DISCLAIMER: The characters do not belong to me…they are all the creations of the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Cullen family decorates a tree together.

The Tree

"Boys!" Alice called up the stairs. She had sent them to her room to change into the sweaters she had bought them. All three sweaters were thick and holiday themed. Rose and I had nearly laughed ourselves silly looking at them earlier.

I was stretched out on the floor by the fireplace, leaning back onto my arms. I wanted to see the boys as soon as they came out of the hallway and this was the best spot for looking upstairs. I looked at my father standing near the entrance to the room with Edward's piano. Carlisle had gotten off easy. His sweater was cashmere and just plain white. He looked very striking standing next to my mother. I saw him ease her under the mistletoe and give her a very sweet kiss.

Watching them kiss made me think about Edward. Other than him yelling my name earlier, I had not heard from him or seen him all day. I was really getting nervous about what would happen during the tree trimming. I didn't even know if he would be standing near me, much less talking to me.

I turned my attention back upstairs. Jasper came out and downstairs first. His sweater was a light cream color and Rudolph was emblazoned on it. He looked very uncomfortable as he pulled the fabric away from himself. "Alice!" he whined when he saw Carlisle. "Why couldn't I just have a normal sweater like that?"

"Jasper," Alice said, a warning hiding under the sweet tone she used. "We're being festive."

"Yes, dear," Jasper replied cautiously. "I understand that. But why couldn't you have picked a less scratchy fabric? This is killing me."

"You're supposed to have a t-shirt on underneath to help with that," Alice replied. "Go up and fix it."

I watched as Jasper trudged up the stairs, muttering under his breath. Just as he reached the wall and the start of the hallway, Emmett and Edward emerged. They patted their brother on the back as he passed and laughed. Edward was closest to the railing and he looked down into the living room. He looked right at me, his grin wide, and my breathing stopped. Even in the middle of all of this turmoil, I couldn't help but be affected by him. He didn't take his eyes from mine and he didn't remove his grin. I started to hope that maybe he was happy to see me. Maybe he was even ready to forgive me.

But just as quickly as hope had swelled up in me, it was replaced by dread. It seemed that his eyes were only scanning the room after all. He was at the bottom of the stairs with Alice and Emmett, all three pretending to argue over the sweaters, knowing full well that they would wear them. I turned away because it hurt too much to watch. I looked up at the top of the tree and tried to imagine what kind of star Alice had picked for this one. I felt a nudge on my leg and looked to see Rosalie sitting next to me, mimicking my position, but opposite so that we faced each other. I gave her a small smile and turned back to the tree.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" Rose whispered.

"I'm actually trying to figure out the type of star Alice bought for this tree. I never thought one shape could look so different, but after seeing what she picked for the trees upstairs." I shrugged, ending my thought right there. I didn't want to say the word 'curious' after everything that had happened.

"Is that all?" she asked softly.

"No, but it's all I'm willing to talk about right now," I replied.

"Okay. But just so you know, Bella, you can talk to me," Rose said.

I playfully knocked her in the shoulder with my ankle. "I know that, Sis."

"So is the reason I'm not allowed in your room worth all of Alice's giddiness?" she asked.

"Yep. And then some!" I chuckled. "I don't know how she does what she does, but she's darn good at it."

"Well if it isn't my beautiful wife and my favorite squirt," Emmett said, taking up a large part of the floor next to us. He followed our sitting arrangement and I suddenly had one giant muscular leg next to my head.

"Hey, Em. What's up?" I asked.

"Besides my skin crawling from this sweater?" Emmett teased.

"I heard that, Emmett!" Alice cried.

"Play nice!" I warned Emmett. "Don't dampen the Holiday Sprite's spirits."

"Holiday Sprite!" he chuckled. He reached out a fist to me and I smacked my own against it.

"A Snowman?" Rose said, feigning disgust as she tugged on Emmett's sweater. "I would have thought she would be more creative than that."

"She's going for traditional," I explained. "She thinks these sweaters are part of human tradition."

"They're not?" Alice whined, folding herself onto the floor next to Rosalie.

"I wouldn't know, Alice," I said, trying to soothe her. "I grew up in Phoenix remember? And I never celebrated a Christmas with Charlie. So maybe they're traditional for someone somewhere."

"Bella, dear," Esme called.

I held out my hands to Rose and Emmett and they pulled me up. I bumped Jasper on purpose as he made his way over to our siblings. He grinned and pushed me in return. I laughed for the first time that afternoon as I staggered over to my mother. "Hi, Mom."

"Would you mind going up to the guest room? I've forgotten a box of ornaments on the bed," my mother said sweetly, smiling at me.

"Not at all," I replied. "Just the one box?"

"Just the one," she assured me.

I raced up the stairs, down the hall and into the room. I should have been paying more attention to both where I was going and to my mother's smile. I ran right into a wall of marble – my husband's chest. "Sorry," I muttered. "Esme sent me to get a box of ornaments."

"Really?" he questioned. The way he said that one word made it sound like he didn't believe me.

I didn't appreciate his tone, but I held my tongue. "Yes. She said the box would be on the bed."

"Either Esme is mistaken or she's attempting a little motherly interference," he said with a smirk.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"She sent me for the same box and the bed is completely empty," he replied.

"Did you check the closet?" I moved around him and checked the floor of the closet. It too was empty. I continued to stare at the empty floor as I said, "Why don't you go back down? I'll check Alice's room just to be sure Esme didn't get confused about where the ornaments are."

"I don't think she was mistaken, Bella," he said slowly. "In fact …" He stopped talking for a moment and then he chuckled. "No, she's not mistaken at all. She thinks there's been more than enough space between the two of us today and she wants it resolved before we go back downstairs."

"I hope you won't be upset with her," I replied. "She's only trying to help."

"I know," he said. His voice came from directly behind me, but I didn't move. I was too afraid of getting my hopes up again. "And she's right." He turned me toward him and lifted my chin until our eyes met. "I've missed you terribly today. Did you miss me?" I could only nod my head. "Bella, I'm not sure how to reach you. I'm not sure how to help you understand the danger you were in yesterday."

"I don't need help understanding that," I argued. "Carlisle explained it well enough."

"If that were true, you would not have offered to make another attempt."

He had me there. Why did I offer? Oh, that's right! I was curious once again, too curious for my own good. And maybe I had become a little complacent too. Maybe I was so used to having someone save me from myself and my danger status that I took it for granted and didn't think my help was needed to save me. A memory came to me then. We had been sitting together at Charlie's table, discussing Jake. Edward had asked me to make a conscious effort to keep myself safe. He'd said that he would do everything he could, but that he would appreciate some help. That's all he was really asking for right now, just some help.

"You're right and I'm sorry. I see that now. I see that I wasn't helping you to keep me safe. I'll do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen again. But I need something from you in return. Don't put space between us like this. It doesn't help anything. It just makes me more miserable. We should be adult enough to talk through things like this. At the very least, we should make the attempt to talk through it."

He chuckled as he pulled me into a hug. "I think I can certainly do that."

As soon as his arms encircled me, the dull ache I had felt all day disappeared. I breathed deeply, filling myself with his scent. "Does this mean you forgive me?"

"Only if you forgive me in return. It seems we both have a lot to learn. You, my beautiful Bella, need to control your curiosity and I need to understand that I don't always know best."

"We're very lucky, you know. We have six sets of friendly ears and shoulders to help us. Speaking of them, we should head down to help with the tree." I looked up at him and he was smiling my favorite smile.

"We will, but first, I want to do something I've been thinking about all day." He swooped in and gathered my lips into a kiss. He licked my bottom lip and I gladly opened my mouth, already anticipating the wonderful taste of his tongue. I was not disappointed. His hand found its way behind my neck and pressed us tighter together. It was lucky for us both that I no longer needed air. I was certain I would have already fainted otherwise. Our kiss slowly gentled and came to an end.

He rested his forehead against mine as we waited for our breathing to calm completely. "I love you, Isabella."

"I love you, Edward."

He took my hand in his and gently pulled me toward the door. "Come, love. Esme and Jasper are barely containing Alice."

I laughed for the second time that afternoon, but this one felt immensely better. Edward and I were okay. He had forgiven me and I no longer felt like my guilt and shame were going to crush me. We had a lot to work on, but it was reassuring to know we would do it together.

Esme was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs. She took Edward's face into her hands and kissed his forehead. She did the same to me. She wrapped her arm around Edward's and led us over to the tree.

Alice handed me a box of ornaments. "Hold these for me, Bella," she said, winking.

I quickly figured out her plan and knew I would need to do something special to thank her. Edward wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder, just as Alice had seen he would.

Rose winked at me and smiled. She was sitting on Emmett's shoulder so she could reach near the top of the tree. She looked down at her husband then bent and kissed him sweetly. Esme and Carlisle were holding an ornament together, pretending to be finding the perfect spot for it. They were really just standing there, lost in each other's eyes. Jasper held Alice in his lap as she put the finishing touches at the bottom of the tree. This moment, surrounded by family and love, this was Heaven.

"Edward," Esme called. "Would you mind playing for us?"

I looked behind me to see Edward smiling brightly. I knew he would agree. I was a little sad that he would be leaving my side so soon. He kissed my cheek before jogging off toward his piano. He started to play and I was able to guess the song easily. It was 'O' Silent Night' and he played it beautifully. The notes rose up and swelled and filled the house.

Alice slipped the box from my hands and turned me toward the piano room. She whispered into my ear, "Go to him. You both need it." She smiled and pushed me away from her.

I walked into the room, feeling shy for the first time in a long while. He was playing with his eyes closed and a small smile on his lips. I sat on the far end of the bench, not wanting to disturb him. He opened his eyes and looked at me. He nodded his head to the right and scooted back on the bench without missing a note or taking his fingers from the keys. I crawled under his arm and sat between his legs. I leaned against his chest and closed my eyes, wanting nothing more than to just be in this moment with him.

I was very careful to make sure that I didn't think about his thoughts or my own. I didn't want to accidentally tap into his thoughts, or pull him in to mine. He was right about it being dangerous and Alice was right about me needing to exercise more caution.

The song ended, the last notes slowly dying out across the house. Edward wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly, just like the one night we had had alone after my initial breakthrough. He had been so happy that night. I wanted him to be that way again. I decided I would ask Alice if it was time to show everyone the tree in our room.

"Yes, Bella!" Alice screeched, running into the room.

I opened my eyes and grinned at her. Edward stood us up, moving his arms to my waist. He kissed my neck and I shivered. Alice grabbed my arms and pulled me, along with Edward, up the stairs. Everyone else was waiting anxiously outside of our bedroom door. Emmett was rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Rosalie was trying not to laugh at her husband. Jasper was leaning against the railing with a knowing smile. I assumed he would have seen it already. There was no way Alice could have kept this all to herself. Esme and Carlisle were holding each other and smiling happily at their children.

I pulled out of Edward's grasp and turned to face him. "Close your eyes." He did as he was asked. I used one hand to cover his eyes and grabbed his arm with the other. Alice opened the door and I maneuvered Edward into the room and in front of the tree.

The family came in behind us. Esme gasped and Carlisle chuckled.

Rose exclaimed, "I don't believe it!"

"Oh! This is going to be good!" Emmett said, rubbing his hands together again. I assumed that he was preparing for Edward's reaction, sure that he would get good teasing material.

Jasper came up and stood behind Alice, hugging her close. Alice giggled and nodded at me.

I let go of Edward and stepped closer to the tree. "Open your eyes."

Edward smiled at me then he noticed the tree. I watched as his eyes traveled all the way up to the top of the tree. His jaw dropped open and he choked on his own breath. Emmett roared with laughter and smacked Edward on the back. Still in shock, Edward actually fell forward onto his knees from the force of the blow.

I moved to help Edward up, glaring at Emmett. My glare went unnoticed as my big brother rocked with his laughter at Edward's reaction. "Are you okay?" I asked my husband.

"Where? How?" Edward stuttered as he stood.

"Alice," I said with a shrug. Edward looked down at me and then up at the angel on top of our tree. He repeated this a few times. The rest of us couldn't help but laugh. Edward was always so composed and we had completely unhinged him.

"So worth the giddiness!" Rose said in awe. "It looks just like you, Bella."

And it certainly did. Sitting on top of our green tree, decorated in silver and blue, was an angel in a long white dress, with her beautiful wings spread out wide. The fragile porcelain face was heart-shaped and the flowing hair and bright eyes were a warm chocolate brown. Alice had commissioned an angel to be made for Edward in the exact image of his angel. I could tell from Edward's reaction that it was worth every penny.