Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

EPOV

I held Bella's naked body in my arms as we lay over the matted flowers beneath us, trailing my fingers along her spine. She shuddered and giggled softly.

"You really need to stop that," she reprimanded teasingly. "Or else we'll have to start round three. We'll never leave the meadow at this rate."

I smiled as I replayed round one in my head, as well as round two. She was right, I needed to stop or we'd never leave. Though, spending forever in our meadow, naked with Bella, sounded like a future I could get behind. But alas, I knew we both needed to get back. There was still much to be done in regards to covering up our disappearance, and unfortunately, we couldn't waste anymore time.

"I guess we should be getting back home. Everyone will be waiting for us," I said reluctantly. "I bet Alice is chomping at the bit to see you."

She laughed as she rolled off me, rising to her feet. "We should get dressed then I suppose." She began scanning the area, looking for our discarded clothing. Her eyes landed on her shirt, but before she could take off after it, I pulled her into me.

"I'd much rather stay like this for the rest of forever," I purred, trailing my lips down her neck and over the swells of her breasts.

She moaned loudly, and though her body was ready and willing to start up 'round three', her lips said something different. "I'd love nothing more than to stay here and have my wicked way with you," she breathed heavily. "But unfortunately, we don't have only us to think about."

I growled disapprovingly. I felt Bella's fingers against my chest, inching me away from her, though the lower part of her body was pressing into me, telling me she didn't mean what she said.

"Fine," I huffed, pulling my lips away, a groan escaping her as I did so. I smiled and kissed her lips. "Then let's go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can pick up where we left off."

She giggled, smacking my chest playfully.

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as Bella and I searched for our clothes that were so haphazardly thrown across the meadow. I replayed the hours we had spent finally indulging in each other the way we had always imagined, and though I had every intention of taking Bella even in her human form, a part of me was glad that our first time making love was after her change. I knew I would never have harmed her, but with both of us on as equals, it was a relief not to have to hold back, especially during a moment so special; so beautiful.

I'll be the first to admit that I had often succumb to many fantasies in regards to Bella, but none had even come close to the reality of what it was like to finally be joined as one with my angel. Bella and I were a match in every way imaginable, and there was no doubt in my mind that I would have loved her no less if we had never taken this monumental step, but now that we had, I felt even closer to her. Knowing that no other man would ever experience Bella in that way was an unbelievable feeling. To know that we had shared one of the most intimate experiences with each other, and no one else, made me feel overjoyed.

I watched as Bella slid the last button of her top into place. She turned to me and held out a hand. "Let's go home."

She was home for me now.

We didn't run, but walked hand in hand through the woods back to the house. We were just like any other couple hiking through the woods that day, enjoying the peace and tranquility of the surrounding forest.

We took our time, both of us knowing full well what was waiting for us back home; a firestorm of questions for Bella, and the reality of the devastation that Bella's change left behind. She was aware of the measures we took to ensure that Charlie would believe she was dead and she was prepared for whatever came next.

As we reached the middle of our backyard I turned to her. "Are you ready? This will be the last time in a long while until you can come back here."

Bella nodded silently. We stepped through the back door, everyone waiting for us in the living room, talking quietly about the events of the last few days, Alice zipping about, getting things ready for mine and Bella's departure. Our bags were packed by the door, my Astin Martin gassed up and waiting out front. Everyone looked up at us as we entered and Alice immediately pulled Bella into a hug.

"Oh, Bella. I'm so happy for you." She pulled back to look up at her and continued to ramble on. "You look absolutely beautiful; just gorgeous. But then again, we all knew you would be. I wish I could have taken you shopping but since you and Edward need to be on the road soon, I had to go it alone. I've been having some visions and for the next few weeks you're father will be popping in and out of here, so you can't stay. But don't worry. Edward will be able to teach you everything in Alaska."

"Alaska?" Bella looked at me and I nodded.

"Yup. We have some friends there," Alice continued. "And they have the extra space. It's a perfect place for a newborn. After enough time has passed, the rest of us will follow."

"Alice, stop," Bella demanded, holding up her hands. "Could you give me a minute to process this?"

Alice smiled apologetically and nodded. "Sure. Sorry about that?" She bobbed up and down on the tips of her toes with her hands clasped behind her back. "Go ahead - process away."

Bella took a look around at everyone and sat in the nearest chair. "How's my father? Is he…..doing okay?" Bella looked as if she might cry, and as she reached for tears that would never fall from her eyes, the realization dawned on her that she would never shed another tear.

I knelt down beside her and took her hands in mine. I could feel her trembling. "He's doing as well as can be expected. He's spent the last few days looking for us." I stroked her hair gently. "He refuses to give up hope that you're still out there somewhere, but I think deep down, he knows that you're gone." I glanced up at my family. "Everyone's been helping in the search while you were going through your change and Rosalie says that your father has been holding up well. She's been keeping a close eye on him."

"A close eye? What for?" she asked, looking around at everyone.

"Well…we just want to make sure he doesn't do anything drastic," I explained.

"Drastic? Like what?"

Emmet cut in before I had a chance to answer her. "There's just no telling what some people might do in situations like this." He shrugged. "We're just taking precautions."

Her worried eyes stared back at me and she squeezed my hands tightly. "You don't think he'd try to hurt himself, do you?" She swallowed thickly and bit her lip.

I shook my head no, but to be honest, I wasn't so sure. "I don't think so, love, but we just want to make sure by keeping watch over him."

Rose placed a friendly hand on Bella's shoulder to comfort her. "Don't worry, Bella. I've been looking after him," she interjected. "Jasper and I are going to be alternating shifts for a while during the night, and Alice will be stopping by his house during the day once the searches are finished. We don't really want to leave him alone." She smiled sadly. "I don't think anyone really wants to be alone during a time like this."

Bella nodded and turned a grateful look to my sister. "Thanks, Rosalie. I appreciate it."

"Bella, we're all going to look after your father while you're gone," Esme offered, trying to comfort her as my angel stared off out the window. "He'll be alright." She smiled. "We'll make sure of it."

Bella nodded and then looked to me. "Can I see him before we go?" she asked hopefully. I opened my mouth to voice my concerns but she continued. "I just want to see him. Make sure he's okay. I need to see it with my own eyes."

Jasper cleared his throat and shook his head. "I'm not so sure that's the best idea, Bella," he answered, voicing what we were all thinking. Newborns were typically very temperamental; extremely unpredictable. There would be no telling what Bella might do given the circumstance. No one wanted to take the chance that she would hurt Charlie, least of all Bella. But her feelings were clouding her better judgment.

"Jasper's right. We just can't take the chance of bringing you to him. Aside from the fact that either of us," I waved a hand between the both of us, "might be seen by someone when we're supposed to be dead, we can't risk you attacking your father." The sadness began to take over her face and it broke my heart that I was denying her this one thing. I knew how important it was for her to see Charlie. "I know you could never live with yourself if you hurt him, Bella. I won't let you take that risk."

"But I know I'll be fine. I know I could never hurt him. You have to trust me, Edward. I know I could never to anything to hurt my father." I could hear the conviction in her voice, but a small part of me still doubted she could control herself if the moment arose where she would be tempted.

"Bella, you don't know what you're asking. You have no idea what it's like to be around the scent of human blood." I shook my head. "For a newborn, the pain would be unimaginable. We haven't even prepared you in the slightest for what you could expect. You need to train, to prepare yourself for months before you're ready."

She shook her head adamantly, refusing to believe me. "I know I'll be fine. I can smell humans now. The scent lingers on all of you, and yet I'm fine" she explained turning to the family. She sniffed the air, closing her eyes as she filled her nostrils with the mixing aromas. "I can tell that you, Jasper, were with Mike Newton today. You were probably walking near him for one of the search parties."

We all looked at Bella with a mixture of awe and confusion. She shrugged nonchalantly as she explained. "Even when I was human I found his smell revolting. He wreaks of sweat and hair gel."

I cocked an eyebrow and she smiled.

"And Alice, you came into contact with Angela. I can smell her coconut scented lotion…and Ben's cologne. He was there too." Her smile grew wider as she continued to correctly identify the people she knew.

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply once more. Her smile faded. "Esme, you were near my father today." She looked over at her. "His aftershave lingers on you. I can even smell the stench from his musty old fishing boots." She scrunched up her nose. "He loves those things." Her frown deepened. "I smell my mother too. Is she here?"

Esme nodded. "Yes, I was with both of them today. You're mother arrived yesterday."

"Are they taking care of each other?" She hesitated. "Are they holding up?"

"Oh, sweetie," Esme cooed. "They're doing just fine."

"Is my father sleeping? My mother drinks too much coffee when she's upset. Is he keeping the caffeine away from her?" she rambled.

My mother looked to Rose who merely shook her head. "Charlie's been up pacing the house at night. He's hidden the coffee from your mother, but she still manages to get it. She's not sleeping much either."

"Eating?" Bella asked, looking at Alice.

"I'm afraid not," she said. "They've spent all of their time looking for you."

A determined look crossed Bella's features. "Edward, don't you see. I'll be fine. I've been around all of you this long. I think I can see my parents."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Bella. But what you smell is not their blood, just their body's aroma. The scent of their blood is far different. Their stench you can ignore, but the call of their blood is something that you will not easily be able to resist without preparing yourself first."

"How long will I have to wait before I can see them?"

I sighed as I averted my eyes to the floor. "I'm not sure, love. It could be as long as a year."

She jumped to her feet quickly. "Absolutely not. I can't wait that long. I refuse to. I'm going whether you come with me or not."

"But Bella," I pleaded, rising from my crouch on the floor. "I can't let you go."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "I'm done asking. I'm going to see them."

A smiling Emmett stood before Bella and jokingly rubbed his hands together. "You'll have to get through me first, baby sister." He threw me a quick glance before returning his gaze to Bella. "I've always wanted to test my strength against a newborn, and it looks like I'll get my chance today."

Bella's lips twitched as she fought a smile. "I really don't want to hurt you Emmett, but if I have to, I will." She smiled now, the look menacing. "I can tell you this won't end well for you."

His booming laugh bounced off the ceiling. "I think I'll take my chances, little girl." With that they both began circling each other, both playfully taking steps toward each other and then backing off.

I stepped in front of Bella. "Enough games you two." I looked to my father. "Since Bella insists on going, will it be okay as long as she stays in the woods?"

He nodded after thinking it over. "As long as she keeps a good distance from the house, I think it'll be alright. But she can't get any closer than the tree line." He gave Bella and I a warning glance. "I'm serious about this. No closer."

I looked to Alice for confirmation that nothing bad would happen and she nodded her affirmation. "I don't see her attacking either of them. She'll be fine as long as she watches from the woods."

Bella made beeline for the front door. "Then let's go. I need to see him."

I grabbed her hand before she could make it too far, stopping her in her tracks. The floorboards creaked underneath her. She looked up at me and frowned. "What's wrong? You heard Alice. I'll be fine. Let's go."

I shook my head. "We still need to wait for nightfall. It's too risky to go anywhere near your house during the day. There's too great of chance that we'll be seen."

She sighed, but I knew she couldn't argue with my logic. "Fine, but as soon as the sun goes down, we're leaving," she warned, her tone daring me to argue. I didn't.

"Alright," I agreed easily. "But in the meantime, I'm sure Alice has clothes she'd like to show you." I knew it was a low blow, throwing her to the wolves like that, but I need to keep her occupied, and I knew she couldn't say no to Alice.

Alice squealed loudly as Bella groaned. She fell against me in defeat. "Please don't make me go," she pleaded as Alice pulled her toward the stairs. "Anything but trying on clothes."

"Oh, Bella, you're going to love the clothes I picked out for you," she began. "I know you'd rather be taking your own wardrobe, but honestly, I'm so happy you can't." My angel rolled her eyes and I simply smiled and waved her off. "Like Rosalie said, now that you're a Cullen, you really must start dressing like one."

"Don't worry, I'll keep Alice in check," Rosalie promised as she followed them up the stairs.

"Thanks," I said. "I appreciate it."

"Hey, what about our fight," Emmett bellowed. "Bella! You. Me. In the backyard. Right now."

Bella's head peaked around the corner of the wall not a second later. "Are you sure about this?" she asked sweetly.

Emmett nodded and pumped out his chest. "Definitely."

"It's your funeral," she sang as she walked to the back door. "But I don't want Rosalie getting mad at me when I ruin that pretty little face of yours."

Before Bella could follow Emmett to the back door, Alice was in front of her, a scowl on her face. "Wrestling can wait. Right now, you're mine." Alice started advancing on Bella, who immediately started backing towards the stairs.

Bella looked sheepish and a little scared. "Can't blame a girl for trying, can you?"

Alice pointed a finger up the stairs. "Go."

Bella scurried off toward Alice's room muttering something about an annoying pixie under her breath.

"What about our fight?" Emmett demanded.

Alice simply smiled as she turned to him. "Maybe next time, Emmett."

Alice danced up the steps and disappeared down the hall. The next thing we heard was, "There is no way in hell I'm wearing that, Alice."