Thanks for the reviews! They're very encouraging :) I'm glad you're enjoying my story.

To h, who asked about my updates, I don't have a schedule, but I do a minimum of two updates per week, usually during the week. I've been trying to do more, but I've run out of pre-written material, so I'm working purely off my outline, so it's taking me a little longer to update than it was in the beginning.

The plot is mine, but that's all.

My Monday evening was pretty typical for me, albeit busier than usual. My semester was coming to a close, and I needed to get going on my creative writing essays. I hadn't even attempted to get any of my school work done since Thursday. Edward had kept me otherwise occupied, not that I had minded. He had promised he would try to stop by after he got out of work evening to see if he could help me more with my math. We hadn't made any particularly specific plans, but we did loosely try to schedule time to see each other almost every day. Unfortunately, some of that time would be spent at work, for me. We both had other things going on, obligations beyond just our working schedule.

I had thought this would have made me unhappy somehow, but as it turned out I enjoyed myself. I began to savor the time I actually got to spend with Edward, no matter what we were doing. Of course I looked forward to it each time, and we always had to part too soon for my liking, but it was working out well for us. We had developed a kind of routine. We had our good morning text, whatever opportunity to see each other during the day, and our evening phone call. Other than the fact that I wasn't actually with him, our evening phone calls were growing to be my favorite part of my day. We spent them essentially playing twenty questions. We learned so much about each other that way. Sometimes the conversations were silly, other times they got pretty heavy.

I found out about his parents, Carlisle and Esme. Edward described both of them as the most caring and compassionate people in the world. Carlisle was a doctor at the hospital, and he was devoted to his job. Edward even told me that he had been offered a promotion, but he declined because he wouldn't work with the patients as much. Esme was an interior decorator, but she had mostly stayed home when he and Jasper were young. The way he described his mother reminded me of my relationship with Mrs. Masen, which he heard all about. However between hearing the closeness of his family, and sharing some stories of my own childhood, the pangs of longing for my own family had surfaced. I didn't let the emotion get the best of me, but I'm fairly certain that Edward had figured it out anyway.

In other conversations, Edward heard stories of some of my clumsiest moments. He didn't believe me when I told him how many times I had broken or sprained some part of my body until I started recounting some of the events to him. After five different stories of injuries from walking on stairs, he laughed an conceded, saying that he believed me after all. In return he told me stories of various injuries he and Jasper had given each other. The first time they had played mini-golf Jasper had been standing behind Edward and ended up getting hit in the face with the club, because Edward thought you swung the same way the professional golfers did on TV. Ironically he missed the ball entirely. Edward ended up having to get stitches when his teeth went through his bottom lip, because Jasper had once convinced him that they should sled down the stairs in their house.

We also found out that the first movie either of us remember going to see in theaters was the Lion King. Edward's first concert had been Third Eye Blind, although he didn't understand really any of what their songs meant at the time. I told him he should be grateful that he got to pick his, mine had been Sheryl Crow, purely because she had been performing at the state festival that we had gone to. He had loved Scooby Doo growing up, I had been more of a Rugrats fan. His favorite color was teal, and I had blurted out green when he asked me mine – I had been thinking about his eyes at the time. I quickly added that I also really liked purple, which actually is my favorite color.

Depending on how busy each of us were, the phone calls could last a long time. I often found myself on the phone until I could no longer hold my eyelids open. The week went by quickly, and soon it was Friday. I had seen Edward every day except Thursday. We had wanted to have lunch together, but our breaks just didn't match up. He didn't even have time to stop by after work because Thursdays were mandatory rehearsal for the band. We had plans for Friday, Edward was planning something and was being relatively secretive about it. I had planned talking to him when he was very tired Thursday night to get him to spill the beans, but I ended up falling asleep before he called. All I knew was that wherever we were going was "out in the country" and involved a long car ride.

Edward came to pick me up earlier than I had expected. I had actually just gotten out of shower when he was ringing the bell. Panicking I buzzed him in, pulling on some underwear and throwing on my bathrobe before unlocking the door to let him in.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you quite so early," I blushed

"Uhh," He stuttered, clearly trying not to stare, "I'm sorry, I should have- I should have called to make sure you'd be ready."

"It's ok," I said, "I'll just be a minute." He came in and I shut the door behind him. I grabbed my pile of clothes and went into the bathroom to change, "So I don't suppose coming early and seeing me almost naked has earned me an explanation of what we're doing today?"

"Hmmm," he mumbled, "Well I want to show one of my favorite places, from when I was growing up. And we'll be outside. But don't worry, we're supposed to have good weather."

I grumbled from the bathroom, "That wasn't much help. Do I need to bring anything?"

"Mmm, nope!"

I sighed as I came out of the bathroom, brushing my hair, "You're useless you know. Didn't tell me a thing."

He got up and kissed my forehead, "Don't worry Bella, I'll take care of you," he grinned at me, "Shall we?" I put my brush down and nodded my head, grabbing my purse. We were soon on our way in Edward's Volvo. The ride was pretty quite, and there was a lot of yawning when we first started out. Edward still didn't tell me exactly where we were going, but he told me about the small town he had grown up in, Forks. He told me all about how he had met Jacob and Seth, who lived on the nearby Reservation. As it turned out, he and Jacob had once been rivals. It was Jasper, and one of the older boys on the reservation, who had unintentionally brought them together. They had been planning dangerous pranks on each other, and Jacob and Edward had both tagged along to stop them. Things ended up in a fight and the two of them had joined together to end it, and came out friends.

When we got to Forks, Edward pointed out various inconsequential things as we drove by, like the only hotel in the whole city, indicating how small the city really was. I couldn't fathom growing up in such a small place and knowing everyone, the way Edward described. I was so used to city life, that it seemed like such a foreign concept to me. We ended up going down a dirt paved road, and we were surrounded by trees. When Edward ended up pulling off to the side and turning off the car, I was so confused.

"Oh god, you're gonna kill me and dump the body here aren't you? That's why you wouldn't tell me where we were going, you didn't want me telling anyone so they wouldn't be able to come look for me."

"What?" Edward asked, eyebrow raised, laughing at me, "Why would you think that?"

"Well we're in the middle of nowhere and there's no one around for miles, what else would you bring me here for?"

Edward shook his head, "Bella you're ridiculous. C'mon," he said getting some stuff out of the trunk, "we've got a bit of a hike."

"A hike? So you're going to force me to walk deep into the forest to my own death? What's in that basket anyway? The murder weapon?"

He let out a heavy sigh, "Ok Bella, I'll ruin the surprise. This," he wiggled the basket, "This is a picnic basket. And inside of it," he lifted the top, "Is food. For us to eat. And we are going on a bit of a hike to get to the place where we shall enjoy said food. It is one of my favorite places in all of Forks, and I want to share it with you."

I looked into the basket for myself, "Ok. I believe you. Let's go."

"Bella you are ridiculous," He shook his head at me, but led the way, "This way. Let me know if you need help, or if you want to stop or anything." I nodded my head and followed along. We went up a path I hadn't seen previously. It winded through the forest, going up a slight incline, but the way was mostly clear and easy to get through. Edward was ahead of me and he stopped, about twenty feet away. As I looked up at him, it looked as if he were glowing. Where he was standing there sun shining through an opening in the trees, he looked angelic.

"C'mon then, it's right through here," he said, offering his hand out to me. I made my way up to him, placing my hand in his. I gasped as we stepped through the clearing, it was one of the most beautiful sites I had ever seen.

"Wow," I said softly, "I wish I had my camera." Next thing I knew Edward was placing one of my smaller digital cameras in my palm. Not one of my favorites, but I was grateful to have it none the less. I gave Edward was questioning glance, a smile tugging on my cheeks.

"I grabbed it when you were in the bathroom. I thought you might want it," he answered my unasked question. I moved closer to him, my body skimming his as I pressed a kiss to his lips. It was a brief kiss, and I began snapping shots as soon as I pulled away. I could feel Edward's eyes on me, following me as I moved around. I felt exposed, I'd never really had anyone this curious about watching me work. I was oddly ok with it. I stood in the middle of the meadow, staring at all the beauty surrounding me. Edward's arms wrapped around my waist from behind.

"I thought you would like it," he whispered in my ear.

"It's beautiful," I sighed out, "I can see why it's one of your favorite places."

"It always calmed me to come here. Everything was always so peaceful, and I could just sit and get lost in all of it. Anytime I was having a hard time, I would come here. I've never taken anyone here before," he spoke softly, and I watched the various emotions cross his face.

"I," I started, "I don't know what to say. I'm honored."

Edward cupped my face in his hands, placing kisses on my cheeks, and forehead, each one causing my heart to flutter. He placed his hands on my hips, as his lips grazed mine. A soft moan came out of my throat, and he pressed down on my hips as he pulled away from me.

"We should eat," he said, sitting on the ground below. I followed his lead, as he opened up the picnic basket, handing me a bottle of water. He took out some cheese and crackers, fruit, and some meat.

"How cliché, yet very romantic," I said to him, "the only things we're missing is the wine."

He chuckled, "I wasn't sure what kind of wine you like, and I'm no good at picking it out for myself. But the thought had crossed my mind."

"Well I appreciate the thought, but water is just fine with me," I said with a giggle.

We sat and ate lunch, talking, and kissing in the sun, enjoying the afternoon. We had been there about two hours when Edward said we should get going. Knowing he was right, I agreed and we packed up and head back to the Volvo. The trip took less time getting back through the forest. The ride back to Seattle was much more lighthearted. We joked, trying to make each other laugh as much as possible. Edward brought me to Pike Place, insisting that I get my weekly shopping trip done. When we got back to my apartment Edward got a call from Jasper while we were putting away my groceries.

"Yeah," he said into the phone, "I'll ask her," then he turned to me, "Hey Bella, are you interested in coming to our place to watch a movie with Jasper and his girlfriend? Maybe get some pizza?"

I shrugged, "Sure why not? What movie is it?" He asked Jasper.

"He says he's not sure, some chick flick. He's very grateful, he doesn't want to watch it alone."

"Ok. Sounds good," I said, putting the last few things away. I heard Edward tell Jasper that we'd pick up the pizza on our way and that we would see them soon.

"Alice is very excited to meet you," Edward said, "I hope you're prepared."

"Prepared? What exactly should I be prepared for?"

Edward just laughed and shook his head, "Alice, just Alice. Be prepared. I'm not sure how to best describe her. She's quite, um, energetic."

"Energetic? Right, ok, I can handle that," I said, Edward leading us out of the apartment.

"I think you'll like her, I know she'll like you. She's very friendly," Edward explained, opening the car door for me.

"Well good, I guess. I'm looking forward to it. Should be a fun night."

"I hope so," Edward smiled at me, and we were on our way.

Ohhh I'm excited about Bella and Alice meeting, aren't you? Thanks for reading! I love getting feedback from Reviews.

Also, on an unrelated note, I have a new story idea brewing. I don't know if I'll start it until I'm farther along with this one, but keep your eyes peeled.