A/N: Hey everyone! This chapter didn't turn out like I had hoped, but a lot happens here.

Disclaimer - I don't own Twilight. :(

Mezz - I flove you!

-Edward-

The alarm blares from the coffee table in front of the couch. My eyes feel crusty from the dried tears I had fallen asleep to. I open my eyes to reach for the alarm when it turns off. There in front of me, holding my little digital alarm clock is Bella.

"I wanted to see you last night so I came over late after your meeting," she began to explain. "You were already asleep and must have been so tired that you forgot to set your alarm, so I set it for you."

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I question, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"You looked so tired that I didn't want to disturb you." She hands me a cup of coffee and smiles tiredly.

"Did you get any sleep?" I ask her as I take the cup from her. I take a small sip and smile, exactly how I like it.

She grimaces slightly. "I got a little sleep," she shifts nervously. "I've had a lot on my mind lately."

I set the cup down on the coffee table and turn back toward her. "I'm here if you need an ear." I see her begin to smile. "Or a nose." The grin finally breaks out over her face. "Or whatever other facial appendage you might want to take advantage of." Bella laughs aloud at my little joke and I am so glad to see her smile.

I glance back at the clock, keeping track of when I need to leave but not wanting to leave Bella. Of course, she notices.

"You need to get ready for work," she tells me as she gets up from the couch. "I'll see you at lunch?"

"You couldn't keep me away," I tell her as I give her a quick kiss on the cheek and head off to get ready.

By the time I finish showering and change, Bella is already gone. She seems troubled and I can only hope that she will open up to me about why. I plan to tell her about Isa tonight, and then I plan on asking her about the other effects of the fire. I need her to know that I am vested in us.

Work goes by slowly and lunch seems even slower. Something is off with Bella. I mention that I want to talk to her about some things and ask if we can talk over dinner. She agrees and we decide on seven tonight. But apart from that, there is no real conversation. It is almost as if she is avoiding me.

-Bella-

When Edward told me he wanted to talk to me, I knew what was coming. Angela had told me about their conversation so I would be prepared; Edward was telling me his last secret. If I had been anyone else, Angela would have reminded him of his non-disclosure agreement.

Lunch had been awkward and I did not want dinner to be the same; things needed to be said as soon as possible. Immediately after he lets me in I ask him to sit down with me and take his hands in mine, looking directly into his eyes.

"Edward, no matter what skeletons are in your closet, I will still be here for you. You've shown me that what we have can stand up to so much."

"Anything, Bella," he corrected.

Instead of agreeing, I simply nod my head and smile hoping that he does not notice my uncertainty. That test is yet to come.

"What I mean is that I don't want you to be afraid to talk to me," I clarify to him.

He takes a deep breath and then lets it all pour out. He tells me everything, albeit a watered down version of events. He tells me of his treatments, about how they made him feel; of the ghosts that haunted him, about how they are now gone but not forgotten; of his appreciation for how strong he thinks I am, how beautiful.

By the time he is done, we are both in tears; dinner long forgotten. He is letting go, and I see how much this has done for him. I hate that I have had to hurt him and that there is still more to come.

"Bella, I have to know something," Edward finally asks me.

"Of course, Edward, anything."

"Besides the scars, what else did the fire do to you?" I knew this question was coming, I practically arranged it; that does not mean that it still didn't take my breath away to come face to face with it.

I draw a deep breath before I begin talking. I know I put him through a lot on his treatment so I do my best to shelter the blow with him now.

"All the pain medication really did was make it so I couldn't move. I could still hear everything around me. I mean the pain was dulled, but I still felt it every time I moved." Edward reaches out to me and pulls me to him, wrapping his arms around me protectively. I relax into his embrace and continue.

"They tried to use skin from the others, Emmett and Alice and everyone else, as temporary skin for me until my body began to heal on its own. There wasn't enough though, so they had to use sheep skin and they had to do a lot of tests to see if I could even function on my own." I take a moment to remember the experience before I collect myself and move on.

"It took a lot of work, but eventually I got back most of my mobility, although I still have problems sometimes; and my sense of touch has been dulled due to all of the scar tissue. They thought that my uterus had been damaged as well; it had, but not to nearly the extent that they were fearing. If I ever decide to have children I will have to be under close watch until I give birth."

I feel Edward kiss the top of my head and he stays there for a long while, his lips pressed to my hair.

"Say something," I beg him.

"I love you," He whispers to me. "I can't imagine how hard that must have been, but thank you for telling me."

I turn around so that I am facing him and I softly bring my lips to his.

"You are so beautiful," he mutters as we finally separate.

"No I'm not, Edward. Not anymore," I tell him.

"Yes you are." He kisses me again. "Let me show you." He guides me to his bedroom.

Edward closes the door and begins to slowly undress me and I want so badly to hide from him but I don't. The bra and panties that I was wearing that night helped to save those areas; however being the only semi-normal areas, they stand out in sharp contrast to the rest of my body, making my scars around them look even more pronounced. He lays me down onto the bed and looks at me with softly hooded eyes, not eyes of pity like I would fear, but of care and maybe even a little lust.

He kneels over me on the bed and kisses my collarbone. I start to arch my back at the feel of his lips when he begins to move down my left side.

He kisses all the way down my side, down to my hip and onto my leg, until all I can feel are his lips and his fingers, both ghosting over forgotten flesh. Edward caresses all of my skin equally; the clear, the blemished, the smooth and the scarred. He continues to my toes and then back up on my right leg.

When he has covered every inch of my flesh, he finally removes the rest of his clothing and lies with me. I can see that his body senses that intimacy with me is near. I look into his eyes and see the uncertainty in them; I know he worries that I may not be ready for this with him. I raise my hand and caress his face. Looking into his eyes I utter the one word that sums up my current feelings.

"Please."

That one word begs so many things.

Please make love to me.

Please make me feel beautiful.

Please don't leave me.

He reaches for a condom but I stop him, the question is deafening in his eyes.

"There are so many ways that my ability to feel has been lessened. I couldn't stand for this to be one of them. Please, Edward, I need to feel you. All of you."

Edward nods his head and drops the little packet onto the ground. He rolls himself onto me and I move my body to let him in. As he slips into me and we are joined as one, a single tear escapes.

He takes my face in his hands and we hold each other with our eyes. We are connected with body, heart, mind, and soul. We both pour out everything we have to each other, and we each take everything we can from each other. There is no greed here; anything we desire is freely and gladly given. As we chase after our release through a meadow of pleasure, all of the scars, pain, guilt, and longing - all of it, melts away until all that is left is Edward and I, the way we were always meant to be.

The climax of our lovemaking sweeps over me like a tidal wave. I can only hope that Edward can feel my love for him, that he understands that I want every part of him. I just hope that in the end, he will want every part of me.

A/N: So they have taken their relationship to the next level. I wonder how that will end up. *evil laugh* We've only got a couple more chapters until we hit the prolouge, so hang on, it's about to be a bumpy ride.

The internet has been sketchy here lately so I apoloigize tto anyone who I got a teaser to late this past week and if I get one late to anyone this week. Hopefully it will be better soon.

Cool fact - This story is now over 50,000 words. Well it's cool for me anyway, I never thought I would write anything that long!

Reviews = Teasers