I groaned as the alarm from my cell blared at me. "No, I don't want to get up." I grabbed a pillow and crushed it over my head.

"Talking to it won't make it stop going off." The amusement in his voice was obvious, even with the yawn. "Just turn it off, and we'll take a day off." He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his chest.

"My cell phone's across the room. I'd have to get out of bed to turn it off." I buried my face in his chest to try to drown out the noise.

He attempted to get out of the bed. I clutched at him. "Where are you going?"

He chuckled, "I'm going to turn your alarm off."

I attempted to hold him in place. "Ignore it. It will go off in a few more seconds."

I was glad when he settled back into bed. I was close to sleep again when someone started banging on the wall. "Bella, you can't ignore your alarm. We have a class to go to."

Ugh, even muffled through the wall, Alice knew how to ruin my morning. I was almost growling, but Edward chuckled next to me. "What?" I propped myself up on my elbows to look at him.

"The walls aren't sound proof, it's good to know." I thought about all the reasons that it might be good to know such information and blushed. He swept his finger across my burning cheek. "You are so beautiful."

The statement made me bold. I leaned down and took possession of his lips. He tasted so sweet. It reminded me of honey and something that I couldn't place. When I kissed him, the most vivid images appeared before my eyes. Edward and I lying in the grass in a beautiful meadow, sunlight sparkling off his skin. Us dancing together surrounded by our closest family and friends. Little children with copper curls running in a little yard with a white picket fence.

"Isabella Marie Swan, if you do not get your butt out of that bed, I'm going to come in and get you." She was at the door now.

I sighed and let my lips part from Edward's. "I'll be out in a few minutes Alice. Now back away from the door."

I heard giggling and I turned back to look at Edward. He brushed my hair out of my face and kissed my forehead. "I guess we should get out of bed so Alice doesn't barge in and pull you from my arms."

The image would have been funnier if it hadn't been something she would actually try. I groaned and buried my face in the crook of his neck. "Couldn't you just make her disappear?"

He rubbed my arm soothingly, "She means well."

"I know that." I let out an exasperated sigh, "I just don't want to move."

He tightened his arms around my waist, "I agree, I'm quite comfortable at the moment."

Three loud knocks on the door interrupted the peaceful moment. I growled in Edward's ear and he chuckled. "We'll be out in a minute, Alice."

"Thank you Edward. Bella, you've got a lot of explaining to do."

Edward released me and we both crawled out of bed. I didn't bother going through the duffel for cloths yet. There was a good chance that Alice had brought something for me to wear.

I opened the door and could smell the coffee. Edward wasn't far behind me. Jasper offered me a mug which I graciously took. I looked at Alice and glared at Jasper when I was the mug in her hand. "It's decaf tea, I swear." He threw his hands up in the air defensively.

I nodded and leaned against the counter taking sips of the warm liquid. "So are you going to class, Bella?" Alice was bouncing next to me.

I turned my glare on her. I was not much of a morning person. "You dragged me out of bed to ask me if I was going to class."

"Yeah," she was looking at me like it was obvious, "Mrs. Blanton isn't going to like it if we skip class. You're already on her hit list."

I sighed, "I know." Then I stopped suddenly as a thought hit me. "How is it that she likes you? You were late that first day too."

Alice shrugged her tiny shoulders, "I think she's testing you."

"What time is it?"

"7:45" the velvet voice affected my body. It was amazing how his voice alone affected me. "We still have 45 minutes before we need to leave."

Alice jumped up and down clapping. "Perfect, that means I have time to make-up Bella."

"Alice, let me relax. I've had a long weekend."

"All the more reason to let me work on you. You need a pick-me-up."

"No, I need a hot shower and a few more nights of sleep."

"But I haven't seen you in nearly a week." The pouting that I knew she was doing, usually would have worked, but I was too tired.

"Alice," Jasper wrapped his arms around Alice's waist to try to stabilize her. "Let Bella have a few days to come down off her adventure." I grimaced at his choice of words, but I hoped Alice would accept.

She pouted out her lip more, but it was aimed at Jasper now. "Jazzy, you're not letting me have any fun."

In response, Jasper leaned down and whispered something in Alice's ear which she promptly doubled over giggling at. I figured that I didn't want to know.

While Jasper had Alice preoccupied, I snuck back into Edward's room to take a shower. But, as luck would have it, Emmett grabbed me at that moment. "Oh my God, lil 'sis. Tell me it's not true."

"Emmett, need to breath."

He dropped me, but kept his arms fully around me. "Sorry." He was looking at me more seriously than I thought he was capable of. "Please tell me that my little bro wasn't stupid enough to let you out of his sight. Tell me that he didn't let you get attacked."

I sighed. Overprotective big brother bear was on the loose. "Emmett relax." I cupped my hand to his cheek. "Edward didn't let me get attacked. He protected me."

He looked away from me. "He shouldn't have had to protect you. He should have prevented you from getting in that kind of a situation."

I shook my head. "He can't watch me every second of the day." I watched him as he glared at his brother. "Don't say anything to him. He's already really upset about it."

"He should be." There were tears in Emmett's eyes.

"Emmett, look at me." When he finally complied, I continued. "I'm safe now, that's all the matters."

"I know, it's just," a tear rolled down his cheek. How had these brothers wormed their way into my heart like this? "If we had lost you, I don't know what I would have done?"

I squeezed Emmett as tightly as I could. Tears were streaming down my cheeks now too. There was too much emotion to form words. I couldn't imagine how I had become so important to this burley man that he'd cry just at the thought of losing me. I had to hold on to him tightly. What had I done to deserve such amazing people in my life?

Emmett buried his face in my hair and chuckled, "You smell like my brother."

I wiped the tears off my face. "I was planning on taking a shower before class." Emmett squeezed me one last time before pushing me towards Edward's door.

I was pawing through my duffel choosing my outfit when Edward walked in. "My brother wasn't trying to steal you away from me again, was he?"

I looked up at him and shook my head. I must have still looked like I'd been crying because he gathered me up in his arms and began to feather kisses across my face and neck. "Are you okay? What happened?" He somehow managed to get the words out between kisses.

I didn't want to stop him, but I needed to stop the worry in his voice. I placed my hands on each side of his face and looked him the eyes. "I'm fine. It's just been a rather emotional morning. I just need to take a shower before I go to class"

He brought his lips to mine. There was a demand in his kiss. It was possessive. He was forcing all my concentration to remain with him. "You are not leaving the apartment today." He said it in such a way that left no room for argument. "I need you to stay right here."

He needed me to stay with him. I nodded weakly and leaned my forehead against his. He breathed deeply. "I'm going to go tell Alice to make up an excuse for you. You can take a shower, you can go back to bed, I don't care. Just please, stay with me."

His pleading eyes did me in. Any thought of class was gone. Just as I'd told Esme, as long as he wanted me, I'd be around. Apparently, I was speaking for both her sons. "I'll stay." It came out as a whisper.

He kissed my forehead and placed his forehead back against mine. "Thank you."

After a few more minutes of just standing in each other's embrace, he left the room to find Alice. I still desperately needed a shower. I turned to the bathroom as soon as my thought began to organize. I turned the shower on as hot as my skin would stand. I stood in the shower letting the water run over my body until every muscle had eased. I lost all track of time.

The bathroom door opening brought me back to reality. "Hey, do you need anything?" I could hear the concern in Edward's voice. I wondered how long I had actually taken.

"A towel would be nice."

He chuckled, it sounded like he was relieved. I wondered again how long I'd been in here. It had been long enough for the water to lose a bit of its warmth. "I'm leaving it on the counter out here."

"Thanks." When I heard the door close again, I turned off the water. Peeking out the shower to make sure that he'd actually left, I grabbed the towel and wrapped it around my body.

Looking in the mirror, I was reminded of how plain I was. I couldn't imagine how someone as plain as me had ended up here. I was in the bathroom of a guy, no a god, I'd fallen head-over-heels for, and somehow, he was waiting for me on the other side of the door with similar feeling for me.

Taking a deep breath, I left the bathroom. I had completely forgotten to grab clothes after the conversation with Edward. My modesty caused a blush the moment he saw me. He was sprawled out across his bed, and I wanted so badly to join him, but I needed to find something to wear first. I found a pair of sweats and a t-shirt in the duffel. I took them to the bathroom and changed into them quickly.

I looked into the mirror again. The drowsiness had taken back over. My eyes were half closed and I was hunched over slightly with the weight of the morning. I just wanted to curl up in Edward's arms and go back to sleep.

I couldn't stand much longer, so I left the bathroom and headed straight for the bed.

Edward wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest. He kissed my forehead and combed through my hair with his fingers. "Relax my Bella." The constant rhythm of his breathing lulled me to a state of near unconsciousness. Before I was deeply under, I thought I heard him say something like 'I love you,' but I figured my imagination was getting out of control.