A/N – I know that it has been quite a while but here we go!

Thanks to Tiggrmommi for always being there for me.

I do not own!

EPOV

"Bella I promise it will be okay," I watched as she smoothed down her skirt for what had to be the tenth time.

"Um, I might change into the other skirt instead," I stopped her before she ran back into her room again.

"Bella you look amazing. Why are you so nervous," she paced around the room, picking up random items and putting them back down. "This isn't the first time you have met them." I went over to her and wrapped my arms around her to try to settle her. She was like a nervous ball of energy in my arms. "My parents love you."

"Correction Edward, your parents loved me. I never said goodbye and never returned any of your mother's calls."

"Bella I can guarantee that she was more upset with me over that than she was with you. I think that she would have rather lost contact with me than to never hear from you." She still didn't look convinced so I decided to change the subject. "How did the deposition with Woodruff go the other day? I think we have our work cut out for us."

"Nice try Cullen. You can't just change the subject and expect me to forget that we are having dinner with your parents tonight." I couldn't help the laugh that escaped from me. "Oh, so you think this is funny do you Chuckles?" She poked her finger into my chest. "Let's see who is laughing when we have dinner with Charlie next week," that sobered me up immediately. It had seemed like the right thing to do. I still felt like that even after my failed attempt with Emmett. It had taken weeks for me to convince her that I had to do this. Then another few weeks for her to actually call him and let him know that she was dating me again. That was not a phone call that I remembered with fondness. I had wanted to be there to support her and it was obvious that he was not thrilled with her news.

To Bella's credit she didn't back down from his obvious criticism. When she hung up the phone her face was stoic. I didn't want to cause conflict with her and her father but she wasn't willing to discuss it any further. She promised that he would come around in his own time and within a week he had called her back and they had set up a time when we could all have dinner together. I tried to pretend that I wasn't nervous but I had written and rewritten what I would say to him in my spare time. Over the past few weeks I had gotten more insight into what her life had been like during our time apart and although she had been happy these past few years the beginning was rough on everyone in her life. I really couldn't blame them for their reaction to me reappearing back in her life.

Since we had reunited we had fallen into a comfortable routine. At work we maintained a professional distance and then at night we spent as much time together as we could. I could spend hours with her just sitting on her couch and talking. Weekends we would occasionally do something with friends. We would alternate between my group and hers. My friends accepted her instantly and we could be fun and carefree with them. Her friends were coming around although I still found it somewhat intimidating to spend any time with them. Emmett always seemed to keep one eye on me no matter what we were doing. It was as if he expected me to hurt her at any second. To his credit he managed to hide this from Bella who would not have tolerated it very well. We were all slightly fearful of angering Bella.

Every night before bed, either holding her in my arms or talking to her on the phone I would tell her I loved her and she would thank me. In the beginning she would try to explain herself or apologize but I would have none of that. I didn't want her to pity me for loving her. I was willing to have her in whatever capacity I could. She may have not have been able to say the words to me but I knew her well enough to be able to see what she wasn't capable of saying. It was evident in the way she touched me, the way she kissed me and the way she would look at me from across the room. I wasn't going to push her because I knew that once she told me how she felt about me she gave me the power to hurt her again.

Despite that small hurdle things were progressing quite nicely which led us to tonight. My mother had been waiting rather impatiently for this opportunity since I had first told her that Bella and I were dating again. Bella had put this off for as long as she possibly could. For some odd reason she was scared of seeing them again.

I finally got her out of the house and we drove to my parent's home in the Bay. I tried on several occasions to talk to her but she looked out the window and fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. She tore furiously at a lose thread as I pulled into the driveway and I put my hand over hers. I couldn't bear to watch the poor thread being tortured any more. I parked and before I could even open my door my mother was outside waiting anxiously for Bella to emerge from the car. This was the most excited I had ever seen her in my life. I went to Bella's side and opened her door before my mother beat me to it.

I held out my hand for hers and waited while she took a deep breath before grabbing on to it. Her hand was clammy and I squeezed it gently to let her know that everything would be okay. She held onto me tightly as I led her towards Esme who apparently had no sense of body language and threw herself at Bella and hugged her tightly.

"Oh Bella we've missed you," Bella looked lost for a moment and then finally let go of my hand and hugged her back. I could see my father waiting in the doorway and he waved me over.

"Let them have some time," he whispered as I got closer to him. We made our way into the house and I found that apparently my mother had been very busy. There were flowers everywhere and a veritable buffet of appetizers set out as if she had expected more than just Bella and me. Suddenly I panicked hoping that she hadn't invited anyone else. I looked at my father and he seemed to read my mind.

"Don't worry, she was just a bit excited and has been cooking since 6 this morning. Now that you are here I can finally try some of this," he went to grab for a shrimp off one of the trays when my mother called from outside.

"Don't you even think about touching any of that food yet," he jumped away from the tray.

"I swear I will never know how she does that," he walked out of the room grumbling under his breath.

I turned towards the front door just in time to see Bella walking in with Esme. The sun was shining from behind them and Bella was literally glowing as she walked through the door. Esme had her hand wrapped around Bella's waist as if she refused to let go of her. It was almost as if she feared that she would bolt if she wasn't being restrained. I could see the conflict inside her as her natural hosting tendencies warred with her need to keep Bella here so I went to help out. I reached for Bella's hand and pulled her away from Esme and led her to where Carlisle was.

When we walked into the room he hesitated before crossing the room and giving her a big hug. They were both cautious where Bella was concerned, not wanting to scare her away but not sure how to treat her considering how close they had been years ago. Bella didn't hesitate before returning the hug and I let out a sigh of relief.

Esme came crashing into the room with a tray piled high with food and almost pushed me out of the way to sit next to Bella. As time went on I could see the stress visibly ease from Bella's shoulders as she filled them in on the events of her life these past few years. We all avoided the reasons why she hadn't been around and just focused on the positive of having her here now.

When we had discussed every possible topic we moved into the dining room to eat the prime rib and various sides that Esme had prepared. I knew that I wouldn't have to worry about what I was going to eat for the rest of the week from the looks of the amount of food on the table. At dinner Bella and I sat across from each other but she didn't look intimidated. She had practically been family years ago and I was hoping that would still fit right back in. She belonged here. I may not have realized that fully years ago and it wasn't until after her absence that I noticed how much more alive everything was now that she was here.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from her the entire dinner and when it was over I stayed by her side as we chatted with my parents. I know that we stayed and talked for some time but I could remember nothing, I was focused on her, making sure that she was comfortable and okay. After Esme served dessert Bella rose to help her clear the dishes and I tried to do it instead but she insisted that she was okay. I just sat and watched as they walked away together into the kitchen. It was like old times, their heads slightly bent towards each other and their soft laughter carrying to me as they got further away. I turned my attention to my father and waited patiently for them to return.

BPOV

As I stood up to help Esme my stomach filled with butterflies. She had been nothing but polite to me since I walked in the door and yet I still felt nervous around her. I kept thinking back to all the messages I had deleted from her, all the calls ignored, the letters returned. Did I apologize? Did I ignore it? I wasn't sure how to proceed. I was debating as I put the dishes in the sink when she came over to me and put her arm around me. She took my hands in her own and turned me to face her.

"Bella, I am so sorry for everything that happened. I'm sorry that I didn't try harder to keep in contact. I have never stopped thinking about you, wondering if you were okay after what Edward did." Tears filled my eyes and I knew that I needed to stop her but I couldn't get the words out so I just shook my head trying to get her to stop.

"I should be the one apologizing," I somehow managed to get out. My voice sounded shaky and I tried to wipe away the tears before they could fall down my cheeks. "I never returned a single call, never acknowledged…"

She cut me off before I could continue.

"Stop now Bella. My son had just broken your heart. I never once blamed you for not wanting to talk to me. That was a very difficult time around here. I love my son and always will but during that time I will admit that I didn't like him very much. I just want to say sorry Bella, sorry for…"

It was my turn to cut her off. I had spent enough time listening to apologies for the past and now I wanted to focus on the present.

"It wasn't your fault Esme. I should have talked to you, explained to you how I was feeling at the time but it was too painful," she came up to me and wrapped her arms around me. I tried to stop them but as soon as her arms were around me the tears started to fall. "I've missed you," she didn't say anything else, she just held me until my tears stopped. As she handed me a Kleenex I saw Edward poke his head in the door and his face filled with concern as he saw me wiping away tears. He looked at his mother as if she had hurt me and was across the room in an instant taking me from her arms and wrapping his around me. He took the Kleenex from me and wiped the tears from my face.

"What happened," he kissed my forehead. "Is everything okay, do you want to leave," he kept talking but I stopped listening to what he was saying. I felt safe in his arms, I felt loved. I knew that he had been telling me for weeks but not until this moment had I actually believed it. He stood here protecting me from his family without even knowing what had happened. I didn't need him to protect me, to fight my battles for me but I did need him to love me. I'm not sure why but now that I had it everything felt complete, I felt whole again.

"I'm okay, nothing happened." He looked at me and looked unsure of whether or not to believe me but he just nodded his head and pulled me as close as he could. I could hear his heart beating in his chest, feel his arms around me and as we stood there I knew that I was in love with him again too.

I'm not sure how long we stood there, him comforting me but eventually I looked up at him. He still looked concerned and I raised my hand to his face. He closed his eyes as my fingers touched his cheek.

"Thank you for being there," he hadn't stopped anything from happening to me but he had been willing to. For so long I had wanted to appear strong to everyone around me, to prove that I didn't need anyone or anything to complete me.

"I'll always be here for you Bella, for as long as you want me to be," as I looked into his eyes I believed him. There were no words that came to me to say to him so I got up on my tiptoes and kissed him on his lips lightly. I moved my head to his chest and hoped that somehow we could make all of this craziness work.

We left not too long afterward. Both Carlisle and Esme gave me a large hug on the way out and I clung to them feeling at home again. Many years had passed and yet it was like nothing had changed. As Edward walked me to the car he didn't let go of my hand until he had safely deposited me in my seat. I was quiet, unsure of what to say and he seemed to feel the same. I could feel him look at me occasionally but I didn't acknowledge it as I looked out my window at the lights of the city passing by.

When we pulled up in front of my place I waited as he walked around to open my door and reached for the hand he held out for me. My mind was a mix of emotions, did I love him, what did I want with him, was I ready for this? As his hand wrapped around mine and I felt the warmth envelop me, the warmth that spread from my hand down through my body I knew that the answer had to be yes. Because the one thing I was sure of was that I couldn't live without him anymore. It both scared me and made my heart race. I worried about making myself vulnerable to him, about having my heart broken again but deep down I knew I wasn't that same girl that I had been years ago. Could I get hurt? Of course I could. Could he leave me? That too was an option but the same thing could be said for any relationship. I could hurt him or leave him too. I couldn't avoid happiness because I didn't want to take a chance and have things end badly. I had spent enough years avoiding life, here and now I made the decision….it was time to live again.

EPOV

She had been incredibly quiet since she had talked to my mother. It was obvious as she stared out the window that she was doing some serious thinking about something. I worried about what that might be and what conclusions she might come to. We arrived at her house and still not a single word had been uttered. I started to say something to her in the car but then decided that I didn't want this conversation to take place in a car. I wanted her to be comfortable when she told me she didn't want me anymore. I opened my door and held my hand out to her; I got no reaction as I wrapped my hand around her own. She didn't drop it though as I helped her to her door and I allowed myself a little hope as she dropped it to open her door. I stood in the doorway unsure of what to do and she turned and looked at me as if she was surprised that I hadn't followed her in.

Walking in I moved to the couch and sat down as I watched her pace back and forth. With each step that she took my anxiety increased tenfold wondering what she had to say that had her so agitated. She started and stopped many times before she finally came and sat down next to me.

"Edward…" her voice trailed off and she looked down at her hands. "I have something that I want to tell you." She was wringing her hands now and it broke my heart to see her so upset by this. I would make it easy for her.

"I understand, I know how hard it must have been for you to even try in the first place," I tried to compose my voice, to keep it from shaking. I could break down in the car; I wouldn't allow it to happen in front of her. She didn't need that image in her head. "These past few months have been the happiest of my life," I was looking at the floor, unable to see her as I spoke these words. "I understand, really I do. This was more than I could have ever hoped for," I took a deep breath as my feet blurred in front of me.

"Edward, what are you saying?" Her soft warm hand squeezed my knee and I couldn't help the shudder that went through my body at her touch.

"I'm trying to make this easy for you Bella. You don't need to feel bad, I understand that you can't do this anymore," I placed my hand on top of hers. It would torture me later but I had to touch her.

"Can't do this anymore?" My head snapped to look at her at the sound of shock in her voice. "Is that what you thought I was trying to say?" I nodded my head, unsure of the direction that the conversation was taking.

"Oh Edward, I wasn't trying to worry you. I wasn't sure of the best way to say this," she placed her hands on either side of my face and pulled my head until I was looking into her eyes. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them again she looked confident as she began to speak again. "These past few months have been amazing Edward, I feel alive again, like I have found a part of me that I hadn't realized was missing. I owe that to you. I never thought that you would be part of my life again, that I could let you back in but you were my first love and a part of my heart always belonged to you despite the past."

"Bella if there was any way I could change the past, go back," she put a finger over my lips.

"Let me finish please," I nodded and she continued. "You were always part of me Edward and always will be. I forgive you for the past. I don't want to talk about it anymore, don't want to dwell on it. I want to focus on our future Edward. I want a future with you, couldn't imagine one without you in it. Although I tried to deny it, I can't anymore and I don't want to," she looked up into my eyes and took one last breath. "I love you Edward."

Relief flooded my system as I realized she wasn't going to break up with me and then what she said sunk in. She loved me; she actually told me that she loved me. Happiness flowed through my body and the utter joy I felt at that word made me shake. I pulled her to me and as my lips found hers I knew that this was where we belonged. I pulled her onto my lap and enveloped her in my arms as we kissed. When we were both breathless she pulled back and whispered I love you against my lips. She whispered it over and over again as she placed light kisses on me. I couldn't get enough of those three words though so I moved my lips down to her neck, wanting to feel the words as they vibrated against my lips.

I told her that I loved her over and over again as my hands moved down her back, they moved under her shirt pulling her into me. She moved her head back and looked into my eyes before resting her forehead against mine. There was nothing left to say, all the important words had been used and if she never said anything thing again I would be okay because her last words made everything in my life perfect. So we sat and held each other, cherishing the moment that neither of us had every imagined could come to be. The moment that I had never dared to hope was possible.

Thank you everyone for sticking with me. I promise the rest won't take nearly as long. Thank you again and see you in about a week or so!

Jaime