Ok… here it is!!! I have to say this chapter is for two people. The first is for Kim who told me "If you write it, they will cum..er come." You waited a long time for this chapter so this is for you! And for Mel, who is so in love with Mr. Jasper Whitlock. So proud of you graduating baby!!! :o)

I had endured a month of Esme's nursing services basically unscathed. I mean we argued – mostly when she would have rude ass comments about my choice of underwear, or as she called them, "Satan's undergarments." And I sort of flew off the handle when she decided to rearrange all of my kitchen cabinets to make it easier for her. But, for the most part I pretended to sleep while she pillaged through our things.

Dr. Michaels had just released me back to normal everyday activities, and although that meant that I would still be in a walking boot, it also meant that Esme's ass would be leaving. Praise the Lord.

"When is your mom leaving?" I asked as I looked over my shoulder at the front door. As Edward shoved the last of Esme's suitcases in the back of her car, I wondered why someone needed five suitcases for a month. It was beyond me.

He pulled the trunk down and said, "She said she was going to wait until Yadira comes by. She arranged for her to come clean the house before she leaves."

"Edward," I said, starting to interrupt him, but he cut me off.

"Bella, she really wants to help. Just please let her do it." When I nodded, he smiled and leaned down kissing the tip of my nose. I knew this had been difficult for him. He had tried to keep the peace between both of us and not take sides.

I sighed as his thumbs traced down the side of my cheeks and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was. The two of us would finally, FINALLY, be alone again. No more Esme checking up on us ten times a night. No more being worried that his mother would walk in on us. FINALLY there would be sex again. Dirty, hot, make-your-toes-curl kind of sex. But before either of us could get more than a chaste kiss we were interrupted by a loud engine and someone yelling.

"FREE AT LAST! THANK GOD ALMIGHTY YOU ARE FREE AT LAST!" Alice yelled as she stuck her head out of the window of Jasper's 1956 corvette.

I jerked my head to indicate that Esme's car was still in the driveway, but Alice didn't notice. As she jumped out of the car singing the words to "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead," I groaned, hoping to God that Esme didn't hear her.

"No more crutches! No more bed rest! No more mother in law!" Alice stopped and stared at the front door, a look of amusement and not one trace of embarrassment on her face. "Well it's nice to see you Mrs. Cullen."

"Fuck." I whispered under my breath. Alice and Esme had been in an altercation twice before. The first one happened at our engagement party my parent's had thrown, and the second was about thirty minutes before the wedding started.

I looked back at Esme, who was still standing on our front porch with a look of utter disgust on her face.

Edward thankfully interceded as he sided up to Alice and draped an arm around her shoulder. "Mom, you remember Alice and Jasper, don't you?"

Esme looked between Alice and Edward and merely nodded her head. "What a surprise," she said with her signature fake smile.

"Alice is taking Bella to lunch with Emmett's fiancé while Jasper and I go help Ben," Edward explained as Alice continued to glare at Esme.

I could see the gears in Alice's mind turning. She was going from the normal, nice-Alice, to bitch-Alice that could rip your throat out.

"Well Mrs. Cullen," A deep southern accent drawled. "It has been too long since we've seen each other."

Four sets of eyes turned to Jasper who was sauntering up to the front porch. Jasper Whitlock was like kryptonite to Esme Cullen. She was sucked in by his Southern gentleman charm and easy going nature. All Jasper had to do was send one of his lazy smiles her way and she was putty in his hands. If it wasn't so disgusting it might have been funny.

"Jasper, now this is a pleasant surprise. Have you gotten taller?" Esme asked, holding her hand out as Jasper reached the porch.

"No Ma'am," he said, making sure to lay his accent on extra thick.

Both Alice and I looked at each other as he took one of her hands and kissed it before winking at her. I bit my lip to keep from laughing while Alice just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Bella come on. Let's go before I punch someone in the throat." Alice grabbed my purse before looking at Edward and saying, "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," he replied, giving her a quick hug before turning back to me. "And you behave yourself."

"Me?" I asked with a playful smile. "What do you think I am going to do?" I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as he gently lifted me up to him.

"You just need to know that I have plans for you tonight, so don't wear yourself out with lunch or shopping or whatever it is Alice is going to drag you into." He shot me a look that told me he wasn't joking around. Had I not been in our driveway with his mother and our friends less than ten feet away, I would have ripped his clothes off and let him take me right there in front of the house. I could feel my cheeks starting to burn as he gave me a quick kiss and set me back on the ground.

"If you are teasing me, just know I will hurt you," I said, narrowing my eyes at him and trying my best to look threatening. He only smiled and opened the car door for me.

I got into the car and watched as Alice moved the driver's seat as close as she could to the steering wheel. She still had to sit on the edge of the seat to really reach the pedals.

"Ready?" she asked. I nodded, and she smiled and put the car in reverse, making the gears grind. Jasper, who had still been talking with Esme, looked back at us and lowered his sunglasses down his nose. Alice simply waved and backed out of our driveway, gunning it as soon as she hit the street.

Alice drove like a bat out of hell in Jasper's car, and we reached the restaurant much faster than we should have. She blamed it on the car, and the fact that it was just made to go faster than the legal speed limit. It was a wonder that she hadn't gotten a speeding ticket, but then again, the last three she received had been dismissed. She knew exactly what to say to Charlie to get them taken care of. Her little sweet and innocent routine always worked on him.

During lunch, Rosalie begged Alice to help her plan her wedding, though begging wasn't really necessary. Alice didn't need an excuse to boss people around. She also asked me if I would be a bridesmaid, and I was touched.

We were a little surprised that Rosalie and Emmett had decided to get married in May, not leaving a lot of time for preparation. But nothing could stop Alice from getting everything taken care of.

"Well, let's see. We will need to get your dress, the bridesmaid's dresses, the photographer and the location settled first," Alice said as she began scribbling in a notebook.

Rosalie nodded but twisted her hands in her lap. She kept shooting me nervous looks while Alice continued to ramble on and on about colors and fabric choices.

When Alice's cell phone started ringing I leaned into Rosalie and asked, "Are you ok? You seem a little distracted."

"Bella, I… I need to ask you a question," Rosalie whispered.

I nodded my head, hoping whatever it was didn't involve sex and my brother.

"Well, my best friend from back home is going to be my maid of honor, and that means I'll have two bridesmaids," she started.

I nodded my head wondering where the hell she was going with this.

"Well, Emmett is going to ask Edward to be his best man, but he thinks it would be a really nice gesture for Jacob to be a groomsman too."

Oh hell.

"If you are against it, I can tell Emmett that it won't work…" Rosalie said, but trailed off once she saw the hesitation on my face.

"Rosalie, no," I began, shaking my head and smiling at her. "This is your wedding. If Emmett wants Jacob to be in the wedding then we can make it work. And I'm sure it would mean a lot to my parents."

"I just don't want a fight at the wedding. Emmett told me about what happened with Edward's mother at yours."

"There won't be a fight at the wedding," Alice said, rejoining the conversation. "Edward knows better, and Jacob Black is scared to death of me."

Rosalie laughed, but I could tell she was still nervous. She probably didn't really believe that Alice could in fact scare a grown man three times her size, but it was true. Alice scared the shit out of several grown men – Jacob, Edward, and Emmett to name a few.

"Now Rosalie, how do you feel about the color coral?" Alice asked as she started writing in her notebook again. After a few more wedding details had been nailed down, I rode with Alice back to my house.

"Bella you will be gorgeous in that color! And I need you to help me talk to Edward about letting them use one of his original songs for the wedding. It will just be so much more personal," she said, speeding through my neighborhood.

I only nodded as she continued listing things we would need to do. When we pulled into my empty driveway and opened the front door, we both stopped and stared at the room in front of us.

"Am I at the right house?" I asked in a loud whisper. The room looking nothing like it did when I left the house this afternoon.

Alice walked past the foyer and looked into the living room. "Oh hell…"

Her purse dropped onto the floor as her hands flew over her mouth.

I stared at her, hoping there wasn't a dead body on the floor, but when she picked up her bag and started trying to push me back out of the house I decided I needed to see it for myself. I shoved my way past her and as when I saw what my living room had been turned into I opened my mouth to scream, but absolutely no sound came out.

It was like someone had thrown up floral patterns all over my living room. My leather couches and rustic wooden tables had been replaced with a hideous pink and red floral couch, and the new end tables were covered in white lace. My windows were covered in tacky, baby pink drapes.

"Did you hire someone with really bad taste to redecorate your house?" Alice asked quietly while moving through the living room taking in all of the differences. "Edward wouldn't do this, would he?"

I shook my head, and when my eyes fell upon the god awful crystal vase that had been given to us by Tanya, I knew that only one person would have done this. Esme-fucking-Cullen.

I started shaking, and as I sunk into the couch my head started spinning. "Esme," I said, glaring at the vase that had been brought from the china cabinet and put on display on the mantel in the living room. "No one else would have done this."

I closed my eyes and concentrated on not puking. How could she do this? I mean I knew Esme was crazy, but to totally redecorate our house without talking to us? That was beyond crazy – it was insane! She was really fucking insane!

I heard the front door open and felt someone sink onto the couch next to me.

"I think she might be in shock," Alice said in a quiet voice.

"Bella? Are you ok?" Jasper asked while gently shaking my arm.

I blinked slowly and looked at him. "She redecorated my living room."

He gave me a tentative smile and said, "We can redo it Bella."

"My wedding gifts are gone. The silver picture frame my grandmother gave me is gone."

Alice looked around the room and when she had a sharp intake of breath I spun around and looked at her.

"What?" I asked, looking between her and Jasper, but he looked just as confused as I was.

"Your great grandfather's end table is gone," she said in a low, calm voice.

I pushed myself away from the couch and looked around the room frantically. When I noticed that it was not there, I hobbled through the entire house, hoping and praying that she hadn't been that stupid. I heard Jasper and Alice following behind me, and when the last of the closets had been searched, I felt a sob starting to build in my chest.

"Where is Edward?" I asked, slamming the closet door shut.

I rounded on Jasper, and he looked nervously between Alice and me and said, "Um, he had some errands to run."

I fisted my shaking hands and said, "Please call him. Have him call his fucking mother to find out where my table is," I said as Jasper dumbly nodded. "And then tell him he needs to come home. Now."

I left Jasper and Alice standing there and walked back into the living room. As I passed through the kitchen I grabbed the trash can. I dropped it next to the window, and although I knew it was extremely stupid I crawled onto the couch and starting ripping the hideous curtains down. The sound of fabric tearing made me feel slightly better.

"Bella!" I heard Alice yell at me as I threw the curtains in the trash. "What are you doing? You could fall and break your leg again!"

I ignored her and continued grabbing the fabric I could reach. I pulled as hard as I could.

"Jasper!" She yelled as she stood behind me in case I fell.

I heard him walk up behind me and before I knew what he was doing, he picked me up and pulled me off the couch. "Bella, I know you are mad and upset, but if you fall and hurt yourself again it will only make things worse."

Ignoring his warnings, I asked if he had gotten a hold of Edward.

"I couldn't get a hold of Edward, but I called Esme. She donated your things to Goodwill," he said.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Alice yelled from behind me.

"I need the keys," I said, holding my hand out.

Jasper shook his head, and instead of giving me the keys he said, "Come on, I'll drive you."

I grabbed my purse and walked as fast as I could outside. "Why are you in Edward's car?" I asked, looking back at Jasper.

"I'll explain later. Just get in." Jasper walked past me and opened the car door for me.

I frowned at his lack of explanation, but got in the car anyway. Alice called from the front door that she would get rid of as much Esme's disgusting floral additions as she could while we were gone.

"It will be fine Bella. We will go and explain what happened and get your stuff back," Jasper said in a calming voice.

"I don't care about the couches and the rugs. I don't even care about all the wedding gifts she just gave away. I just want my end table back before my mom finds out and kills me." I bit my bottom lip nervously. "Her grandfather made that with his own hands."

He nodded but didn't say anything. That was one of the best things about Jasper. He knew when to talk, and when to just offer silent support.

When we arrived at the Goodwill store Jasper helped me out of the car. When we walked into the store, my eyes immediately began scanning the store for my table.

"Can I help you?" the saleswoman asked, but I walked past her and began looking through the furniture around the store. I ignored the other people shopping and muttered hurried apologies when I bumped into them. The more I looked and didn't see anything, the more panicked I became.

"Jasper it isn't here," I shouted from the back of the store. I took a deep breath to keep myself from crying. When he didn't respond, I turned to look back towards the front of the store and saw him arguing with a very short and balding man.

I started making my way back towards the front of the store and saw that sitting in between the two of them was my table.

"My table!" I said, smiling and clapping excitedly as I reached the two of them. "Oh thank you so much!"

I hugged Jasper's arm and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I hate to break it to you Miss, but I just bought this table. So technically it is mine," The short man said, shooting an annoyed glance at Jasper then back to me.

"No, no, no. You don't understand," I said quickly. "This table was hand made by my great grandfather, and my crazy mother in law donated it without my consent. I really need this table back because it is a family heirloom."

I looked at him pleadingly but he just shook his head. "I just bought this as a wedding gift, so I am sorry," he said, picking up the table. As he walked around Jasper and me, he said, "Now if you will excuse me."

I grabbed his arm and shook my head. "Sir, please. Please – I will pay you whatever you want. Double or triple what you just paid for it. Just please let me have my table back."

He shook my arm off of his causing me to topple backwards into Jasper. "Lady I am not selling you this table. Now back off!"

I grabbed the legs of the table as Jasper tried to move around me. I yanked on the legs, refusing to let this asshole leave this store with my table. I mean who the hell buys a wedding gift at the fucking Goodwill?

"Bella, let go and let me handle this," Jasper said, trying to pry my hands off the legs of the table. I ignored him and pulled the table towards me.

"This is my table!" the man shouted, pulling the table back towards him.

By this point, the saleswoman and several other customers had gathered around the three of us. My once quiet pleadings had turned into me screaming at the man holding my table hostage, him yelling at me to back off, and Jasper trying desperately to defuse the situation.

"If you do not let go of this table I will hit you. I swear to God I will!" I screamed in frustration

"Bella you have got to calm down," Jasper said, as he placed his hand on my shoulder. I refused to listen and continued pulling on my table.

"Sir, if you can't get her to calm down I am going to have to call the police," the young saleswoman said, looking between the three of us. "She is threatening customers."

Jaspers hands finally pried my fingers away from the table and held my arms against my side. I tried to pull away from him, but even with all of my efforts it didn't stop the table thief from running from the store as fast as he could.

"Bella come on," Jasper said. His hands became gentler and less restraining as the tears I had been holding at bay started pouring down my cheeks. "Come on, I'll take you home and Edward and I will figure this out."

I shook my head and pushed his hands off my shoulders. As I made my way out of the store I thought about how this had all started.

I hated Esme, I absolutely hated her. She was a bitch. She was rude and condescending. I could eventually forgive her for most of the stunts she pulled and simply let go of them. But she had taken something from me that couldn't be replaced, and for that I didn't think I could ever forgive her.

I sat on the curb next to Edward's car and laid my head down on my knees. My arms instinctively wrapped around my sides as the winter wind blew my hair around my shoulders. Never in my life had I been so devastated and mad at the same time.

"Bella?" Jasper asked softly as he sat next to me. "Do you want me to take you home?"

I nodded slowly and let him help up. I didn't really want to go home and be forced to deal with the floral puke that was now all over my living room, but I was exhausted.

"The rest of your furniture that they hadn't sold will be delivered tomorrow," he said quietly.

I nodded my head, wondering what else had been sold. It didn't matter though. Everything else could easily be replaced. Everything except my end table.

"I'll write you a check when we get back to the house," I whispered.

"I'm not really worried about the money," he said.

I stared out at the darkening sky which threatened rain, and I smiled despite myself. Jasper had sounded so much like Edward just then, and I needed him more than ever.

"Where is Edward?" I asked louder than I meant to.

"I would imagine that by now he is at your house either being yelled at by Alice, or he's on the phone with his mother threatening to never speak to her again," Jasper replied without looking at me.

"Where was he today? Why didn't he come back to the house with you?" I crossed my arms and watched as Jasper refused to look at me.

"He was running errands," he said. "I told you."

"So, he was planning something which you are not supposed to tell me about? Because I hate to break it to you both, but whatever was planned is not happening."

He nodded and pulled onto our street. "I know, new plans are happening."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

But Jasper only shook his head and pulled into our driveway. He honked, which surprised me, and as I got out of the car I noticed that he wasn't moving.

Edward and Alice both came out of the house. Alice ran past me and over to Jasper's side of the car as Edward pulled me into a hug that lifted me up off the ground.

"I am so sorry Bella," he whispered against the side of my head as I hugged him back tightly.

"It isn't your fault that your mother is fucked up in the head Edward."

He sat me down and gently tucked my hair behind my ears and smiled sadly.

"I am going to fix this, I promise." He leaned down and kissed me, his lips moving slowly against mine. When he pulled away I groaned and just wished that we could start this day all over again.

He kissed the top of my head, and after jumping in the car, Jasper pulled out of our driveway, leaving Alice and I staring at each other across the front yard.

"Do you know what they are doing?" I asked as Alice made her way towards me.

"Yup." She wrapped an arm around my shoulder and we walked back inside together. "And before you ask, no, I will not tell you what they are doing."

"Are they going to kill Esme?" I asked. "Because really, that would just make things worse. I would hate to have to bail Edward and Jasper out of jail." I smiled at my pathetic attempt at a joke and threw my purse onto my hideous floral couch.

I looked around the room, and when it only made me more upset I just left and went back into the bedroom. Alice followed behind me, and when I kicked off my one shoe and crawled into bed, she turned the light off and joined me. We laid there, not talking, just listening to the sound of the rain that had finally arrived.

"Do you think it's like a chemical imbalance?" Alice asked, finally breaking the silence. She rolled over on her side to face me when I didn't answer.

I stared at the ceiling, not really ignoring Alice, just wondering how to answer that question. Did I think Esme really had something mentally wrong with her? Yes. Did I think that half of the stunts she pulled were strictly because she didn't like me? Yes.

I shrugged my shoulders and quickly wiped my eyes hoping Alice didn't catch on to the fact that I was crying.

"Bella, don't cry. We will find a way to get the table back. I promise." Her hand found mine and she gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"It isn't just the table. I mean I am devastated, but it isn't just the table." I let out a shaky breath and shook my head.

"Bella, there isn't anything wrong with you. If she doesn't like you, then it's her own problem not yours."

I let out a sarcastic laugh and smiled at Alice's genuine gesture to reassure me.

"It is my problem, because it is like she is deliberately trying to ruin my marriage. That's a big problem Alice. A huge problem."

She didn't say anything, and I couldn't blame her. Jasper's parents loved Alice and they had since day one. She didn't have to worry about his mother trying to sabotage their marriage, or think that she was just a money grubbing whore.

"It never ends. She does something to make me mad, then Edward talks to her and she pretends that she will try to do better. Then she does something else and I get mad and do something stupid like puke on her at dinner, and it just makes things worse."

I sighed and continued. "The worst part is that you can only have someone keep telling you aren't good enough before you start to believe it."

"Bella, no," Alice said, but I continued.

"I'm not saying Edward doesn't love me, or that we shouldn't be together. But, I can't help but wonder if his life would have been easier if we never would have gotten back together. He would have married Tanya, Esme would have been happy, and his relationship with his mother wouldn't be hanging by a thread."

"If Edward's relationship with his mother is in jeopardy then it is no one's fault but her own. You have done nothing but try to make Edward happy, and if she can't see how much the two of you love each other then she is a fucking moron." Alice sat up and looked at me. "I mean it Bella. None of this is your fault."

I nodded in agreement, not really believing her, but not wanting to argue the point anymore. I did agree that Esme brought a lot of this on herself. She did some of the stupidest things that anyone would get mad at. But then there were times that I couldn't help but wonder if she was just trying to pull Edward and I further apart.

The bottom line was that Esme and I had to come to some kind of agreement. There was no way the two of us could continue on like this and it not affect Edward's relationship with either one of us. Eventually we would have children and what would we do then? I couldn't refuse to let Esme and Carlisle see their grandchildren, but at the same time I wouldn't trust Esme to be alone with my child.

One of us was going to have to back down. It wasn't normal, and it sure as hell wasn't healthy. But, it was the only way this was going to work. One of my options was to let Esme walk all over me and talk to me like I wasn't worth a thing. I would have to let her nose her way into our business – let her pass judgment on choices I made, and when she voiced her opinion say absolutely nothing. Or, I could continue to fight until she either gave up or died.

"Edward was miserable while you weren't together," Alice said, breaking the silence again.

"I know."

Alice sat back up and looked at me. "If you give up and let her walk all over you, then you aren't the Bella that Edward fell in love with. You wouldn't be the best friend that I have had since second grade. You wouldn't be the woman that your mother raised. You wouldn't be yourself."

Again I nodded but didn't necessarily agree. Part of loving someone was putting their needs before your own. By fighting with Esme I wasn't putting Edward's needs before my own. I was basically making him choose between his mother and me. How could that possibly be fair?

We drifted back into a calm silence that eventually led to me falling asleep. I vaguely remembered the phone ringing, and Alice picking it up, but she spoke in hushed whispers to try and keep from waking me. I fell right back asleep.

When I felt the bed shift underneath me and a few seconds later felt cool fingertips brushing hair off my forehead, I slowly opened one eye and saw Edward sitting next to me on the edge of the bed, smiling down at me.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked in a hoarse voice that was thick with sleep.

"A few hours," he replied as his hand ran down the right side of my face and body until it reached my hip. "Alice and Jasper just left."

"Oh I didn't say goodbye." I slowly sat up rubbed my eyes. "We need to pay Jasper for the furniture."

"I took care of it." Edward's hand stayed on my hip, his thumb gently rubbing the small bit of skin that was showing between my shirt and jeans. "There is someone here that wants to see you."

My eyes widened as my mind immediately thought that he had drugged Esme and brought her here to apologize.

"It isn't my mother," he said. Edward laughed at my reaction but helped me off the bed.

"Who is it?" I whispered, not knowing if whoever was here to see me was within hearing range.

"My dad."

I looked back at Edward, wondering what the hell Carlisle would be doing here, but he only smiled and motioned for me to continue. So I did, and once I reached the living room I found Carlisle standing there next to my great grandfather's table.

I gasped and threw my hands over my mouth. When Edward and Jasper said they would take care of it, I didn't know they meant they would get my table back.

"How did you do this?" I smiled and lightly ran my hand over smooth surface of the wood.

"Jasper talked the saleswoman into giving us the guys address from his check. We drove over there, and after a rather lengthy discussion he agreed to let me buy it back from him," Edward explained as Carlisle watched me with a somewhat sad expression on his face.

"Bella, I just want you to know how sorry I am," Carlisle said. His voice was sad and very apologetic.

"Carlisle, it isn't your fault. We got the table back, and that's all I care about."

"No," he started again. "I owe you an apology and I have for quite some time. I just – I always thought that Esme would come around. I thought that maybe she was just having a hard time letting Edward grow up. But after tonight I can see that it is beyond that."

I nodded, accepting his apology. I didn't really know what to say though, so I just kept my mouth shut.

"I always felt that if I was more exuberant about you and Edward joining us for dinner, or even just stopping by that I would make up for my wife's attitude. I do love you Bella, like my own daughter. And I think that eventually Esme will come to see just how good you are for Edward, and how much you mean to him."

I wiped my eyes and nodded again as he held his arms open. I stepped between them and hugged him as he gently patted my back.

"I can't promise that things will never be perfect, but I do believe that they will get better." He smiled as he let me go and I honestly hoped that he was right.

We said our goodbyes, and after he left Edward sat down next to me on the hideous floral couch. He pulled me into his side, and I closed my eyes as I rested my cheek against his chest.

"You were planning something big tonight weren't you?" I asked as his fingertips trailed up and down my side.

"I was." He nodded and kissed the top of my head.

"What was it? It must have been good if you talked Jasper into lying for you," I said, leaning my head back and smiling up at him.

"Well, there is a suite at one of the nicest hotels in Seattle that is filled with roses and has champagne and chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us right now," he said, smiling and kissing the tip of my nose.

I frowned and said, "I'm sorry that your plans got ruined."

"Bella, I don't care about the hotel suite or the damn flowers. This is what I want right here – you and me alone together. The rest was just a bonus to try and get you to sleep with me."

I laughed as he pulled me onto his lap so that I was cradled in his arms looking up at him.

"There is something I need to say." His eyes darkened and I nodded, silently telling him to continue. "Alice told me about what the two of you talked about tonight."

I started to sit up, preparing for a lecture that I really didn't want, but he stopped me. "Bella, there are a lot of things that I love about you, but there are also a lot of things that I admire about you." He laced my fingers between his as he looked down at me. "I love the fact that I can be myself with you, that when I am with you I am home. I admire the fact that you are so giving to the people you care about. I love that you are fiercely protective of your family and friends. And I admire that you don't let people walk all over you.

"If we wouldn't have worked things out and gotten married, my life wouldn't be complete. The three months that we weren't together I was a shell of myself, and I know that being with you is right. I don't want you to wonder if my life would have been easier if I had married someone else, because I know that my life would have been incomplete with anyone but you."

I sat up and wrapped my arms around Edward's neck, pulling myself as close to him as I possibly could. Edward was completely right. Our lives wouldn't ever be perfect. Esme would always be crazy and I would always be considered second best in her eyes. But we loved each other, and that was worth more than anyone else's opinion of me, or our relationship.

"Want to go to sleep?" Edward asked in a hushed whisper as his hands gently ran up and down my back.

I leaned back away from him and shook my head. "I want to go to bed, but sleeping isn't on the agenda for a few more hours."

"Hours?" he asked with a laugh, and gently picked me up as he stood from the couch.

I tightened my legs around his waist and smiled. "Well I might let your rest for a few minutes in between."

He laughed as he carried me down the hallway back to our bedroom. For the first time in over a month, I actually felt excited about being in bed for an extended period of time.

So here we go! Again, I am a thousand times sorry that this took so long for me to do!! I hope you all enjoyed it and I promise it won't be another three months before I update again. If you are just dying to see a picture of Jasper's sweet ride, check out the facebook group. It's called The Honeymoons Over.

Di… I would suck without you. Thank you for putting up with my lack of punctuation and run on sentences. But, mostly thank you for being a wonderful friend and Beta.

To my mom and Karin and all of her other friends who are reading this, I love y'all. I love the fact that you guys listened to me complain for an hour and just said "It's all for the book!"

As always I have to say that without my best friend Ally, and my husband my life would be boring. So I love you both.