Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: Sorry for the looooooong wait. Here you go.

19

The rest of the day was spent roaming Seattle with the children and Edward. We passed by many shops and naturally, Penny and Tony had wanted many things, as children their age normally do. Of course, I didn't find it in me to reject them, so I bought them everything they wanted. Edward once commented that I was spoiling them, but I just retorted to him the fact that they deserved this special treatment. I mean, really, they do.

I had explained to Edward that Penelope and Anthony Thermopolis were probably the sweetest things I've ever had the good fortune to meet. I told him that they were related to Leon, but not fully related, for they only share the same mother. Mrs. Thermopolis was a widow to Leon's father when she married Penny and Tony's father, and it's safe to say that that decision - marrying twice - caused quite a but of gossip back in France. Wizarding marriages were for eternity, even after death.

I had also explained that after Leon committed suicide, Leon, being Mrs. Thermopolis' favorite child, took her own life as well. This left Penny and Tony orphaned, with only me as their closest relation though technically, I was in no way related to them. They just considered me as their surrogate mother, seeing as I was Leon's girlfriend.

I closed my eyes, tiring of the passing of the trees as the car zoomed by. Not only was I constantly reminded that with every second that passes, I was getting further and further away from the children, but also, I was saddened to notice that, with Edward's need for speed, we were traveling at the speeds of more than a hundred and fifty miles per hour. It wasn't the speed that upsets me, not much. It was the fact that I can't experience the feeling of the wind in my hair that such speeds provide with my broom, simply because I didn't have time to. And plus, what if one of the muggles - or worse, the mythicals - saw me?

The drive back to Forks was relatively quiet. Neither Edward nor I talked, leaving only the soothing sounds of Claire de Lune to sound throughout the car. I didn't complain, because really, I love Claire de Lune. My father used to hum it to me so that I can go back to sleep every time I wake up from nightmares, and seeing that I've been having nightmares since Bella's torture, my father humming to me was not a rare occurrence. Of course, that all stopped when he died.

I opened my eyes when I heard the distinct sound of one of the doors of the car closing. I saw that Edward wasn't in the driver's seat anymore and that he was opening the door for me. I stepped out, somehow surprised that one, my cottage was nowhere in sight – I thought Edward was driving me home? – and two, the Cullen mansion wasn't in sight either – if I'm not going home yet, then surely, the Cullen mansion would be the second choice.

"Edward, where are we, exactly?" I asked, stumped out of answers for once. I've gathered that we were in the forest, somewhere deep inside. I could hear the loud tweet-twoos of owls, the quiet hush of some nearby river, and the endless hum of the night. Through the thick canopy, I caught a glimpse of the full moon; I just hope that there were no werewolves about. By that I mean real werewolves, not shape shifters.

"Edward?" I asked again when Edward didn't answer immediately.

"I want to take you somewhere private," Edward replied. "It's not much, but it holds sentimental value to me." Edward took me by the hand and led me deeper inside the dense forest. I couldn't see a thing beyond where Edward was, so I'm pretty much placing my trust on the vampire.

"Why are you doing this?"

I jumped over a large root, glad that I managed to see it in time before I can trip over it and fall flat on my face. Now surely, that wouldn't do. I can't be clumsy now, lack of light or not, because it would be terribly embarrassing if I do so in front of Edward.

"I figured," he said, holding a stray branch so that I can pass through without getting unnecessary cuts on my bare arms, "that since you allowed me to meet Penny and Tony, I've decided to show you my meadow."

"Meadow?" I repeated. Edward has a meadow?

"It's not mine, technically," he rushed to say, "but I believe I'm the only one who knows that it exists, that is, until tonight… until you."

"Why me, though?"

I leaned on Edward as he helped me climb over a rock that blocked the nonexistent track we were walking on. It was quite large and smooth, so I couldn't find a foothold. Luckily, Edward was light on his feet, meaning he was able to easily climb up and helped me out. I jumped blindly off the rock, and was relieved when Edward caught me. He set me down after I cleared my throat. He had been holding me for a while there.

"Penny and Tony were important figures of your past… of your life," Edward answered my question. "I really am sorry for pushing myself like that. I don't know why I tagged along with you, even after you told me that you could go to Seattle by yourself without my help. Maybe, I'm not so sure, but maybe that was just an excuse to be in your company. After last night… well," he chuckled, "I don't think I can bear being separated from you."

I bit my lip at his words, uncertain if he knew that with each word that he spoke, he was making this precarious situation harder for me to control. It was like I'm on a precipice, and with each word, each gesture and decision, I was swaying. One action with dire consequences could just as easily push me off, and I don't know if I'd survive the fall.

"At any rate," Edward continued, "since you were forced to show me Penny and Tony, then I should show you the most important thing in my life."

I took Edward's hand and squeezed it. That last sentence… the most important thing in his life, he wasn't talking about his vampirism, was he? If he reveals himself to me, then surely, I wouldn't know what to do; I wouldn't know how to react. Should I act surprised, or relay to him that I already knew? Would he be angry if I told him, or would he be happy that he didn't have to hide himself from me anymore?

"You don't have to feel obligated to show me anything," I said, breaking myself out of my thoughts. "I didn't mind much introducing you to the children. I'm glad, actually, that you were there to give me silent support. It was hard for me, to be reunited with them again, especially since the last time I saw them was at the funeral…"

Edward didn't reply to what I said. We continued on walking for Merlin knows how long, and when we finally did stop in the middle of a beautiful clearing, the moon was already high in the sky. I stood there, under the shadow of a tree, admiring the view.

"This place is breathtaking…" I said in a hushed voice, afraid that the slightest of sound might break the enchantment of the place. The meadow held an extensive assortment of flowers, all varying from height, shape, color and – I sniffed the air – scent. And this was just from the night blooming flowers. I can't imagine what this place will look like under daylight.

"So you like it then?" Edward asked, that adorable crooked smile adorning his Adonis-worthy face.

"Like it?" I gaped at him, "like it? More like love it! It's a beautiful meadow, Edward. How did you come across it? From what I can tell, it's meters away from the highway. I doubt hikers go this far into the forest."

"Ah, but you see, Abby," Edward's smirk widened, "I'm not your average hiker. Whenever I need a place to gather my thoughts, I come here. This place, this meadow," his hand swept across the wide expanse, "this is my home away from home. My family, most of the time, find themselves far too busy with their significant others, and well, this meadow provides that getaway for me."

"I understand perfectly," I sighed and walked to the very middle of the meadow, leaving the shadow that the trees provided. I lied down on the flowers, letting my hair fan out behind me. I didn't care that the ground was wet or muddy, nor did I care that my skin shimmered ever so faintly under the light of the full moon. It had slipped my mind that whenever the moon was full, Veelas such as I had a tendency to shimmer whenever they were under its light.

I didn't dare to look into Edward's eyes while I spoke, afraid that he might rebuke me.

"I understand what it's like," I whispered, "to be surrounded by so much family members at one time. Sometimes, it does get a tad bit too much for me. Yes, I know that they are there for me whenever I need them, but at the same time, I know that they have their own lives to live. They can't simply forget their lives so that my every whim is fulfilled, and I know my family will do that if I asked them to. On occasion, it does suck to be the youngest and the most adored in the family."

When Edward didn't reply to my heartfelt speech, I looked away from the light of the moon and saw his face. He was looking at me in a way he's never looked at me before. His eyes were the darkest black imaginable, darker than a Dementor's cloak; his lips were curled up in a barely disguised growl and everything in his body language screamed 'attack!'.

I leaped to my feet, and was about halfway through unsheathing my wand – it was futile to use a dagger against a vampire, and though my dagger had a coating of specially brewed potion that specifically poisoned the skin of vampires, I couldn't bring myself to use that particular weapon on Edward.

My body was in an awkward position when Edward, in blinding speed, encased me in his arms. He then began kissing me. It took me a moment before I was able to gather my thoughts in order. Edward was kissing me? This was not the kind of attack I had thought would happen, although it was a much better alternative.

"Edward…" I groaned under his icy lips.

I pressed myself tighter against his body, if that were even possible, and tried to free my arms so that I was able to reach his already unruly mop of bronze hair. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do so, because Edward took it upon himself to clasp both my hands above my head. That was when I noticed that I was on the ground again.

I was unable to move and I was completely at his mercy. I tried to contain the lustful monster inside of me, but then, Edward breathed into my ear and said the most terrifyingly amazing words I have ever heard:

"Isabella, I want you. Badly."

The monster shrieked in pleasure as it was released from its cage.

A/N: I promised you guys some Bella/Edward action, didn't I? I feel bad, you know, for not updating in AGES. I hope the ending wasn't too… much. My fingers just typed that in their own accord - I couldn't control them! Honest!

As I'm sure all of you guys know, when Bella and Edward were in the forest, Bella reveals to Edward that she knows he's a vampire - a secret was revealed o.O Just saying. In the next chapter, there'd be some conversation. Now, can anyone guess what about?

=]