A/N- Thank you all so much for sticking with my little story. I can't tell you how lovely it is to receive such sweet reviews on both FF and Twilighted. I just have a bit of housekeeping before we get going. To my bestie and favorite FF author… Thespoiltone. Thanks for saving me. Folks, if it weren't for her and her help with this chapter, my son may have been in college before I got it out. I was having a hard time, but she worked it out with me, so three cheers for Mandy! You are the best. If you are not reading her stories, then you're missing out on a real treat. Her Edward is yummy! Pure smut at it's finest matched with a compelling story line. It is my guilty pleasure.

Thanks to Clarisa my beta- she is always there for me, fixing my mistakes and making this easier for you all to read. Thank you for that. Send your prayers for her family, as her husband is recovering from throat surgery. Love you Clarisa!

Stories that are making me happy right now are:

Across the hall by Zephyersky-

Letters to Swan- by kerrybell

And the funniest story I have read on FF is

Bella the Kidnapper by Kambria Rain- It is hysterical!

Disclaimer- I own nothing… SM has all the money and she has first dibs on Edward.

Chapter 14- Back to Reality

The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting with Edward's family before they had to catch their flight later that evening. Esme grabbed Bella's hand and led her into the kitchen for a private moment. Bella followed her nervously, worried that Esme might still be disappointed in her. Her fears subsided when she saw her bright smile.

"I just want you to know that nothing has changed. I meant what I said last night. You are family and I am grateful for you. You have brought so much to our family in such a short time. I feel like I have my son back and I know it is thanks to you."

Bella pulled Esme in for another hug. "Thank you so much for saying that, but truly it is Edward that has brought me back to life. I couldn't tell you properly last night, but this necklace means the world to me, just as your family does. I feel so blessed to be a part of you all."

"We're all blessed, Bella." Esme smiled and kissed her tear-stained cheek.

Edward and Bella settled into the couch and chatted with everyone while Esme and Renee were in the kitchen cooking.

"So I want to know how all of you ended up in the living room this morning, just waiting for us," Edward asked.

Emmett chuckled and started talking first.

"Well Jasper and I knew that you were headed over here and we called Esme to warn her. She waited for you to come to the door, but you never did. When we got here, we heard Bella screaming yes, yes, yes, so we knew that she was either having one hell of a dream or you were with her." Emmett's deep laughter filled the room. "Yeah Bro, I've never been prouder. I mean I always get that reaction, but you… for years I just thought you were batting for the other team. Glad to know that you've got the Cullen moves.

Bella's face turned bright red and she buried her head into Edward's chest, feeling completely embarrassed. Edward tightened his grip on her shoulder and chuckled lightly as his kissed her head then shot Emmett a fierce look that just increased Emmett's laughter.

Rose hit Emmett in the head for his lack of tact and she continued the explanation.

"They sent us back to the hotel after they realized that the loud thud they had heard earlier was most likely you coming in through the window. So we came over this morning, because we figured you had to come down sometime."

"Well, I guess I can just add this to the most humiliating moments in my life," Bella giggled.

"Don't be embarrassed, Bella; it was hot!" Emmett smirked.

Rose once again lifted her hand up and swatted the back of his head. The entire room erupted in laughter.

The rest of the day flew by and the Cullens left around five to catch their flight home. Bella and Edward promised that they would call and set up sometime to spend with them in the next few weeks. Later that night, Edward and Bella packed their clothes and gifts. They were both excited and nervous about going home.

That night Edward made love to Bella. It was tender and filled with passion. They lay in each other's arms and they shared their feelings about the day and their confessions to their families. Both felt relieved and at ease with each other.

"Bella, we have to talk about one last thing… It's something that I am feeling sick about. It's about the money that you paid me to be with you." Edward felt Bella's body tense in his arms. He worried that she would not take what he had to say very well. He sat them both up so that he could look into her eyes. He took a deep breath and continued.

"Bella, I am going to return the money to you."

"No," Bella all but shouted. "Edward, you need that money and you fulfilled your end of the deal, and so will I. I love you but I'm not backing down."

Edward smiled at her stubbornness. He lifted her chin so that he was looking her directly in the eyes.

"Bella, there is no way that I can accept the money now that we are together. It would taint us and I couldn't live with it. I love you for real and taking any compensation for the best two weeks of my entire life would just be wrong. Please Bella, don't fight me on this," he pleaded.

"But, Edward," she started but Edward just shook his head.

"Bella, I'm not embarrassed by my former job. This was it for me; this was always going to be my last job and I was blessed to be sent to you. I have always wanted a real relationship and a real love, and I have it but I can't ruin it with money. Do you understand?"

Bella sighed deeply before responding to him. She understood what he was saying and when she looked at Edward she knew that she would give him this.

"I understand, Edward, but I feel bad, I know that you were counting on this money to help with living expenses until your residency starts, but I want you to know that I respect you so I will take the money back, but you have to let me know if you need anything. If you need money, you have to promise that you will ask me first."

Edward pulled her into his arms.

"Bella I promise you that I will be fine. My parents will loan me money on my trust. I get it when I finish my residency and I'll be fine. I am blessed, baby. I am debt free, even after med school. So please don't worry about me. Umm, there is one more thing… I don't want there to be any secrets between us and I know that you will find out when you see your credit card statement, but that day at the mall, I bought the ring."

Edward braced himself for the outburst that he expected from her, but she sat there with her mouth agape just staring at him. He used the moment to explain.

"I wanted to buy the ring, Bella. I tried to tell you that. I mean it was my fault that we needed it, so please don't be angry. I'm not sorry, but I don't want you to be mad. Also, I'm glad that I did, because that ring is from me to you, and now that this is real, and it was how it was meant to be."

Bella shook her head and let the anger flow out of her body at his words. He was right, if they were going to be engaged for real, he would have purchased the ring. She knew that she didn't deserve him at all. She wondered how she could get so lucky.

"Bella, will you please say something? Look, I'm sorry that I duped you, but I wanted to buy the ring."

Bella kissed his lips, silencing him and she pushed him on his back.

"I love you, Edward. Thank you for such a beautiful ring. I really do love it!" she purred.

Edward chuckled.

"You always surprise me, Bella; just when I think I have you down, and I think I know what you will say or do, you do something completely different. Thank you for not being upset and understanding."

"Well, you do owe me for tricking me." She smiled against his neck sending her ever-present electric touch through him.

"How can I make it up to you?" he whispered before kissing her neck.

"I think you are on the right track."

"You haven't seen anything yet, baby," he said as he flipped her on her back and attacked her body with his mouth.

*************************

The next morning the drive to Seattle was bittersweet. Bella was so excited about going home and starting a new life with Edward, but she always felt sad leaving her family. Despite having Renee butting into every aspect of her life, she would miss her mom, and leaving her dad was always sad. As Edward held her hand and chatted with Renee, she couldn't stop smiling at the happiness she felt. She had never felt this complete in her life. She almost wanted to pinch herself in case the last few weeks had been a dream.

She hugged her parents and told them that they would see each other soon. Bella's eyes filled with tears as she left them at the curb. Edward placed his hand around her waist and kissed her head in comfort. She felt herself relax as they entered the airport.

The flight was long and cramped, but they enjoyed cuddling and listening to their music together. Bella let out a sigh of relief when they finally landed at JFK.

They shared a cab home and Edward helped Bella with her bags while the cab driver waited to take him to his apartment.

"I'm going to miss you tonight!" Bella smiled weakly.

Edward hugged her tightly and kissed her softly. "I'll miss you too, baby. I'll call you later."

He reluctantly left her at the door, and as soon as the cab pulled away, he felt a tug on his heart. He didn't enjoy the instant loneliness he felt without her touch. They had been inseparable the last two weeks and he missed her instantly. He wondered how he would survive the night alone without holding her. What worried him more was that with everything that had happened, they hadn't talked about anything New York-related. He didn't know what her schedule was like, or even when they would be able to spend time together. He glanced at his watch and realized that besides unpacking and doing laundry, he was free from school for the next few weeks. He wouldn't start his residency until the first week in February. He almost loathed the down time unless he would be able to spend it with Bella.

Her house was quiet as it always was but somehow the silence made her sad. She unpacked her bags, watered her plants, and turned the heat up. She sorted thorough her mail, but nothing she did seemed to take her mind off of Edward. She changed into some comfortable yoga pants and a tank top, dusted her living room and then checked her email. Her boss had left her a message requesting a meeting the next morning. She mostly worked from home and rarely went into the office, preferring to read and edit in the comfort of her house. She wondered what he wanted, but her mind couldn't concentrate on that any longer. She thought of Edward and wondered what he was doing at that moment. She had gotten used to him being by her side all the time, and at that moment she felt like a part of her was missing. The thought embarrassed her greatly, as she tried to remind her self that she had lived for twenty-six years without him, and surely she could go one night without him now.

Bella laughed out loud as she wondered what Edward would think or say if she were to ask him to come over. He'd only been gone just under an hour. She felt ridiculous for being so needy. She had always considered herself independent, which was part of the reason that she hadn't searched after a relationship. But now that she was with Edward, she felt like a teenager because she missed him so much that her heart ached.

It started to get warm in her house, so she went to the thermostat and turned down the heat. An idea came to her. If something were to go wrong in her home, then maybe she could play the damsel in distress card without looking insecure or needy. She scoffed at the idea and thought that she was just desperately lame for even thinking of it.

Bella spent the next few hours trying to work on her book, but her mind kept wandering. Everything she wrote just didn't make sense. She finally decided to make some soup and turn on the TV. As soon as she was done eating, her phone rang and a deep sigh was released as she noticed Edward's name appear on her screen.

"Hey you… how's my favorite sexy doctor?" she said a little too enthusiastically.

Edward's hearty laugh could be heard through the phone.

"Just how many sexy doctors do you know, my sweet Bella?"

"Well, including you… and your dad, I would say two!" she teased

"Aww Bella… my dad? You're kidding, right?"

Bella giggled…

"Come on, baby; this couldn't be the first time that someone has mentioned your father's good looks."

Bella laughed as she pictured Edward's face in a grimace.

"No, but it is the first time that my fiancée has told me that my dad is hot. Ewww, can we change the subject, please?"

"You're the only Dr. Cullen I want anyway. So what have you been doing? I bet you're glad to be home."

Edward sighed.

"Yeah… I feel like I haven't been here in forever. I've just been trying to get things back in order. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm just writing, but its a little cold in here, so it's hard to concentrate," she replied, not sure why she'd said that.

"Turn up the heat, babe!" Edward suggested.

"I think it's broken," she said as her heart started pounding because of her lie.

"Bella, it's January; you can't be without heat!"

"Don't worry; I'll be fine. I'll just use an extra blanket tonight—well, unless you know how to fix my heater."

Edward didn't miss the double meaning behind her words and he chuckled.

"I think I can help; should I come over?" he asked excitedly.

"Well, I would never turn down the opportunity to have a hot repairman make a service call."

"Ok, well, I will get my tools and be right over."

Bella's heart sank in her chest as she hung up the phone. How am I supposed to break the heater in less than 20 minutes? She wondered why she had told Edward the boldface lie about her heater, and she blushed at her evil plan to lure him over to her house.

"I'm pathetic," she whispered as she made her way to the window to let some cold air in. Then she walked over to the fuse box and looked for the correct fuse and pulled it out slightly. She had done it again with her crazy ideas, and she was sure that Edward would see right through her.

He had waited four hours before calling Bella. Edward hadn't wanted to appear desperate, but he was climbing the walls without her. Then when she mentioned the heat, he couldn't pass up the chance to see her, and if God smiled on him, he would get to be the hero as well. He went to his utility closet and grabbed the set of tools that Carlisle had given him when he went off to college almost eight years ago. The dust on the box was thick and after he wiped it down, he realized that there was still plastic packaging on some of the various tools that he could not name. He hadn't needed to use them before, and if he were honest with himself, he didn't know anything about heating units or any home repairs, but when Bella offered a way to see her without having to admit that he was miserable without her, he had jumped at the chance. He laughed at himself as he grabbed an overnight bag just in case Bella invited him to stay.

The doorbell rang and Bella eagerly answered, anxious to see her man. His smile filled her heart and everything felt right again the second he walked in the door. Bella wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the mouth. She was desperate to feel his lips on hers again. Edward returned the kiss with enthusiasm and smiled at her.

"You look downright edible," he said as he gave her one last chaste kiss before pulling away.

"Thank you for coming, Edward. I'm sorry that you had to come out in the cold again. I know you have things to do."

"The only thing I have to do is to make sure that my best girl doesn't die of frostbite. It's cold in here. Bella, go put on a sweatshirt until I can get this fixed. Just lead the way to the heating unit first." Bella smiled guiltily and led him to the small closet that contained the unit. First Edward tried the controls on the wall and then he was in the closet for close to twenty minutes. Edward stood in the closet completely confused. He had no idea how a heating unit worked or how to even troubleshoot anything. He occasionally twisted something or pretended to use his tools, but really, he was useless. He decided to wait a few more minutes to tell her that she would have to call a professional.

Bella stood outside the door in the hallway. The guilt was starting to weigh heavily on her chest when he suddenly appeared.

"I'm sorry Bella, but I've tried everything I could, so you will have to call someone in the morning. The only thing I can offer you is body heat." He smirked.

Bella's hands started sweating and her heart raced as she reached out to him and pulled him up the stairs and to the bedroom.

Edward slowly undressed himself as she did the same. Bella went to the closet in the hall to get another blanket for the bed. Edward watched her beautiful naked form walk away from him and he was instantly hard. The need for her grew unbearable as he stalked after her and threw her over his shoulder. Bella squealed with delight as he brought her to the bed. The sight of her spread out before him was intoxicating. Bella's nipples were rosy and hard from the chill in the air as his mouth attacked her body. He made his way down her torso admiring her creamy soft skin. Her soft moans filled the air and he couldn't take it anymore. He reached in between her thighs and found the Promised Land. She was ready for him and he entered her with forceful need.

"God, Bella! You feel so good. I can't be without you… you drive me insane," he gasped as he moved within her.

"Edward… I need more… faster!" she whispered with ragged breath.

As he pumped his body into hers, giving her what she asked for, he couldn't imagine anything better than the sensations of being one with her.

"Baby, this is heaven; you're heaven to me!" His words sent her over, filling her with bliss.

"Edward!" she screamed as her body shook with pleasure, riding out the waves of her orgasm.

With a few more thrusts, his body could take no more and he exploded inside of her while calling out her name.

His limp form collapsed on her as she enjoyed the heaviness of his body while trying to regulate her breathing.

"You are amazing, Bella Swan," he whispered as he rolled over onto his side pulling her close to him.

"No, you are the amazing one."

Edward pulled the covers around them as they snuggled together.

"Bella, I was miserable at home without you tonight. I was thrilled that your heater broke," he said, kissing her head as he held her.

"I was miserable without you too. As a matter of fact, I have a confession to make," she stuttered.

"What is it, love?" he asked.

"This is embarrassing, and I hope that you aren't mad, but I pulled the fuse out of the socket that controls the heat, so you would come over," she said meekly.

Edward laughed out loud

"You're kidding, right? Why didn't you just ask me to come over?"

"Well, I was afraid that you would think that I was needy. I mean, I missed you the second that you left. We hadn't made plans to see each other and I just… well, I was just lonely without you."

Edward tightened his grip, as he turned her face to his and kissed her lips.

"You are a silly girl. I was going crazy too. I missed you just as much, if not more. You never have to worry about what I am thinking, because I always want to be with you; so if you need me, just call--I'll be here. Okay?"

"Sorry…"

"Don't be; the trip was well worth it!" he teased.

They remained quiet for a few minutes and then Edward spoke.

"It was the fuse? I didn't even check that. Damn, how humiliating. Well I guess that I also have a confession to make."

She looked up at him expectantly.

"I am utterly useless in a house. I had no clue what I was doing. I just banged around in there hoping that you knew less than me, so that I wouldn't look like a dumbass."

Bella laughed out loud.

"I was wondering what you were doing in that closet for all that time. I almost told you then because I was feeling so bad about my little trick."

"Well, at least tell me that I looked hot carrying my tools that I don't know how to use."

"Yeah, babe, you looked HOT! I almost jumped you when you came in."

They laughed together and promised that they would never have to go to such lengths to be together again. Edward jumped up from the bed and went down to the fuse box and pushed in the fuse. The heat came on right away and he jumped back into bed.

"My hero!'" she joked as her naked body melted into his.

"I love you, Bella."

"I love you too, Edward."

They drifted to sleep, content and happy in each others arms.

A/N- Thanks again for all your support. I hope you all enjoy the fluff. There will be some obstacles, but none they can't conquer. I am looking forward to your comments. I am close to 1000 reviews on FF, so any help in getting over that hurdle for the first time, would be greatly appreciated. So in other words, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!