Disclaimer: i don't own anything...

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Chapter 24

Banquets at Christmas Time

BPOV

After we returned from Essex, first thing on our agenda was to go over to the Baltimore field office of the FBI and collect the needed papers from my dad's friend. I called Mr. Varner asking for Monday off. He was reluctant at first but after explaining the situation, he gave in immediately.

We passed the apartment to change into clothes that were more appropriate for the task then headed out to the field office. Edward parked the car and helped me out before leading me inside.

We approached the lady at the front desk, whom I assumed was a civilian, since she wasn't in the usual FBI black suit. Hell she wasn't even wearing a suit. She was wearing a spaghetti strapped yellow sundress under a cardigan that showed too much cleavage in my book. "Excuse me, I'm here to see Special Agent Karen Newton."

"Yeah, you and everyone else," she replied rudely. "Do you have a..." she looked up and stopped midsentence once she lifted her head and got a look at Edward.

"Hey, handsome. How may I help you?" she purred and batted her eye lashes at him. I felt Edward gag them burry his nose in my hair. He tightened his hold on my waist and pulled me closer to him.

He turned back to her. "My girlfriend and I are here to see Special Agent Newton, just like she had asked you earlier," Edward replied politely.

"Oh, have a seat over there for a moment." She pointed to the generic plastic chairs in the waiting area. She picked up a handset and talked into it never once taking her eyes off Edward. Edward in turn again buried his face in my hair and kept it there until someone called out my name.

"Bella? What are you doing here?" I looked up and saw Mike walking towards us.

"Oh, hey Mike. I'm here to see Special Agent Newton," I said.

"You're here to see me?" he asked. Edward tapped his hand that was resting on my hip. When I turned to him he was looking at me with questioning eyes. Oh, duh. I didn't introduce them. How rude of me.

"Oh, sorry honey. This is Mike, Jessica's boyfriend. Mike, this is Edward Cullen, my boyfriend."

"Hey man, I've heard a lot about you." He held out his hand which Edward took to shake. "So, did you need to see me?" he asked again. Huh?

"Uh, you're last name is Newton?" I asked stupidly and he nodded. "Oh, I never knew that. Jessica never mentioned it, or maybe I just missed it. Anyway, unless there's a Karen somewhere in your name, I think I'm looking for another person."

"Oh, that's my mom. Come I'll take you back." He motioned for us to follow him. As we did the tramp from the front desk called out to us.

"Hey, where are you going? I didn't say you were cleared," she yelled causing several head to turn.

"I got them Roxy," Mike called out. "Sorry about her, I guess she was hitting on you huh?" he said to Edward.

"Yeah, it was a bit scary," he replied.

"She hit's on everyone here, even the females sometimes. But she's harmless. She's just a temp. Our regular receptionist is on maternity leave," Mike explained. We continued to walk until we reached a corner office with the name Karen Newton written on a gold plate on the door.

He looked around before knocking and opening the door. "Mom, there are people here to see you?"

"Who are they?" asked a women seated behind the desk. She looked up and I saw she had the same blue eyes as Mike and her blond hair was in a bun at the base of her neck.

"Bella and Edward Cullen," he said and ushered us in. She stood from her desk and walked around over to us.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, I'm Karen Newton. Please have a seat and how may I help you?" she asked as she motioned to the visitors chairs in front of her and leaned her butt on the desk.

Oh, she thought we were married? Well, we do live together. And he takes me to and from school. I guess it does seem that way...

"Oh, were not married yet. I'm Bella Swan and he's Edward Cullen, my boyfriend," I corrected once I stopped my analyzing in my head. I felt Edward chuckle behind me.

"Oh, my apologies. Wait a minute, did you say Swan? You're Charlie's daughter?" she asked.

"Yes, that's me. He said he sent you some papers I'll need for my restraining order," I replied.

"Oh, yes. Would you mind telling me what happened?" she asked. I narrated to her what had happened before with my dad's case and all and ending with the recent encounter with James. She agreed with my dad that at this point a TRO is the only thing we could do.

She and Mike gave me their business cards before we left and they said to just call them if any problems come up. We said thank you and took the papers to bring to the court house.

*******************

Once we were in the car and en route to the courthouse, I took a glance at Edward and he was grinning. "What are you grinning about?"

"You did realize that Mike called us Mr. and Mrs. Cullen right?"

"Uh, yeah. What does that have to do with anything?" I turned my body so I was facing him completely.

"You did also realize that when you corrected them you said we were not married... yet." Oh, I said that? I didn't even realize it.

"Oh, did I say that?" He nodded his head and his smile got bigger. I could feel my cheeks heating up, so I turned back and looked down at our entangled hands that rested on my lap. He didn't say anything more but he was grinning all the way to the courthouse.

**************

I finished out the week and was truly exhausted. I was sitting at my desk, my head on my table resting on my arms. "Miss Bella! Miss Bella!" yelled an over excited kid I recognized was Riley. I lifted my head and saw him and Bree standing in front of me holding a beautiful arrangement of tulips between them.

"Hey guys. What are you up to?"

"Nothing," they both said a little too innocently.

"Uh, okay. Why are you still here? Didn't your grandma pick you up earlier?"

"Uh huh, but I had band practice so we came back," Riley said. Huh? Since when was Riley in a band?

"And what is your excuse, young lady?" I asked as I walked around and took the vase from them and placed them on my table.

"Uh, I'm with him?" What? This is too weird.

"Okay, who is with you?" I asked.

"I am," said my favourite musical voice. I turned and found Edward still in his scrubs and I totally had to hold myself back to keep from jumping him. We walked over to me, cupped my face in his hands and pressed his lips gently on mine.

"Are you bribing me with kids and flowers, Dr. Cullen?" I asked once we parted.

"Maybe." He kissed me again.

"Okay, what do you want?" I caved.

"Uh... What I really want is not appropriate to be done in front in children," he whispered in my ear.

"Uh, okay... so is there another thing?"

"Yeah, actually there is. I was hoping you would accompany me to the holiday banquet of Children's Hospital," he said.

"There's more. I know it. You wouldn't bring me flowers and twins just to ask me out."

"Yeah, actually there's another thing..."

"Auntie Ali wants to make your dress and play Bella Barbie," Bree shouted.

"No, no, no. Dress. Okay. Fine. Bella Barbie, no way!"

"Come on Aunt Bella it will be fun, I'll be there too," Bree coaxed. I looked at her and she had the Cullen pout on her face. Oh, so not good!

I turned back to Edward and asked, "What do I get if I accept Bella Barbie?"

"I'll make it worth your while." Was all he said with a smirk on his face.

"Okay fine. But you better make it worth my while," I said and Bree started jumping up and down and latched onto my leg.

Edward gave me another kiss before asking, "Who wants pasta and pizza?"

"Me! Me!" the twins said while jumping up and down. I gathered my things and we made our way out to the car. We buckled in the kids into the car seats and headed over to Ledo Pizza.

**************

So this whole week Alice would kidnap me after school and take me to her shop to perfect my dress for the holiday banquet. She made me a floor length, one shouldered, emerald green dress. The bodice was ruched and was embellished at the waist.

It was the end of the week and the start of our Christmas break at school. This coming week was going to be a busy one. Tuesday was the holiday banquet for Children's hospital, Wednesday my parents would be flying in and Esme had a party for the kids at the center in the afternoon. Thursday we had the Johns Hopkins banquet in the evening, and Saturday would be Christmas day.

The weekend was spent in Edward's apartment. We would just lay in bed or the couch and watch movies, or Edward would play the piano or go to the gym. We decided to make it a lazy weekend since we knew the following week would be hectic.

Finally Tuesday came along and Alice was at the apartment at noon. Edward and I were having lunch and she kept telling to hurry up. "Alice, the event starts at 7:00 which is seven hours away. Please let me enjoy lunch with my boyfriend."

I looked over at Edward and he shot Alice a look. She settled on the couch and turned on the TV. At around 1:00 the doorbell rang and Alice opened the door to Rose and Bree. Finally at 2:00 I took my shower as Alice laid out her things on the counter.

When I came out, I saw Edward talking with Alice. "Hey," I said. He turned and walked over to me and gave me a very passionate kiss. I'm sure I was a tomato by now since I was not used to this type of kissing in front of people, even Alice.

The next two hours were spent in front of the mirror with Alice and Rose fussing over me. "Why do I need to get all dolled up?" I whined.

"Because... Just because," Rose replied. What kind of answer was that? As they did that, Bree was doing a ballet piece in front of me that she had just learned in class. It kept me entertained the rest of the time and finally Alice yelled, "We're done!" Oh, thank God!

They all piled out as I got changed. Alice had laid out a pair of very lacy black bandeau and thong set. I really doubted they covered anything that I was wondering why I had to even wear them. I reluctantly put them on followed by my dress. Alice came back in when I called for her to zip me up.

I gathered my clutch and wrap and headed downstairs to a waiting Edward. When I laid eyes on him I was once again speechless. He was wearing a black suit with a white shirt and a green tie that matched my dress. He took our coats off the rack and we made our way down to the car.

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EPOV

When we arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel for the banquet the place was already buzzing with people. We headed for the ballroom and signed in at the registration table before continuing inside.

The ballroom was decorated in green and red all around. I scanned the room and found my parents talking with Charles Everson and his wife. I took Bella's hand and led her over to them. "Dad, Mom," I greeted.

"Oh, hello dear. Bella, how have you been darling?" my mother said and took Bella into her embrace.

"I'm doing good Esme, thank you," she replied.

"Bella, this is my boss, Dr. Charles Everson and his wife Anna. Sir, this is my girlfriend Bella Swan," I introduced.

"Hello, dear. So you are the woman behind the improvement in Edward's behaviour. I can't thank you enough for that," Charles told her as he extended his hand. His wife did the same and Charles asked to have a word with me.

We walked over to the bar and each ordered a drink. "So, Edward, you're sure about your decision to accept the position of section head?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you've talked with every one about it? We will be announcing tonight that you and another couple of doctors are being promoted."

"Uh, I haven't told Bella. Things just came up and I didn't get the chance. She wouldn't keep me from it anyway. Do you think this promotion will affect my personal life all that much?" I asked.

"No, not really, especially with someone like her. As a married man of almost 40 years, I can honestly say you don't have to worry about her. She has changed you Edward. Even your parents think so. You should see yourself when you're with her. When you introduced her as your girlfriend your aura completely changed. I believe she will stick with you till the end, through the good and the bad." He took a sip of his scotch.

"She is different. I've never been with anyone like her and I believe she's it for me," I said and Charles was beaming up at me. He nodded in agreement as the announcer told us that dinner was about to be served.

I found Bella seated at the table with my parents. I went over to collect her since we weren't assigned to that table. I escorted her to our table which consisted of Tyler, Eric and their dates as well as two other couples.

Dinner was sit down and though out the meal I found that Bella had already a flowing conversation with the females in our table. One of the other ladies also taught toddlers at another private school and they were happily exchanging stories.

At dessert, I saw the chief of staff go up on stage and greet the group. He awarded the people who have been with the hospital for ten, fifteen, twenty-five, and thirty years. It was then time for the announcements of the promotions. First was a doctor from Internal Medicine and the second was from Obstetrics and Gynecology.

"Our last promotion will be from the Department of Pediatrics. The head of pediatric oncology will be leaving us next year to be closer to his family. The position had been offered and accepted by one of our brilliant young doctors. By accepting this position, he will be the youngest section head of his department on the east coast if not the entire United States. This young doctor is none other than..."

I turned to Bella and kissed her temple before whispering in her ear, "I'm sorry love." She looked at me with a puzzling look as the chief of staff announced my name, "Dr. Edward Cullen." Her confused look turned into one of surprise and awe. I kissed her chastely on the lips before standing up and going over to the stage. I was congratulated by the Chief and Dr. Everson. Some pictures were taken before we were allowed to go back to our seats.

As I made my way back, I stopped once in a while to say thank you the people who were congratulating me. When I got to Bella, she still looked shocked so I offered my hand, which she took, and walked her out to the patio that was overlooking the harbour.

I turned her to face me and wrapped my arms around her waist, her hands rested on my chest. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry I wasn't able to talk to you about the promotion. I was going to tell you about it in Essex then the James thing happened and it just slipped my mind. I didn't mean to keep you out of the decision..." my rambling was halted when she placed her fingers on my lips.

"You don't need to say sorry, honey. This is a big thing for you and I would have told you to take it none the less. I'm very proud of you." She moved her hands and ran them through my hair before pulling me down to her. Once our lips met, no matter how girlie it sounds, I swear I felt fireworks go off between us.

To put it simply, everything just fell into place. I already had Bella and I wasn't letting her go. I was going to marry this woman. A plan started to form in my mind on how to do things. It made me happy her parents would be coming over since I needed them for one part of my plan.

I wasn't sure how long we were kissing but when we parted she said in the most seductive voice I've heard her come up with to date, "Let's go home and celebrate. I think you'll love what I have under this dress." She really didn't have to tell me twice. We went back in, said out goodbyes, and headed back home.

**************

I had dropped Bella off at the center since she promised to help out with the children's party. I, on the other hand, was on my way to the airport to pick-up her parents. I parked my car in the lot then headed inside to wait by their gate.

Not long after I arrived, I saw their plane pull up at the gate. As people started filling out, I heard someone call my name, "Edward!" I looked in the direction of the voice and saw Renee waving frantically at me, Charlie following close behind.

"Hello, Renee." She dropped her bags and threw her arms around me. I struggled to regain my balance to keep us from tumbling over.

"Let the boy breathe, Renee. You daughter would blame you if you scare him off." She reluctantly released me and scowled at Charlie. "Edward." he held out his hand and I shook it in mine. We made our way to collect their bags and out to the car.

We headed straight to the center and arrived just as they were about to start the games. "Mom! Dad!" Bella called and came over to us. She hugged each of her parents and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips with a matching thank you.

While the ladies played along with the kids, we guys manned the grill. Charlie and my dad were talking about politics while Emmett, jasper, and I were talking about little league. When Charlie took a break I thought it was time to ask to talk to him.

"Charlie, may I have a word?"

"Sure son, let's walk."

**************

BPOV

As we finished the last game, I noticed Edward walk away with my dad. I guessed that he would just update him on how we were doing with the James situation. "Miss Bella! Miss Bella!" I looked down and found Jared and Tia each holding a gift up at me.

"Thank you kids. You really didn't have to get me anything." I took the gifts from them and put them in a basket we had with the other gifts. "Well, Edward and I have something for you as well." I took their hands in each one of mine and led them inside the building.

We went to the tree in the waiting area and I told them to search for their gift. Edward and I got the kids personalized bags and pencil cases. "What is it Miss Bella?" Tia asked.

"Well, you'll just have to wait until Christmas." We made our way back out and I spotted Edward by the food table. "Go say thank you to Edward," I said and they took off towards him.

"Dr. E! Dr. E! Thank you," they both said at the same time.

"You're very welcome," I heard him say as I reached them. The helped the kids with their plates and got the settled at a table and returned to Edward.

"What did you and my dad talk about?"

"I just updated him on the James thing," he said as we gathered food on out plates.

We stayed and helped clean up before heading home. We had dinner at my place with my parents and I opted to spend the night there, much to Edward's dismay. He said he would be here early the next morning so we could all have breakfast together.

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Thursday night came around and I was so conscious about my dress the entire drive to Gramercy Mansion where the Johns Hopkins Banquet was being held. For this ball, Alice made me a simple floor length, red halter dress with a plunging neckline. The dress actually looked like something only Rosalie could pull off. But of course everyone told me otherwise.

As we entered the area, Edward was greeted by the doctors on his promotion at Children's. Some of the younger females were blatantly flirting with him even with me standing there. I tried not to mind them and was successful until the skank, known as Tanya, came around.

"So, Edward," she purred and I felt Edward shiver. "I heard about your promotion. Congrats on that. Maybe you'd want to go out and celebrate after." Who does this bitch think she is? I was here, holding on to Edwards hand and she just asked him out? Seriously!

"I'm sorry Tanya. I have been unavailable for about four months and will continue to be unavailable for a long, long time." He held up our entwined hands and shook it in her face. "Also, I really didn't appreciate the bruise you gave my Bella. Excuse us." He tugged on my hand and led me towards the dance floor.

After dinner Edward didn't want to stay long since he was tired. We drove home in comfortable silence with instrumental music playing in the back ground.

Once we got home I went straight over to the couch and plopped myself on it. I removed my shoes, rested my feet on the coffee table, laid my head back, and closed my eyes. Not long after I felt some one remove my feet from the table and rest them on the floor.

Edward rested his hands on my thigh and started rubbing. I opened my eyes and saw him kneeling in front of me, uncertainty written all over his face. I sat up straighter and placed a hand on his cheek. "Is there something wrong honey?" He shook his head.

"I wanted to ask you something," he said.

"Okay."

"Uh, Bella... you know I love you right, so much?" I nodded. "Well, uh... I was thinking, hoping... that you wouldliketomoveinwithme," he said so fast that I didn't get it.

"I didn't get the last part Edward," I said.

He took a deep breath and repeated what he said, "I was hoping you'd like to move in with me... permanently."

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A/N: this is a bit of a fast forward chapter but i hope it was good enough. happy holidays to all!