A/N: A special Thank You to ysar for creating a new banner! I love it

Chapter 26 – Together

After telling the office personnel that it was vital for our daughter's well being, I was successfully put into the same Marine Biology 2 class as Edward. I also moved the rest of my schedule to better match his, but we decided to officially start those new classes the following day – we had a very special one year old to spend time with before Edward's surprise evening plans.

"Say it Em," Esme whispered as she and Em met us at the front door of her house.

"Happy!" Em shouted excitedly.

"Birthday," Esme reminded her quietly.

"Bilbbay," she said with a huge smile that made her look so much like her daddy.

"Thank you baby," I said while taking her from Esme and holding her close. Charlie had already gotten her to tell me happy birthday that morning, but it seemed like Esme had been working with her on it for a while and I didn't want to dampen it.

"Happy Birthday, sweetheart," Esme said with a hug before we walked into her house.

"Thanks," I said sincerely.

"Have you had a good day so far?" she asked.

"Um…I've had a good past half hour," I said while grabbing Edward's hand. The truth was, before we talked my day sucked, but since then I felt amazing. Edward and I were happy and strongly united, and I knew we could handle whatever the future held for us because we were going to do it together.

"Well, here," Esme said with a warm smile while handing me a shoebox sized wrapped gift.

"Oh…thanks," I said slightly uncomfortable. Esme and I were better since our talk as well, but I was still a little nervous around her and had no idea what kind of present she would get me.

I slowly opened the gift, and inside I was stunned to see a vintage styled jewelry box.

"I feel horrible because I just noticed that you don't seem to really wear jewelry except for that pearl," she said apologetically. "But maybe you can put something else inside it. It was my great great grandmother's which has been passed down each generation. After Edward was born I had hoped to have a daughter next, but then my husband… Well, anyway…I hope one day you'll pass it on to Em."

"I will," I said getting emotional. "And it's beautiful, thank you." It meant a lot to me that Esme would give me something so important to her, and it definitely helped me feel like she truly accepted me as part of her family.

Esme hugged me gently, but then Edward got restless.

"Ok, ok, bonding moment is over," he said before picking up Em and grabbing my arm to lead me away from his mother.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.

"Upstairs," he said casually.

"I thought your mom didn't want me upstairs?"

"Yeah, well," he said carelessly as we began climbing the stairs.

"Edward," I protested.

"Oh, come on; don't let her think she's won just because she gave you some heirloom thing."

"Won? I didn't know we were in a competition."

"Life is a competition," he said with a light laugh. "And it's you, me, and Em against everyone else."

I couldn't argue with that.

We played with our daughter for a little while before she succumbed to her afternoon nap, and then we proceeded to make out on his bed like the hormone driven teenagers that we were.

"Nope, everything below the belt is off limits," he said unexpectedly when I tried to unbutton his pants.

"What? Why? Oh I get it, now who's abiding by Mrs. Cullen's rules," I teased.

"I don't give a shit about her rules, I'm saying no because I don't want to."

"Ok, what are you up to?" I asked, knowing he had to have a reason for not wanting sex.

"I'm not up to anything…..well, nothing except the fact that we need to leave soon and if we start having sex, then there's no way either of us are going to want to go."

"I'm ok with that. I'd rather have sex than go anywhere anyway."

He raised a brow as if he was considering it, and then he smiled and shook his head. "Nope, we're going out."

"Hey, I thought it was my birthday, shouldn't I get to do what I want?"

"No…nice try though."

I crossed my arms with a huff, and then sulked like a child.

"We need to be a part of society, remember?" he said before kissing my forehead. "And people in normal society go on dates."

"Fine," I said stubbornly, but once I forced myself to accept the fact that he wasn't going to have sex with me right then, I actually became excited. Edward and I had never been out on a 'date', and I couldn't wait to see what he had planned. We had a very deep relationship that stemmed from our time on the island, but this was the beginning of our 'normal' lives together. It didn't matter that dating and acting like every other teenager was shallow in comparison to what we had before, I think we both finally realized that we could have both.

Charlie picked Em and I up a couple hours later, and took us back to his place so I could get ready for my date….I couldn't help but smile every time I even thought the word 'date'.

"Are you sure you got this, dad?" I asked Charlie slightly concerned.

"You may have forgotten, I raised a little girl already," he replied like a smartass.

When the doorbell rang, I looked up at Charlie questionably. Edward wasn't supposed to arrive quite yet, so I had a feeling our visitor was there for my father.

He laughed once sheepishly. "I believe that's for me," he said while rushing to get the door. He was back in less than a minute with a beautiful woman with long dark hair. "Um…Bella, this is Sue Clearwater, Sue this is my daughter Bella."

"Hi Bella, I've heard so much about you," she said with a friendly smile and an outstretched hand.

I took her hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you," I told her, but shot Charlie a confused smirk.

"Ok, so I admit it, I was a little nervous about a late night alone with a one year old. I'm may be a little rusty on the whole diaper changing and putting to bed stuff."

I laughed. "Ok dad…But no funny business you two," I joked, suddenly feeling like I was leaving my baby with a teen babysitter and his girlfriend. But on a seriously level, I was actually really happy that Charlie seemed to be moving on with his life. I hated the fact that my disappearance had caused my parents to divorce, but the more I got to know them again, the more I realized that they were probably never right for each other in the first place. Perhaps they had only stayed together for my sake and when I was gone they didn't feel the need to keep up with the charade anymore, so in a way, my disappearance was a good thing for their relationship….at least that's what I told myself.

Edward arrived a few minutes later looking even more gorgeous than he did at school. Black pants and a grey button down – Man, was I glad I decided to wear one of my 'Renee approved' dresses. It was a tight black cocktail dress that made me feel completely uncomfortable but sexy at the same time.

"Wow, you look…" he let his sentence trail off.

I giggled. "You don't look so bad yourself," I said before kissing him lightly, not want to mess up my makeup. "Where did you get these clothes, anyway? I thought you said you refused to let your mom take you shopping?"

He huffed. "I didn't go shopping, so don't blame me if I look like an idiot. My mom took my cousin Alice and they just bought me a bunch of stuff."

"Do you even own a mirror in that big house?" I asked incredulously. "You definitely don't look like an idiot; you're seriously hot, and it's time you kill that low self esteem and just accept it."

"Still rather wear holey shorts," he mumbled under his breath.

Honestly, I preferred him in his holey island shorts and nothing else as well, but I wasn't about to tell him that and screw with his confidence even more. I mean, he looked gorgeous, but I'd always have a soft spot for the way he looked when we fell in love. "So…who's driving us to wherever we're going?"

"Well, I didn't have very many options."

We kissed Em goodnight, and then walked out to the awaiting car.

"Hello Ms Swan, I'll be your chaperone for the evening," Emmett said with a cheesy grin. I actually didn't mind Emmett, but the fact that Rose was in the front seat next to him made me slightly anxious. But I refused to let her or anyone else spoil the evening.

Edward and I climbed into the back seat of the very luxurious black Mercedes, and then he leaned in to whisper – "I swear, I'll have my license and a car by your next birthday, but for now just pretend they're not there."

"Hey, I heard that," Emmett said.

"You know, you could be a little more appreciative," Rose added sourly.

"I don't have to be appreciative; I paid you, this is a job so suck it up," Edward told her.

"You got paid?" Emmett asked Rose quietly.

"So…where are we going?" I asked Edward, trying my best to pretend like his hostile cousin wasn't sitting in front of me.

"It's a surprise," he replied.

"Oh, I hate surprises," I whined.

"No you don't…you only pretend like you do."

"I like surprises when it's an actual surprise and I don't know it's coming, but I hate waiting, and I really hate knowing you planned something and won't tell me."

"Don't worry love, it's a good surprise," he said while weaving his fingers into mine and moving in a way so I'd know he wanted me to lean against him.

It had been a long day and I hadn't been sleeping very well since Edward had stopped coming at night, so I undesirably found myself falling asleep to the humming of the engine and the sound of Edward's steady heartbeat. I missed everything about sleeping with him, but I certainly didn't want to fall asleep on our date.

He woke me up sometime later.

"We're here," he said softly.

"Huh? Oh sorry," I said while sitting up and wiping my face. Oh god, please tell me I wasn't drooling!

Edward laughed. "Don't worry, I'm used to it."

"Used to what?" I played dumb.

"Your drool," he said quietly so that Emmett and Rose wouldn't hear.

"I do not drool!" I shouted a little too loudly.

Emmett snickered so Edward responded by kicking the back of his seat, shoving him into the steering wheel.

"Ow, jerk!" Emmett complained.

"Thanks for the ride," Edward said smugly.

"Hey Edward," Rose said as he opened the door to get out.

"What?"

"You have our number for when you're ready to be picked up, right?" she asked in a strangely concerned voice.

"Yeah."

"Ok…Oh, and Edward….be careful, ok?"

"Sure mom," he said annoyed before getting out and hurrying over to open the door for me.

"What was that about?" I asked Edward as the Mercedes drove away leaving us finally alone.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Rose's comment. She doesn't strike me as the overly protective type."

He shook his head. "I swear, I have all these women around me all the time sticking their nose in where it doesn't belong; I should have just made life easier on myself and become gay….no offense."

"Don't lump me in with your mom and cousins," I said defensively.

"No, but just wait, it's only a matter of time before you start doing that shit as well. Hell, Em will be doing it too. It's my lot in life."

I giggled. "I promise, I won't be overly concerned when there's no reason to be."

"I'll hold you to that promise."

"Good… So, where are we?" I asked with a smile.

"A restaurant," he said slowly, as if it was obvious…which I guess it sort of was. "Well, we're in Port Angeles if that's what you're asking. Your dad told me your favorite was Italian food, so I decided to bring you here. It got four stars…and it's right on the water."

"Have you ever been here before?" I asked feeling slightly giddy as he held open the door for me. I couldn't even remember the last time I had Italian food, but I knew for a fact that it was my favorite type before. Plus, it was a real restaurant, the kind with cloth napkins and waiters wearing ties.

Edward had made reservations so we were shown immediately to our table – a table adorned with a dozen long stem roses and petals scattered about.

"Oh, it's so beautiful," I said teary eyed. In addition to the roses, we were seated at a window overlooking the ocean and the sky above was full of pink and orange clouds, and I suddenly had a flashback. Just for a moment I was back on our island and Edward and I were sitting on our beach enjoying our solitude. I never thought back then that we'd ever be sitting at a restaurant together like that, and I suddenly felt very bittersweet about the entire thing. I missed the island, but I was slowly becoming excited about being back as well.

"Are you happy?" he asked unsure.

"Yes, I'm very happy. Thank you."

I ordered the mushroom ravioli, which I suddenly remembered was my favorite, and Edward ordered a steak, but it seemed he had also preordered a couple appetizers before we got there.

The waiter came out with a platter of raw oysters and a side of escargot.

Uh…

"Don't look at it like that," Edward said with a grin, already knowing I would have an issue with it.

"I get that these are a delicacy and all that but…."

"Worms Bella," he reminded me with a smirk.

He was right, nothing could be worse than worms. The shallow Bella who refused to try new things was gone, and I had Edward and the island to thank for that.

"Ok," I said, suddenly eager to taste the far too expensive -semi objectionable food. "Have you had these before?"

"Nope…but I thought it would be fun to try them together."

I smiled at him. "Together," I repeated.

We each picked up an oyster, and stared at them confused.

"How do we eat it?" I asked with a giggle.

He shrugged. "I think you're supposed to slurp it."

"Ok, on three," I said. "One. Two. Three…." We both slurped our oyster, and I was stunned by the flavor. It tasted like the ocean, which made me miss the island all that much more.

"Not bad," Edward said while nodding. "You know, they say oysters are an aphrodisiac."

"Well, we don't need them," I said suggestively. "Oh, and by the way, my pill is fully effective now."

"Check please," Edward said, even though there was no one around and we hadn't eaten our actual meals yet.

I giggled.

We forced ourselves to stay and finish our food, and even ordered dessert - Zeppole, which Edward had insisted on getting seeing how they were like doughnuts – he was still a little bitter about missing breakfast with me that morning, which I completely understood.

"Thank you for dinner, it was amazing," I told him as we walked hand in hand out of the restaurant. "Although, I do hate that you spent your hard earned allowance money on me," I teased. "I mean, what were you saving it for back then anyway?"

"Honestly?" he asked. I nodded so he sighed. "I really wanted to buy a sailboat. I never told my mom because I knew she'd flip, but I hoped that by the time I was eighteen I'd have enough money and go on a summer long sailing trip before I started college."

"Wow," I said surprised. "I never took Pre-Island-Edward as the sailing type," I said gently, not wanting to offend him.

"Well I wasn't, which is kind of why I wanted to do it. I mean, as you know, I was terrified of the water, but I also loved it and was desperate to go off on my own somewhere."

"I guess you got what you wanted."

He smiled. "Definitely."

"Oh, now I feel bad that you've been spending that money even more, especially on me," I told him.

"Are you kidding? I'm sure that if Pre-Island-Edward could have spent some of that money on dinner with you, he would have in a heartbeat… And Pre-Island-Edward would have fallen over and died if he knew he was going to get laid afterwards."

I giggled again. "Oh, come on, you really thought no one would ever have sex with you?"

"No…at least not in high school. I don't know, I guess I figured I'd be one of those forty year old virgins or marry some fellow geek after college."

"And look at you now, seventeen and father of a one year old," I said before skipping around him to kiss his neck.

I hated that he had felt that way, but I knew he wasn't telling me it to make me feel sorry for him; it was a good night, and he had kept his tone light so I followed his lead and did the same.

"Come on," he said before pulling away from me but keeping his hand locked with mine.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously as he began leading us down some dark road. "You know, my father always taught me to never go down dark alleyways, and if anyone tried to force me down one I should knee them in the balls."

"You would never knee me in the balls," he said unfazed.

"How can you be so sure?" I joked.

"Because then your next kid would come out deformed," he said casually, making me smile even bigger.

"So….can I go off birth control and get started on baby number two right away?"

"Let's get through college first."

"Fine, if we have to," I said with a laugh.

The next thing I knew, our strangely obscured path opened up into the dark but beautiful ocean right in front of us. The tiny beach was hidden from everything around it, and wonderfully felt private.

"Wow," I said before kicking off my shoes and burying my bare feet in the sand. It wasn't as soft as what we were used to, but it was still heaven. "Can we go skinny dipping?"

"I guess we could," he said while looking around to make sure no one was in viewing range. "But it would sure be cold."

"Oh, right."

Edward took off his shoes and socks as well and we walked down to the waves, and as he predicted, the water was absolutely freezing….

So we settled for sex on the beach.

It wasn't as great as the sex on our island beach was, but considering everything that had happened between us over the past few days, it was absolute magic.

After we were finished, we just cuddled and watched the moon over the water for a while, before Edward remembered something abruptly.

"God, I'm an idiot!" he said, being way too hard on himself.

"What?" I asked.

"Hold on." He dug in his coat pocket -which we had just finished having sex on – and then pulled out a rectangular box with a tiny bow on it. "I didn't wrap it…cause I don't know how and I definitely wasn't about to ask my mom."

"Edward, this whole night was more than enough," I said, wishing he didn't buy me something on top of it all.

"As much as I don't get along with my mother, we had somewhat of the same idea. This belonged to my grandma…my dad's mom. Well, it partially belonged to her….I'll explain after you open it."

I opened up the box and was surprised to see a beautiful silver charm bracelet.

"See, I bought the bracelet, but this was my grandmother's," he said of the heart-shaped diamond hanging from it.

"It's so beautiful, thank you," I said emotionally.

"Wait there's more," he said, pointing out the other charm dangling there. It was a silver starfish with a brilliant blue sapphire in the middle. "See, the heart represents me…cause well, you know, and the starfish is for Em and it has her birthstone in the middle."

I could feel the tears building in my eyes, and then they rolled over on my cheeks. I couldn't imagine a more perfect gift, and I knew I'd wear it for the rest of my life.

"It's not as glamorous as that ring I made you, but," he said jokingly.

"I love both of them….equally," I told him seriously as I looked at them together on my left hand and wrist.

We stayed there together for a little while longer, and then finally decided it was getting late and we should get back. Edward texted Rose and Emmett, who he explained were also enjoying an evening out close by, and then we walked back to the restaurant to wait for them.

Edward and I held hands all the way back to Forks, and when we arrived at Charlie's house, I was ecstatic but surprised when he got out with me.

"I'm sure Em is asleep by now," I told him, thinking he was planning to run in just to see her before he went home.

"No, I'm staying the night…if you don't mind. I already cleared it with Charlie."

"Forget Charlie, what about your mom?"

He shrugged.

"Edward, this isn't a good idea," Rose said, butting in to our conversation from her opened car window. "Esme is going to be pissed if we leave you here."

"Don't really care," he replied while surprising me again by pulling his backpack out of the trunk. Rose stared at him incredulously. "What? Fine, I'll text her so she knows I'm alive and not kidnapped by aliens or blood sucking demons."

"When you play with fire you're going to get burned," she told him slowly, apparently hoping to get through to him.

"And who's going to burn me, Rose?" Edward said condescendingly. "Don't worry, my mom will get over it. Thanks for the ride, you can leave now."

Rose shot me one of Esme's famous glares, and I couldn't help but wonder if Esme taught it to her. Rose was Edward's father's niece so she wasn't related to Esme by blood, but that look would make me think otherwise. She then shook her head at Edward before Emmett finally drove them away.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked him reluctantly. I wanted him to spend the night more than anything, but I was finally getting in Esme's good graces and I didn't want to ruin that either.

"Look, I had a talk with her after you left this afternoon."

"Okay?" I said slowly. But we had arrived at the front door so we decided to put off the conversation until we went inside; Em slept like a rock so I knew we'd have no trouble talking in my room with her there.

Charlie and Sue were both asleep on the couch, so I woke them gently and told them we were home so they could go to bed.

"Did you have fun?"Charlie asked groggily, but he wasn't really awake enough to expect an answer.

Edward and I went upstairs and kissed Em's angelic head, and then I waited for him to finish what he was telling me.

"It's not a big deal, I just told her that I'm not putting up with her rules anymore, so she backed off."

"Really? Just like that?" I asked skeptically.

"Eh," he said causally. "There may have been a few threats involved."

"Threats?" I asked concerned.

"I merely brought to her attention that I would be eighteen soon enough, and if she continued to hold stupid childish rules over me then I'd cut her out of my and Em's life."

I gasped. "Edward."

"What…well it worked. I should have thought to threaten her from the beginning."

I shook my head at him disapprovingly, but couldn't help but smile at the same time. "So you traded you overprotective mother for an overbearing cousin?"

"I told you, it's my lot in life….But I'm tired of it; the only woman that I'll let control me anymore is you," he joked. "And I'm sure one day Em."

I giggled and then shut off the lights before pulling him to bed…

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