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Disclaimer: SM owns everything 'Twilight'. I own a cupcake with yummy blueberry-vanilla frosting from MOD—for now!

Pre-read by TeamAllTwilight.

Chapter-14

When I woke up, I felt refreshed and even energetic. I looked around and found Edward at his table, sketching. When I yawned and stretched myself, he quickly shut his book.

"What were you sketching, Edward?" I asked, intrigued. He shook his head, looking bashful.

"Come on, show me. Please?" I sat up on the bed and gave him a puppy-dog look, or at least tried to. It seemed to work, for he came to me and extended his hand so that I could take the sketchbook.

"Um, just…don't be angry, okay?"

I looked at the open page, reassuring him at the same time.

"Of course I won't be—oh!"

He had sketched me as I must have looked while sleeping. I knew I always clutched a pillow to me before going to sleep, and that I always slept on my left side. What I had never imagined was that I could look…so ethereal. For that was how he had presented me. My hair was longer in the picture, falling on my visible shoulder in graceful waves and curling around my waist. My expression was serene, and the slight smile on my lips said that I was having a happy dream.

"Wow," I whispered, completely bowled over by the picture and Edward's imagination. Of course I already knew how talented he was—but all those pictures were just…characters. This one was me—a real human being, but better-looking. No, not just better-looking, but also somewhat unreal.

The sound of a throat being cleared nervously drew my attention to Edward, hovering around me with uncertainty written large on his face. I took his hand and made him sit beside me. His eyes were wide with waiting.

"Edward, this is…I don't know what to say: this is beyond amazing. You have made me so beautiful and fairy-like!"

His smile lit up his whole face, so pleased did he look.

"You are beautiful, Bella, and this is how I see you. To me you seem as if from some other world, come here to make my life better. I…" He bit his lower lip shyly. I had a momentary desire to free it from his perfect teeth and bite it myself. Then I chastised my mind and ordered it to focus.

"I used to watch you when you came to visit Rose, you know."

I blinked in astonishment.

"Really?"

He rubbed the back of his neck in a gesture of embarrassment.

"Yes, you were always laughing and talking, and looked so happy, so carefree. I never imagined you would even look at me, let alone marry me."

"Oh." It was a stupid response, I suppose, but I couldn't think of anything to say. Obviously I couldn't tell him that I didn't mean to marry him! On the other hand, I couldn't exactly gush about my feelings for him either. I took the coward's way out and changed the topic.

"Um, Edward, I would like to call Bree now."

Something like disappointment flashed in his expressive eyes.

"Bree?"

"Yes, my friend from the boarding school—the one whose mother is a literary agent. Remember I mentioned her in the afternoon?"

"Yes, yes of course. So…what are you going to ask her?"

"I think a literary agent will know the right publisher for your type of work, so I will ask her if her mother can take you as a client, or recommend somebody to us. Is that all right?"

"Of course. I, um, will just see what Em is up to, okay?"

I felt puzzled but shrugged it off. I found my phone and scrolled to Bree's name.

Bree was excited to hear from me, and even more excited to discover that I was married. She teased me, saying I must be head-over-heels in love to be in such a hurry.

"So what is he like, your Edward? Did he have any trouble convincing your father? I recall you saying he never allowed any boys to befriend you."

"You are right, he didn't," I mused, wondering how much I could tell her. Bree and I got on well while at school, but…how I married Edward was a story not meant for anybody outside the family. And even within, not everybody knew the truth. I decided to keep it short and as close to the truth as possible.

"But Edward is very sweet and…a really good guy, so my father didn't mind much. And he is very talented—"

"Ooh, talented, is he? Tell me Bella, is he more talented with his fingers, or his tongue?"

"Bree!" was my choked response, while she guffawed in a very Emmett-like fashion.

"All right, all right, keep your secrets. You were never one to discuss personal matters anyway. But at least tell me where are you going for your honeymoon?"

"Um, well, we haven't decided yet," I stuttered, then rushed on before she could think of any more awkward questions. "Listen Bree, I need a favour from you. Your mom is a literary agent, right?"

"Yes, she is. Why?" She sounded puzzled.

"Well, Edward writes graphic novels—he is terrific at sketching—but he hasn't tried to publish them as yet. Can your mother take him as a client, or at least recommend someone else we can approach? Because none of us has any idea how to do this, you know."

"Hm, I will ask my mother, of course, but Bella, she will probably want to see his work before she decides anything. So be ready to make a trip to Chicago, okay?" Before I could process that, she added that she would call me in a few minutes and disconnected with a cheery 'bye!'.

A trip to Chicago—I suppose I should have been more excited at the prospect of returning to the city I had considered home for so many years, but I wasn't—not really. Suddenly I had a sense of belonging to Forks, this tiny town with a population that would fit into one of Chicago's suburbs. It was a strange feeling.

Bree did call before even five minutes had passed. Her mother was interested, she said, and of course she wanted to meet Edward and see his work before promising anything. The good news was we didn't have to go all the way to Chicago for it.

"Mom has to go meet this important client who lives in Seattle, because he is too old and feeble to travel that much. So if you people could meet us there, it would be great."

"That's a really good idea, Bree. So you are coming with her? You did say 'us', didn't you?"

"You bet I am! I want to see this guy who impressed your father enough to let you marry him, after all. I will let you know the details, but it will be probably this weekend."

We said our byes and I went to find Edward, feeling rather pleased at the outcome. I wasn't sure if Esme would even let Edward travel to Chicago, but Seattle had to okay. Right? It was just four hours by road, and Emmett and Rose could accompany us.

They were in the game room, shooting down terrorists in some game called 'Call of Duty' and yelling their heads off. When I saw how engrossed they were I quietly took a seat behind them and waited.

Finally Emmett gave a triumphant whoop and declared that he had won. Edward and Rose conceded, though not very gracefully. As they stood and stretched their limbs, both of them noticed me. Edward immediately apologised for not seeing me before, but I waved it off.

"It was quite engrossing," I commented, adding, "I can see the appeal, finally. Anyway, I have some good news."

Emmett pretended to be astounded, widening his eyes comically and asking how was it possible for me to know this soon. Rose whacked him on the head, while Edward merely looked confused. I just rolled my eyes in response.

"Remember I mentioned a friend whose mother is a literary agent? Well, her name is Bree and her mom's name is Vera. I called her just now, and Vera wants to meet you (I nodded to Edward) and see your work. And the best thing is—she is coming to Seattle for some work anyway, so we can just go there instead of going all the way to Chicago! Isn't that great?"

Emmet cheered loudly and Rose joined him, but Edward remained silent, his forehead wrinkled in thought. I was reminded of his expression when I had told him that I was going to call Bree.

"Edward, what is the matter?" I asked, worried that I was steamrolling him. Perhaps he preferred to keep his work to himself and had no desire to publish? In that case I would never force him.

He looked uncomfortable, glancing at Emmet and Rose without turning his head and then back at me. Fortunately, Emmett got it and dragged Rose outside, giving us some privacy.

I sat beside Edward and took his hands in mine. They were slightly sweaty, and when I looked at him carefully, I noticed that there was a light sheen of sweat on his forehead too. He was definitely nervous.

"What is it Edward?" I spoke as one would to a startled deer, ready to run away at the first abrupt movement. With his widened eyes he certainly resembled one. But there was something else too. Shame, perhaps?

"I can't go to Seattle, Bella," he said in such a low voice that I had to lean forward to hear him. "I—I am afraid."

"Why, Edward?" I lowered my voice too, even though I had no reason to. It just…felt right. "You must have been to Seattle before, haven't you? It's quite near Forks, after all."

He shook his head. "Not that I remember. I mean, I have been told that I studied there, at the U-Dub, but…"

I frowned as something clicked in my brain. "Does that mean…haven't you been to Seattle since your accident?"

He shook his head again. A dreadful suspicion began to creep into my mind. Still, I kept my voice even.

"Edward, have you been to any other city in the last one year, after your physical therapy was complete? Port Angeles, or maybe Olympia?"

A slow head shake from Edward as he finally looked at me, his eyes pleading. "I haven't been anywhere, Bella, not even inside of Forks."

End Note: Yes, I know that it is not necessary to meet the agent, but let's assume so for this story, okay? As for the movie night, it's coming in the next chapter—this one just ran away with other ideas.

Any movies you might want them to watch? Nothing too raunchy though—remember Edward is sort of re-learning everything. Kasi and I were thinking 'When Harry met Sally' and 'Big'…