Chapter 11 – Learning to Communicate

The wolves had been trying their very best to deal with the presence of vampires around their imprints and tribesmen all day, but there was absolutely no way they were going to be able to get any sleep in any of the Cullen's bedrooms, laying on sheets and mattresses saturated in the sickly sweet scent. And that was assuming they had beds at all…

"Perhaps it would be better if we all returned to La Push for the night," Sam gently suggested.

"SM was rather insistent," Alice reminded them, "that we all remain here, and not make any significant decisions until we've read through all the books."

Jared knew what Sam was actually concerned about, and decided to just be up front about it, "It's not that we want to leave," he assured her, trying to be diplomatic about it, "We are just going to have some difficulty sleeping surrounded by your scents."

Luckily Bella foresaw this issue and spoke with Esme long before Sam brought it up.

"Don't worry about that," Bella jumped in, "Esme and I already discussed everything. There's a foldout couch in Carlisle's office that has never been used and should be free of vampire scents. Sam and Emily, you are welcome to stay in there. There's also a large futon in Esme's study that no one uses, that should be long enough for you to sleep on Paul. And Jasper's study has a fairly large open space, which we can set up the large blow-up mattress in for Kim and Jared. It's brand new, and you can set it up yourself so there won't be any unpleasant scents there."

Billy was thoroughly surprised that Bella would have considered this potential discomfort. How had she even known that the wolves would want their own space without the Cullen's scents present?

Esme was showing the wolves to their desired spaces, and Bella continued speaking to the others, "Harry and Sue, you can stay in Carlisle and Esme's bedroom. Old Quil, you are welcome to use Rosalie and Emmett's room. Jacob, you and Billy can stay in Alice and Jasper's room. And this couch in the living room folds out as well, so Ch- Dad, you can stay down here."

Most everyone seemed to accept her proposed arrangement, and Alice led them upstairs to get settled in. Edward remained by Bella's side in the living room with her father after everyone else had gone, knowing he was displeased with something.

"And where will you be sleeping Bella?" Charlie demanded, having deduced precisely where his teenage daughter thought she would be spending the night, and not happy about it in the slightest.

"Edward's room, of course," Bella answered, clearly missing the tension building in the room.

"I don't think I'm comfortable with you sharing a room with your boyfriend," Charlie replied, making an obvious effort to keep his voice calm.

Bella looked shocked for about ten seconds, before she started howling with laughter, "Oh Dad," she spoke through her amusement, "First off, Edward won't be in his room tonight. In case you haven't noticed, most of the family has already slipped out. Edward will be joining them shortly, so they can all hunt tonight. Having humans and wolves in the house is hard on them and they need to get away and feed. But even if he was staying Dad, it wouldn't be a problem."

Charlie went to interrupt, but Edward spoke first, for once actually knowing where Bella was going with this, "I have spent nearly every night with your daughter for the past year Charlie, and I understand you might not be overly thrilled to hear that, but I can assure you that nothing inappropriate has ever transpired under your roof, or anywhere else for that matter. I would never disrespect Bella that way."

Charlie had no idea how to respond to that, "You mean… You're not, you haven't…" he sputtered in his surprise, but the tense lines in his brow eased some.

"Edward and I are both virgins," Bella answered honestly, her face flaming red at having this conversation with her father, especially given at least a few of their guests could likely hear every word, even from their place upstairs, "And when the time comes for us to change that status, it won't be in a crowded house full of supernatural creatures with enhanced hearing and sense of smell," she added with a slight shudder.

Edward had to agree that the thought of making love to his mate while the wolves listened in sounded very uncomfortable, even if a small part of him craved to stake his claim in that way.

Charlie still seemed mildly unnerved at the thought of his little girl sleeping in her boyfriend's bed, or couch in this case, but he understood that it was a matter of space available, and that he wasn't going to win that fight regardless. So, with a defeated sigh, and a silent threat to kick Edward's sparkly, vampire ass if he tried any funny business, he nodded his agreement and started making up the fold out couch for the night.

"Come on, love," Edward took Bella's hand and they made their way up to his bedroom.

They passed Alice on the way and she said simply, "We'll wait for you in the baseball clearing. Take whatever time you need," and then she danced back downstairs and out the door.

"Apparently Alice thinks we need to talk," Bella teased as they entered his room and he softly closed the door behind them.

"She's probably right," Edward admitted.

"Alice is always right," Bella reminded him, laughing, "And after everything that happened yesterday, and then today, I'm not surprised. So, should I go first or would you like to?"

Normally Bella would not have been so forward about this. She would have avoided the problem, and done her best to keep from starting a confrontation of any kind, especially with Edward. But SM's words kept running through her mind over and over again, and Bella had come to the inescapable conclusion that whatever their mystery friend was trying to prevent, lack of communication would only make things worse. Alice seemed to agree, and honestly Bella knew they were both right. She and Edward needed to talk, about everything, and really delve into their issues if they were going to survive this mess as a couple.

"Why don't you go first," Edward offered, trying to put off the inevitable a bit longer.

"Ok," she agreed easily enough, rummaging through the bag Alice had retrieved for her, looking for something to sleep in, "I kept a huge part of my past a secret from you and your family, even after you told me everything about what you are and what you've done. I would understand if you were mad about that," she met his eyes, letting him see she was being completely sincere, "And I am truly sorry for not telling you before. I honestly can't say whether I ever would have told you everything if SM hadn't forced my hand. But it was never about trust," she assured him when he frowned at her admission, "I love you, and I trust you with my life, with my father's life. You are everything to me, and I don't want you to think that any of this changes that for me."

Edward heard the unspoken question, 'Does this change things for you? Do you still love me, knowing what you do now?', even if her mind stayed stubbornly silent.

He pulled her into a tight embrace as he responded, "I don't understand why you felt you couldn't tell me," he began, sounding sad, "But nothing has changed for me either. I love you now as much as, if not more than, I did before. You are passionate and loyal, curious and persistent, brave and resilient. You are an absolute marvel to me, love, and I couldn't imagine ever being with anyone else. You are my life now, and nothing you tell me will ever change that."

She relaxed into his arms, taking comfort in his words as he held her close and placed soft kisses atop her head.

"As for what happened yesterday," Bella began again, consciously making an effort to keep her voice much softer since the rest of their guests were still unaware of the birthday incident, "I should probably talk to Jasper later, but I need you to know that I'm not upset with him, or you, at all. I don't blame him. I'm not angry, and I'm not afraid. I'm sure he's feeling more than a little guilty right now, and with everything that's been thrown at us today, I haven't been able to talk to him yet, but he needs to know I'm fine and we're all good."

Edward knew that she would react like this. His Bella was likely too forgiving and understanding for her own good, but he was still relieved that she wasn't upset with him or his brother. Jasper had been distraught this morning when he thought that he had driven her away, and he was glad that wasn't the case.

"I'll tell him, love," he promised her, "And you two can find a time tomorrow to talk about it too if you want. Jasper will be very happy to hear that you're not upset with him."

She was very quiet for a moment after that, and Edward found himself trying to meet her eyes as she sat, deep in thought. He really wanted to know what was going through her head just then, so finally he asked, "What's wrong?"

"You're not upset with me, are you?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper, "About last night I mean. The party, the papercut, Jasper… I should have been more careful. I know how hard it is for all of you, but especially for you and Jasper. I was careless, and I can't help thinking that this whole thing with SM is somehow because of last night. I, I just need to know you're not angry with me. Please…" she finally stopped rambling, turning her big, brown, tear-filled eyes on him.

He was completely thrown for a loop in that moment. She thought that he would be upset with her because she accidentally cut her finger at her birthday party, his brother attacked her, and he threw her through a table and a stack of glass plates.

She was hurt. She could have been killed. And she wasn't upset at all. But she thought he would be angry with her? Edward was completely baffled.

"Hey," he took her chin in his hand and turned her to face him, kissing her lightly, "I'm not upset. It was an accident; it wasn't your fault. I'm just so glad you weren't hurt worse."

She smiled a small, sad smile, and laughed a soft, watery laugh in response, "When you've been through the things I've been through, a papercut and a couple of stitches doesn't even register. It was nothing. Things could have been so much worse, but they weren't. I'm fine. You're fine. Jasper's fine. The family is safe."

"And this thing with SM?" he asked her.

"She told us that she wanted to keep you from making a mistake," Bella said quietly, and he could practically hear the gears turning in her mind, "And the fact that she sent them the morning after my birthday has to mean something. So, if I had to guess, you were more affected by what happened than you've let on, and you were planning to do something drastic in response, something that would hurt both us and the family, and something SM desperately wants to keep you from doing. I don't know what you were planning, and you don't have to tell me right now if you don't want to, but promise me you won't do anything until we've finished reading. Can you do that? Just promise me that you'll see what she's trying to warn us about before you do anything, please…"

After everything he'd learned about her, and everything he'd seen her say and do, he shouldn't have been surprised that she'd basically put the pieces together without him saying anything, but he was still shocked to hear her pleading with him this way. She hadn't said what she was afraid he would do, but she actually did sound afraid, for the first time since he'd known her.

"Please don't leave me," he heard her broken whisper a moment later as her eyes fell closed and a single tear ran down her cheek.

She knew.

Somehow, Bella knew what he'd been planning. She likely didn't understand why, but she knew that he'd been planning to leave, and just the thought of it was clearly hurting her. So, for the second time today, Edward found himself swearing never to make that mistake.

"I promise you Bella," he said, holding her close to his chest as he spoke into her ear, his voice thick with emotion, "I promise I will never leave you. I was a fool to ever even consider it, and I swear to you I will never make that mistake again. I'll not leave your side until you order me away; you have my word."

She held on to him as though he was the most important thing in her world, as she silently cried herself to sleep, and he held her in his arms, gently soothing her fears and reassuring himself that they would never lose one another.

And just before she fell asleep, he swore he heard her soft voice echoing through the room, "Love you Edward."

A/N: I hope you liked this little peek into the ever evolving couple's dynamic that is Bella and Edward in this AU. Next chapter, we just might get a look at one of Bella's dreams... As always, thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your reviews. :)