A/N: Welcome back! Apologies to those that have been following all this time and been waiting so long for an update. Despite the long hiatuses I'm still determined to finish this. I don't anticipate a lot of chapters left, but at least a few. Thanks to you readers who continue to follow - especially to those you who take the time to leave a review or send me an encouraging message. Hello and welcome to you newer readers who have only recently started reading this!

Chapter Twenty One

New & Familiar Terrain

Bella's nerves start to kick in when she sees the Cullen home come into view. It's a large and beautiful house. The architecture is the artful combination of elegant modernism and rustic appeal, and although it appears quite luxurious it also looks perfectly compatible with the natural environment.

Despite feeling a little anxious to be formally introduced to Alice's family for the first time in her home, she can't help but be curious to see where Alice lives and what the inside of a vampire's home looks like. Bella still feels like there is so much she really doesn't know about Alice…and vampires for that matter. She was still coming to terms with the existence of vampires as reality, and despite the fear that inevitably comes with such a monumental discovery, she is fascinated and she desires to learn all she can about Alice.

When they reach as far as the porch Bella stalls before Alice opens the door.

"Wait" Bella suddenly blurts out.

"Is something wrong?" Alice pauses while reaching for the door and turns towards her.

"No…it just hit me that I'm going into a home full of vampires. What if they don't like me?"

"Bella, there's no reason to be nervous. They already know how I feel about you. And they're going to love you, I'm sure of it."

"I'm glad one of us is…" Bella lets out a breath that can be seen in the chilly air and shoves her hands in her pockets.

"If you're not ready to meet them just yet we don't have to today. I just thought you'd like to see where I live."

Bella meets Alice's eyes and the affection reflected from shining amber helps her feel a little more at ease.

"Well I'd like to at least see what your room looks like. And I suppose it wouldn't hurt to say hello at least."

"We won't stay long if you don't want. I promise no one is going to bite you." A slight mischievous quirk of the vampire's lips hints that she's attempting to put Bella at ease with humor.

Bella gives her a sidelong glance and the somber look in her eyes tells Alice she didn't find the joke all that funny.

"Sorry, bad joke, I know." Alice bites her lips and tries another approach. "You know you'll be safe with me, right?"

Bella unconsciously mimics the lip biting gesture as her face takes on a thoughtful expression.

Just as Alice is about to suggest taking the nervous girl home, Bella takes out one of her hands and the warmth envelops her much colder hand when she picks it up and intertwines their fingers, apparently feeling more confident at this connection.

"Let's go inside. As long as you're with me I feel safe."

"You are safe with me." Alice lightly kisses Bella on the lips before opening the door and keeps hold of her hand as they cross the threshold into the house.

The sounds of the television can be heard at a volume so low that it would barely be heard by most humans. Bella picked it up right away, all her senses seemingly heightened as she let Alice guide her further into the home. It was every bit as beautiful on the inside as she imagined it would be from its exterior.

When they reached the main living room three pairs of honey colored eyes are already on them, whatever was playing on their flat screen television that took up nearly the whole wall was entirely ignored as their full attention was them, as if waiting especially for their arrival. Though there were varying degrees of anticipation on each of the faces that greeted them.

Of course they were aware of their presence before they even opened the door, and their expressions ranged from playful curiosity and earnest cordiality to one of almost cool indifference.

"Hey everyone, I'd like you all to meet Bella" Alice happily chirped.

Bella immediately recognized Rosalie and Emmett from school. There was only one person in the room she hadn't seen before, and she was the first person to gracefully rise from her seat and approach them with a warm smile.

"Its so nice to finally meet you Bella. I'm Esme."

"Nice to meet you too", Bella replied with a shy smile.

"And you probably already know that's Rosalie and Emmett" Alice other hand gestured palm up in the direction of her adopted siblings.

Bella nodded and she gave them a small awkward wave of her free hand. "Yeah…um, hi."

"Nice to finally meet the girl that's caught Alice's eye" A grinning Emmett booms out in a loud voice as he springs off the couch to get a better look at the shy human. "Sure, we've seen each other at school but its nice to officially meet you Bella." He then shoves out a hand towards her which she accepts for a handshake with a smile. Alice chuckles at her brother's awkward attempt at manners and is secretly relieved that he remembered his own strength and didn't crush Bella's delicate hand with his enormous paw.

She stole a quick glance to Rosalie who sat stoically on the couch and made no gesture to rise. The look she was giving the blonde prompted her to finally speak. "Hi", was all she would offer for the moment.

Alice narrowed her eyes a bit at the lack of effort but she let it go for now.

"Hi Rosalie" Bella made the effort to establish polite eye contact as she spoke but had a difficult time maintaining it. Something behind Rosalie's eyes suddenly made Bella feel like a fish out of water. It wasn't that Rosalie was trying to be intimidating, but something about her cool beauty and demeanor made her feel strangely exposed, as if she was under scrutiny and she suddenly feared that somehow she did something that the blonde disapproved of, whatever it was she knew not.

Looking at them now Bella wonders how their unique appearance doesn't garner even more attention than it already does. Now that she knows they're all vampires their particularly pale complexion and peculiar eye color makes them all stand out so clearly from everyone else. She makes a concerted effort to not stare in wonderment and tries to act as though this was just an ordinary first time visit to her girlfriend's house. Well, not that they were official, or did this make it a little official?

The soothing voice of the maternal vampire catches her out of her internal musings.

"Can I get you something to drink dear? We keep a few things on hand. Perhaps you'd like something warm on a cold day like today. Some tea or maybe cocoa?" Esme offers.

"Yeah…um some cocoa would be nice, thank you" Bella immediately feels more at ease with Esme's kindness.

"I want to show Bella my room. I'll be back down for her cocoa in a few minutes" Alice smiles and slides a hand around Bella's arm to coax her into moving towards the stairs.

"No bother, I'll just bring it up when its ready" Esme replies as she strides towards the kitchen, happy to be able to make something for their guest.

"Can't wait to get her alone in your room huh?" Emmett adds with a wink.

"Emmett…" Alice growls out lowly in warning.

"You can at least share her for a little while, you just got here!"

"Emmett, behave!" Esme calls out from the kitchen.

"What? I just thought it'd be nice to have someone else to play Mass Effect with for a change!"

Once in Alice's room Bella was immediately struck by how spacious it was in comparison to her own. She could easily fit three of her rooms in this one. It was surprisingly well lit, in large part due to the wide glass door windows. An entire wall lined with oak wood bookshelves was filled with books, and an adjacent wall was a massive library of DVDs.

Bella's own love of books made her instantly taken by the sight and she softly let out an appreciative sound. She turns her head when she feels hands tug lightly at her coat.

"May I take your coat off?" Alice offers with an amused smile.

"Yeah, thanks." she feels the nearness of her as Alice pulls her coat off, a gesture to simply make her feel more comfortable yet there's a flutter within her belly and a warmth quickly spreads throughout her entire body.

Alice placed the coat on the bed then took off her own wool jacket as Bella takes a closer look at the impressive collection of movies and books. What made it even more impressive was how everything looked so organized and displayed with a sort of elegant symmetry. Not a single book or disc out of place. It was like something out of a home décor magazine where everything was displayed to look pristine and flawless.

"So, do you like my room?" Alice is already sure that Bella does, but its always nice to hear.

Bella nods, "Yeah, its pretty cool. It's not the room of an average teenager that's for sure, everything looks so…perfect."

"Well I'm not average and am not really a teenager."

"I know", Bella quickly replies, her voice barely above a whisper, but Alice hears her clearly. The brunette turns to meet her eyes and her awkwardness again takes over as her hands find themselves sliding into her back pockets. Alice noticed how Bella always had a habit of putting her hands in pockets whenever she felt nervous. She'd rather have those hands in her own and be the source of her comfort.

This experience was also a new one for Alice. It was the first time she had Bella in her home, and it felt thrilling to have her alone in her own bedroom. Not only was she her first visitor since they've lived in Forks, but she couldn't remember ever inviting anyone into her bedroom. The few times she let herself indulge in any dalliances with other women (and it had been a very long time), she either would go to their home or arrange to meet in a high end hotel room. It strikes her suddenly how she didn't even consider it odd that she wanted Bella to see her room, which was her own personal and private haven. Aside from Esme and Rosalie she rarely has anybody step into her bedroom.

Alice feels quite pleased as she sits on her bed and pats the space next to her, her smile inviting but not too seductive. This was new territory for them both and really, she wants to make Bella more comfortable than anything right now.

Bella's eyes scan the luxurious looking queen sized bed as she moves towards it, feeling the pounding of her heart take up tempo as she sits next to Alice.

"It's a nice bed." Bella feels her cheeks heat up as soon as the words escape from her lips. "I mean, you're lucky to have such a big bed. Mine is small compared to yours."

"Not all of us have a bed, its not really a necessity since we don't sleep. But I like having one."

"You don't sleep?" It's astonishing, but a part of Bella isn't entirely surprised.

"No, vampires don't sleep, but I've come as close to it as is possible for a vampire, usually by deep meditation."

Bella instantly recalls their "sleepover", and realizes that her suspicions about Alice not sleeping that night were correct.

"To never sleep…that seems so incredible. I mean, without sleep humans would either go insane or die from exhaustion."

Before Alice can reply there's a soft knock on her door.

"I have Bella's cocoa", Esme's voice chirps on the other side.

"Come in", Alice doesn't raise her voice but continues using the same conversational level as a moment ago. As soon as this registers with Bella the door it opens and the motherly figure enters with a smile and a steaming mug in one hand.

"It may be too hot so you should blow on it or wait a minute before drinking it", she tells Bella as she carefully takes the drink.

"Thank you", Bella holds it for a moment then realizes that Esme is still standing there with a rather expectant look on her face.

So she blows at the steaming milky surface and takes a sip, careful not to spill anything. She adds an appreciative, "Mmm…it's good", complete with an affirming nod and smile. Esme's wide smile immediately expands and she looks quite proud of herself.

"I'm sorry we don't have any marshmallows right now, I didn't know if you even like marshmallow, but it wouldn't be a problem to get some if you like. I could just send Rose or Emmett down to the store and-"

"No, it's fine. I mean I do like marshmallow but it's not necessary. Really, its perfect. Thank you." Bella feels an affection start to grow for the maternal vampire's eagerness to make her the perfect drink.

"Thank you Esme", Alice was pleased that her adopted mother was being thoughtful towards Bella, but she was starting to wonder how long she would stand there and watch her drink her cocoa.

Esme seemed to take the hint and gave a final nod at Bella before leaving the room.

"Please don't feel you have to finish that just to please her", Alice whispers to Bella.

"Actually it's rather good but still a little too hot", she replies as she carefully places the cup on the nightstand, relieved to have the hot drink out of her hands for the moment and someplace safe.

"So...", Bella tries to pick up where they left off, "what's it like to never sleep? It's just seems so strange to me. I mean, not that you're strange, but I'm having a hard time seeing how it's possible."

"Well it does give me more time, which isn't really an issue for vampires as it is. As I said, I like to use the time most people are asleep to meditate, it helps keeps me centered. I think more vampires would benefit from that practice and should do it on a regular basis. And I do read a lot and watch a lot of movies as you can see."

"That would also explain why your room is so immaculate", Bella muses aloud.

"Well every vampire has their own hobbies. One of mine is interior decorating, which Esme also likes. Rosalie likes her cars and anything with a motor, Emmett likes sports and video games."

"You're obviously quite good at it." Bella takes another casual glance at the room.

"Thank you. I'm actually quite good at a lot of things you'll find."

"I don't doubt that." Bella returns the playful smile Alice gives her, and suddenly the room feels much warmer than it did before.

"You know since we've lived here this is the first time I brought anybody into my room."

"Oh…well I'm glad to be the first." She paused for a moment, with a thoughtful expression on her face before asking, "Does it get lonely for you?"

Alice looked into Bella's eyes and without thinking of the answer spoke from her heart, "I never realized how lonely I was before until I met you."

Bella instinctively moved to close the small distance between them, wanting to kiss her more than ever before. She pressed her lips softly against Alice; it wasn't the lustful kind of kiss as before, but the kind of kiss that came from her desire to express her growing love and affection for the beautiful vampire. Her mouth slowly moved from her lips to kiss along Alice's jawline and she gave one last lingering kiss along her slender neck before wrapping her arms around her slender frame, and hugged her close to her body. She rested her chin on Alice's neck and whispered, "I feel the same way about you Alice."

More gentle kisses were exchanged for a while, and Bella's kisses tasted warm and sweet from the cocoa. Alice relished it and how it made her think of winter, a blissful kind, spent in front of a warm fire in the arms of her beloved.

Eventually Bella took up her warm drink again, when Alice suggested that it would get cold. She glanced sideways when she thought she heard a murmur escape from Alice lips. Alice eyes were toward the door and she was speaking softly but she couldn't grasp the words as they spilled out at a speed so fast to sound almost like incomprehensible gibberish. She raised an eyebrow in confusion and Alice turned back to face her.

"Sorry I was just answering Esme, she asked me something."

"Hm? I didn't hear her… Were you talking in English just then?"

"Well we can hear things that humans can't pick up. Yes, I was speaking English, though it may be too fast for you to understand when we speed up our speech."

Bella contemplated this as she held the cup in her hands, soaking in the warmth.

"Anyway, she wanted me to ask you if you wanted to stay for dinner."

"Oh, well that's very kind…but how would that work, I mean since I don't exactly share the same diet as you?"

"Well Esme is excited to try to cook something for you, but she wants to know what you like. She'll probably send Emmett or Rosalie to go shopping first, but really it's not a problem. That is, if you'd like to stay."

While Bella took a moment to consider this she suddenly found it a little disconcerting that anything she said in what she thought was the privacy of Alice's bedroom could in fact be heard by other vampires in the house. Her pause made Alice think maybe Bella wasn't quite ready for dinner with the Cullens.

"If not that's perfectly fine. Maybe some other time. I know this is all still a lot to take in."

Bella reached her hand out and covered one of Alice's. "It's not that….well maybe a little, but I should probably have dinner with Charlie. I like to cook for him when I can, or at least have dinner with him. Otherwise he'd just have pizza and beer, which is fine but that's about all he'd have if I wasn't there."

"Well its important that you also spend time with Charlie, and we can't have him living off pizza all the time, can we?" Alice smiles in understanding.

"But I really appreciate the offer and maybe…some other time?"

"That would be fine. Whenever you're ready, really. So how does tomorrow sound?" Alice quickly answers playfully, though a part of her seriously wanted to spend more time with Bella.

Bella couldn't help but smile at the hopeful look on Alice's face. She's so adorable…

Before Bella could answer a muffled ring tone interrupts from the pocket of her coat. Alice hands her the coat for her to fish it out.

"It's Charlie, I should probably answer it."

"Sure, go ahead. Oh, do you want me to give you some privacy?"

Bella wonders if there was such a thing in this house but answers, "No, its fine" and answers the call.

"Hey Charlie", although Bella is pleased to hear from her father she had wished for a little more alone time with Alice.

"Bella, I'm on my way home and should be there in less than half an hour."

"Okay, I'm at Alice's house but I should be there by then."

"Glad to hear she's keeping company. Don't rush on my account."

"No its no problem. I wanted to make something for dinner but we need to do some grocery shopping first."

"I can take you to the store", Alice offers, hoping she's not intruding.

Bella gives her an appreciative glance. "No, its okay Charlie, Alice was kind enough to offer me a ride to the store before I get home. Yeah, I'll see you soon, so stop talking on the phone while you're driving."

When the call ends Bella sees that Alice is putting on her coat again so she does the same.

"You really don't mind?"

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I minded hon."

"Well I appreciate this, it's one less thing that Charlie has to deal with. It was supposed to be his day off but he got called in for some police business. From what little he told me something pretty horrible happened."

"Oh? What happened?"

"Um I don't know all the details, but it involves some deaths in the Olympic National Forest."

Alice feels an alarm go off in her mind, but carefully keeps her expression neutral. She knows its likely that these were the same deaths briefly relayed to her by Esme when she called her while they were in the forest. Carlisle had made mention to her, apparently he had come across this news while at work and Esme felt it important enough to call Alice, if nothing else than to keep her guard up while venturing outside. Though they haven't had time to discuss it as of yet, there was an underlying worry among the Cullens that the deaths were caused by other vampires. And with Edwards whereabouts still unknown there was an unspoken fear that he may be involved himself.

"That is disturbing news", Alice spoke out loud but decided until they all knew more there was no reason to hit any panic buttons.

"Come, let's get you to the grocery so that you can have a wonderful dinner with Charlie."

After they returned from the shopping trip, which Alice found fascinating since she hadn't been grocery shopping in a long time, they put the groceries away and Alice offered to help Bella cook. This was again new territory for Alice, who was eager to learn more about cooking, thinking it would come in handy if Bella ever wanted to come to her house to eat. Also, it was a way to prolong her time with Bella before she left.

Although her cooking skills were a bit rusty she proved herself to be quite helpful, especially when it came to chopping vegetables.

Bella watched in amazement as Alice sliced up the carrots at vampire speed, the motion of her hand and knife blurring as she took mere seconds to chop through enough vegetables to make the salad.

"Wish you could stay for dinner." Bella thinks out loud.

Alice wishes she could too, but says "I could, but it would seem a little rude not to eat in front of your father."

"Well that didn't stop you from sitting with me when we went out to eat on our date."

"Ah, well that just shows how badly I wanted to go out with you. That I would risk seeming like such a weird, uncouth girl." Alice responds with a lopsided grin.

"I didn't find you to be weird…well maybe a little."

When Alice quirks an eyebrow at her Bella quickly adds, "But in a good way!"

"That's okay, I know it must have seemed strange."

"Lucky for you I happen to like strange. Well, at least your kind of strange."

"Oh and what is my kind of strange?" Alice asks in a low and sultry tone as she steps closer to Bella as she wipes her hands with a kitchen towel, now that all the food was either prepared or in the oven cooking.

"The kind that causes flutters in my stomach" Bella murmurs when Alice's hands land on her hips, drawing her nearer.

"What else?" Alice leans up close enough for their lips to almost touch.

"The kind that drives me crazy…umm…well maybe crazy isn't that right word…"

Alice tilts her head slightly to the side and gives her a reassuring smile. "There are no right or wrong words, if its how you feel."

"Yeah, I suppose."

Before Bella can follow through on the kiss she was sure was coming, they hear the front door opening and Charlie's signature heavy footsteps inside. They release the hold they have on one another and discreetly take a step back when they hear Charlie exclaim, "Well something sure smells good in here!"

He looks tired but has a smile on his face as he walks into the kitchen.

"Hey Alice, nice to see you. Did you girls have a good time today?"

"Hi Charlie! Yes, we did. At least I was able to get Bella out of the house for a while" Alice answers in friendly greeting.

"Yeah, we had a nice lunch and I got to meet Alice's family at her house" Bella adds.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. So you're staying for dinner right?"

"I'd love to, but I need to get back home. I had fun helping Bella in the kitchen though, you're lucky she's quite the chef."

"Well even more reason you should have dinner with us. You sure you can't just call home at let them know you're staying for dinner?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm sorry I can't tonight, but you two have a wonderful dinner. I should get going." Alice replies in a way that Charlie always finds charming, as she gracefully leaves the kitchen to pick up her coat from the living room, where Bella follows her.

"Well thanks for helping Bella, and you're always welcome here you know." Charlie calls out as he heads for the fridge hoping to find a beer to drink.

"I enjoyed today…just wish you didn't have to go so soon." Bella says quietly as they near the front door.

"I really enjoyed today too." Alice stands still for a moment, wondering if they could risk a quick goodbye kiss.

"Thank you, for today…and helping me with dinner and everything." Bella's eyes drop down to Alice's lips as though she's thinking the same thing. She glances behind her shoulder to see if Charlie is still preoccupied in the kitchen before turning back and giving Alice a quick peck on the lips before pulling back.

Alice chuckles at the awkward gesture but is happy that Bella took the opportunity.

"Well if you feel like it give me a call tonight before you go to bed."

"Okay, I'll do that."

Alice leaves with a good feeling about the progress that she and Bella were making, but she isn't looking forward to going home and finding out more about what is troubling all of the Cullens.