Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight, it all belongs to S.M.

A/N: Thursday is Veteran's Day, if you know someone who is or has been in the Armed Forces be sure to thank them for their service to this country.

I have the best readers in the world. Thank you to all of you who read and/or review. I was super excited to pass 100 reviews with the last chapter. Of course massive thanks goes to my pre-reader Amanda.

Be sure to check out the story I have been beta'ing… Second Chance at Life by Punkfoxx825.

EPOV

On Thursday I awoke surprisingly early, erotic images still floating through my brain. I could almost feel myself caressing smooth, silky skin. I decided a run would help release some of the pent up frustration I had, most of them sexual. The dreams of Bella were getting more and more graphic, not that I was complaining, but my hand just didn't seem to cut it anymore.

Bella was the first thing I thought of in the mornings and the last thing I thought of each night before I fell asleep. She even visited me in my dreams more often than not. It was a new experience for me, even though I had the one semi serious relationship with Tanya. The feelings I had for Bella were already stronger than I had ever felt with her.

Truthfully, the depth of feeling I had for her scared me to a certain extent, but not enough to make me wish things were different. Even though I was in this horrible situation, knowing that I had Bella waiting for me at home made it all seem worthwhile.

I knew that in all likelihood Bella was a virgin. We hadn't really talked about our pasts much, but it was just a feeling I had. If there is one thing I have learned here, it is to always trust your gut… it is usually right.

After my third circuit around the barracks, I noticed James Hunter sneaking across the yard. It was still extremely early so there really wasn't anyone around. Just the way he was moving seemed suspicious to me so I chose to follow him. Speaking of trusting your gut… there was something fishy going on with Hunter and I was determined to figure out what it was.

I made sure to keep my distance behind him. It wouldn't be good for him to catch me trailing him. I followed him around a corner and behind the gym. It was in the middle of a cluster of buildings, so it was easy to find a place where I would be hidden from view, but still be able to see what was going on.

He stood there for awhile, not really doing anything. Just when I was about to give up my surveillance and head back I noticed someone walking towards where James was standing. I recognized him as one of the local vendors that usually set up booths on the base. I was too far away to hear what was being said between the two of them, but nothing good could come from a secret meeting at this time of day.

The meeting lasted for five minutes, maybe even less. Just as they were about to finish up I spied the man hand a package to James. It wasn't a large parcel, it looked like a small manila envelope. There could be all sorts of things that could fit into an envelope that size. I didn't have much time to speculate because the two men were going their separate ways. It took me a split second to determine who to follow.

I had started this covert mission following James and since he was the one I didn't trust it seemed wise to see where he went from here. Unfortunately, his next stop was the mess hall. By now there were a few more people milling about, so he didn't stand out for being up so early. I was more convinced than ever that he had his hand in something that wasn't quite on the up and up, but I had no proof. Right now if I went to anybody with my suspicions it would just be my word against his. There was a code of sorts among the men here, you didn't rat on someone unless you were absolutely positive. Figuring he was done with his sneaking around for the day, I gave up on my chase. I would be keeping a closer eye on his activities in the future though.

I looked at the clock and noticed I still had some time to kill. After the dreams of last night I was even more desperate to hear Bella's voice. I knew she had Thursday night off from work and I reasoned with myself that it was perfectly acceptable for a man to call his girlfriend. For a long time I hadn't had her phone number, but I rectified that after our admission to each other.

I worried about what I would talk to her about while I listened to the ringing on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" Answered a gruff voice that definitely didn't belong to Bella. I was so startled for a minute that I didn't reply.

"Hello? I don't know who this is, but I can trace this call so it had better not be a prank."

Fuck… this wasn't exactly how I wanted Chief Swan's first impression of me to go. Clearing my throat I finally found my voice. "Hello Chief Swan. This is Edward… um Edward Cullen. Is Bella home?"

Great now he had me sounding like a fifteen year old boy who was calling a girl for the first time ever. How pathetic was I?

"I'm sorry Edward, but she got called into work tonight. She wasn't expecting your call was she?"

"Oh no, no…This was kinda a spur of the moment type thing. I guess I should have thought it through a little better." I chuckled while I rubbed my hand across the back of my neck. I used to run my hands through my hair when I was nervous or annoyed, but it just wasn't as satisfying with short hair.

"Well, I'm actually glad to have a chance to talk to you. I can't interrogate you like a usual boyfriend, so do you mind answering a few questions for me Edward?" I noticed he had said interrogate, like I was one of the criminals that he dealt with while on the job.

I really hoped this was one of those conversations that every father felt they had to have with any boy that was interested in their daughter. The one where he tried to intimidate me, and swear to cut off my balls if I broke his little girl's heart. It was better than the alternative, the whole you're not good enough for my daughter so stay the hell away from her speech.

"Sure, anything you want to know." I tried to keep my voice steady and not give away how nervous I really was.

"What are your intentions with my daughter?" he demanded. Leave it to a police officer to get right to the heart of the matter.

"I care about her a lot. We're still in the early stages of this relationship and it's not exactly a common hookup."

I realized how that sounded and quickly assured him, "Not that I would ever consider Bella a hookup, I don't think of her that way."

I groaned, that didn't sound right either. I was digging myself a hole with every sentence that I uttered so I decided to shut up before I got any deeper.

I could hear the amusement in his voice when he asked his next question. "Don't you think you're a little old to be dating my daughter? You do know she's only seventeen right?"

Now I could see why he used the word interrogation, I could feel myself start to sweat. This was the first time I had ever been questioned by a girl's dad. With Tanya we were friends for so long before we started dating that her father already knew everything about me. In some ways I figured this was easier though, I could picture him sitting at the kitchen table cleaning his gun when I came to pick his daughter up if this had been usual circumstances.

"Truthfully sir, I don't really think about Bella's age. To me she's just Bella…. she's beautiful, and funny, and one of the most loving people I've ever met. I feel a connection to her that defies all logic, it's been there since the first time I ever laid eyes on her. I consider myself lucky that she even considered waiting around for someone like me. I don't deserve it."

I knew I probably told him way more than he wanted to know, but I couldn't seem to help myself. I couldn't imagine what kind of information he would be able to get out of me if he were to actually ask me questions face to face.

"Hmmm…."

"I swear, sir, I never want her to regret meeting me. I care too much about her. I only want her to be happy, so I would do whatever I could to make it happen."

Obviously I had developed diarrhea of the mouth, I usually wasn't known to babble but I couldn't seem to help myself. No wonder he was the Chief of Police, the man could probably wring a confession out of a turnip if he tried.

I could hear him laughing at me on the other end. "Alright…alright calm down before you give yourself a damn heart attack. I was just having a little fun with you. I've known you since you were a baby so I know you're a nice kid."

I let out a long shaky breath of relief, but maybe I should have waited. His next words frightened the shit outta me.

"But, let me make myself perfectly clear here Edward. You'd better not hurt her or I'll hunt you down, and remember I'm the law around here so no one would ever suspect me."

Before I could assure him that I wouldn't dream of hurting Bella I heard the voice I had been wanting to talk to in the background.

"Dad… who are you talking to? Is that Edward? Oh my God, please tell me you're not embarrassing me."

I could hear some shuffling on the other end and then Bella's voice washed over me. "Edward?"

"Um…yeah. I couldn't sleep anymore so I decided to call you, but your dad said you went into work."

"Yeah, Jessica called in sick again, but it was really slow so they just sent me home."

She sounded as nervous as I felt. It was time to try and remove any awkwardness between us, I could imagine her sitting there trying to figure out what Charlie could had have said to me in her absence.

"So how is my beautiful girlfriend today?" I lowered my voice into what I hoped was a seductive sounding purr.

It seemed to work because I heard her sigh before answering. "Better now that I get to talk to you, just hearing your voice seems to calm me."

It still amazed me sometimes that we could be thinking the same thing so often. It was one more reason that I was growing more and more certain that we were perfect for each other in every way possible.

"It's the same for me. I had to hear your voice today. Luckily you came home before I had to go. We should set up a time each week to talk."

"I'd love that." She told me, I could actually hear the longing in her voice that mirrored mine perfectly.

"So did you decide whether or not you're going to join my parents for Thanksgiving? I talked to my mom the other day, and she was really hoping that you would." To say my mom was ecstatic over my now official relationship with Bella would be an understatement. I think she was secretly hoping that I would find something or someone that would mean more to me than the Army. She wanted me to quit and be closer to home.

"I was actually talking to Charlie about that earlier. He has to work in the evening, but we're going to go over in the afternoon and spend awhile with them. I'll stick around after he leaves and eat with them. They need someone to take their mind off of missing you."

I could feel my heart swell even more with her announcement. Bella was without a doubt one of the most selfless people I had ever met. Instead of thinking about what she would rather be doing she thought about how hard that day would be for my parents. She was willing to do whatever she could to make the day easier for them.

"I guess I should warn you that my mom is over the moon about the two of us. She's probably already planning our marriage and what we will name our kids." I told her.

"I'll just try and change the subject if it comes up." Bella laughed.

"I wish I was joking, my mom is a romantic. She's convinced that we're meant to be, or something like that." I secretly agreed with her, but I didn't want her scaring Bella off, not when we had finally figured things out.

"Don't worry Edward. I can take care of myself, especially with your mom."

I looked around me and noticed how many people were up and about now. I had been on the phone for longer than I realized. It was easy to lose track of time when I was talking to Bella, and I would have to hang up soon. The thought left me feeling a little bereft, but tried not to let it shine through in my voice. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but I'm going to have to go. I'm so grateful that I was able to talk to you today. I promise to talk to you soon."

"Me too Edward. Be safe out there, bye." She whispered as she hung up the phone. I wasn't insulted that she hung up on me before I could reply. I was beginning to understand her more, and I knew she had disconnected the call before I could hear the tears in her voice. She wasn't as comfortable with showing emotion as a lot of people.

I hurried through my morning routine, anxious for the evening to come. I was hoping that I would be able to catch Bella online during some downtime. I knew several of the soldiers used Skype to keep in contact with their loved ones and I was anxious to see if Bella would want to do that. The thought of getting to see her while I was talking to her, to have the next best thing to a face to face conversation excited me. Unfortunately we hadn't been online at the same time lately.

The day on patrol was relatively uneventful. There was a minor scare at the check point into the city center, someone tried to sneak through a car rigged with explosives. Luckily the soldiers on duty were paying close attention to the signs and caught the guy. I was nowhere near when this all went down, but I heard about it after we returned to the base.

After dinner I found a letter from Bella sitting on my bunk. I tore it open eagerly, thrilled to get another piece of Bella today. The call this morning had been so incredible, I had played it over in my mind throughout the day.

Edward,

I was sitting here thinking about you today, and I realized I miss you. We have only spent a couple hours in each others company, how is it possible to miss someone you've never really been with? When you write it all out like that it does seem weird, but it seems like I have spent more time than that with you.

Thanks for the compliment about the pictures I took at Emmett's, but I've never really thought of photography as anything other than taking pictures. I wanted you to feel like you were here with all of us. I didn't want you to feel like you were missing out on a moment of it. That is why they turned out as well as they did.

I told Alice and Rose about your debt of gratitude, I bet you can imagine how that went. Rose said you could make it up to her and Emmett when you come home by paying for a weekend in Seattle for them. I thought that was little much, but you know Rose. Alice on the other hand was too busy hounding me for every detail you said to really give me much in the way of payment. I think it just fueled her need to make me over as often as possible.

So you think I'm sexy? Sorry if I can't quite wrap my head around that, but no one has ever called me that before. It seems strange to me that you could think that. I have always considered myself to be average looking. You, on the other hand, are the sexiest man I have ever met. All you have to do is look in a mirror to know it's true. Sometimes it seems like a dream that someone like you would choose to be with someone like me. If this is a dream, then I pray that no one ever wakes me up.

You don't have to worry that I'm going to find someone else, besides what I just said above you are the most astonishing person. You're who I want to be with, no one else even comes close. I can't wait for the day that you will be able to be here with me.

Of course I want you to be here for my graduation. That would make the day all the more perfect, just knowing that you are there. That I could go up and hug and kiss you afterwards, to hear the sound of your voice mixed along with your breath right in my ear.

I dream about that. I dream about you all the time. I hope that doesn't sound as creepy to you as it does to me. After we wasted so much time by not being honest with each other I made a promise to myself that I would always tell you exactly how I felt.

I actually came to the decision to tell you how I felt after talking to my mom. She made me realize that unless I told you how I felt that I couldn't expect you to do the same thing. I had made myself sick thinking about it, I kept going in circles. I'm glad I did though, I wouldn't have such an astounding boyfriend otherwise.

I believe you when you tell me you're being as safe as possible, but it doesn't stop the worrying. I pour over every article in the newspaper I can find, just for a little snippet of information about what it's like over there. I pray nightly that you will return home to me and your family safe and sound. So be safe out there and make sure it happens.

Love,

Bella

After reading her letter, I was stunned. How could she not know how beautiful she was. I know I couldn't be the only one who saw it. There was that guy at the party, that alone should have given her some inkling to how alluring she really was.

I wondered how I could make her feel beautiful. Even from half a world apart she had captivated me, and if there was one thing I wanted, it was to make her feel like the most desirable woman on the planet, because to me she already was.