Chapter 8: Decisions

Please Read: I have had a few questions and concers, so I have dedicated this section to answere thoughs questions.

#1: I would like to thank Spinner2009 for pointing out my mistake on chapter 6. I have gone back and corrected it.

#2: Some of you have asked about the scars on Bella's back, asking if thay have disapeard. i would just like to say that i had already written this chapter the same night i posted that last one. There are mentions of her scars in this chapter. but so you know, no they did not disapear, they were just not mentioned. Bella has lived with them for so long she doesnt notice them any more, and Edward just doesnt care either way.

I hope this clears up the questions and pleas do not hesitate to ask some more.

Disclaimer: I do not own twilight

Chapter 8: Decisions

"Edward, I… I would love to marry you but I can't." I said sadly. I saw the pain in his eyes as he accepted my answer. He closed the case, hiding the beautiful ring from my view.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I shouldn't have asked." I could here the soft tone of rejecting marring his normally perfect voice. It broke my heart to know that I was causing him to feel this way.

"Edward, it's not what you think." I took a breath, trying to decide how to explain this right. "When I was first accepted by the BPI, I had to sign a contract devoting a certain number of years to the organization. Since my life span is significantly longer than other members, I had a longer work term that I had to fulfill. It was decided that I would spend a century with the Bureau under contract, and if I accepted, I could sign on for another term. I have only fulfilled four of them. I can't back out. And getting married would only complicate things. I have to go all over the world to track down some of the rouges, and others will come after me as well. I couldn't bare to put you and your family in that kind of danger."

I could see the surprise on his face about my revelation. Apparently this wasn't the reason that he had been expecting.

"Bella," He said, his voice laced with disbelief and relief. "None of that matters to me. I would follow you where ever you went until your contract was up. We could work together, and I will always be by your side."

"Edward." I said softly. "I know you would. But I don't want to take you away from your family. They need you. And I couldn't rip you apart."

He seemed to understand my answer and nodded his head. I reached over to him and gently grasped his hand. "I love you. And I know that you love me. In any other case I would be thrilled to marry you, more than thrilled. But it wouldn't work right now. When my contract is up, and if you still want me, then I promise I will come back and become your wife and the happiest vampire undead in the whole world."

He gave a slight chuckle at my attempt of humor.

"Alright." He said. And with that he once again took out the small velvet box and removed the ring. Very gently he slid it onto the third finger of my left hand, carefully kissing the digit after it was in place.

"In 96 years, I will hold you to your promise." I smiled at that and he gently pulled me to my feet, and kissed me. With us being in a public place, we kept it short, and reluctantly broke apart, both of us smiling happily. Wrapping his arm around my waist, he pulled us both to the door. Of course being me, I had to ruin the moment.

As we were nearing the door, my foot caught on a woman's chair, effectively tripping and jarring the both of us. Edward caught me before I could fall and righted me.

"I'm so sorry!" I said apologetically. The woman was in her thirties. She had a soft sheen of pale blond hair that was cut right above her shoulders. She was a classic beauty, and wore little make up. She was wearing a very elegant but classy pants suit, and was currently sitting alone. The plate across from her was about halfway finished, and I assumed her guest was somewhere close by.

"Oh, that is quite alright." Her tone was forgiving and kind. She may have been one of the few people who took things like this in stride. I immediately liked her. Quickly she got up from her seat, righting her outfit that I had so rudely rumpled.

Her gaze passed over my back and her eyes widened. "May I ask what happened?" she said shyly, motioning to my scarred back. For the first time that night I realized that my back was bare and my scars were in full view. The other Cullen's either didn't pay attention to it, or refrained from commenting. Edward must have ignored them, since he had had his hands on my back most of the night.

"Oh," I said intelligently. "I got in a severe car accident a few years back. I hardly even notice them anymore." I said kindly. I had gotten used to people asking me about my scars. In fact on a trip down to L.A. I had gone to a public pool to scout out a certain werelion and an older woman had had the courage to approach me about them. I had told her that 'I liked it rough' and she had left in a huff. I had a lot of fun kidding with others. It was alike a sick hobby of mine.

"I'm sorry." She said sincerely.

"It's alright." I smiled. She nodded before sitting back down. Turning back to Edward, who had watched the conversation with an amused expression on his face, he led us back out to the car. I shivered as the cold night wrapped around us. Edward, always the gentleman, shrugged off his coat and draped it over my shoulders. I thanked him with a smile, wrapping the heavy fabric around me. Trying to be stealthy, I breathed in his heavenly scent, much like I used to do.

I spotted him grinning in the dark and assumed I had been found out. He opened the car door for me and quickly headed to the other said after I was settled. We spent the drive in a comfortable silence, our hands twined, and my new ring glittering on my hand. Edward was driving more slowly than usual, and I assumed he was as reluctant to let this night end as I was.

Eventually we arrived back out the house. The lights were on in the living room and I knew the rest of the family was waiting for us. I let out a small chuckle as I though about what Alice might do when we got inside. It wasn't looking good and I was tempted to barricade myself in a room for the rest of the night.

Edward, seeming to sense my hesitation, rubbed a soothing circle on the back of my hand. "Love, I promise I won't let Alice do anything too embracing. Okay?" He said, topaz eyes tender.

"Alright." I said. I made to get out of the car but Edward beat me to it, helping me out of my seat graciously. Together we headed into the house, and was immediately bombarded by Alice. Almost roughly she grabbed my left hand and squealed in joy.

"OMG Bella, I'm so happy for you two! We have so much to plan and do! Don't worry I'll tale care of the details. You won't have to do a thing." Her tinkering voice was high and excited. She was talking so fast that I could barely make out what she was saying.

"Alice, Alice." I said grabbing her by the shoulders to stop her bouncing. "Calm down. Breath."

"Sorry." She said, finally talking at a normal pace. Well normal for her. "I kind of got carried away! But I'm soooo happy that you two are engaged."

"Well we are," Edward said calmingly. "But it's a long term engagement." He stated simply.

"Long term? What does that mean exactly?" Emmett asked, his large head cocked to the side in confusion.

"Are you two not getting married?" Esme inquired.

"Well we are, but not for a while." I said.

"Why?" This time it was Rosalie who spoke.

"Because of her contract." Alex stated simply. I hadn't noticed him before, but now I saw him leaning against the far wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

"What contract?" Alice asked, finally calmed down.

"When I joined the BPI I had signed a contract for recruitment for the next couple of years. I can't bale out on it, and I have to finish my term before I can finally settle down. So we have decided that once my term was up, I would come back and we would get married." I explained.

"So how long is your contract?" Esme asked.

"Well, now I'm down to 96 years." I said sheepishly.

"96 Years?" Alice sounded shock, as was the rest of the family. Only Alex was unfazed since he had the same deal. "But that's so long from now." she argued.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it. If I try to skip out on Ivan, he would send a team out to bring me back, and if that fail, put a price out on my head."

Edward tensed beside me and I gave him a comforting squeeze. The other seemed disturbed by this revelation.

"Don't get me wrong, Ivan is a really good guy. He wouldn't do that unless there was no other choice. It would be considered a last resort. But he believes that his organization is more important than just one person, and he won't sacrifice the organization just for some guilty feelings. He's heartless, but practical. And in the end, with a business like this, practicality is all that matters." I sated simply. It was true. In the past I had had to sacrifice my feelings of guilt and horror in order to get the job done.

Edward had claimed that he was the monster, but he didn't know what it truly meant to be a monster. He had killed people, but that was in need of food, not pleasure, while I had been paid to track down others that looked every bit as human as I did. And in some cases, I had even enjoyed dispatching the rouges. He wasn't a monster. I was. And to tell the truth, I enjoyed it.

"Well, there doesn't seem to be anything we can do." Esme said. I could hear the worried undertone in her voice. I knew she thought of me as a daughter, and I also thought of her as a mother, and I hoped that I wouldn't make her worries come true.

"And how do you know that you will even be alive by the time your contract is up?" Rosalie pointed out. She was answered by a growl from Edward and he pulled me tighter to his side.

"Oh lay off Edward. But it's true. There is a chance that she might be killed. Look at the predicament that we are in. She will have to deal with this kid of crap on a weekly basis. She is dealing with this on a weekly basis."

"That's enough Rose!" Edward yelled.

"No Edward." I said gently, laying my hand on his shoulder. "There is a chance that something might happen to me. In the four years that I've been with the BPI I have had injuries. Some worse than others. There is a chance, and there will always be one." I softly told him.

A somewhat pained expression passed across his face before he crushed me to his chest. His arms restricted around me and his face pressed up against my hair. I wrapped my own arms around his waist. It felt like he was trying to crush us into one being, so that we would never be apart again.

"I can't lose you Bella." He whispered against my hair. "Not after I just found you again. I will not let that happen." He promised, his voice determined.

"I know Edward." I said, pulling back just enough to see his face. "And I will try my best to stay alive. But some things I wont be able to promise." I said sadly, leaning my forehead against his.

He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. He nodded his head, either in acceptance or defiance I didn't know.

"Well cross that path when the time comes," Carlisle said, trying to lighten the mood. "Let's concentrate on something else."

Edward and I nodded in agreement and sat down on the chair, with me in his lap.

"Well I was thinking that tomorrow we would cover two on one attacks. That way you can avoid getting decapitated while busy with one opponent." I said.

"We couldn't have that now could we." Alex said humorously. I just glared at him.

Embarrassingly it was at that time that my body decided it was time for me to get a few hours of sleep. My mouth opened in a wide yawn that got the rest of the family smirking.

"Let's get you to bed." Edward whispered against my hair. Effortlessly he lifted me up in his arms, even though there was no need. He carried me up to my room. He put me back on my feet once he had closed the door behind him.

"I need a human moment." I said jokingly. He chuckled before motioning me to go ahead. I quickly grabbed a pair of pajamas out of the dresser. I found that while we were away Alice had taken the chance and had gone shopping; there was easily three times as much clothing in the dresser than there was when I first arrived.

I quickly headed to the adjoining bathroom and hopped into a hot shower. Lethargically I washed my hair with my strawberry scented shampoo. I was bombarded with memories of this exact same routine back when I was fully human. I found myself smiling at this.

I quickly shut off the water and dried myself off with the towel that was hanging on the rack on the opposite wall. I yanked a brush through my hair before drying it with the towel once more. I quickly brushed my teeth before finally coming out of the bathroom.

Edward was still waiting for me, sitting on the end of my bed. He had taken advantage of our time apart to dress into his own pair of pajamas. I raise one eyebrow questionably at the pair of flannel pajama pants with multicolored stripes running down them.

"Well, I didn't think it was fair that you got a cute pair of pajamas while I had nothing. " He said in his defense.

"Alice?" I asked.

"Yeah." He admitted sheepishly. Grinning I walked over and sat in his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. We sat there for a few moments, just content to hold each other. Eventually Edward pulled us both under the sheets, my body cradled against his.

I let out a content sight against the crook of his neck. He responded by leisurely kissing my own. His cool arms rubbed my back soothingly. He started to hum my lullaby against my skin, the vibrations of his voice lulling my deeper into sleep.

"I love you." I mumbled quietly.

"I love you too, my Bella." He whispered back.

And on that lovely note I finally fell asleep.

Aww! So no evil cliffhanger today! So review. I was very pleased with the number of responces I got for the last chapter and am very happy. thank you to all who have reviewd so far! I luv you!

Now do it again!