Disclaimer: I'm fairly certain it will never be mine.

A/N: Surprise! It's an early update! I won't draw this author's note out too much. I'm sure you're all anxious to find out what happens next. Or at least I hope you are. So to make this AN nice and short, I'll just say thank you. Thank you for reading and reviewing. It's greatly appreciated.

Design For Life

"A tattoo is a true poetic creation, and is always more than meets the eye. As a tattoo is grounded on living skin, so its essence emotes a poignancy unique to the mortal human condition." ~V. Vale and Andrea Juno

EPOV

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked it for the sixth time, thinking that I'd some how silenced it and missed a call from Bella. I hadn't. It was thirteen minutes past noon, and she hadn't arrived yet. It wasn't like her to be late and if she was, she always called to let me know. I dialed her number again, and again I got no answer. Something was wrong. I was positive about it.

"Did your girl stand you up?" Jared asked, coming out back for a quick smoke.

"Something's wrong," I told him. "She's never late and if she is, she calls."

"Did you try calling her?" he asked.

I gave him a look. "Of course. She's not answering, which isn't like her."

"Maybe she got busy and forgot. Why don't you call Jake or Seth?"

That was a great idea. Pulling my phone back out of my pocket, I dialed the number to the shop. Seth answered on the third ring.

"Eclipse. This is Seth."

"Hey, Seth. It's Edward. Is Bella around?"

"No. She left at noon to get you."

"She isn't here, and she's not answering her phone. I'm starting to freak out."

"Stay calm. I'll check out back and see if her car is still here."

"Thanks."

The next three minutes were grueling. Finally, he came back on the line, and he sounded panicked.

"She's not here! Her car is here, and I found her phone lying on the ground."

I couldn't think, all I could do was feel. And I felt a horrible, blinding panic take over. I must have started to hyperventilate because Jared shoved me down on a crate and pushed my head between my knees after grabbing my phone from me. Jared and Seth talked for a few minutes before Jared handed me the phone back.

"Edward! Edward, man! You need to breath. Seth is calling the police. Get your shit together. I'll drive you over to Eclipse," Jared told me.

I barely heard him. All I could think about was the fact that my Bella was missing. Someone had taken her. Taking a deep breath, I knew that I had to get it together. It wouldn't do Bella any good if I broke down. I needed to be strong for her. Taking a few more breaths, I stood up and followed Jared to his car.

Within minutes, we were pulling up in front of Eclipse. Before the car was completely parked, I was out and running inside the building. Jake and Seth were talking to a couple of police officers.

"Edward," Seth said, looking miserable. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even think to walk her out to her car. This is all my fault."

I shook my head at him. "It's not your fault, Seth."

I was informed by one of the police officers, that Mark was on his way down. I sat down on the couch in the waiting area and waited for someone to tell me something. Ten minutes passed before two officers came in from the back. They said something to the guy in charge, who then walked over to me.

"Mr. Cullen?"

I looked up. "Yes?"

"Can you come with us for a moment?"

Standing up on wobbly legs, I followed him outside. Bella's car door was open, her bag and phone on the ground, and the gravel near her car had been disturbed. It was obvious that something had happened.

"Does this mean anything to you?" the officer asked me, pointing to the ground.

Peering closer, it looked like someone had drawn the letter C in the gravel with the the toe of their shoe.

My breath hitched. Bella had tried to tell us who had taken her.

"Caius. Alec Caius. He's after her. Thinks that she has drugs that her ex-boyfriend stole from him. Surely, you know all of that."

He nodded.

I couldn't understand why he was just standing there. Alec Caius had the love of my life, and he was just standing there nodding.

"Why are we standing here?" I shouted. "We need to find her!"

He put a hand on my shoulder. "Son, you need to calm down. We're doing what we can."

I was seething. How dare he stand there and claim that they were doing what they could! They weren't do anything! I jerked away from his hand and yanked out my phone. I called my dad, knowing he would want to know what was going on.

"Dad?"

"Edward. What's wrong?"

It all came out. I told him how I was positive that Caius had Bella and that it seemed like knowing was doing anything to try and find her. By the time, I was done talking to him, I had tears streaming down my face. I wouldn't be able to live without her. She was my everything. My love, my life, my light. I had to get her back.

"Edward?"

I turned around and found myself face to face with Mark. He placed his hands on my shoulder and looked me square in the eye.

"We will find her. I promise you."

"But no one is doing anything!" I growled. "Everyone is just standing around. He could be hurting her, Mark!"

He gave my shoulders a squeeze. "You need to calm down, Edward. I assure you, we are doing everything we can to find her. We have to gather the facts and try and determine where he took her. We can't just run off without having a clue as to where to look for her."

I guess that made sense. Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself.

"Would he have taken her back to our house?" I asked.

"Possibly. However, I can say for certain that the drugs aren't in your house. We searched and came up empty, so God only knows where Laurent stashed them. As soon as everyone gets here, we will begin our search."

I nodded. I hated feeling so helpless and useless. Jake, Seth, and Jared all gathered around me, trying to offer words of encouragement. They meant well, but it wasn't helping.

Twenty minutes later, Eclipse was filled to capacity with police officers. Mark stood in front of them and let them know what the plan was. I was glad to hear that they actually had a plan.

"Alec Caius is armed and dangerous. He believes that Bella Swan, the woman he abducted, knows where his stolen drugs are. We have compiled a list of places that he may have taken her, gathered from what we've learned about it from his accomplices. We'll be breaking into teams.

Team One will head to Bella Swan's house in Forks. It's possible that Caius believes that the drugs are hidden there. Team Two will head to the old fish warehouse. Demitri believed that Caius was going to use it as a hideout while he was in town. Team Three will search the woods and beaches."

He stopped for a moment to look at a piece of paper that an officer handed him.

"A dark blue Crown Victoria was spotted heading toward La Push driven by a man matching Caius' description. Team Four, consisting of myself, will take the La Push lead. Let's go, people!"

It was a flurry of activity as men and women readied their weapons, put on flak jackets, and grouped up. Standing up, I made my way toward Mark.

"What should I do?"

Mark looked up from fastening his flak jacket.

"I need you to stay here and stay out of the way."

He couldn't be serious? Did he really expect me to stand by and do nothing? We were talking about Bella's life here!

"No! I have to do something!" I shouted at him.

"Listen to me, Edward. I know you want to help, but the best way to help is to stay here with your family and friends. I can't have you out there with us. It's too much of a risk. I don't want to have to be worrying about you, because if I'm too busy worrying about you, then I won't be focusing on getting Bella back. Do you understand?"

I nodded even though it killed me. Mark knew I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize Bella's safety.

"Good. It could be that Bella has managed to get away and will find a way to call you. If she does, we need you here to answer the call. Officers Jefferson and Purell will be staying behind with you all. If you hear from Bella you call me immediately."

I promised that I would. I watched as Mark and his team left the building, and I sat down on the couch. My heart and head heavy. My family had shown up a little before Mark began barking out orders, and Mom was quick to come over and wrap me up in a hug. I held on to her and did my best not to breakdown.

The waiting was excruciating. Every time someone's phone rang, we all jumped thinking it might be Bella. It never was. Hours passed with no news. Alice had tried to tell me that no news was good news, and I almost lost it on her. Since then, she'd kept her mouth shut.

A little after four, my phone rang. Startled, I dropped my phone. Picking it up, I noticed that it was Mark.

"Mark?"

"Edward?"

I let out a sigh before the tears came. Bella.

"Oh, God! Bella!"

Immediately, everyone gathered around me.

"Are you okay?" I asked, having to know the answer.

I heard her sniffle a bit, and her voice was thick with tears. "I'm okay now. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. I'm just grateful that Mark and his team showed up when they did."

We talked for a few more minutes before Mark came on the line. He said that Bella was being taken to the hospital in Port Angeles and for us to meet him there. Within moments, Dad was speeding us toward the hospital. We'd been in the waiting room for roughly twenty minutes, when Mark and Bella walked in. My heart jumped into my throat when I saw her. My beautiful Bella.

She ran to me, falling into my arms, and I couldn't hold her tight enough. I buried my face in her hair and let the tears fall. We clung to each other desperately, afraid to let the other go. Finally, we pulled apart, and I gasped at what I saw. Her beautiful face was bruised and bleeding, there was a gash on her head, and there was some gauze taped to her neck.

"I'm okay," she reassured me. "I promise."

I frowned. She didn't look okay. When the doctor called her name, I went back with her. I was never letting her out of my sight again. After examining her, the doctor told her she was going to need stitches for the cut on her head and the one on her throat. When the doctor had pulled the gauze away from her neck, what I saw filled me with rage. She'd been cut. A knife had pierced her delicate skin.

"Edward?" she asked, bringing me back.

I turned to look at her.

"I'm going to be okay. I promise you."

All I could do was nod. Minutes later, a woman from the police department came into the room and began to do that stuff that they do on those crime shows. She scraped the skin underneath Bella's nails and took photos of all of her bruises and cuts. When she was done, the woman told Bella that Mark would be taking her statement. Bella thanked the woman as she left.

The next fifteen minutes were spent watching the doctor stitch Bella up and half-listening as he gave her instructions for the pain killers that he was prescribing her. Clasping hands, we walked out to the waiting room to our friends and family. Bella was hugged and kissed by everyone, before Mark interrupted.

"Bella? I hate to do this, but we need to get your statement about everything that happened."

Bella nodded. "I know," she said.

Mark drove the two of us to the Port Angeles Police precinct where he sat Bella down across from one of the desks and asked her to tell him what happened.

Grasping my hand tightly in hers, she began. "I was getting ready to get into my car so that I could meet Edward for lunch. I heard a noise behind me and turned around. Caius was standing there. He hit me with something and knocked me out. When I came to, we were in his car driving toward Forks. He said that he knew that I had his drugs, and that I was going to give them to him. I tried to tell him he was wrong and that's when he smacked me and told me to shut up."

I let out a low growl. How dare that bastard lay a hand on my Bella! Bella squeezed my hand, and I shut up. Taking a deep breath she continued.

"He dragged me into the house, which must have just been searched by the police because everything was a mess."

"We'll fix that," Mark interrupted. "We left it that way on purpose so that he would notice that we had searched the place."

Bella nodded. "Yeah, he was a bit furious. Mumbling about how if someone else had found his drugs, he was going to make me pay. He then decided that if the drugs weren't in the house, then they must be at some place at First Beach. I guess Demitri had told Caius that Laurent spent a lot of time there. He dragged me to the car and made me give him directions to La Push."

I was quiet the rest of the time she spoke, until she told us about Caius putting a knife to her throat and threatening to slit it. I couldn't contain the wounded noise that came out of my throat. Bella squeezed my hand harder, and I clung to it. I knew she needed to get through telling what happened, and my interrupting her wasn't helping. It was incredibly painful having to sit there and listen to the horror she'd gone through. I thanked my lucky stars that Mark got there in time and was able to save her.

By the time Bella was done recounting the events of what had happened, it was close to seven in the evening. We were both exhausted, and when Mark offered to drive us to my parents' house, we agreed.

An hour later, we were curled up in our bed. Sleep wasn't coming easily to either of us, so we laid there quietly talking.

"I can't even find words to express how glad I am that your safe and weren't seriously harmed," I whispered, pressing a hard kiss to the side of her head.

"I love you so much, Edward! I was so scared that I would never see you again."

"I know, sweet girl. I know."

Sitting up, she cupped my face in her hands and gave me a long hard kiss. A kiss I was only to happy to return. If the outcome had been different, she might not have been sitting there kissing me. Finally, the need to breath forced us apart. Her hands still cupped my face, and she had a serious, yet determined look on her face.

"Edward, will you marry me?"

For a moment, time stood still. My brain was working furiously to compute what she had just asked me. I was sure I looked like a fool with my mouth hanging open and my eyes wide.

"Edward?" she asked quietly.

I realized that I hadn't answered her, and she was sitting there worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. Reaching out, I ran my thumb over her bottom lip.

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes, I'll marry you. I was planning on asking you, but you beat me to it."

A smile bloomed over her face. "You mean it? You'll really marry me?"

I rolled my eyes. Silly girl. "Of course I'll marry you. I want you to be mine for forever. Hang on just a sec," I told her as I got up and headed out the door.

I had asked Mom for help picking out an engagement ring for Bella. We'd gone a few weeks ago to pick one out, and I'd asked Mom to hold onto it for me. I was glad I did, especially since the break in. Heading into my parents' room, I found the ring and then ran back to my room. Bella was still sitting on the bed, probably trying to figure out why I'd run away.

Climbing back onto the bed, I handed her the little black box. With shaking hands, she took it and slowly opened it.

"Oh, Edward. It's perfect," she gasped upon seeing the ring.

"Yeah?"

She nodded. With my own shaking hands, I took the ring out of the box and slowly slid it onto her trembling finger. It fit perfectly. For a moment, we both just stared at it. Then we looked up at each other and broke into cheesy grins. She threw herself at me, and I hugged her hard. Our love making that night was slow and full of passion. It was the perfect ending to a horrible day.

We woke up the next morning to our phones ringing. Turns out our bosses declared that we needed a few days to recover from our ordeal. While they were right, I felt horrible that I'd only be at my new job for a day, and I was already taking time off. Jared assured me it was not only fine, but necessary. He wanted me to be in a healthy state of mind when I went back to work on Thursday. After showering and getting dressed, Bella and I headed downstairs. The whole family was sitting around the table when we entered.

"Good morning, kids," Dad said as we took our seats.

"Good morning," we replied, and it was a good morning.

Mom rushed over to give Bella a hug. "How are you, dear?"

Bella gave Mom a big smile. "I'm good. I promise. I'll probably have some bad days in the future, but today—today, I'm good."

And that was when Mom spotted the ring on Bella's finger. Mom let out a high pitched squeal and grabbed Bella in another hug.

"When did this happen?" she asked.

"Last night," I told her. "She asked me to marry her. I couldn't say no."

Mom let go of Bella and wrapped me up in a hug before she smacked me on the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You were supposed to ask her, not the other way around," Mom said, glaring at me.

Bella let out a giggle. "I couldn't help myself, Esme. I'd already made up my mind to ask him once all the craziness with Caius was over. I'm just glad he said yes."

"So where's his ring?" Emmett asked.

Bella smirked. "At the house."

My head whipped around. My girl had gotten me a ring to wear?

"What? It only seems fair that if I wear a ring to let people know I'm taken, that you wear one as well," she informed me.

That was fine by me. She wouldn't hear me complaining.

Once we were done with breakfast, we decided to go over to our house and see what the damage was. Mark had told us that they'd turned the place over looking for the drugs as well as for Caius' benefit. Emmett opted to go with us, telling us that he was thinking about moving into my old house. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about having Emmett living so close to me, but I knew that he was tired of living with our parents.

We pulled into the drive and were met by Mark and a few of his deputies.

"Hey, guys," he said when we got out of the car.

"Hey, Mark. What's going on?" I asked.

"Thought we'd come over and put your house back together. Good thing you're here though since we don't know where a lot of stuff goes," he said with a grin.

It took a few hours, but with everyone's help we got everything put back in it's rightful spot. I offered to order pizza for everyone and while I was doing that, Bella ran upstairs. She came back a few minutes later and handed me a box similar to the one I'd handed her earlier. I excused myself and walked out back with Bella. Opening the box, I found a beautiful silver ring. She slowly slid the ring on my finger and looked immensely pleased that it fit. I was too. It looked good sitting there, and I couldn't wait until we were married.

Heading back in, we were congratulated by everyone. It was nice to have such a relaxing evening. Before Mark left, he informed us that Caius was being extradited to New York and was facing a huge list of charges. The FBI had been more than eager to get their hands on him, and we were assured that he would be put away for a very long time.

"Will there be a trial?" Bella asked.

"Yes, and there's a good chance that you'll have to testify. Are you okay with that?"

Bella nodded. "I'll do whatever it takes to make sure he never hurts anyone again."

After Mark and his deputies left, Bella decided to call her parents. Mark had kept Charlie informed on everything that had happened, but I could tell from Charlie's voice that he was relieved to hear from Bella. She let her parents know that she was fine, a bit banged up, but otherwise unhurt.

"I have some more good news," she began.

"What's that, honey?" Renee asked.

"Edward and I are engaged."

She held the phone away from her ear as her mother started screaming and expressing how happy she was. Charlie, on the other hand, hadn't said a word and that made me nervous.

"Charlie?" Bella asked.

"Sorry, kiddo. I was taking a moment to process it all. I'm happy for you. Both of you. I know that Edward's a good guy."

"He really is."

"So when's the wedding?" Renee asked.

Bella and I looked at each other. We hadn't figured that out yet.

"No idea. But as soon as we do, we'll let you know."

It was hard to believe that a month had passed since Caius had been caught. It had been a long hard month, but things were slowly getting back to normal. Bella had spent a better part of the month insisting that she was fine, but she was anything but. There were moments where she would lash out at anyone nearby, and I woke up one morning to find her throwing dishes on the kitchen floor.

I'd heard a loud crash and had had a flashback of someone breaking into the house. Jumping up, I had noticed that Bella wasn't in our bed, so I'd headed downstairs and found her in the kitchen surrounded by broken ceramic.

"Bella! Are you okay? What happened?" I'd asked.

She'd turned to me and her eyes were blazing with rage and fury. I'd wondered when it was all finally going to surface, and it seemed like it had at that moment.

"I cannot believe that that fucking bastard had the nerve to take me!" she'd growled as she thrown another plate on the floor. "Who the fuck does he think he is? Huh? Who the fuck thinks it's okay to take someone against their will? It's bullshit!"

I'd tried to grab her arm and prevent her from breaking anymore dishes, and that had been a mistake. She whirled around and glared at me.

"Don't fucking touch me right now!" she'd yelled.

I had known that she hadn't meant the words as they were yelled in anger, but that didn't prevent the hurt that I had felt when she'd uttered them. Holding my hands up in surrender, I'd slowly backed up, giving her some space. I had begun to speak, but was cut off when she continued.

"And don't even fucking think about telling me to stop! I'll break these fucking dishes if I want to!"

"Okay. Just be careful. I'd hate to see you get hurt, love."

"Too fucking late for that. That fucking bastard already hurt me! Remember?" she shouted.

Oh, I had remembered. The image of her bruised and battered face would stay with me for a long time.

"I know, love, and I'm sorry that I couldn't stop him from hurting you."

"God, Edward. It wasn't your fucking fault. Don't start feeling guilty for something you had not control over," she'd said, pointing a finger at me.

Then she'd turned back to the counter to grab more plates and realized that there weren't anymore left. All of our plates were on the floor. Shattered in pieces. It was at that moment that she had realized what she had done and broke down into sobs. Carefully, I had walked over to her and gathered her in my arms. I had carried her into the living room where we'd sat and had a long talk. Dad had told me that all of the trauma was going to hit Bella at one time and that it would do us both good to talk to someone about it. He had been right.

Bella had agreed to see a therapist that Dad recommended, so once a week we went and talked to the therapist. Bella had been hesitant at first, but things were finally getting back to normal. We drove into work together, had lunch together either by ourselves or with our friends, and then we'd head home and hang out. We got together once a week to play D&D, something that Bella had really gotten into. Our therapist thought it was a good way for Bella to let loose of some anger without hurting or breaking anything or anyone. I didn't bother to tell him, that Bella's character was all about slaughtering people.

We also hung out with Jake and Seth once a week as well as continuing to have brunch with the family on Sundays. Emmett had moved in next door and more often than not was over at our place. I think he was lonely. Rosalie had sought him out a few more times since we'd last seen her at my parents' house, but he'd told her that if she truly wanted him back then she'd have to agree to marriage counseling. That hadn't been what she had wanted to hear. Bella and Alice had formed a tentative truce. Bella still hadn't forgiven Alice for her behavior, but she was making nice and really, that was all I could ask for. Of course, all of that changed at the next Sunday brunch.

"Bella, dear! You're looking much happier," Mom told her after she welcomed us with a hug.

"Thanks, Esme. I'm feeling happier. The therapist is really helping."

We sat around and made small talk with Alice and Jasper until Mom called us to the table. As usual, Mom had made an awesome breakfast of which we were all enjoying. I should have known that it was going too well.

"So, Bella," Alice began. "I was thinking we could schedule your wedding for sometime in the fall. That way it won't interfere with mine and Jasper's wedding in June. When Jasper and I go talk to the minister next week, we can find out when the church will be available for you. Oh, we should also start shopping for your wedding dress and the bridesmaid dresses as well. Oh, and I'll need to get a maid of honor's dress or should I say matron of honor's dress."

Jasper and Alice had overcome their differences and the wedding was back on. It was in two months time and Alice had become bridezilla. It was awful, and I felt horrible for Jasper having to deal with all of that. I was grateful that Bella wasn't like that. We both wanted a small simple wedding. No fuss, no mess, and judging from the look on Bella's face she was about to let Alice have it.

Bella calmly put her fork down and crossed her hands in front of her, staring at Alice.

"Alice. We're not getting married in the fall. We're not getting married in a church. And you won't be my matron of honor."

Horror crossed over Alice's face, and I knew she was about to say something to piss Bella off even more.

"What are you talking about? Of course you'll get married in a church, and I'll be the matron of honor. I mean really, who else are you going to ask?"

Bella narrowed her eyes. "This is our wedding. Mine and Edward's. And we don't want to be married in a church. And as for my maid of honor, I've already asked someone."

Alice looked like she was about to keel over from shock. "But—you have to get married in a church!"

"No, Alice. We don't," I said. "Neither of us are overly religious, and we have found a perfect spot to get married in. A place that means something to both of us."

Alice huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, obviously put out that her ideas weren't going over well.

"So who have you asked to be your maid of honor?"

"Leah," Bella replied.

"Hmph. I still don't-"

Mom broke in and told Alice, "It's their wedding, Alice. You've gotten to plan yours, now let them plan theirs."

Nobody could shut Alice up like Mom could. Turning to us, Mom asked when we planned on having the wedding.

"Actually, we were thinking next month," I told her.

"What?" Alice screeched. "You can't have your wedding before mine!"

I gritted my teeth and looked at her. "Yes, Alice we can. Unlike you, we don't need to spend thousands of dollars or months of planning. We know what we want and when we want it. If you're going to keep acting like a child then perhaps you shouldn't come to our wedding. Because sister or not, I will not tolerate you ruining our day."

Alice's mouth opened but nothing came out. Getting up from the table she stomped off, and I couldn't find it in me to care.

"Good for you, bro," Emmett said from beside me. "The little demon needs to learn that the world doesn't revolve around her."

Mom reached over and smacked Emmett in the back of the head.

"Oww! What was that for?"

"Don't call your sister the little demon."

"Well, she is."

"Emmett," Mom said, giving him the glare.

He shut up immediately. We spent the rest of brunch discussing our wedding. Right after the attack, we had gone for a walk in the woods behind Mom and Dad's. We had stumbled upon a beautiful meadow with a tiny brook running through it. The meadow was now a place that we went to when we needed a break from the world. A few weeks ago we had been lying in the grass, listening to the brook ripple and the birds sing.

"Edward?"

"Yes, sweet girl."

"How would you feel about having the wedding here?" she'd asked me.

I'd turned on my side to face her. "I think that would be perfect."

"Me, too," she'd replied with a sigh.

And so it was settled. The meadow was on Cullen property so we didn't have to get any approval to have the wedding there. We told the family about the meadow and that we planned on getting married the first week of May. Reverend Weber had agreed to perform the ceremony, and Mom told us that she'd get a caterer.

"How many people are you thinking?" Mom asked.

"Under twenty," we replied.

Everyone looked a bit surprised by the small number.

"Esme, we don't want a large wedding. We really only need our close friends and family, which adds up to under twenty people. My parents and Billy are going to fly up from Phoenix, and then we have Jake, Seth, Leah, Sam, Jared, and Paul. And all of you. That's all we need," Bella explained.

Mom made Bella promise not to go bridal gown shopping without her.

"I promise. But Esme, I don't want some elaborate fru-fru dress. I want something simple yet elegant. Oh, speaking of elegant, can I have a word with you in private?"

I watched as they walked off wondering what that was about. I looked to the others, but they had no clue either. Twenty minutes later, Bella and Esme came back into the room.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"Yep," she said, lifting her face up for a kiss.

Like I could deny her. I leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss, ever mindful of our family watching. Of course, whenever I kiss her, I tend to lose focus and before I knew it, Emmett was whooping and making porn noises. We broke apart, and my face was bright red, but not Bella's. She had a smirk on her face and held out a hand toward Emmett. I watched as he fished out his wallet and handed her twenty bucks.

"What?" I asked, confused as to what I just transpired.

"Emmett bet me that I couldn't get you to make out with me in front of everyone," she said with a grin.

Mom grinned and gave Bella a high-five. "The Cullen men can't resist our charms."

I shook my head. Good lord, those two together were going to be trouble. Dad must have thought the same thing because he said to me, "Son. We're in trouble."

"Tell me about it."

But I couldn't contain the smile that broke over my face as I looked at my fiancée. I knew the next month was going to be a bit hectic, but for now, I was going to sit back and enjoy the ride.

a/n: Huh. Well, this chapter ended up being way longer than I had planned. 29 pages. I don't think my senior seminar paper was quite this long. So lots of stuff happening here. Next chapter will BPOV on the kidnapping and whatnot. I'm looking about about 4 more regular chapters and an epilogue for a total of 30 chapters. It might end up being more, maybe less. Guess we'll see. Anyway, you know what to do. Leave me some love, chocolate, cookies. I wouldn't say no to some Rob (although I'm married to one of those, but he's not a british actor), some Dan Radcliffe, or even a little bit of Brad Pitt. Just sayin.