a smile.

I hesitated momentarily. "I can tell from your expression that it is either you wanting to gain information or to take me shopping, but since you have the latter accomplished, I figured it'd be the first."

"Dang," I heard her mutter quietly, turning her head down. Nice save, I thought to myself.

She looked back at me and smiled again. "Fine, but this is not the end of this." With that she stalked out of the cubicle without a backwards glance.

I tried on the offending article of clothing, which Alice ended up purchasing, along with a whole lot of other stuff she managed to get her perfectly manicured hands on behind my back. Though I had to admit that I did look good in them.

After shopping for a few more hours, Alice drove us back home. I was exhausted, and sat limp in the passenger side of her car. She dropped Rose off at her house and remained quiet as she travelled slower than usual back to Edward's. I noticed her eyes darting between the road and me ever so subtly.

She parked in the driveway next to Edward's car and turned to me. Her next words were not what I expected.

"How come you always wear those bracelets?" She looked up at me expectantly, pointing to the bonds around my upper arms. I avoided all eye contact, but I began to fidget and squirm nervously under her intense gaze.

"Uh...I –" We were interrupted by my passenger door being yanked open by Edward, who immediately proceeded to pull me up into a warm, gentle hug. I squeezed back fiercely, grateful.

"Looked like you needed help," he murmured in my ear.

"Yeah. Thanks. We need to talk soon," I replied back to him quietly. I felt him nod.

"Oh, get a room!" I heard Alice huff from the other side of the car. She giggled. "Oh, wait, you already do. Then use it!" She burst out laughing, holding onto the car for support.

I didn't understand. It wasn't that funny. Probably an inside joke...with herself.

Edward strode quickly to the backseat of the car where all the bags were sitting, and took my share from Alice's outstretched arms with one hand. He grabbed my hand in the other, and I felt the electricity surge through the skin contact again, and pulled me towards the house.

"Bye, Alice!" He called over his should to her before shutting the door on her completely surprised face as she stood motionless by her car. It was rather comical.

After putting my stuff away, I sat down on the sofa, angled to where Edward was sitting, who, was mimicking my position. We waited for the other to break the silence.

Edward gave in first after sighing and running his fingers through his soft bronze hair.

"So talk."


A/N: So it is now the school holidays (thank goodness for that), so I'll be able to get more chapters out. Well, hopefully, anyway. Still got a lot of schoolwork to do. Gah.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review, advice, praise, complaints, theories about future events, random comments about the weather...absolutely anything!

SultanSteph