A/N: I don't own this, we all know who does. What I do own is a book of recipes, most of which I don't use. Instead, I use the printed off recipes that are in the front and back pockets of the recipe book. :D I know those ones are good. :D

Mistakes are mine. I can't blame them on anyone else. Oh well, maybe next time. :D

Bit of a time jump here, though more of a "As they live their lives" kinda thing. :) We're covering about a year, but you'll see. :)

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Chapter 25

The next day I got the number for Rosalie's therapist friend. Edward and I decided we should probably each go alone first, but then we wanted to go together. We didn't want to hide anything from each other. We wanted to work on things together.

Carmen was great, amazing. She made me realize all the things I'd completely ignored. All the times I'd blindly trusted Jasper. All the undeserving respect I'd given to Alice. Every week as we talked about things and went over my relationship with each of them, I slowly began to realize that it really wasn't my fault. The ending of my marriage really didn't have anything to do with me. My husband and best friend cheated because of them, not me.

Edward sat in on a lot of our sessions, and I sat in on many of his. He was so supportive once we got home each night, and I tried to be the same for him. He put up with my moods, my apologies, my crying fits. He knew I loved him, and he knew I was doing this for us. Some days we simply tolerated each other, but most days we encouraged, supported, and loved one another.

Neither of us was perfect, but we were trying. Just the fact that we wanted our relationship to succeed, and were willing to put in the time and effort to make that happen, was a good sign, Carmen said.

We spent time together, but we spent time alone and with other people, too. It was healthier if we had our own lives, as well as our life together. We both knew it, and Carmen was happy that we'd come to that conclusion on our own.

I spent a lot of time with Rosalie, and also with Leah, Jacob's girlfriend. She was funny and very sweet, plus a little naïve. Being around her made me feel not so gullible, and we always had a good time together.

But the nights were still my time with Edward. We didn't get ice cream every night. We didn't go to the beach every night. We didn't make love or have wild sex every night.

Some nights I helped him in the surf shop. It was on one of those nights that he told me he actually owned half of the shop. That he'd worked there as a teenager, then after college when he moved back to help Rosalie and their grandmother with the cafe, he started back part-time teaching surf lessons. It was after he sold his half of the restaurant to Rosalie that he asked about the surf shop, only to find out that one of the original partners wanted to sell.

Edward was great in the surf shop, and he had so many ideas for expanding it and making it even better. I was in awe of how smart he was. Although it really didn't surprise me. He was amazing in every other way, too.

He and I were together, a couple. Officially. My parents stayed in his house when they came to visit for a week during the summer, and Riley actually moved in for a month when he came in July. I was excited to find out that he was looking into colleges in Southern California. Even though he wouldn't be too close, he would be closer than Forks.

As the summer wore on, I decided to test for my teaching certificate. I knew the elementary school in Cayucos had enough full time teachers, but they were always looking for substitutes, and I figured it was a good way to get my foot in the door.

Edward was proud of me for looking into it. I think he was mainly excited because it meant that I'd be staying put for a while. Even though we had discussed it in our sessions, he still worried that eventually I'd get tired of trying to "find myself" and I'd pack up and go back to Washington.

One of the biggest fights we ever had was over that exact thing.

I'd planned to go home for a week in September to visit my parents. I was feeling so much better, and stronger, and I was finally ready to face any old demons that might surface. Edward didn't want me to go, though I couldn't understand why. In a moment of stupidity, I screamed at him that I didn't need his permission, and that he didn't trust me.

I didn't talk to him for three days. My heart broke each time I saw him, which was only twice, and from a distance, since he refused to come into the cafe when I was working.

It wasn't until the fourth day that I talked to Riley, crying over what had happened. Hesitantly, he told me about a conversation he'd had with Edward a few days earlier.

For some reason Riley had randomly mentioned to Edward that Alice and Jasper had broken up. The next day was when I insisted on going to Forks alone.

Edward thought I was going back for Jasper, that I knew he wasn't with Alice any more.

My heart hurt over the idea of him not trusting me. I wasn't sure why he might have questioned my devotion to him, but I had to find him. He was sitting alone on the beach when I finally did. All it took was one look, one "I'm sorry" and one kiss. He hugged me, apologizing and promising to never doubt me again, and we were okay.

He went with me to Forks. I never wanted him to have any reason not to trust me. The week was wonderful, and by the end I didn't know why I'd ever wanted to go without him in the first place.

The rest of the year was good, easy. The way we moved together, circled around each other...it was like we were two halves of one whole. My parents loved him. His parents adored me. The feelings were mutual on both our parts, and we knew what we had together was special. We never wanted to take it for granted.

When January came along, Edward asked me to move into his house. I was sad to leave the apartment behind, but I knew that Jacob and Leah would take good care of it.

I started substitute teaching in the elementary school, usually a few times a month. When I worked there, Leah filled in at the cafe for me. I helped Edward in the surf shop sometimes, too. I was settling into my life pretty well, happy and healthier than I'd been in a long time. Finding Edward and falling for him had been one of the greatest things ever to happen to me, and each night as we lay in bed, I watched him sleeping. Traced my fingers over his face, his arms, his chest. Felt his heart as it beat a steady rhythm under my palm.

I couldn't imagine my life without him.

Edward and I talked about marriage sometimes. We talked about our future. We talked about what we wanted, what we needed. But marriage...I just wasn't sure. I knew it was something he wanted, something he needed. I wanted to want it. I wanted that desperately. But I just didn't know.

We didn't see Carmen a lot after that first six or seven months. We were both doing well with our trust issues, and we'd worked through our pasts. She had faith in us and our progression. Now we just needed to live and to love and to do the things we wanted to do.

Together.

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A/N: They're getting help, trying to make their lives better, moving in together. I kinda love that. :D