AN: I wish to thank everyone for your patience while I worked through my recovery, I still have some swelling and water retention issues, but now that school is out for the summer, I have more time to work on my stories. I also wish to thank my group of Collins and Bella for their patience as well. There story is more or less fully developed, but they have kindly waited until I was ready again to spend more time with this story before they began to bombard me with dialogue and story events. I also wish to thank again all of you who kindly left reviews. As you will have noted, I do reply to the reviews.
As always, the characters as presented by Stephenie Meyer belong to her, the idea of this story is ours and so are the events. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.
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Journal Entry Eighteen – Bella's Gift – [1958]
Alice arranged with Bella's mother for an extended weekend sleepover beginning Friday after school. According to Alice, she would take Bella shopping, and then they would spend most of Saturday in Seattle and spend Sunday coordinating Bella's new clothes while discussing ways for Bella to style her hair with each outfit.
Bella's mother heartily approved of Alice's plan because she was constantly bemoaning Bella's lack of fashion sense, and since Alice had befriended Bella, her mother had noticed an improvement in the way Bella dressed, and even secretly praised Alice for helping Bella find new and flattering ways to style her hair. Bella's father only grudgingly approved of the sleep over because Alice informed him that her brothers had planned a camping trip for the entire weekend. What Alice hadn't truthfully revealed to Bella's parents was the fact that she had already purchased the clothes that Bella would bring home on Sunday evening from her imaginary trip to Seattle. Alice planned it all so Bella and I could spend the entire weekend together to make up for the five days her father would keep her from my side.
I looked forward to our extended time together all week, which may seem ridiculous since I saw Bella at school every day, but we only meet at lunch and between classes, then we spent some time together after school, and finally, I spent the night in her room. This, however, would be complete uninterrupted time and I would not have to sneak into her bedroom to be with her, or go home in order to appease her father.
Friday evening, Bella and I spent watching television with the family until ten at which time everyone decided they had other activities to attend to, and this gave me the opportunity to take Bella up to my room. One quality about Bella that fascinated me was her ability to carry on an intelligent conversation even if the topic was one she was unfamiliar with; she still listened attentively and asked pertinent questions. She was a person who loved to learn and I had yet to find a topic that bored her. Later that evening, we laid snuggled together on my bed, and we talked late into the night about my two college experiences in medical school neither of which did I complete; Carlisle may have developed a tolerance to the smell of blood over the years of being a vampire, but I was still working on mine.
Bella asked a multitude of questions about the classes I took, what I learned, and how long I stayed at each college I attended. I was almost at a point of suggesting she go to sleep, when I noticed she was dozing off as I spoke, so I lowered my voice and continued to talk. When I stopped speaking, she asked in a soft half-asleep tone, "Edward, talk about us."
"I'm not sure what you mean Bella." Besides the fact that we loved each other and had one common desire of staying together, I wasn't sure what more she wanted.
In a gentle soft murmur, she replied, "Edward, tell me about our future."
She seemed nearly asleep so I wasn't positive if she was talking in her sleep, but her request intrigued me and I complied.
"We'll be the most envied couple in high school. Complete devoted to one another. This spring we will attend the junior prom together, and next year we'll arrange our schedules so we can take classes together. I even want to share gym with you," a slight smile crossed her lips at that confession. "After you graduate, we'll discuss college . . ."
Bella snuggled closer to me wrapping her arms around my neck as she did so, and murmured, "Change first."
Instead of correcting or confirming her comment, I just continued, "I thought we could attend college together; I won't start until after you graduate. Maybe we can marry first, then we can be roommates and I won't have to share you with anyone," as if I would allow anyone else near her without ripping out their throats. It was amazing how protective I had become and not just because her blood sang my song but because her entire being sang to me. No other person in the world would ever mean to me what Bella meant – since that night in the closet, she had become my entire world, and nothing mattered to me except her. Emmett once told me, when I found my perfect match, I would never feel the same again. I thought he was just stringing me along because of how he felt about Rose, but I had to acknowledge the fact that Emmett knew what he was talking about when he made that comment.
As Bella lay in my arms and drifted serenely off to sleep, I began to wonder how I could tell Bella she was the perfect angel in my life, how to share with her my inner most feeling about her, and how to demonstrate to her the abundance of love that I felt for her. I wanted, more than anything else, to show her how much I really loved her, but buying her something felt cheap and impersonal. I wanted something special, unique like her, and a complete surprise – something she would never expect. My biggest problem was my sister and brothers knew her better than I did; they had spent an entire year becoming acquainted while I skulked in the shadows. She did enjoy my birthday present, although it took a while to find a signed first edition of "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austin, but she declared I spent too much and mustn't do it again. So, whatever I do it must be inexpensive but expressive of how I felt.
Then I remembered an off-handed comment Emmett once made about her, 'She is a strange little thing. She smiles at the simple things in life. It seems the simple things in life touch her more than the expensive glamorous things. She's an easy person to find a gift for because it doesn't have to extravagant to please her. Once I gave her a simple bouquet of wild flowers, and it brought the gayest smile to her lips.'
That was when I knew what I wanted to share with her. She was not much of a morning person, but I loved the way she moaned in the morning when I would try to wake her up early, and the kisses we would share that early were some of the best – maybe because she allowed more of her passion to seep through. Not that she couldn't kiss with passion at other times, but morning kisses seemed different, sweeter, more equally giving without the undertone of her feeling unworthy to be on the receiving end. She seemed less inhibited by what she considered her inferiority.
Bella began to squirm in my arms as I made my plans for her early morning surprise. "Edward, you wouldn't do that, would you?" She muttered in her sleep.
At first, I thought her comment was in reference to my plans, almost as if she was reading my thoughts in her dream, but then I realized the impossibility of that concept.
"Do what Bella?" I whispered softly in her ear to see what she would reply.
"I don't like getting wet," she mumbled back crossly.
What would I do in a dream to get her wet? I wondered. "How Bella, how could I get you wet?" I whispered.
"If you do that Edward Cullen, I will never speak to you again!" Came her agitated reply.
"Do what Bella?" Now she had my complete attention.
Bella pulled herself from my arms, sat straight up in bed, and yelled, "Emmett!"
It took less than two seconds for Emmett to charge through the door – almost literally; I figured I would have to check for damage to the door in the light of day, and as much force as he used, I was surprised he didn't make more noise, which might have unintentionally woke Bella up.
"What have you done?" He accused me growlingly as he swiftly reached Bella's side of the bed. "Are you okay Bella?" His tone softened as he spoke to her and sat down beside her.
"She's sleeping Emmett," I replied under my breath so as not to wake Bella.
"Bella, are you okay?" He glared at me as he softened his voice, but I watched as his eyes took in her form and face. In a tone so soft even a waking Bella would not have hear him, he said, "She is asleep."
Still sitting straight up, Bella said, "Don't let him hit me."
We both watched as Bella raised her arms to protect herself as if someone or something was about to hit her. "Who is going to hit you Bella?" Emmett asked dulcetly.
Bella swiftly lowered on arm and grabbed Emmett's arm. "Don't let him throw that. I don't like getting wet, and stop laughing at me, it isn't funny."
We both stared at her wondering what to say next when suddenly she laid back down as she said, "I don't want to play anymore," and instantly fell into a deeper sleep as evidenced by the change in her breathing.
"Was that the floor show?" Emmett asked in a hushed whisper.
I just nodded in response.
"She sure knows how to keep one on his toes, doesn't she? I wonder who was going to throw what at her."
I decided not to mention my name was the first words out of her mouth, or that I suspected I was the one guilty of wanting to throw something at her, so instead, I said, "I guess we'll never know."
"We would if you could read her thoughts, but that's another story all together. If she ever finishes that dream, tell me about it," Emmett said as he got up and left as quickly as he had appeared, but this time he closed the door softly behind him, which left me with the impression that the door might not have sustained damaged after all.
Shortly after Emmett left, Bella reached out searchingly in her sleep until she found me, then she sidled up beside me, ran her hand caressingly down my check until it came to rest on my chest, and buried her face into my chest and took in a deep breath before releasing a soft, "Mmmmm."
Emmett had been right about one thing, Bella did keep me on my toes, but not necessarily because of her sleep talking. It was more of the caresses, touches, and closeness that occurred at night that kept me vigilant of my own feelings and reactions. In fact, there were a few times when it felt as if my toes actually curled in delight at her touch and scent – if that was a possibility for vampires. Since I had no previous experience with love or desires of this nature, I was not sure what was or was not possible.
As Bella finally settled back into her sleep, I began planning for our early morning trip. It didn't take Alice but five seconds after I began to make plans to show up at the door. At least she opened the door quietly and only stuck her head in to say, "7:24 am but bundle her up well because it will be extremely cold that early." Just as she turned to leave, she paused and added, "And Edward, she will love it even though it will be so early. You chose a very pleasing gift." Then she silently shut the door behind her.
With Alice gone and Bella finally settled into a deep sleep, I had hours to fill before it would be time to wake Bella for her surprise. I loved lying beside Bella at night, but the seconds trickled by slowly for me. It left me with too much time to fill, and although daydreaming about our future together was pleasurable, it still only filled a small fraction of the time before morning. Of late, I had begun to memorize the surface of Bella's bared skin. I knew very early in our relationship that Bella was accident prone, but the first time I skimmed my hand over any bare visible skin, I discovered just how accident-prone she had been. The sensitivity of my feel allowed me to distinguish every infinitesimal scar that covered her arms, which was the first bare skin my touch examined, but I considered none of them insignificant. I began to realize that each mark told a story about Bella's life, I just had to ask her about them to discover the stories behind each except that Bella didn't readily open up about her mishaps, almost as if she were ashamed of having so many scars.
One of the most interesting ones, I found near her wrist. It was half moon shaped with a thin curved line completing about one quarter of the missing moon. Its shape was so curious that I couldn't help but ask her about it. At first, she ignored my inquiries but persistence, and a number of strategically placed kisses – her neck was one of her most sensitive areas at that time – finally loosened her tongue. That particular scar, it seems, was the result of a toddler accident. When she was about two years old, she had picked up a glass at her grandmother's house with the intent of giving it to her mom, but in the process, she tripped and fell on the glass. As her mother told her the story, she hadn't even known Bella had been hurt because of the long sleeves on the outfit she had been wearing. It wasn't until she was feeding Bella lunch that she noticed blood seeping through the sleeve and running down Bella's wrist and onto her hand. Bella's mother instantly whisked her off to the emergency room where they used butterfly stitches, which accounted for the unusual shape of the scar.
This particular evening, Bella had worn a new pair of pajamas Alice had purchased for her. Generally, Bella wore long gowns to bed, but Alice had found her a pair with a short top that just reached the waist of the pants that cover her legs. As I lay with her wrapped in my arms, I realized her squirming had caused the top to ride up her back slightly exposing unexplored bare skin to my touch. It didn't surprise me that I found so many scars on Bella's arms, most unnoticeable to the human eyes or touch, but the ones I discovered on her back surprised me.
As the night wore on, I discovered 43 distinct and separate scars, some only a quarter of an inch long, but others revealed more serious injuries. One in particular almost caused me to wake Bella. It was lower on her back and slightly round – about two inches in diameter – and the center was rough to my touch. It hadn't been a smoothly stitched wound and something about its feel aroused my interest in its cause; however, I knew better than to wake Bella only to quiz her about a scar she probably never deemed noteworthy. For my part, I realized it would be more advantageous to wait until morning to ask casually about the scar.
Examining the silky but marred skin of Bella's back helped pass the rest of the night. As seven o'clock neared, I gently began to kiss Bella's neck, ears, and chin as I worked toward her mouth. During our second week of dating, I discovered that Bella could easily out grump a grizzly bear if rudely awakened in the morning. Through subtle experimentation, I discovered that gentle kisses would wake her up in a much better mood than gently shaking her awake.
Her first response to my lips on her neck was a deep moan and an arching of her body into mine, and then she let out a deep sigh as I moved along her neck. By the time I reached her earlobe, she softly murmured, "It had better be midmorning or you have a lot of explaining to do."
Since I was at her ear, I whispered ever so softly, "I have a surprise for you." I licked her earlobe before adding, "It's a gift I want to give you," to which a moan of displeasure escaped her lips. To reassure her, I added, "I didn't buy this gift. All it will cost is you getting dressed and the two of us taking a short little trip."
Bella pulled away from me slightly while groaning, "What time is it?"
"Not quit seven."
"In the morning," she moaned sleepily.
"Yes, if we wait too long, you will miss out on this particular surprise. We need to leave very soon to reach the right spot in time." I was still planting kisses down her jaw line, even though she had pulled away slightly, I had pulled her back so I could continue kissing her awake.
"Okay, okay, but if you really want me up and dressed you had better stop kissing me or I will just stay like this so I can discover where your lips will wander next." Her words were deep and breathless.
I released her from my hold and move away from her with a soft chuckle, as I said, "Dress warm Bella, it is cold where we are going."
"Colder than here?" She asked sleepily.
"Yes," I replied as I gave her a little push, and that got her started.
"Hey, I'm going," she groaned as she scooted to the edge of the bed.
I couldn't help chuckling as I watched her shuffle toward the bathroom. Generally if I woke her up earlier than she liked, she would make her disgruntlement known by shaming the bathroom door, but this morning she must have still been half asleep because the door closed quietly. It even took her longer than usual to turn on the bathroom light, but when she did she said, "Snow pants Edward? Where exactly are we going?"
Even though I heard her without her raising her voice, I hastily made my way to the door so she could hear my reply. "Alice laid those out two hours ago and said they would be just what you needed. I didn't really pay attention to what she brought in because I was preoccupied with someone snuggling lovingly in my arms."
I heard Bella's soft laugh in response to my comment, and then she quietly moved around doing whatever she needed to get ready. For privacy's sake, I moved away from the door and settled in the oversized chair that was in one corner of my room. Bella referred to it as the make-out chair because we would both sit in it while listening to music, and generally that would lead to kissing and cuddling, and some mild but safe making out. Emmett would have referred to it as 'kiddy car' antics, since our actions were always decorous.
A soft click of the door indicated Bella was ready, so I picked up a small bag that Alice had also left in the room and prepared to inform Bella of our mode of transportation.
She emerged from the bathroom wearing the aforementioned snow pants, snow boots, and a ski jacket I had once seen Esme wearing on a family ski trip. "You'll need to put up the hood of that jacket, and if there are gloves in the pocket, I suggest you put them on."
Bella gave me a quizzical look that I saw even in the darkened room before asking, "Just where are we going Edward?"
"Up to the mountains," I replied walking toward her.
"And how are we going to get there?" She continued.
I knew this was going to be the hard answer for her to accept, but in order for us to reach our destination before 7:24, I would have to run with her, something she had not experienced yet.
"Climb on my back Bella, I'm going to carry you," I said it softly and calmly enough so as not to scare her.
Her response was to step back from me as she replied, "I don't think I like this idea."
"Why not Bella? I won't let you fall, and I definitely won't let anything hurt you; besides, it will be the fastest way for us to travel."
Bella made no move, nor any reply to my comment, so I coaxed her, "Please Bella, do this for me," I put as much plea in my voice as possible so it wouldn't sound like a demand but a heartfelt request, and it worked because she took a tentative step toward me.
"I don't like this idea, but you know I'd do anything you asked. I'm going to trust you Edward, and I hope this will be worth the effort," she replied as she took another tentative step toward me.
I smiled as I turned around so she could climb on my back. As she did, she wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck, and then I said, "You might want to close your eyes Bella because I going to jump down from the window."
"I think I will, and I will leave them closed until we get there," she replied.
I could not see if she followed her own suggestions, but I picked up the bag, placed my free hand on her arms that she had wrapped around my neck, and began our journey up to Mount Rainier. I knew I had to cover the miles quickly, but I also didn't want to scare her with too much speed. I also wanted to reach a spot that would give me time to make Bella comfortable.
As I raced through the early morning streets, I avoided those that might have early morning traffic. As soon as we were out of the city limits, I picked up more speed and stayed off the roads completely. I kept my focus on the mountains and the trees as they flashed by. Sometimes I picked up speed, and if Bella's heart sped up, I would slow down slightly. I did make good time because I covered 58 plus miles in just under thirteen minutes, which left us eleven minutes to settle down. As I came around the north side of the mountain, I kept watch for a place on the east side that had a clear view of the horizon and didn't have too much snow. When I finally stopped, I heard Bella take a deep breath, which she then released slowly.
"You can let go now Bella," I said after stopping, but I felt no relaxing of her grip around my neck or waist. "Bella, take a few more deep breaths, and then slowly relax your grip."
I felt her lips graze my neck as she moved her head slightly before she said, "I'm trying." Then she took a few deep breaths and released each one slowly.
After dropping the bag, I put both my hands on hers and began to massage her fingers gently hoping that might help some.
"Edward," she began slowly, "Is this a safe place?"
"Bella, I wouldn't intentionally bring you anywhere that wasn't. Why do you ask?"
"It's so cold," she replied as I heard her teeth chatter for the first time.
I knew I needed to wrap her in whatever Alice had put in the bag, so I gently began to pry her fingers loose with one hand, while I unhooked her ankles to unwrap her legs from around my waist. "As soon as you are down, I will help you get warmer. In fact, Alice sent some things along that will warm you up."
Her teeth chattered again as she asked, "What did Alice send?"
I laughed as I replied, "I won't know until I can open the bag, and I can't do that with your arms still wrapped around my neck." With that, I felt her fingers finally release their grip and she slowly slid off my back. As soon as her feet where on the ground, I quickly turned toward her to make sure she was steady on her feet, and I was glad I did because she wobbled and I was able to help steady her. With that completed, I opened the bag and found a thick sleeping bag and a thermos. I helped Bella into the bag, and then I sat on the ground moving her along with me so she settled into my lap. Then I opened the thermos, poured some of its steaming content into the cup lid, and handed it to Bella.
Bella wrapped her fingers around the cup, held it under her nose, and then said, "Alice is a saint," before taking a small sip of the contents. Then she added, "She knows I love chocolate."
I chuckled at the comment as she continued, "So, can you tell me what the surprise is, or did you bring me here just to experience the early morning cold?"
I quickly looked at my watch before replying, "The show will begin in a few minutes; all you have to do is to watch the horizon."
Bella took one more sip from the cup, wriggled a little to make herself more comfortable on my lap, and then waited quietly.
When the sun finally began to rise, I heard a sharp intake of breath as Bella exclaimed, "It's beautiful Edward," and then she leaned back into me and slowly sipped her hot chocolate.
At first, the sun bathed the sky in mellow reds, and as it climbed the sky, it turned different shades of pink. She did not speak during the next fifteen minutes as we silently watched the sun's slow ascent.
"Edward," she finally said softly, "Thank you, that was amazing and I'm very happy you woke me this morning so we could share something so beautiful. This is the best gift you could have given me."
I chuckled softly in response. "Then I'm forgiven for rousing you from your nice warm bed?"
"Absolutely," she said. Then she asked, "Is there any more hot chocolate?"
I laughed outright and opened the thermos to pour more of the steamy liquid into her cup. She sipped it slowly without saying anything else until she had consumed it all, and then she turned in my lap, wrapped her arms around my neck and gently kissed me. "My heartfelt thanks for this gift. You have definitely outdone yourself." She then traced my lips with her finger as she continued, "Maybe after you change me, we could do this more often."
Her fingers were teasingly pleasurable on my lips and her comment began a quick vision of us up on the top of the mountain without any fear of cold or harm befalling Bella. "If you continue teasing me, Bella, I might have to change you sooner than expected," I joked.
"I'm willing right now," she replied.
"Bella, you're too young."
"Only a year younger than you were," she replied as she continued to trace my lips.
"Let me rephrase that," I grabbed her finger and kissed it, "You look too young, and I don't want to end up in trouble for marrying a minor."
Bella laughed as she leaned in and kissed me again, and I willing returned her amazing kiss, but I kept in mind that she couldn't stay out in the cold much longer. Once I knew Bella needed to take a break to breath, I pulled away from her slightly and suggested, "We should return home and warm you up properly."
"And what would be 'properly'?" She asked, her eyes closed and a pleased smile playing across her lips.
"You are going to get into a tub of very warm water and stay there until you're warm and pruned, and then when you are done, I'm going to wrap you in warm blankets and we'll sit on the sofa, cuddle, and see what is on the television," I murmured as I leaned in and nuzzled her neck.
"Mmmm, that sounds nice, but what if I want to cuddle with you in your chair, turn on some music, and . . .," she intentionally stopped leaving me to guess how it would end.
"Just what do you have in mind Bella," I whispered into her ear.
"Oh, maybe we could just cuddle, or maybe we could make-out a little, or maybe I could just cuddle and take a nap to make up for the sleep I missed so I could receive your present," she teasingly stated as she allowed me to continue kissing her neck.
It was five more minutes before Bella finally pulled away from me and asked, "Is there any more of that hot chocolate?"
That was when I heard her teeth beginning to chatter and realized we had stayed a bit too long. "Hold your cup out," I said as I grabbed the thermos, took the cap off and poured the remainder of the chocolate into the cup. I noticed it was not steaming as much as when I first opened it, meaning it would not make her as warm as she needed, so as soon as she finished it, I took the cup, replaced it on the top of the thermos, and stood up holding her as I did. "We need to get you home now," I stated as I helped her out of the sleeping bag. I quickly rolled it up and replaced it in the bag along with the empty thermos. "Climb on Bella," I told her as I finished wrapping things up and knelt down for easy access to my back, "We will be home in less than ten minutes, so hold on tight, and close your eyes."
"Yes sir," she replied as she wrapped her arms around my neck, and then, as I stood just a little straighter, she wrapped her legs around my waist.
I planned to go faster this time because her teeth were chattering more, so as soon as she was set I ran watching for any possible dangers to Bella. We were nearly out of the woods when I smelled another human in our near vicinity, so I slowed down slightly to make a detour away from the person. It was as I veered to the east of the person that I heard a shot ring out. I picked up speed realizing I had to remove Bella from a possibly dangerous area with hunters about. We were less than five minutes from home, when the scent of Bella's blood hit me, at the same time I felt Bella's grip loosen from around my waist and neck. Moving quickly, I dropped Alice's bag and twirled around to catch Bella as she slipped off my back. The scent of blood increased as I cradled her in my arms, and without a thought for other concerns, I held Bella tightly to my chest and didn't hold back on my speed as I raced home.
As soon as the house was in sight, I noticed Carlisle standing on the porch waiting for me. Even though I was still some distance from the house, I heard him as he said, "Alice told me as soon as she saw Bella slumped in your arms. Bring her into the office and we'll find out what happened."