I don't own Twilight

A Leap Forward

Bella was standing in the doorway with a soft smile on her face. Seeing her not only standing there, but happy, lifted the weight that had settled on my chest.

"Hi," I sighed in relief.

"Hey," she replied as she stepped into the room, "That song was beautiful."

"I…um…wrote it for you," I stammered. If I were still human I would have been blushing.

"What?" she asked, clearly taken by surprise.

"The melody came into my head the first time I saw you," I explained, "It hasn't really left my head since."

"Wow," Bella said in awe, "Nobody has ever done anything like that for me before."

"I am just happy you like it," I said with smile.

"I love it," Bella replied.

"Can we talk about what happened today?" I asked. I hating ruining our lighthearted mood, but there was a Tanya-sized elephant in the room that needed to be addressed. I desperately wanted Bella to know that nothing had happened, and I wanted to do everything in my power to keep her from running off again.

"I am sorry I ran away," Bella said as her eyes left mine and took a sudden interest in her shoes.

"I am sorry about Tanya," I replied.

"Is that her name?" Bella said, and I could have sworn I heard bitterness in her voice.

"Yeah, she belongs to the Denali coven," I explained, "The Denalis are another vegetarian coven that we spend time with."

"So you trust her?" Bella asked, "She won't go to Aro?"

"No, she won't," I replied, "Honestly, she was so caught up in herself I don't know that she even saw you."

"Oh, I saw exactly what she was caught up in, and it wasn't herself," Bella said as she looked up at me with a sarcastic smirk.

"Nothing happened," I said instantly, "Tanya is a bit delusional."

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"Tanya has always had a thing for me, and even though I have told her time and time again that I don't feel the same way, she doesn't seem to get it," I explained.

"Why don't you feel the same way?" Bella asked, "I mean, she is beautiful."

"I don't know. I have just never felt that way about her," I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

"You must have felt something when she ran her hand up your arm and when she splayed herself out on your piano," Bella said.

"Oh, I felt something alright," I said and ground my teeth at the memory, "Anger".

"Anger?" Bella said, and I could tell that is not what she was expecting.

"Yeah…I was pretty angry that she was sitting on my piano," I said, "I thought her ass was going to leave a mark." Bella looked at me with wide eyes for a second before she burst out laughing. It was a good thing she didn't have to breathe anymore because it was good five minutes before she calmed herself down.

"Oh my God Edward," she said, "you are hilarious."

"Thanks," I replied with a smirk.

"So how did you get her to leave?" Bella asked.

"Well, when I noticed you were gone, I panicked. I all but threw her out the door so I could look for you," I said, and my words sobered the last of Bella's giggles.

"I really am sorry I worried you," Bella said.

"I know," I replied softly, "But all I could think about was you being alone and Aro finding you."

"I was so stupid," Bella said, "Going off by myself was stupid, but I panicked, too."

"Tanya wasn't a threat," I said, "I know you didn't know that, though."

"Yeah, she was a threat," Bella said as she once again looked at her shoes, "just not the kind you mean."

"Then what kind was she?" I said quietly. I had a pretty good idea what Bella meant, but I needed to hear her say it.

"She could have taken you from me," Bella said so quietly I almost missed it.

"That will never happen," I said decisively. Bella looked up and met my eyes, and hers were full of emotion. I couldn't look away, and I knew she could see the same emotions in my eyes.

"Bella," I said as I took a step toward her, "I have never been as scared as I was today."

"Edward," Bella whispered as I took a step closer.

"I was frantic as I searched the woods," I continued, "The thought of never seeing you again nearly killed me." I took the last couple of steps and suddenly I was only inches away from Bella.

"I'm so sorry," Bella said as she rested her hand on my cheek. I knew if she could she would be crying.

"I know," I replied with a sigh as I brought my hand up to rest it on top of Bella's on my cheek. I let my forehead rest on hers, and we just stood there in front of the door holding onto each other.

"I know we haven't known each other very long, but I already can't imagine my life without you," I whispered, "I am drawn to you Bella."

"I know the feeling," Bella replied. Using my free hand I cupped Bella's chin and tipped her head up until it was level with mine. I kept my eyes on hers as I slowly lowered my mouth to meet her lips. They were soft and sweet, and felt like heaven against mine. Bella's hands made their way to my hair, and when she wound them in there and pulled me closer I instinctively moaned. My hands dropped to her waist and held her tight, afraid if I let go she would disappear.

When we finally broke apart she wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her head on my shoulder. My hands stayed wrapped around her waist and we did what we could to calm our breathing. We didn't need to breathe, but the kiss still left us breathless.

"That was…," I managed.

"Yeah," Bella agreed. Once our breathing was under control Bella lifted her head and smiled at me. I gently pressed my lips to hers before taking her hand and leading her to the couch. We both flopped down and Bella rested her head on top of my chest, right on my silent heart. I lightly stroked her hair and we enjoyed the moment. Unfortunately, our moment was cut short with the ringing of my phone. I groaned and pulled it out of my pocket.

"Hello," I said.

"You're not going to hang up on me again, are you?" Alice asked from the other end.

"Sorry about that, but…" I trailed off as something occurred to me.

"Edward, are you still there?" Alice asked.

"Alice, did you know that Tanya was at the door?" I asked. Bella and I sat up and she grabbed my free hand and started tracing patterns on it. Her touch sent chills up and down my arm.

"Yep, that's why I called," Alice said, "I wanted to warn you."

"Okay, well I guess I learned my lesson," I said, "Never hang up on you when someone is at the door."

"Well, you shouldn't hang up on me ever, but I accept your apology," Alice said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

"So, how are you Alice?" I asked because it had been awhile since we really talked.

"I'm good," Alice replied, "How are you, big brother?"

"Good," I replied as I smiled at Bella and lightly brushed my thumb across her cheek.

"Yeah, I bet," Alice said, and I could almost see her eyes rolling.

"Do you want me to hang up again?" I asked.

"No," Alice said with a sigh, "So, can I talk to her?"

"I don't know," I replied. I looked at Bella to see what she thought, and after a minute she hesitantly nodded her head.

"Okay," I replied, "I am going to give Bella the phone, but if you get too hyper or start to freak her out I will hang up."

"Fine," Alice agreed, but I could tell she was frustrated with me. I handed Bella the phone and squeezed her hand in encouragement as she slowly brought it to her ear.

"Hello?" Bella said quietly.

"Oh my God Bella, it is so great to finally talk to you!" Alice squealed loudly. Bella looked frightened so I grabbed the phone from her brought it back to my ear.

"Alice, what did I say?" I growled.

"Sorry, I'm just so excited," Alice said.

"Fine, just take it down a notch or ten," I replied before handing the phone back to Bella.

"Alice," Bella said.

"Sorry about before," Alice said quietly.

"It's okay," Bella replied.

"I'm just so excited for you and Edward," Alice said.

"Oh, well, thank you," Bella said.

"I can't wait to meet you, Bella," Alice said, "I just know we are going to get along so well." I just rolled my eyes, because of course Alice knew that. If she didn't she would be the worst psychic ever.

"I hope so," Bella replied.

"I know you aren't ready to meet us yet, but when you are just know that we are here for you," Alice said.

"Thank you," Bella said with a smile.

"You're welcome. Now go have fun with Edward," Alice said with a laugh.

"Bye," Bella said with a laugh of her own before she handed me the phone.

"Goodbye Alice," I said.

"Bye, Edward," Alice chirped, "Oh, and you better call Esme soon."

"I will. Thank you, Alice," I said before I hung up the phone.

"She seems nice," Bella said.

"She is; she just gets a little hyper sometimes," I said.

"I noticed," Bella said with a smirk.

"Yeah, sorry about that," I replied as I wrapped my arm around Bella's shoulders and she laid her head on mine.

"Don't be. I like her," Bella said.

"Do you think you might want to meet them soon?" I asked.

"Your family?" Bella clarified.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Maybe," Bella said and I could tell she was still pretty hesitant about the idea.

"Whenever you are ready," I promised, "There is no pressure."

"Thanks," she replied, "Will you tell me about them?"

"Um, sure. I can give you the basics and they can fill you in on their pasts when you meet them," I said, because they each had traumatic pasts.

"Sounds good," Bella said.

"Let's see. Carlisle is considered the head of our coven, but he is more like a father than anything else. He's a doctor, and he loves to read. Esme is Carlisle's wife, and she is very much a mother to the rest of us. She loves to garden and has a passion for interior design and remodeling. Alice is one of my sisters and she is married to Jasper. She loves to shop, and Jasper loves reading, mostly about world history. Rosalie is my other sister, and she is married to Emmett. Rosalie's greatest passion is herself, but she does have a fondness for children. If she could I know she would love to work with kids. Emmett loves sports of any kind and video games. The most important thing about my family is that they are fiercely loyal and protective of those they care about."

"Wow," Bella said as took it all in.

"I know I didn't give you much," I said as I played with a lock of Bella's hair, "They all have their own story about how they came into this life, but they are pretty personal so I think it's best that they tell you themselves."

"I understand," Bella said as she snuggled closer to me, "How about if we watch a movie?"

"That sounds like a great idea," I said. After Bella picked a movie and put it on she came back over and I pulled her onto my lap. We snuggled close and watched the movie, or tried to watch the movie anyway. We kept getting distracted by each other's lips.

It was heaven.

AN: Thanks to my beta Jenn! Thanks also to: the captains wife, tina062093, purple1girl, Sakada Eve, Flavia Ribeiro, twilight-saga-lover95, sujari6, Sweetie7smiled, sandy4321, viola1701e, Midnight Angels Say GoodNight, cullengirl08,Raven Marcus, AshleyMasen, ellaryne, psychovampirefreak, Rainn74, The Doctor Rose, BelovedSunshine, RobstenLover93 for leaving a review it means alot.

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