Sorry this is getting put up so late in the day. You all can expect two chapters after this one up before midnight tonight. They've been written for quite some time. This chapter takes place approximately two months after Masen. I know we've been skipping through time a lot; we're sorry but there's no other way if we want to have this done before Breaking Dawn. We'll try to pop up with some oneshots later to fill in the gaps. As always, enjoy and review!

Disclaimer: These amazing characters are the belongings of the amazing woman Stephenie Meyer. We're just borrowing them for a little while.

Mended

She tried to keep her eyes and mind focused on the list she'd made, rather than the drying atmosphere around the fallen leaves in the late November air. Thanksgiving was just around the corner and preparing for it was therapeutic, calming. But she couldn't ignore the promise she'd made to Seth for much longer. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Edward for a moment, tense and straight-backed. He was still in the mindset he'd been in for a hundred years, that being on Quileute territory was a recipe for disaster.

"What do you want me to make for dessert?" she asked, in an effort to distract him. "Charlie said he didn't want a pecan pie. What do you want?"

He was silent a moment, eyes on the road like they'd practiced. The mailbox was still in disarray from that first time he'd driven. Her poor truck was in even worse shape than that.

"Maybe you could make that pumpkin pie again," he suggested. "That was good."

She laughed. "It did disappear rather quickly. I was lucky I took the first piece. There may not have been any left for me if I hadn't."

He smiled, though his eyes were still darting back and forth. They had passed the boundary line a mile or so back. "It wasn't all me, you know. Ben had his share. Did I ever thank you for dragging me along to Angela's birthday?"

"No," she shook her head, taking a pen out of her purse and scrawling pumpkin pie out to the side, in large capital letters. She couldn't remember what all of the ingredients were; she'd have to look the recipe up when they got home. Her phone rang; he jolted in his seat.

She held her phone up. "Edward, it's Alice. They don't even know we're coming. I told Seth it'd be awhile. They've most likely forgotten."

He nodded. She flipped her phone open and listened to Alice, who was already talking. "One 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened; 2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed; 1 cup sugar; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten; 1 cup half-and-half – "

"Can you please just wait until we go to the store?" she asked. "I'm not focused enough to catch all that. Just meet us later, okay?"

"How about I send Esme? She's really into this whole Thanksgiving thing."

"But you'll make it fun."

"Bella, I have to go. Jasper's calling." She didn't wait for a response but hung up.

She smiled as she put the phone up. "I'm sure Jasper was calling for you Alice. Grocery shopping is a little bit different from shopping shopping."

She looked back at Edward. His eyes darted towards her and he stammered, "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "We're not doing anything wrong. You're human now. We're not breaking any treaty."

He nodded once, stiffly. "If you say so. You know them better than I do."

She snorted. "Said the one who spent all that time deciphering the pack mind, comparing it to a soap opera."

He shot a teasing glare in her direction, the creases in his face gone. "I meant that you could gauge their reactions better than I can. I only knew what they were thinking right then. How can I possibly predict what their response to my presence will be?"

"Sam won't be mad," she assured him. "And Seth likes you. We're just coming down here to see how everyone's been doing and to congratulate Sam and Emily."

"I guess you're right," he sighed. "Where do I turn?"

"Up there, go left," she pointed. She gathered put all of the sheets of paper away and straightened in her seat. It had been a long time since she'd been here. She wasn't nervous about how they'd react, she wasn't. But she'd made it clear that she had chosen the Cullens over them and now, here she was.

Sam was on the front porch, looking down at the ground with a smile on his face. Edward parked the Volvo in front and took a deep breath. She climbed out, slamming the door without realizing it and stepped around the car into the grass. She motioned for him to get out of the car too. Sam's head had snapped up, and when she approached the door, two other heads popped into view. Seth and Embry had been out of sight, no doubt sprawled on the ground in some strange brother-by-pack rough-housing embrace.

Seth sprinted out to greet her. "Bella! You didn't tell me it was gonna take you so long to get down here to see us."

She smiled and motioned to Edward, who was trudging to her side. "He insisted that he was coming too and it took awhile before he was on his human feet again, and before I trusted him to drive more than around the block."

Sam and Embry joined them. "Seth told us something had happened, but he didn't really make much sense."

"I'll explain in a minute," Bella shook her head. "Where's Emily? We came down to congratulate you two and to apologize for getting around to it so late."

"She's fixing lunch," he said. "Come on in."

She looped one arm through Edward's and the other through Seth's. Sam led the way inside, with Embry walking backwards so he could talk to them. "So, Edward, right?"

He nodded, loosening up a little when they didn't jump right on him. Embry went on, "You're human now. That's interesting. How did that, uh, come about?"

The trio broke their chain so they could pass through the door. The aroma of fresh cookies met them in the face and there was a plate full of enough sandwiches to feed a small army. Bella wondered for a moment if there was enough. The woman came into view, smiling. Edward had either had forewarning from his soap opera comparison or he hid his surprise well. She smiled. He was far too courteous for his own good.

"Bella, it's good to see you," she came around to wrap her arms around her. "I didn't know when we'd see you again."

"Sorry it took so long for me to get down here," she apologized. "Some things came up and this is the first opportunity we've had."

"I'm just happy you made it at all," she motioned for her to sit and disappeared for a moment, coming back with another chair which she pulled Edward to. He sent his still-dazzling smile to go along with his thank you. Sam seated himself opposite them at the table.

"So, what did happen?" he asked. "You were gonna be a vampire and this happened."

"I was going to change, you know, I know it, Edward knows it," Bella nodded. "And it just so happened that I managed to screw it up, for the better though. This new development, it's good. That being said, I was hoping for some sort of truce. I didn't want to have to choose, you don't mind, do you?"

Seth slid into another chair, and grabbed two sandwiches. "Ah, just when I thought I was getting rid of the two of you. But I guess we could keep you around. Right, Sam."

"I can't speak for Edward, but I know that she's fun to watch. She keeps things interesting," he laughed. Then he looked to Edward, "I'm sure you do, too."

Bella shook her head. "You sound like Emmett. I hope you don't die; you're fun to have around. Am I really that bad?"

"Sad to say it, love, but you are," Edward nodded his head. Emily brought the cookies and four bags of potato chips to the table. There was a pitcher of what looked like iced tea on the counter.

"If you are going to be around again, you'll have to do your share of the cooking," Emily sat down. "The pack is getting big; feeding the herd is getting costly."

"Of course I'll help."

Embry was leaning against the counter, a frown on his face. "Emily, you only got one chair. Where am I supposed to sit?"

She looked up at him, unrepentant. "He's a guest. You can get your own chair."

Seth stood up, "Actually, I was wondering if I could borrow Bella for a few minutes. There's something I've been meaning to tell her and now's as good a time as any."

He walked to the door and motioned for her to follow. She stood and looked to him. His green eyes caught hers and she saw in them that he was comfortable, that this wasn't anything like he'd expected. She knew what he meant. They didn't behave like a pack of werewolves, but more like a big group of boys who refused to grow up and act their age.

He was munching on his third sandwich when she took the seat next to him. She played dumb, although she knew what it was he was going to talk to her about. He took a bite out of his fourth.

"He's in Mexico," he announced between two large mouthfuls. "Has been for awhile."

"Mexico?" That was the last place she had thought he'd go. It was so far away. "What's he doing there?"

He looked like someone who'd just got their hand caught in a cookie jar and gulped down his current bite before he choked out, "Stuff," he took a sip from the cup he'd brought along and nodded, confident in his explanation. "Yeah, stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Stuff," he explained. "You know, just…stuff."

"Does any of that stuff have to do with me?"

He shook his head, putting his plate on the ground. "No, not anymore. I let him know that you, you know, had gotten married and all and that something happened so that you weren't gonna be changed. He seems to have taken it in stride. He should be coming back soon. Maybe not until after the weather turns warm again. Mexico's a little bit warmer than this and he said he wanted a smooth transition."

She narrowed her eyes, seeing through his story. "What does the weather matter to you? You're pretty toasty warm, aren't you?"

The cookie-jar look was back. "It's just what he said. I don't always understand Jake, surely you know that."

She nodded. "Seth?"

"Hmm?"

"Please don't lie to my face," she whispered. "You don't have to tell me but don't make an excuse. Just say that you can't say."

"I promise he'll be back soon and that I'll let you know anything that I can when I can tell you, okay?"

She opened her mouth to ask why Jacob had chosen to go so far away when the door opened and Embry came out, laughing. Sam and Edward were next, each with smiles on their faces.

"What's so funny?" Bella asked.

Embry motioned to Edward, "He hasn't said anything to you, but he's concerned that with all the food you've been encouraging him to eat that eventually he'll double in weight."

Emily joined them as well, handing her a glass of tea. "I told him not to worry about it. He'll get used to being human."

"That's what I tell him. But if you really feel that way, then we could forego dessert altogether on Thanksgiving."

He was quick to shake his head. "No, that's not necessary, Bella, really."

Seth looked at him for a long moment. "Maybe you should take up Jazzercise."

Bella choked on her sip of tea. Sam and Embry were almost doubled over laughing. The effort that Emily put into not smiling was formidable. Edward could only glare.

Once her airway was clear again, she slipped her arm through Edward's and pulled him away. "I think it's time to go."

Emily called out to her as they opened the doors to the Volvo, "I was telling Edward, both of you are welcome to come back down tomorrow. It's Quil's birthday!"

"We'll be here," she called back. "Thanks Emily!"

Edward slammed his door shut and turned the key in the ignition. Before he did anything else, he looked to her, eyes wide. "Don't tell Alice."

She laughed and shook her head. "I won't."

It wasn't the best we've put up, but you all understand. Hope you liked it anyway. Next chapter will be up in a few hours. For the record, the recipe that was included at the beginning of the chapter is from a real recipe for any of you who like pumpkin pie. I got it off the Food Network website.

Quote from Breathing:

"I know what a baby is and how you end up with one."

Try to figure that out...