A/N:

Hi there friends. Can I just say, you guys are fantastic! Thank you so much for all the love! Your reviews, follows, and favs are amazing and I really needed the pick-me-up this week, 'cause renovating an old house is crazy stressful. And packing up your house and getting it ready to sell is super stressful as well. Doing both at the same time, I don't recommend it.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy! This one's a bit of rollercoaster, so buckle up!

Obvs. : I don't own twilight or its characters, but I do own this little plot.

EPOV

"I don't understand how the hell this happened!" I shouted. "I thought you had your people everywhere, watching for her!"

"Edward, you need to calm down so that we can discuss this. Believe me, I'm not happy about this either," Garrett said, grimacing slightly as he spoke. The car came to a stop on the edge of campus. "We're here. Now try to remain calm so that I can assess the situation. If I have to worry about you, I can't do my job properly."

"Some job you're doing so far," I gritted out, slamming the car door shut behind me. I knew I was being an asshole, but seriously, how had she gotten through them a second time? I've met Renee Dwyer and criminal mastermind she is not.

"Hey, I know you're pissed, but the important thing is that Bella is safe. You and your family and friends are safe. That is my number one priority at all times."

We climbed the steps in front of the main entrance and navigated through the infinite corridor, the network of passageways that interlinked the various buildings on campus.

Garrett turned to me as we approached Bella's lab, his face a steely mask of determination. "Let me handle campus police. They aren't supposed to give me the surveillance footage for the hallway or the lab, but I'll do my best to convince them. We need to know that it was her, and we need to see how she pulled this off. This is a very secure lab. It's part of the reason I don't have a permanent guard here unless Ms. Swan is expected."

I huffed out an annoyed sigh. I knew they were stretched thin with the foundation dinner tomorrow night. Garrett had his team watching my house, Bella, Rose, Ali, Jasper, Me, and Bella's apartment along with setting up the security at the benefit venue. It made sense to leave this area unguarded when Bella was away, but I didn't have to like it.

I saw James talking to a campus police officer. He looked distraught and agitated, rocking back and forth from foot to foot as he spoke. He looked up at me, his face filled with remorse and sadness as we approached.

"Edward, I'm s-so s-s-sorry this h-h-happened," he stuttered out. I'd seen him nervous, but never to the point of stuttering, even when Vicki flirted with him the one time they'd met.

"It's not your fault, James. Can you tell us what happened?" I asked.

The officer spoke up first, "And who might you be?"

"This is Ms. Swan's boyfriend, Ed-ward C-cullen," James answered, sounding slightly less nervous. "Where is Isabella? Is she safe?"

"Yes, she's on her way," I explained. "She's always protected these days."

"I'm Garrett Knight, the head of Ms. Swan's security team. Can you tell us what happened this morning?"

The officer looked irritated by Garrett's presence, but didn't stop James from explaining. James took a deep breath and his nerves seemed to calm as he recounted his morning.

"I arrived at seven-fifteen this morning to open the lab. We use a security fob entry system making it difficult to enter the lab without proper clearance," he began, looking only at me as he spoke.

"I looked up at about quarter of eight to see Ms. Swan entering behind one of the first-year doctoral students. When I greeted her, she said good morning very quietly and went right to her workspace. It wasn't until she got up to leave twenty minutes later that I realized something was amiss.

"She was carrying a large box of materials out with her and I asked her if she needed help. She didn't turn to answer, which is very unlike Ms. Swan, who is always kind and polite to me. When she pushed open the door with her hip, her face turned toward me from behind the curtain of her hair. It was then that I realized that she was not Ms. Swan, but an older woman that looked remarkably like her. I was so stunned that I didn't react immediately and by the time I called after her, she was hurrying away.

"I called campus police and then went to check Ms. Swan's work station. It was completely cleared out. All of her research materials and logs were taken. This will be devastating to Ms. Swan. Even if you are able to recover her work, her materials will be compromised and unsuitable for a scientific study."

"Was this the woman you saw?" Garett asked bringing up an image of Renee on his phone. "Look carefully, because she is quite skilled with disguises."

James studied the image of Renee and his brow rose sharply, "Yes, that is her. She looks remarkably like Bella…I m-m-mean M-m-ms. Swan." He paused and shot a quick look of embarrassment my way. "Is she related to her somehow?"

"That's Renee," I answered. "Her mother. Bella has an order of protection against her."

"Edward!" I heard from down the corridor. I looked up to see Bella sprinting down the hallway toward us. She launched herself into my arms and clung to me tightly. "What happened? Did she hurt anyone?"

I wrapped her securely in my arms and kissed her head. "No Love, she didn't hurt anyone…" I paused, not knowing how to tell her the heartbreaking news about her work. She'd been making so much progress in her research these last couple of months; I just hoped this setback wouldn't shatter her.

She tensed in my arms and pulled back to look me in the eye. "What is it? What did she do now?" her voice was hard and resigned and it broke my heart to hear her sounding so broken.

"She snuck into the lab and ransacked your workspace, Love," I answered. "She disguised herself as you to gain access and made off with all of your work. James says that your workspace was completely cleaned out."

Her face was impassive as she absorbed what I was telling her. She sat in shocked silence for longer than I was comfortable with, but I wanted to give her a minute to process. Finally, she turned in my arms and shot a pained look at James who was fidgeting and dancing around awkwardly like he needed to pee or something.

"I'm so so s-s-s-sorry, B-b-bella. She looked so much like you. I didn't sus-s-spect anything until she was g-g-gone," James stuttered out. He was wringing his hands so aggressively I was afraid he'd draw blood.

Bella turned her face back toward me. Her eyes looked haunted and a broken sob ripped through her. Her body sagged as she seemed to crumple, defeated, in my arms. Pulling her against me tightly, I tried to offer her my strength as she had done for me so many times since we met.

BPOV

I was numb as Edward spoke with Garrett and campus police. I was numb as I let him guide me, flanked by Jane and a guard I didn't recognized, toward a waiting car. Numb as he lifted me and carried me up to our bedroom, and number still as he held me on his lap, stroking my hair and whispering sweet words of comfort. It was like I was watching everything happen from a great distance. My tears continued and my body shook with pained sobs, but I felt so removed from my body's reactions.

"Shh, ssh, baby. I've got you, Bella," I heard Edward's gruff whisper. "I'm here, baby."

I could hear the distress in his voice, but I couldn't seem to calm myself enough to reassure him. My head felt light and my face and throat were raw from crying. I tried to hold on to his voice, tried to grasp onto it and let it ground me, but my body was racked with grief and shock.

How could Renee hate me so much? I knew she was sick. I knew she wasn't completely in control of herself, but she was still my mother, the last person I ever expected to be reveling in my suffering. She'd taken all sense of security from me, made me live in fear and uncertainty, and now she had taken my work from me, the one thing that had always filled me with purpose and given my life meaning. Even when I felt most alone in the world, I knew that my work, my contributions to medical research, were meaningful and I poured myself into it when my family made me feel unimportant or unloved. I had science, I had hope for innovation and advancement and discovery. I had hope. Period.

"Don't let her win, baby," Edward sighed out, barely audible above the sounds of my anguish. "Don't let her take this from you. Don't let her break you."

I played his words over and over in my mind, knowing he was right, but not having the strength to accept them yet. I must have cried myself out eventually, because I woke up some time later in Edward's strong embrace. He had shifted us down onto the bed at some point and enveloped me in the protective cage of his arms. His green eyes met mine and they were filled with pain and worry.

"I'm better now," I croaked out, my throat raw and dry. "I'm sorry. I…"

"Don't," he said softly. "Don't apologize. You have nothing to apologize for." He ran his fingers softly across my cheek. "I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry she did this to you."

I didn't answer immediately, unsure of how to voice my feelings. There were so many emotions coursing through me it was difficult to distill everything down for him. "I heard what you said," I whispered finally. "About not letting her win. I know you're right. That being said, I know I have to mourn this loss before I can move on; I need today. I need to grieve all the work I've lost."

"I understand. You can take as long as you need. I'm here," he vowed, kissing my forehead softly.

I hummed and smiled softly. His touch, his love, had a way of easing my hurt. Without really thinking about it, I tilted my head back and captured his lower lip between my own. His body stilled in response, but I sucked and nibbled on his lips until he responded, tugging me firmly against his body and letting me deepen the kiss. I moaned as my tongue explored his mouth. He stilled again at the sound and pulled away from me slightly.

"Baby, we should stop," he protested. "You should be resting. I know you're hurting."

"No, I don't want to stop," I argued. "I want to forget, just for a little while. You always make me feel better. Help me forget…please." My voice was tinged with desperation as I pleaded with him to understand what I needed.

He stared with a furrowed brow into my eyes, searching for something, but he didn't answer me with words. Instead he attacked my mouth again with renewed need. His lips and hands moved with a new sense of urgency and I quickly caught up to him. Our clothes were shed by hurried, frenzied hands. Edward's lips descended on my breast as soon as he'd freed me from my bra. He nipped and sucked on the tip of my engorged nipple. I didn't even try to contain the fervent moan that erupted from my throat.

My hands pushed clumsily at his boxer-briefs until they slid down his body, exposing him to me fully. I grasped him firmly in my fist. He thrust his hips, gliding his length in and out of my fisted hand. His lips moved to my other breast, paying it equal attention. My back arched against him as his hand slid between my thighs, his long calloused fingers slipping inside me, pushing and pulling within me, sending me writhing and gasping for breath.

I whimpered when he withdrew his hand, but he swiftly turned us so that he was sitting and I was straddling his hips. Our eyes locked as I lined myself up and sank down on his hard length; I felt as if I was drowning in the intensity of the moment. Every nerve in my body was humming with energy as I rocked and rolled my hips against his. His rough hands gripped my ass and pulled me down powerfully, unsatisfied with my slow rocking. He continued to draw my body to his over and over with hard, deep movements. My hands gripped onto his shoulders for support as he guided my body to move with his.

I was so far gone that when he slipped his fingers between my cheeks and pressed them up against my rear entrance, my back arched almost violently as my orgasm crashed over me without warning. He thrust his hips up a few more times and fell over the edge with me, pulsing deeply within me.

My grip on his shoulders tightened, helping me to pitch myself forward and lean against his chest while I recovered. The light sweat that covered us both began to chill my skin as my body calmed. I must have shivered because Edward lifted the sheet and draped it over my back and circled his arms around me. We lay like this until our breathing had slowed and our hearts had calmed.

"Feel better?" he asked, with only a slightly teasing tone in his voice.

I chuckled against him and he groaned, stilling my body by placing his hands firmly on my hips. Realizing that he was still inside me, I lifted off of him and nestled down into his side. He tugged on the sheet, bringing it up around us so that it covered my body more completely.

"I do feel better, thank you," I answered only half joking. I added more seriously, "Your touch has a way of comforting me, not just when we make love, but anytime you hold me or kiss me. It's like a little reminder of your love. I know it sounds cheesy, but I've never felt so loved as I do with you. Not in any way. So, when every touch, every soft kiss to my temple or lips, is so filled with tenderness and affection from you, I'm reminded that you're here with me through things like this. You're here, loving me, supporting me and I draw strength from that. Does that make sense?"

His eyes were so filled with emotion when I met his gaze, but his next words were so unexpected I almost laughed, "Marry me." It wasn't a question. It was a gentle plea, so filled with ardent love.

"What?" I asked, bewildered by this sharp turn in our conversation.

"Bella, I love you so damned much. Everything you just described, I feel when I am with you. I've wasted enough time in my life with inaction and I won't do it anymore. Please," he said, leaning over, stretching across the bed and fumbling in the nightstand for something. "I've been trying to find a way since practically the moment I met you, to ask you this question."

He turned to me and held out a small blue velvet box. Flipping the lid open, he revealed the loveliest antique ring I could ever have imagined. My eyes snapped to his in disbelief. This wasn't some post-coital bliss induced proposal to be regretted later; he had planned for this.

"This isn't how I meant to do this. I wanted to do something grand and romantic for you, because you deserve something more thought out than this," he gestured toward the messy bed and I couldn't help but giggle at the absurdity of his naked proposal. His lips pulled up in that crooked grin I loved and he cupped my cheek gently in his free hand. "Please, Bella. Please say you forgive me for this horrible excuse of a proposal. It seems like at every turn we're faced with drama or threats and I don't want to wait for the perfect moment anymore. I want to face those things together. Please, Love say you want that too. Say you'll be my wife…"

He brushed his thumb across my cheekbone and only then did I realize that there were tears slowly tracking down my face. I smiled softly through my tears and answered, "Yes. God, yes I'll marry you."

The smile that lit up his face was brilliant. He tugged me against him and kissed me soundly before pulling away so that he could extract the ring from the box. He lifted my hand from his lap and gently slid the ring onto my finger.

"It's so lovely, Edward."

"Do you like it?" he asked shyly. "It was my grandmother's, but if you want something more modern we can go shopping for something more your taste."

"No, it's perfect," I said honestly. "I love that it was your grandmother's. Thank you for giving it to me. And for the record your proposal was perfect. Grand, romantic gestures aren't really my thing. This, you and me together, is all I need."

"God, I love you," he said, pulling me to his body again and infusing his kiss with the passion and truth behind his words. We got lost in each other for a second time, avoiding the world and enjoying our little bubble for as long as we could.

EPOV

I couldn't believe I had finally asked her. I didn't mean to ask, but suddenly as I listened to her explain the connection I felt for her so perfectly from her own perspective, I knew. I knew I couldn't wait another minute to ask her to be mine forever. Thank God she'd said yes!

"Are you sure you're up for this?" I asked as we finished getting dressed after our shower.

"Yeah," she said sadly. "I know it sucks, but I have to face this head on. Your words keep going through my head like a mantra. I can't let her win. I can let her break me."

"You're so strong, baby," I said.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

"Everyone's here," Em said gruffly through the phone. I could hear the anger in his voice. I love how protective he'd become of Bella.

"Yeah, we're on our way," I answered before disconnecting.

"Okay, I'm ready," Bella said behind me.

I turned and pulled her into a tight hug. "Whatever happens, we'll deal with it together."

She smiled sadly and gave me a soft kiss before we headed down to meet everyone in the kitchen. As we approached we could hear arguing coming from the room. Emmett's voice was loudest, and I wasn't particularly surprised to see him all up in Garrett's face when we entered the room.

"You're supposed to keep her safe!" he snarled. "What the fuck are you doing? With the money my brother's paying you, you could have hired an army to keep her safe. What the hell happened—"

"That's enough Emmett!" I called, cutting off his rant. "Garrett and his team are doing exactly as I asked them to. They're prioritizing the safety of everyone here. Though we're all upset at what's happened, we need to look at the positives—"

"What fuckin' positives?" he asked incredulously.

"Well, at least we know she's here in the city. That's more than we knew yesterday," I answered. "And we know that she is definitely still targeting Bella. And as much as I hate that, I would rather know as much as we can. It takes power away from her. So far, it's seemed like we were chasing a shadow, but now at least she's shown her hand."

"Edward's right," Garrett said. "Can everyone sit down and try to listen calmly. I have more to share with you."

We all gathered around the kitchen table, much like we had after we'd returned from Vegas. I was looking forward to a time when we could gather like this for happier reasons than this.

Garrett pulled out his tablet and cued up a video on the screen. "I was able to get them to let me look at the video. They wouldn't release the bulk of the footage to me, but they did give me a few short clips. Renee has been staking out the lab, each day in a new disguise. She entered the lab two days ago without incident, but only looked around and found Bella's work station before leaving. A recon mission, we're assuming."

We watched the footage as he narrated the images on the screen. The quality wasn't great, but it was still possible to make her out if you looked closely at certain frames.

"This is today," he said as she flashed on the screen in her Bella disguise. It was disturbing how convincing her disguise was.

"Well fuck," Rose muttered beside me. I was surprised to see my brother wrap his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. I was surprised further to see her lean into his side and rest her head on his shoulder.

"So far, this hasn't shown us much more than we already knew," Garrett said. "But, one of the outside cameras caught her getting into a waiting car driven by an unidentified man."

He paused the video and I gasped at what was on the edge of the frame.

"We you able to trace it?"

A slight look of triumph came over Garrett's face. "Yes, we traced it to a rental company and assumed it would be rented under an assumed name, but we were wrong. It was rented to this man," An image appeared on his screen of an unremarkable white guy who appeared to be in his mid-forties with slightly balding pale, blonde hair. "Felix Shuler. We're still looking into how they know each other, Jenks is on it as we speak. So far what we do know is, he's rented this car in his name and a room at the Marriot. The desk clerk there identified Renee by her picture as a guest staying with him there. So far they haven't returned to the room, but we have people all over that hotel and have gained access to their security footage. Our people are going over it carefully now.

"Bella," Garrett said fixing his gaze on her with concern apparent on his face. "I am truly sorry that she was able to take things that were so important to you, but this is the break we needed. She's getting careless now. It's only a matter of time before we catch up to her."

"Thank you Garrett," Bella said reaching her hand across to clasp his. "I really appreciate all that you are doing for us. I am devastated by the loss of my work from the lab, but I don't blame you or your team for that. Please, just help us put a stop to all this, so that we can find some peace again."

"Oh. My. God. Bella! What the hell is that on your hand?!" Ali shrieked from the other end of the table causing everyone to gape at Bella's hand.

"Um," Bella said shyly. "A ring?" I chuckled at her answer, which sounded like a question.

"I know it's a ring! Damnit Bella, that's Nana Platt's ring! Oh! Oh! I can't believe it really?" Ali's eyes were turned toward me with excited anticipation.

"Yes, really," I answered. "I asked Bella to marry me earlier today and for some unknown reason she agreed to be my wife." I couldn't contain my smile any longer even when Bella reached over to smack my chest at my last comment.

Suddenly I was being pulled into a strong hug by my giant of a brother. "Good job bro! It's about fuckin' time!"

I chuckled at his absurdity. My eyes drifted to Bella, who despite the crushing blow she took today, looked radiant and happy as our little family surrounded us offering their congratulations. Seeing the joy on her face, I was happy that I hadn't waited for some mythical 'perfect moment'. Our moment had been perfect for us and I was able to bring a little bit of light to her darkness.

A/N:

Fic Recs:

Okay, I'm reading a bunch of great WIP fics right now. Here we go:

Summer Rain By Ninkita:

She walked in, with her attitude and a polka dot umbrella. Whatever else I expected this miserable, rainy night, it definitely wasn't this.

So I am usually way too impatient for drabble fics, especially WIP drabble stories, BUT this one has me on the edge of my seat. Totally worth the agony of waiting for short updates ;o) Lovely writing with intriguing characters and plot!

Saudade By: Violet Bliss:

Unhappy with her monotonous and seemingly aimless life, 24 year-old Bella Swan sends a wish up into the universe for more. It answers, leading her back to Forks, for a chance to fulfil the destiny always planned for her. But will the reluctant, handsome and butterscotch-eyed Dr Edward Cullen let her?

So enjoying this story so far! It's like twilight, but the timings and circumstances are all wonky.

Bella Swan USSS SPAM By: LillianBroderick :

Bella had worked hard and studied hard. She graduated at the top of class. What would her first assignment be? #HEA (of course) #B/E

Where to begin with this story? It's so, so, so good, for starters. I love this old-timey Edward. He's adorable. Love his fab apartment and even digging Tanya so far ; ) Seriously eager for updates!