AN – Hey, Happy Easter, everyone! I hope you all had a good week. We're slacking a bit on the reviews – less than half the usual amount on this last chapter. Sad day. I hope you like this chapter. When my very first reader finished the whole thing, she said this bit was her favorite. It's pretty much fluff, so prepare yourself!

Disclaimer – SM's sandbox, I'm just playing in it.

Chapter 14

I was going to go talk to her right away, but I hesitated just for a moment outside her door as I listened to Carlisle and Esme enter the house. They were silent, as Esme went to tend to her garden and Carlisle to his office, but their minds were loud with worry and excitement.

I suddenly realized how badly I wanted Carlisle's opinion. I couldn't do this on my own. I had no idea what I was doing and I did not like the feeling. I waited until he was situated in his office before going to him. I didn't even have time to raise my hand to knock before I heard him call to me.

"Come in, Edward," his voice was gentle; surely he had already guessed what I wanted to talk to him about.

I nudged the door open and slipped inside. I took a seat in my normal armchair near his desk, where he sat thumbing through papers. He waited for me to start, his mind idly going over his work, endlessly patient with me while I collected myself.

"Carlisle, I don't know what I'm doing," I finally blurted out in a frustrated confession.

He put down the papers and looked at me, his attention fully on me. "Isn't that the point?"

"What?"

"The point of life sometimes. Not knowing what's coming next and dealing with everything as it comes at you. You've been living this life – unchanging – for far too long. You know what people are thinking before they speak. You know how they will act and react. Have you forgotten what it feels like to not know everything?" A corner of his mouth lifted in an amused half-grin. 'And isn't that the first part of falling in love?' he continued in his mind, fully aware that I could hear him.

"What does falling in love have to do with anything?" I asked gruffly, not liking where this was heading and not fully up to debating whether we were "living" any "life." That could take hours and it was a conversation we'd had many times.

He shrugged, "They don't call it 'falling' in love without reason, Edward. It trips you up when you least expect it, and then you have to hope there's something – or someone – there to catch you."

"I gave up on hope a long time ago."

"Maybe you should give it another chance."

"Either way, I don't see what that has to do with anything." I said in an obvious effort to change the subject.

He sighed. "Son, sometimes you just have to let life lead you where it will. You've been given a chance at humanity here, in more ways than one. Accept that you don't know everything for once, and just see what happens."

I didn't particularly like this counsel, but he turned back to his work with an air of finality. The problem with his suggestion is that I did usually know everything. Hearing the thoughts of everyone within a mile radius tends to have that effect.

I sighed heavily and stood, knowing the discussion was over. "Thanks, Carlisle."

I knew he knew that I was unconvinced. "Just try it," he called after me as I closed the door behind me, 'What have you got to loose?'

I froze in the hallway as his thought struck me. Fine. Just this once. I knew he had my best interests at heart, so I could afford to humor him. I started walking again towards my destination. But if he was wrong, I was holding this over his head for the next hundred years.

However, I knew it was all too true that I had nothing to loose.

I knocked softly on Bella's door, and opened it just slightly when I didn't hear any answer.

She was lying in the center of her bed, curled up and eyes closed. I knew she couldn't be sleeping, so I came in.

"Hey," I said softly, coming to the edge of her bed, "are you okay?"

She opened her eyes to look at me pointedly, and I remembered what a dumb question that was. She sighed and closed her eyes again, "If I pretend to be asleep, sometimes it's like I'm really going back to sleep."

That provoked a small smile from me. "Do you miss sleeping?" I asked, curious.

She looked so still with her eyes shut that I could have believed she was really sleeping, if I hadn't known any better.

Her eyes opened again to gaze at me thoughtfully. "Yes and no," she said. "I always wished there were more hours in the day, and now I have an extra ten or so every night. But I do miss being able to take a break. It just seems like one long, unending day."

"I know what you mean," I said gently. "But you can still take a break, you know."

"How?" She sat up to look squarely at me.

I was taking a risk, I knew. But I was running out of reasons to stay away from her, and if I could make her happy, in some perverse way it eased my sense of guilt.

I took her gloved hand and eased her onto her feet.

"Let's go running," I grinned.

She baulked. "R-Running?" she stammered. "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not a very good runner. I'll fall."

"You're different now. And I would have caught you. Trust me."

Her deep eyes shot to mine, surprised, but she did not move. I repeated myself, "Trust me?"

She nodded wordlessly, and I pulled her toward the door.

"My shoes!" she protested, pointing to her bare feet.

"Feels better without them," I flashed a smile, and she complied all too easily, falling in step behind me.

We raced down the stairs and out the door, passing a somewhat startled Esme on the way. I ignored her excited thoughts at seeing me leading Bella away.

Our house was situated deep on the outskirts of town, so the trip to the woods was not a long one. Until we'd reached the cover of the trees, we'd had to keep to a human pace, just in case; but once we hit the tree line, I shot her a glance and challenged, "Race you!"

"Race you where?" she shouted back.

"You'll see."

We were off like bullets through the night. I knew that she had never experienced this type of freedom before, and I was all too glad to provide it to her. This was what I did at night when I couldn't dream or watch other people dream. This was a living dream.

The wind was rushing by, tossing my hair out of my face and fanning it out behind me. Bella was close by, which, oddly enough, added a sense of security. Just knowing where she was eased some tension. The ground beneath me was cool, the grass brushing against my bare feet. Bella's long skirt was gathered in her fists and swished as her legs pumped faster and faster. I was going so quickly that I didn't have the time to even sink into the damp earth. The air was crisp and cool, the rich smell of pine trees riding on the wind.

Bella could probably have easily outrun me, but she stayed close. Her newborn body was still so strong with her human blood that it was only natural that she would be faster and stronger than me at this point. Another sacrifice we vegetarians had to make. But that was why I didn't tell her where we were going. I know she would have run off, and I didn't want her out of my sight.

Once we reached it, though, it was clear it was our destination.

"This is where I like to come to take a break," I said softly, once we both stopped. We were standing on the edge of a meadow, an almost perfectly circular clearing. There were little purple wildflowers spread across it, with the grass growing long and untamed. The wildflowers swayed gently in the light breeze, shimmering in the moonlight. A soft fragrance wafted on that night breeze, surrounding us with the sweet scents the meadow held.

"It's beautiful," Bella breathed.

"I found it when I was hunting once," I offered, walking out into the clearing. "I didn't find anything good to eat, but I thought finding this place was a fair trade for a failed hunt." She smiled.

When I reached the center of the field, I sat in the grass, in a beam of moonlight. The moon was full tonight, and the area was quite light. I could see perfectly.

"So what did you think of your run?" I asked, leaning back to look up at the starry night.

"It was indescribable," She said, sitting down beside me, facing me. Sitting close beside me. "You were right about not wearing shoes. I've always liked to walk barefoot, but I was always scolded for it. It wasn't ladylike," she made a face, pitching her voice in a high mocking tone. "That's what my mother was always telling me."

"There's a time and place for everything," I said, grinning. I liked when she wasn't ladylike. She was more interesting then.

"Another phrase I've heard over and over again," she grimaced. "You know," she started, a bit hesitantly, "I've told you more about my life than James ever cared to know. Why don't you tell me to stop?"

"Tell you to stop?" The idea was ridiculous! I wished she would talk to me forever. She never ceased to surprise me, and I was growing so tired of the predictable people in my world. "I would never ask you to stop. I like hearing about your life. I want to know everything about you." I shifted so I could look directly at her.

"I'm not that interesting."

"Quite the contrary," I countered with a smile. "I find you very interesting."

She digested that for a moment, and an embarrassed look entering her eyes. A question formed on her lips, but it didn't seem to make it any further.

"What is it?" I prompted. This was one of those times I really wished I could read her mind.

She looked down, embarrassed, "I was just wondering…why did you leave town then?"

"Oh Bella," I sighed and decided to just reveal everything. As Carlisle pointed out, what was there to lose, anyway? Only everything and nothing…only her. I didn't have her and so I couldn't lose her. But if I didn't claim her now, would I ever? When would I have another chance like this? What if I simply let the chips fall as they may. I plunged ahead, "I didn't want to. Do you remember when I told you about your scent? About how you were that much more tempting than any other human to me?"

She nodded, wide-eyed.

"I couldn't bear the thought of killing you. You intrigued me before I even knew you. At the ball, you were the only one who asked how I was. You were the only one to ever ask me that – and actually mean it!" I sat up and took her hands in mine. "Do you understand what I'm saying?" Please.

She looked doubtful, like I was just going to laugh any moment and tell her it was a big joke. "That doesn't answer my question," she said with some difficulty.

"I knew it was dangerous for me to get too close to you for that reason alone. But then when I heard you were engaged," I spat the word, "I knew I would get either you or myself into trouble if I stayed here. You had chosen your lot; I wasn't going to interfere where I clearly didn't belong." I struggled to explain myself. It was so unfamiliar, not being able to say perfectly what I meant, and to perfectly understand the situation.

She looked at our hands, my large ones wrapped around hers. She still wore her gloves, and I wished she would take them off so I could feel her smooth skin under mine. But I wasn't going to push her. Everything was up to her, I wasn't going to do anything to scare her away. She'd already dealt with more than enough fear.

She shifted so her hands were holding mine, gently massaging them. It sent tingles up my arms.

"Dream with me for a moment," I whispered. I leaned back down on the cool grass, pulling her down with me, to look up at the night sky, and to forget everything that was weighing my down at the moment. There was no murder to plan, no murder to cover up, no revenge to nurse, just me and this beautiful girl in the grass.

We lay there, side by side, watching the stars fade in and out, bright and dim. This far away from the city, we could see the Milky Way painted across the sky like the spilled droplets of milk that it was named for. She didn't let go of my hand, and continued to absentmindedly draw little circles on my wrist as it lay in the grass. It felt so good, so right.

I stopped looking at the stars to look at the little beauty beside me. I stared at her face by the light of the moon. Her smooth skin was paler than cream, pale as snow. She had an expression of such peace as she stared into the night that I was instantly glad for bringing her out here. It was worth it, risking my secret place, sharing it with her.

My gaze must have drawn her attention, because she suddenly shifted to look back at me. Her eyes bore into mine, as if she could see straight to my core. I couldn't look away even if I'd wanted to.

We stayed that way until the sun began to rise. I closed my eyes, basking in the sunbeams, until I heard Bella gasp. My eyes shot back open as I sat up and looked at her, worried. "What?"

"You're…glittering!" she exclaimed, sitting up as well.

I relaxed and couldn't help but grin. I'd forgotten she hadn't seen us in the sun yet. "Do you remember me mentioning how we couldn't go out in the sun, and how the myths started?" She nodded. "This is why. It's a little conspicuous, don't you think?"

She looked at me in awe, staring. I grew a little self-conscious. I'd gotten used to anonymous females staring at me from across the room, but this was different. She was different. It wasn't every day I had a beautiful girl staring at me, sitting this close to me. "Does this mean I glitter, too?" she asked.

I smiled and nodded. She removed her hand from mine, where it had been all night, and took her gloves off to look at her skin. I longed to touch her and reclaim her hands.

Then the sun reached her face, and bathed her in light. It took my breath away. How could anyone be so lovely?

She was like my personal Aphrodite, my own little goddess. She looked at me with something I couldn't quite define in her eyes. Something wonderful and terrible, something indefinable. "Thank you," she murmured.

"For what?"

"For letting me dream," she said shyly, and slipped her hand in mine again - without placing the gloves back on.

I felt that familiar shock at the contact followed by a brief outpour of gratitude. I could not doubt her sincerity. Even if I couldn't physically feel it through her special ability, it shone through every inch of her body. She radiated, and with the sun glowing all around her, she looked like a picture-perfect angel.

I would have been content to just sit with her forever. But we had a job to do, and we needed to get to work. The quiet fury in the back of my mind started back up, stoking the desire to have this perfect angel avenged.

I stood up, pulling her up with me, not breaking contact. I felt a spike of surprise and disappointment as she realized why I must be rising. "The night's over, it's time to wake up," I said, a touch of regret in my voice.

"But we can dream again, can't we?" she asked, uncertainty coloring her words through our connection.

I squeezed her hand, "Of course." She smiled, and in that moment I was content. She wanted to spend time with me. She wanted to dream with me. It was more than I could have hoped for.

"Race you back?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

"You're on," I started to say, but she was already gone, a blur in the dawn's light.

I chased after her and didn't catch her until we were back at the house, laughing, glad to be together. Glad to simply be.

Alright, all at once, Awww. Okay, I'll go throw up now. Sorry, bad week for a fluff chapter for me. I put off editing this for SO long. Ugh. But that's a whole other story. Heh. I'll update my profile with some elaboration or something.

Please review! I'll do what I can to respond, I love hearing from you! And there are over 100 people watching this, so I know you're out there! (And like, 60 of you have this favorited, I don't know what your excuse is.)