A/N: DON'T JUST SKIP OVER THIS!!! YOU WANNA READ!!! THERE'S AN EXCLUSIVE ECLIPSE TIDBIT!!! NO JOKE!!! Hey guys! Chapter 25 WOOT!!! First off, though… I got some big news.

I met Peter Facinelli last night.

And guys, it was amazing. He is a really sweet guy and loves the fans. He's even willing to do pictures with them. So if you ever see him don't hesitate to ask!

He shared so many stories with us. For example, to get ready for his role as Carlisle he did EXTENSIVE research. He read all the books, looked up stuff online, and even basically wrote his own Carlisle fan fiction to fill in the gaps. He came up with this idea that while he was in Chicago he met Babe Ruth (famous American baseball player if you don't know). And that's why he holds up the bat and points it out towards the field in the baseball scene. It's both Carlisle and Peter's tribute to Babe Ruth.

And yes… he knows BOTH of Carlisle's ages.

And he loves the books.

ECLIPSE TIDBIT HEARD DIRECTLY FROM PETER FACINELLI: So… perhaps you noticed the scarves Carlisle wears in the movies? That was Peter's idea. He said that it represents two things:

1) He figured Carlisle would be gentlemanly based on his upbringing.

2) it's kind of security blanket. He figured that Carlisle was bitten on the neck, so the scarf gives him the illusion of safety.

So what does this have to do with Eclipse? I'm about to describe a scene. Be excited.

So, it's the scene where they meet the wolves. I think it's the one where they come together to learn how to fight the newborns. Anyway, when Carlisle approaches them, he takes off his scarf as a gesture. He's making himself vulnerable to establish trust. That was Peter's idea. SO WHEN YOU SEE ECLIPSE, remember that you first heard it here. XD

Yes, I got his autograph.

Yes I got a picture with him.

If you wanna see the pic… it's on my Twitter: .com/mizzybizzyvamp

No, I will not sell the autograph. It's personalized, thank you very much

Yes, he's very good looking in real life.

Ironically I think he had a little glitter under his eye… so yes HE SPARKLED. Rofl.

Yes, I shook his hand.

No, it wasn't hard and cold. It was lukewarm and rough.

Yes, I'll stop talking about it and get on with the chapter. Haha. Here it is: Chapter 25.

It's Edward's POV from here on out, btw.

Seeing Bella's smile as she greeted the Denalis made me temporarily forget all the danger looming ahead, or the memories she had just shared with me.

"It's so good to see you!" she greeted as she hugged Tanya.

I thought back to when Bella first heard of Tanya, and when they had regarded each other as "competition." Those feelings were gone now. Bella was mine, and they both understood that. So, now they accepted each other. In fact, the two had become good friends. It was nice to eliminate the… awkwardness that Tanya's feelings toward me brought to every gathering, feelings that weren't reciprocated. Now they were gone, and she could just be my cousin for all intents and purposes finally.

I'm so glad she's back, Tanya thought. They don't deserve to be apart.

You want me to introduce Marcus?

It took me half a second to calm myself. I wasn't used to Bella's "voice."

I barely nodded at her, and she took off up the stairs.

Tanya hugged me next.

"It's good to see you, too," she said, smiling.

I hugged her back.

Afterwards, all attention went to Nessie, of course… until Bella brought Marcus downstairs. The reaction was immediate and expected. Garrett and Eleazer set themselves in defensive crouches in front of the girls. All were hissing and growling.

Bella held up a hand. "Here me out."

The hissing stopped. Nessie came over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I stroked her hair softly and comfortingly.

"Look at his eyes," said Bella.

Marcus looked straight at them. He held his hands up, palms out. "I mean you no harm."

Their thoughts were overflowing with shock.

Look at his eyes!

Gold? Is this some sort of trick?

I knew Marcus was different, but I never would've guessed this.

Oh my gosh!

The Volturi have broken apart," Bella continued. "Marcus has his followers, Caius has his, and Aro has his."

"What prompted this?" Eleazer asked, still in disbelief.

"Me," said Bella.

I was expecting to see fear in her eyes, maybe her voice to tremble, but there was none. All I saw was bravery and determination.

I thought I would explode with pride.

Marcus took over at that point.

"Caius sees Bella as a threat to the vampire world. He wants her dead."

I managed to stifle a snarl, yet my lip still curled up and over my teeth. Nessie cringed against me.

"Aro, on the other hand," Marcus continued, "sees Bella more as a prized collectible."

"And you?" Tanya asked, her eyes narrowed. "How do you see Bella?"

He turned to Bella, then me. "No one should have to be separated from their mate."

Very private memories of his own dead mate filled Marcus's mind. I did my best to tune them out.

"So what's happening now?" Garrett asked.

Alice spoke up this time. "Aro and Caius are each going to follow Bella and Marcus here. Aro wants to bring Marcus and his followers—especially Bella—back. Caius's search for Bella will lead him here."

"So it's going to be a fight?" said Garrett. Yes! About time.

Alice just nodded.

"Of course we'll stand by you," said Tanya.

Carlisle smiled sadly. "That's what we figured. Thank you."

"What is family for?" said Tanya.

As the day went on, we went through the same thing: the same shock, the same explanation, the same acceptance.

It was strange, however, watching Bella. She stayed by Marcus the whole time. I could see the way the months with the Volturi had changed her: the way she walked, the way she held herself. She looked almost like royalty. She walked taller, sat straighter… more lady-like.

And she got right down to business when she needed to.

She was different. Some of her happiness from this new life had been stripped from her. My heart ached.

"Do you notice it?" I whispered to Jasper, watching Bella explain Marcus's change to the Amazons.

She's… detached, thought Jasper. She's hiding from her emotions. She's numb…

"Military," I whispered.

Yes.

I turned and saw Jasper looking at me with concern and sympathy. It shouldn't be too much of a surprise, I guess. She still loves you, though. She's more than happy to be here with you again, with all of us again.

"But some of the happiness is gone," I choked out.

Yes. She's been through a lot. Still going through it.

I nodded.

Jasper put a hand on my shoulder. She'll be happy again. We'll get through this. But you need to try to be strong for her. She needs you. His thoughts went to a few times where he caught Bella at emotionally unstable moments since she came back. My breath caught.

I knew that she was troubled by the time she had spent with the Volturi… but I didn't realize just how much.

Try to talk to her, but don't push her. There's something really bothering her.

"The humans she killed," I whispered.

She should talk about it. Get it out of her system.

He turned back to Bella. But more importantly we need to continue to teach her to fight.

I growled low.

She's going to be the main target when this starts, Edward!

I closed my eyes.

She needs to learn to control her shield and fight at the same time. I now it's hard. I had to teach Alice. But it's necessary for her safety.

I nodded. "I know. I just wish it didn't have to happen at all."

I know.

For the rest of the day, I shoved the thought from my mind and helped my family present our problem to our visitors. Every time, once the problem was explained, it would turn into a gathering of old friends instead of reinforcements.

At the end of the day, Bella collapsed next to me onto the couch with a loud huff. I put an arm around her and kissed her brow.

"Exhausted, love?"

She turned her head to look at me tiredly, her eyebrows coming together. "People can be so hostile!" she complained.

I chuckled and kissed her lightly on the mouth. "They're not people, love. They're vampires. And it's in their nature."

She scrunched up her face in an adorable expression of disgust. I pulled her onto my lap.

"Where's Nessie?" I asked.

"Playing with Zafrina." I detected sadness in her tone.

"Talk to me, love," I begged, stroking her jawline.

She turned in my lap so that she was sitting sideways and buried her face into my neck. "I've missed so much."

I stroked her hair. "I know. Carlisle thinks she's going to start hitting puberty any day now."

She cringed against me. "She's not even three! I thought we had six years?"

"Everyone's different, love. Besides, Nahuel looks older than us."

"That's going to be weird."

I laughed. "Even after everything we've been through?"

She was silent for moment. "True."

I sighed. "Back down to business, love. There's a couple of things we need to talk about."

She groaned. "Can't we just go back to the cottage and forget business for a while?"

Oh how I wish we could. "I'm sorry Bella, but this is extremely important."

She didn't respond other than wrapping her arms around me.

"We need to talk about what happened with you and the Volturi," I continued.

She froze in my arms.

"I know it's painful, love, but you need to let it out. I know it's bothering you—"

"Jasper," she growled.

I continued anyway. "—but you need to let it out. It's not good to keep it bottled up inside."

"But I showed you," she whispered, her lips barely moving.

"That doesn't quite do it. We don't have to think about right this minute. There's something more pressing." I held her tighter against me. "Jasper says that you need to learn to fight and manipulate your shield at the same time."

She groaned again. "Not right now, at least. I'm too mentally exhausted from trying to deal with stupid stubborn vampires."

I chuckled at that. "No. Of course not right now. But soon, possibly tomorrow."

She nodded.

At that moment, Nessie came into the living room yawning. I looked over at the clock: eleven p. m. I smiled.

"I think it's time for someone to get to bed." I grinned at her.

Nessie's eyes narrowed. "I'm fine." Another yawn betrayed her.

Bella got up off my lap and took her hand. "Come on, sweetheart."

If only every day was composed of only the small, blissful thing like putting our beautiful daughter to bed.

It turned out we had to carry her home. She could barely keep her eyes open by the time we got to the river. We tucked her into bed and each gave her a kiss before turning out the light and leaving the room.

I headed for the living room, expecting Bella to follow me. I wanted to spend some alone time with her cuddling in front of the fireplace.

Apparently, the little temptress had her own ideas.

I turned around and didn't see her, so I retraced our steps.

"Bella?" I called playfully. I could hear small breathless giggles.

As soon as I stepped into our bedroom I was attacked. I was flung gently onto the bed and found my mouth completely covered by another… my clothes were quickly turned to shredded fabric.

I grinned and growled playfully, tightening my arms around my dangerous monster of a wife and devouring her right back… and turning her clothes, in turn, to unidentifiable shreds of fabric.

One perfect reunion just wasn't enough.

FADE OUT.

(Tee hee! Screenplay style right there).

I'll leave the rest to your imaginations.

NEXT TIME: Where has Jacob been? You're about to find out in Chapter 26!!!