A/N: This might be the first time I've written the obligatory meadow scene. Weird!

The closer they got to their destination, the less Edward could deny there was a sense of trepidation in the air. Bella was silent, caught up in heavy thoughts it seemed, but she didn't let go of his hand. In any event, the atmosphere was not so oppressive Edward couldn't enjoy both the company and the lightness of gaining something he thought he'd lost forever.

The sanctuary of the forest was theirs again.

He couldn't confess to know what she was worried about - likely some of the same things he worried about - but somehow, now that they had the forest back, he felt it would all work out.

An idea ran through Edward's head and he mused at it for a few steps, considering for a moment. Tugging Bella's hand, he stopped and turned slightly. "Climb on, Princess."

Bella's eyes went wide. "Are you..." She laughed. "Edward, I'm not as light as a six year old anymore."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Precisely why I didn't simply pick you up and put you on my back." He tugged her hand. "Come on. Up you go, Princess."

His words were purposeful. The first time he'd uttered those words, a tiny Bella had giggled as she locked her skinny arms around his neck.

"I tol' you. I don't wanna be the Princess, Edward! I wanna be Mario!"

Bella - her full grown incarnation, smiled and blushed but wrapped her arms carefully about Edward's neck, taking care not to choke him. "I'm still no Princess, Yoshi."

"Well, I don't see any mustaches either, Mario." He hooked his arms under her legs, pulling her tight around him as he began to walk forward.

She rested her cheek lightly against his head. Edward wondered if there was a greater contentment than this. Her weight in his arms, against his back, was soothing. "Don't throw your back out," she teased near his ear.

He scoffed, looking over his shoulder at her. "Are you calling me old?"

"Not old so much as fragile."

"Ha!" As they had reached the meadow, he set her down and took her hand again.

Together, they looked around, both smiling. Bella let go of his hand only long enough to hop up on her old stump throne. He came to lean with his hands against the trunk, between her legs.

It was fitting they were back here now that they were together, now that their relationship had evolved. This place was their beginning. It was right that it had been forbidden to them when they were apart. Now, he was ready to reclaim it.

Only once he'd captured her lips with his for a long, slow, serious kiss did Edward take a step back, keeping her hand in his.

"Talk to me," he entreated.

She sighed, staring down at his fingers. "I suppose, I feel a little... unprepared. No, that's not the right word." She screwed up her lips, considering, and scoffed. "I feel young."

"This again," he growled playfully.

Bella smiled but continued. "You want to know a secret?"

"Of course."

It concerned him - the look on her face. She was guilty about something. "I haven't got a clue what I'm going to do with my degree." She did look up at him then as if begging him to understand. "I mean, I'm not even interested in the field anymore."

Edward contemplated this for a moment. "Okay. Well, a lot of people don't end up liking the fields they chose when they were eighteen," he pointed out. "The question here is not what you've done, but what you want." He sat on the grass, looking up at her. "So what do you want?"

She looked somewhat confused as she blinked at him. "Edward... doesn't it scare you? Doesn't it give you even the least bit of pause that you're well established in your career and I'm still flitting around with no plan for the rest of my life?"

Now it was Edward's turn to be confused. He tilted his head, and then realized what she might be worried about. "This is about what my mother said earlier, isn't it? You think I'm ready to settle down, have babies."

Her cheeks tinted pink. "It wouldn't be an abnormal thing for you to think about," she said quietly.

Edward thought a moment and then extended her hand to him. She took it and let him pull her down onto the grass beside him.

"I'm not going to lie to you. Kids... a family... it's something I've always wanted." He bumped her shoulder lightly. "But we're talking as an abstract idea. For heaven's sake, I was perpetually single just days ago. I'm not going to want a baby tomorrow, or even next year just because you're with me."

He looped his arm around her pulling her close. He nuzzled the side of her head so he could murmur directly in her ear, his voice low and husky. "Hell, if you want to know the truth, Bella, I don't intend to share you with anyone - children included - for quite some time."

Bella shivered, turning her head so she could brush her lips against his. He didn't need a second invitation. He laid back, pulling her down onto the soft carpet of grass with him, kissing her as he did.

He pulled back with a soft sigh and traced the lines of her face as he put together his thoughts. "Long story very short - kids, a family, marriage... these are not things I was actively working toward. I'm not derailing any plans being with you." He put his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up so he was sure she was looking him in the eye. "Even if you never want that, it is not a deal breaker to me."

"No, I do," she said quickly, a little breathless. "There are just things I want to do first. So many things you've already done."

"Well... Let's backtrack a bit. What field of work do you want to go into?"

"Patent law," she said without hesitation.

Edward's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Yeah." Her smile was bashful. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"Well, no. You're certainly smart enough. It's just... I'm just curious. How did you arrive at that thought?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Life? I'm not sure. It just happened over time that I got this kind of fascination with technology and software. But I don't have the patience for coding or anything like that. In patent law, you get to work with a wide variety of technologies, and you get to talk to all sorts of interesting people... inventors. It's exciting."

"You see... this is what you get for playing Dungeons and Dragons on weekends instead of partying hard. Come on. Admit it. You played, didn't you? You had to have to be around so many geeks and nerds long enough to get interested in that kind of thing."

"Played? I was a Dungeon Master. Respect."

Edward laughed, completely enthralled with this beautiful woman. "Well," he said in a light, sing-song voice. "Have you thought about schools at all?"

"No. I was going to take the rest of the year to research..." She trailed off, searching his face.

He cupped her cheeks in his hands. "Please understand, if this is not what you want, then we will figure something out," he said slowly, seriously. "But there are many great law schools in Chicago."

She grinned and tilted her head, kissing him. "That's something I'll have to look into."

"Good. That's settled then. We'll have you well on your way toward boring the hell out of people at parties in no time." He winked at her.

Bella smacked his shoulder, but she was smiling.

Edward stroked her cheek adoringly. "I know we have a lot to work out, but we'll get there. We have a short term plan. I'm not worried."

She tilted her head, looking him straight in the eye. "Really? You aren't worried?"

She knew him too well. "Oh, I'm utterly terrified," he admitted in a voice that belied his words. He laughed a little at the stricken expression on her face. "How could I not be, Bella? The last time I messed up, we hardly spoke for six years." He grimaced.

"Extenuating circumstance," she excused, running her thumb over his lips as though she were trying to straighten his frown. "We're not going to do that again."

"No. We're not," he agreed and sealed that promise with a kiss.

"Just... be patient with me," she said when they broke again. "I don't know how to be a girlfriend."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I know how to be a boyfriend? Really, I have just as much experience as you there." He stroked her hair back, staring up at the hazy sky as he mused aloud. "Rosalie and I... it wasn't a real relationship. We were on two completely different planes of existence most of the time, running in opposite directions."

"I guess you're right," Bella said thoughtfully, resting her head on his chest. "Hey, Edward?"

"Hmm?" Edward hummed. He was beginning to zone out a little, wanting to float wrapped in this moment with her for a while. Her body was warm against him, and he liked playing with her hair as they laid in the grass in their special place.

"As much as everything is changing... it's nice to have my confidant back. I'm glad I could talk to you about school." She sighed quietly. "I think you're still the only one who would take me seriously."

Edward smiled and stroked the hair away from her forehead so he could kiss her softly there. "I want to be everything I was to you and more."

She raised her head, her expression so adoring. "You already are."

~0~

One great thing about everyone knowing? Bella didn't feel the need to slip out of Edward's bed before everyone was awake as she'd done the first time.

The previous two days, Edward had gotten a jump on her, and she'd woken to his kisses at her neck, his hands cupping her breasts and between her legs. He nibbled on her earlobe and whispered gloriously filthy things in her ear - all the more titillating because holy Christ, Bella never would have guessed Edward Cullen would say those things in a million years, let alone to her.

Today, though, she woke first and had the pleasure of watching him for a little while as he slept.

He was precious. Beautiful and hers.

And maybe this morning, it was time to show him she could - and wanted to - reciprocate.

He was sleeping only in a pair of pajama pants, so his chest was bare as she trailed her fingers from his neck down to his stomach. He shifted in his sleep with the tiniest of moans at her titillating touch, rolling onto his back with one arm thrown up above his head. Bella smirked and pressed a kiss to his scruffy chin.

Even though Edward was still asleep, Bella still blushed as she slipped her hand under the waistband of his pants. Even though his would not be the first cock she'd ever touched, everything was different with him.

For one thing, the setting was a thousand times more intimate. Edward's arm curled around her automatically in his sleep as she laid her head on his chest. She closed her eyes, memorizing the feel of his body beneath her fingers, the smell of him in the early morning, his heart thumping beneath her ear. She took her time, winding her fingers through the coarse tangle of hair at the apex of his thighs before she moved down.

He was hot and thick in her hand, and she tilted her head upward to suck lightly just underneath his chin as she began to stroke.

His breath quickened, and she felt his throat contract under her lips as he swallowed hard once, twice. He whined - the sound still stuck in the back of his throat.

"Bella," he murmured, the sound scratchy and sexy and perfectly breathy. Bella raised her head so she could kiss him, moving her hand down so she could run the tips of her fingers over his balls while her palm continued to stimulate his shaft. "Fuck. Baby. What are you doing?" he rumbled his question against her lips.

She raised her head and smirked at him, amused by the confused look in his sleepy eyes and emboldened by the darkness in them - the desire.

Pressing kisses to his chin, his chest, Bella began to descend his body. He whimpered when she released him, but she only did so long enough to pull at his pants. He got the idea quickly enough, lifting his hips so she could get his pants down his legs.

His hands were gentle and tender as ever as her lips wrapped around him. He brushed his fingers through her hair, ran his thumb over the shell of her ear, traced her chin and around her lips as he slid in and out of her mouth.

"That's so pretty," he whispered hoarsely. "So good."

She loved that she had this power, to make him make those little noises. He whimpered. He moaned. The sounds were high-pitched, like he had absolutely no regard for being macho. She unraveled him, and he told her so. "God, you drive me so crazy. I love you, Bella."

She released him from her mouth, wrapping her hands around him, only long enough to whisper, "I love you," back.

Working him with her hands, her mouth, her tongue, she brought him to orgasm fairly quickly, loving the way he couldn't control the jerk of his hips the closer he got. He tried, she could tell, but in the end he pushed up into her mouth, his groan more of a whine when he hit the back of her throat.

He tugged on her ear a little frantically when he was about to come, but she held him fast, swallowed, and licked him clean, looking at him from underneath her eyelashes.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered breathlessly, caressing her chin with trembling fingers.

Feeling somewhat smug, she rested her cheek on his stomach, just watching him as he tried to catch his breath.

"Do you have any idea..." He swallowed and tried again, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "How did you do that?"

She snorted lightly, blushing, pleased that he was so pleased.

In all honesty, she didn't have so much experience. She'd just paid attention to his body, to which movements of her tongue, her lips, her fingers seemed to make him react most. She'd found she wanted to please him, thrilled at the thought she could bring him pleasure.

And of course, as she was quickly discovering, every act was that much more intense when it was done in love.

He chuckled, probably realizing there was no good way to answer that question, and tugged playfully on her hair. "Come up here," he requested, his voice a low rumble that sent a pleasant shiver down her spine.

She crawled up his body and he immediately enveloped her in his arms. He kissed her once, fervently, before he rested his head on her chest and promptly fell back to sleep.

Bella lay away for a few more minutes, idly twisting a lock of his hair around her finger, feeling warm, cherished, and very much in love.

~0~

It was a restful afternoon. Jasper - who had extended his stay supposedly so he could be around for Edward's birthday but who really was having trouble separating himself from Alice - and Alice had gone out to explore Bogachiel State Park together. Emmett, Rosalie, and Henry had long gone home to Seattle. Carlisle and Edward were in the backyard, bent over the BBQ that everyone had been meaning to fix but no one had gotten around to yet.

Bella was in the sitting room pretending to read. Really, though, she was distracted, watching Edward, amused by the intense look of concentration on his face as he examined the BBQ with his father.

She was so enraptured, she didn't hear when Esme entered the room. Bella jumped when she heard Esme's quiet sigh.

"Hey," Bella murmured, abashed at having been caught staring. She sat up properly so Esme could come sit beside her.

Smiling, Esme sat. "Watching you these last couple of days, I keep wondering how I missed all the signs." She patted Bella's cheek gently. "A mother is supposed to know when her daughter falls in love for the first time."

Bella blushed furiously, looking down at her knees, but she absolutely couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. "Well, it was kind of a hectic time."

"Maybe," Esme allowed. She tilted her head and patted Bella's knee. "So... tell me all about him."

At first, Bella didn't understand what Esme was playing at. Then she realized, this was her way of trying to be like any other mother asking her daughter about her boyfriend.

And Bella found she wanted to gush, wanted her mother to know how very happy she was. "He's... amazing. He's so good to me and considerate. He's always looking out for my needs first, above anything else."

Esme's eyes sparkled. "Handsome?"

Ducking her head, Bella grinned. "You can't imagine. And he has this hair... so unruly."

"Oh, his hair." Esme laughed. "You know, when he was going to have his first school picture taken, he had a cowlick. Didn't matter what I did - it would not go down."

Bella laughed. "Really? I didn't know that."

"I think he hid all those pictures. I have some though." Taking Bella's hands, Esme gave them a tight squeeze. "He makes you happy." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah. He really does."

"That's what I want. That's what I want for both of you," Esme said fervently. She took a deep breath. "I am sorry about how I approached this at first. It was hard to know what to think. And it isn't to say I don't worry for you. For both of you, of course, but for you especially. Worry and reservation come with the territory of being a mother." She smiled wryly. "But he's what you want?"

For longer than I could ever explain."Yes," Bella said out loud, her voice firm. She'd never been more certain of anything in her life.

Esme's smile was genuine. "Then it will work out. I'm happy for you."

There was a weight on Bella's shoulders she hadn't really realized was there until it was lifted with Esme's words. She flew forward, throwing her arms around this woman who had been her mother for the last sixteen years. "Thank you."

A/N: Thanks to jfka06 for letting me pick her brain, and to barburella and GinnyW for all their help. MWAH.

Well, folks... I really think we have just one chapter and an epilogue left. Again, thank you so much for your response. I read and appreciate each and every one of your reviews. Big puffy hearts to you all.