A/N: Shorter chapter than my normal ones but will explain more in the author's note at the end. Please enjoy!

6 weeks later...

"What are you thinking Bella?" Edward asked me.

We were lying on a blanket in the back yard, waiting for the meteor shower. Edward's fingers were interlaced with mine.

I waited a few seconds before I answered; "I am thinking how I wish I could pause this moment and stay in it forever."

Edward rolled onto his side, propping his head up with his other arm, "Bella, do you feel comfortable around me?"

I looked at him in disbelief, "Of course."

"Do you enjoy my company?"

I nodded.

"Do you consider me a friend?"

"Yes, of course." I was confused when he slightly winced at my response.

"Do you consider me just a friend?"

"Edward, what are you getting at?"

"Bella, I want to ask you something. If you say no, please know I won't be angry or upset. I need you to be honest and answer the way you want to, not the way you think I want you to answer. Okay?"

I nodded, slightly nervous as to where this conversation was going.

"Isabella Marie Swan, will you do me the honor of going on a date with me?"

My heart fluttered and I smiled but then it faltered and I let go of Edward's hand, staring blankly into the sky.

"Bella, what's wrong? You don't have to say yes, I'm sorry. If you don't feel that way about me, I understand."

I sat straight up and started to laugh, "If I don't feel that way about you? Edward Cullen, are you stupid?"

He sat up to meet my eyes, "Um, no. I don't believe so."

"How could I not feel that way about you? You have been there for me through everything; you have never given up on me. I mean I figured you just stayed because you felt bad for me but Edward I feel a lot about you. I should be asking you how you feel about me? I am not the same Bella I was all those years ago; I am never going to be normal. I am scarred and ruined and..."

"Stop." He said sternly. "You are wrong. You are not ruined and yes you bare scars on your body but that doesn't define who you are. And I don't expect you to be the same Bella; I am not the same Edward. But to me you are still the person I love and want to be with."

"Edward I don't think you really understand what you are asking for. I mean I will never be able to have children and I don't...know...if I ever...will be...able to be...to be intimate with anyone," I blushed.

"What? That's what you are worried about? Bella, first of all, Carlisle never said you wouldn't be able to have children. There are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to your health. Whether you can or cannot have children is not a determining factor when it comes to whether I want to be with you or not. And as for being intimate, six months ago you weren't able to receive a hug from your own brother without having a meltdown. Now look at you, you can accept a hug from people you know, we hold hands, you allow me to kiss you on the cheek, and we hold each other. I don't know how far you will be able to go, but that doesn't matter to me. I love you, more than you realize. In this moment, right now, if you were willing and ready, just as you are now, I would chose to be with you the rest of my life, even if I would only ever be able to hold you in my arms. No questions asked."

"I...I...guess I didn't know..."

"Bella, how could you not know?" he chuckled.

"I just thought you were doing this stuff for me because you cared about me like a sister I guess, like Emmett feels about me."

"Bella have you ever seen me hold hands or cuddle with Alice, especially the way we do?" he laughed.

"Stop!" I laughed with him, hitting him gently on the arm. "I guess I just never thought anyone would ever want me or want to love me that way again."

"Bella, I have never stopped loving you."

I caught myself smiling from ear to ear but then a thought crossed my mind and I became slightly irritated, "He knew! He knew, didn't he?"

Edward looked confused, "Who? What?"

"Jasper! Jasper knew you felt this way! He knows you love me, he has known this whole time!"

"Well, I am pretty sure everyone knows. But yes, Jasper and I have talked about it quite in depth. Why are you so angry?"

I calmed and blushed, "Well do you remember when we went to the children and animal center for the first time?"

He nodded.

"Well I had gone to talk to him about something and I told him that no one would ever be able to love me with my scarred and ruined body and with my broken mind. He told me that wasn't true and that someone would love me for who I am and he said it with a smirk. Why didn't he just tell me?"

"Because I wanted you to be ready and I wanted to be the one to tell you. Although I would have thought you would have realized it sooner but now is better then later. So is that a yes? Will you go out on a date with me?"

"Yes! Of course!" I was so excited that I hugged him and when we pulled back I kissed him for a short moment on his lips, butterflies fluttered in my belly, the sparks between us practically visible.

"I am so sorry!" I said, shocked, my hand covering my tingling lips.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"What? Yes, of course," I said embarrassed. "I shouldn't have done that."

"Why not?"

"I...I...I don't know." I whispered looking down at my hands.

"Bella," he lifted my chin with his fingers so we were eye to eye, "Don't ever be sorry for something like that. I will never push you to do something you aren't comfortable with but don't ever be sorry for doing something you want to do. You can always kiss me, whenever you want but only if you are comfortable doing so."

I nodded in response and he motioned for me to lay down with him to watch the stars. And that's where we sat for a few minutes; my head lay in the nook of his shoulder.

"You know I remember."

"Remember what?"

"Making love to you." I felt his body tense under mine, "It was so beautifully awkward."

I felt his body relax slightly before he spoke, "We can have that again, minus the awkwardness. I am not saying in a week, a month, or maybe not even in 5 years. But that's what making love is and one day, if you allow me to, I will show you again how beautiful and pleasurable it can be."

I raised my head from his shoulder to look at him, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight, "I love you."

"Bella, I love you too."

Hesitantly, I lifted myself and placed a soft and gentle but meaningful kiss on his lips but he sat frozen, his lips not moving.

"It's okay Edward, if you want to, you can kiss me back," I told him.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded and he gently cupped my cheek with his free hand and kissed me. In that moment everything was perfect. Too soon though, he pulled away but I knew he didn't want to push me too far. I knew everything that had just conspired in the last few minutes was a major step forward for me and us. Even though I hated it, we both knew I couldn't take too many steps without having a huge leap backwards. But I was happy and safe and I didn't want to be anywhere else. We spent the rest of the evening together, Edward holding me, watching the stars and moon. Until, for the first time in years, I fell asleep without the aid of medication but with the security of his arms around me.

A/N: So many people are really enjoying this story. I feel horrible about not updating as frequently as I should. So with that being said, I have decided to update with shorter chapters than I normally would. This way I can get the story out to you faster. The thought of writing a huge chapter stresses me out and I procrastinate and am not able to get what I want out on paper (or computer screen) and in the long run my readers suffer. So I hope you enjoyed this little piece of happiness for Bella and Edward because it is not going to last too long, but in the end this will have a HEA J Please review, I really do enjoy them!