Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer, therefore I do NOT own these characters or anything to do with the Twilight Saga.

Here We Go Again

Chapter Twenty Six

EPOV

I hate this monkey suit! Alice had been nagging me in her mind for hours to start getting ready with my brothers. We would be leaving for Bromwell Hall where the hospitals function would be taking place in one hour. All day today Alice had kept Bella locked away in her room as they prepared for tonight. I wasn't sure what they were doing up there for so long, my Bella doesn't need long to get ready. She's already prefect.

"Dude, come and help me with this stupid bow tie thing."

I turned away from my mirror and walked over to Emmett laughing at his frustrated face.

"Don't laugh! I can never tie these things. I would ask Rosie but she's still getting ready."

I pushed his hands away and expertly tied his bow tie for him. I stepped back and looked my brother over. He was looking very dapper tonight. His usually curly black hair looked to have some kind of gel in it to tame his curls somewhat. He wore a black tuxedo like mine, the only difference being the colour square in his right breast pocket being silver where mine was dark blue.

"Stop checking me out you perv, I'm your brother, I'm not into incest... Although, you are looking awful purdy tonight Eddie. Gimme a kiss.."

I lurched away from his teasing pucker and shoved him forcefully out of my room. Slamming the door in his face I couldn't help but laugh at his parting words. "Pfft so that's brotherly love for ya!... Jazzy where are youuuu?" What an idiot.

I could here Esme and Carlisle talking with one another in the living room and decided to go and join them to wait for the others. Ever since the girls returned from shopping on Thursday night, all of Bella's free time seemed to become instantly filled. Her boss had only allowed her to take Thursday off on the condition that she work late on Friday evening, so after school on Friday Bella headed straight for work as usual and returned late at 1am. She then insisted she needed to hunt and was gone until 12pm this afternoon. Of course then Alice had snatched her away into her room as soon as she stepped foot through the door only giving us chance for a quick welcome home greeting.

As much as I wished I had more time with Bella before tonight, her absence gave me chance to practice for tonight. Alice was the only member of my family who knew what I had planned, their curiosity was evident in their thoughts but they thankfully decided not to ask. Racing down the stairs with my suit jacket slung over my arm, I couldn't believe how nervous I was feeling.

"Edward dear, you look so handsome!" Esme rushed over to embrace me as soon as I stepped into the room.

Over her shoulder I could see Carlisle talking with Jasper on the sofa while Emmett fussed with his hair in a compact mirror. My father and brothers looked very smart in their tuxedo's with colourful pocket squares. Jasper's was a dark pink where Carlisle's was a deep green colour. As soon as my mother released me from her embrace I stepped back and looked over the vision that was Esme. She wore a floor length, halter style, white floaty dress with a green floral pattern criss crossing across the silky material. A green ribbon ran across her waist cinching in her waist and tying at the back in a fancy bow. Her hair was styled up on her head in an elegant twist and she wore a small amount of make-up on her glowing face. She looked beautiful.

"Mom you look beautiful."

Her smile grew at the term of endearment and I couldn't resist leaning forward and kissing her cheek. She skipped back into Carlisle's arms smiling the whole way. We all talked for a few more minutes while we waited for the girls. Just as Carlisle was considering shouting up to them to hurry, we heard footsteps coming down the stairs. We all stood up from our seats and faced the door where they would enter.

Rosalie entered first looking stunning in her silver flowing gown. She wore her hair in a fancy plait style on one side of her head and had dark smoky make-up around her eyes. I had to quickly block Emmett's thoughts as they instantly turned much too graphic for my liking on looking upon his wife. She sauntered over to her gawking husband and kissed him sweetly on the lips. As soon as she pulled away he pulled her back into him and attacked her mouth passionately. She complained for a moment about her lipstick before getting carried away herself.

I turned back to the door as the pixie arrived. She looked absolutely beautiful. She had slicked her usually spiky hair down into a sophisticated bob and put on a little make-up around her eyes to emphasize the colour of her gown. The dress was perfectly suited to Alice's tiny frame with its floating layers and strapless design. The dark pink colour made her hair look darker than usual but more than anything her smile stood out the most. She bounced into the room and practically threw herself into her husbands arms. Jasper could only think how lucky he was at that moment as he clutched his wife to him and buried his nose in her hair.

All of this was in my periphery as I couldn't for the life of me tear my eyes away from the door. The air in my lungs left me instantly as the most enticingly exquisite creature to have ever graced the earth emerged through the door. The dark blue one shoulder gown clung to her body in all the right places, while the subtle make-up and ruby red lips added a vintage feel to the ensemble. I tore my eyes away from those enticing lips to look at her shiny hair cascading over her shoulders in loose curls. My fingers twitched wanting desperately to feel those silky strands. I was thankful for the gowns coverage of her glorious body as I wouldn't be able to restrain myself if she had worn anything similar to Rosalie. I was already having to restrain myself from pulling her into my arms and kissing her with everything I had.

It wasn't until Esme asked Bella to twirl that I realised I was partly wrong in my assumptions. Her gown did reveal a lot of skin after all. The gown was backless. I had to force my hands into my pockets before I did something that I would regret later. She was too alluring for her own good. As I stared completely unabashed I became aware of the silence in the room. They were all waiting on me to say something. I swallowed a few times while trying and failing to tare my eyes away from the magnificent creature infront of me, before finally huskily muttering out one word.

"Exquisite."

She lowered her eyes and muttered a quick thank you before starting to look uncomfortable by all of the attention.

"Jeez Edward thanks a lot! Your sisters are over here all dolled up aswell you know. Would it kill you to share those compliments."

Rosalie's teasing words made me finally look away from the vision that was my Bella.

I smiled at them apologetically while offering my sincere verdict. "You both look beautiful aswell. But I don't think you needed me to tell you that seeing as your husbands are still mute standing next to you."

They giggled and turned back to their gawking husbands.

Once again my eyes immediately zeroed back in on Bella. She was looking me up and down slowly and hadn't noticed I was watching her again. When her eyes met mine she gulped and suddenly looked embarrassed.

She cleared her throat and spoke up. "You look very handsome Edward."

I smiled back at the sexy husky quality her voice had taken and thanked her for the compliment.

Our eyes stayed glued to one another until Carlisle cleared his throat to get our attention. "Rosalie and Emmett will ride with Esme and I in my Mercedes. Edward, Bella, Alice and Jasper will ride in Edwards Vanquish for the night. Lets head out shall we?"

We all walked leisurely out to the garage to the two designated cars. I opened Bella's door for her in the front seat and received an angelic smile in return. Beaming, I ran back to my side and started the engine ready to start our journey.

Even though I was pretty positive I knew how to get to Bromwell Hall, I followed behind Carlisle none the less. The others kept up conversation while I drove only requiring I answer a few questions here and there.

"I love these functions! Bella you will love tonight I assure you. The only down side to the night is the eating part. Thankfully I've seen that there will be a buffet arrangement so we can get a small amount and pick at it rather than concealing large amounts of a set dinner." Alice continued blabbering on to Bella about tonight's criteria while she listened and stared out of the window deep in thought.

Throughout the 30 minute journey, my eyes refused to stay away from Bella for more than a minute. She only met my eyes once we had pulled up along side the Mercedes at Bromwell Hall. Our eyes locked for a few minutes while the others exited the car. I searched her deep golden eyes for any clue on how she was feeling, I could only see confusion and nervousness.

In seconds I was at her side opening the door for her and offering her my arm. She hesitated for a split second before smiling and looping her arm through mine. With her hand in mine we walked in our pairs up towards the entrance of the building. Our contact seemed to erase the confusion from her eyes but the nervousness was still obvious in the way she held herself, fidgeting as she took in her surroundings.

Leaning down slightly I whispered reassuringly in her ear. "Don't worry love, everything's fine."

She clutched my arm a little tighter and spoke up quietly. "I can't help it. I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. I don't belong here."

I stopped our movement and turned to face my Bella face on.

I cupped her face in my hands and spoke my reply passionately. "Listen to me Bella. The only reason you stand out from the crowd is because your beauty outshines everyone else's put together. You stand out for all the right reasons. I am the luckiest man here tonight to have you on my arm. This is where you belong, with me."

I hoped the love I felt for her showed through my intense gaze. She closed her eyes and leaned into my hand on her cheek.

In a quiet voice she whispered out two words that broke my heart. "I'm scared."

I could hear that she meant more than being scared of tonight from those shaky words. She was scared of our possible relationship. She was scared of the unknown.

Keeping one hand on her cheek I moved my other down her face onto the side of her neck.

I caressed her cheek gently with my thumb and spoke. "I understand Bella but I can vow to you that you have nothing to be scared of. Ever. I will always be here for you."

She searched my eyes for a while before nodding and offering me a small smile. She pulled my hand down from her cheek and looped her arm back through mine. We walked on and met back up with the family by the entrance to the building. We walked up a few steps and entered into the Victorian style building. The reception room was large and spacious with a cream and mocha colour scheme. Decorative vases and sculptures were dotted around the room along side antique furniture and chairs. A few other people were dotted around the room involved in polite conversation about the venue. An old balding man with friendly thoughts shuffled over to us as soon as he clocked the newcomers.

"Welcome, welcome! May I see your invite my dears."

Carlisle proceeded to show his invitation and the man's eyes lit up in recognition. "Ah splendid. Dr Cullen I've heard quite a lot about you in the just the hour that people have been arriving. It is a pleasure to meet you."

He extended his hand to Carlisle which he shook and smiled at the friendly greeter. "And this must be your lovely family. It is a pleasure to meet you all also. Come, come let me take you to the main hall. You are all in for a treat tonight my dears."

He walked ahead of us towards a door to the right of the reception desk then waved us on through. He stopped just inside the door and explained where to go. "I must go and greet the other arrivals but that door just to your left is the entrance. Have a wonderful evening."

He shut the door behind him and we could hear him greeting others in the reception area seconds later. We walked down the small corridor and stepped into the beautiful room.

The hospital had really outdone themselves for this function. The hall was large and dimly lit creating a warm intimate feeling within the room. A grand chandelier hung from the ceiling in the centre of the room, it's light reflecting beautifully onto the wide inviting dance floor. Elaborate tables and chairs surrounded the dance floor on two sides of the room. A more brightly lit stage beckoned everyone from one side of the room with the dance floor directly in-front of the full orchestra already performing on the platform. The other wall had a long row of tables leaning against it, covered in various colourful and fancy foods. Waiters meandered through the hall handing out champaign on silver trays while individual candles and place settings covered the surfaces on the tables. Looking up to admire the chandelier I noticed the beautiful silk like material hanging from the centre and draping into the corners of the room. The muted lighting reflected off the material hypnotisingly, the whole room seemed warm and inviting.

My families minds were all on the same wave length as mine. We had all been to many different functions for various hospitals over the years but by far this was the most impressive so far. None before this had had a full 27 piece orchestra playing classical pieces to dance to like this time. I couldn't wait to get my Bella out onto that dance floor. As we walked further into the room ignoring the instant narrative about our good looks and the usual admiration, I looked down to Bella still clutching onto my arm and almost laughed at the look on her angelic face. She was beyond shocked. She stared at everything from the chandelier to the orchestra to the dance floor with a wide eyed, open mouthed comical amount of shock. As if she felt my gaze she looked up at me still wide eyed and finally closed her mouth. She was so cute! I couldn't resist, I quickly leant down and pecked her quickly on the forehead.

"Ah Carlisle! I'm so happy you came!"

I looked away from my Bella to see a middle aged man with blonde hair and a not so obvious comb over approaching Carlisle happily. The two men shook hands and greeted one another before turning to introduce themselves.

"Gerald, it's good to see you. This place is amazing the hospital board members have outdone themselves. Sorry where our my manners. This is my lovely wife Esme." Carlisle gestured to Esme on his arm who smiled sweetly in greeting.

Gerald's thoughts were instantly smitten by Esme's sweetness.

Carlisle swept his hand towards the rest of us and introduced us all. "And these are my children. Emmett and Rosalie. Alice and Jasper. Edward and Bella."

The pride in Carlisle's voice was unmasked and obvious to us all including Gerald and his family. I noticed Bella's smile grow slightly at Carlisle introducing her as his daughter.

"It's lovely to meet you all. Your father is a wonderful man. Let me introduce you to my family. This is Pauline my darling wife and our son Henry."

We all exchanged pleasantries before Carlisle explained how they knew each other. "Gerald and I work in the same department within the hospital. He specialises in orthopaedic surgery and has helped me on numerous occasions with tricky patients."

Gerald waved his compliment off and replied. "Nonsense Carlisle. Before you came to Anchorage General Hospital we were struggling up in ward 8. Without you..."

As much as I enjoyed listening about my fathers work, I zoned them out to concentrate on some annoyingly explicit thoughts. Gerald's son Henry was getting on my last nerve. Damn look at them all. What I wouldn't give to get my hands on these bitches. I mean look at that blond ones rack and that small ones mouth. Their beggin' for it! Oh god look at her! His mind instantly filled with images of my Bella on her knees infront of him with his dick in her mouth. Venom filled my mouth and a quiet growl reverberated in my chest at his vivid imagination. Imagine those eyes lookin' up at ya. I'd tear her apart. Maybe I can ask her to dance later and get my hands on that fine ass. Shit think about something else man your with your folks. He quickly thought about his grandma to ward off any embarrassing trouser displays.

Carlisle having heard my growling quickly said his goodbyes, vowing to speak with him later, before escorting us to a table against the wall. Even through my anger I still pulled out my Bella's chair for her properly, before addressing my families curious thoughts.

"His son was thinking some very...improper thoughts. I'm sorry I had to get away from him before I did something I would regret."

They all nodded having guessed as much. Bella looked at me curiously and I prayed she wouldn't ask me what he was thinking. The conversation at our table flowed easily after that. We spoke to people on tables close by and pretended to sip our champaign for another half hour before we decided it was finally time we should pretend to eat.

In groups of four we left the table and headed towards the fancy buffet table. Alice, Emmett, Bella and I went first. Emmett being larger than the rest of us always had to get more food to fit the charade. A guy as big as Emmett would definitely eat more than the thimble size quantity he actually wanted to put on his plate. Alice led the way with us close behind as we moved with purpose towards our table of torment. The smell from the food was becoming overwhelming to our heightened senses the closer we got, Emmett was groaning quietly under his breath about the things people actually ate. Upon finally reaching the table we were given our plate by a server at the tables side. Here goes nothing. We each took turns looking at the various foods and painting on pleased expressions before scooping some of the mush onto our plates. I ended up with a few slices of beef and some mashed potatoes with what appeared to be gravy. Bella had a bowl of pasta with green things mixed into it, along with a bread roll. Alice had a bowl of soup and a bread roll. Emmett however must be out of his mind. His plate was piled high with fancy pastries, little dollops of pates and all sorts of savoury looking concoctions. He even seemed genuinely pleased with his choice.

We walked back to our table and placed our plates in front of us ready to eat.

"Emmett what the hell! Why did you get so much food?" Rosalie was glaring at Emmett as he eyed up his ominous quantity of food.

"Baby don't be like that. People would be suspicious if I just had a bowl of soup or something." She huffed and cocked her head to one side.

"Of course they would but did you really need that much food! You would have been believable with half that amount, now what are you going to do? If you eat all of that you will be sick and useless to me for days!"

Emmett realised his mistake and stared down at his plate in alarm. The others then left the table to get their plates and we began to *eat*.

Having the food that close to my mouth was nauseating to the extreme. I would bring a forkful to my mouth and in a too fast for human eyesight movement, shove the food into a napkin on my lap. Bella caught on quick and copied my actions perfectly. Alice opened her bag and produced a half pint bottle and then under the table poured as much soup into it as possible. When her bowl reappeared there was only a small amount left which would be perfectly acceptable. She put the bottle back into her bag and I could hear in her thoughts that she would throw it away in the ladies bathroom in a moment. At this point the others had returned and were mimicking my actions correctly. Emmett was wondering what he should do with the remaining food on his plate now that his napkin was full. I had to laugh when I heard him considering whether or not to put the food in the vases on the table or hide it underneath the table. I shook my head at him to indicate it wasn't doable. The food would begin to smell. After another panicked minute he decided what to do. Before I could warn him against the idea he had already started. The table closest to us were chatting amongst themselves completely unaware that Emmett was putting small bits of his food onto their plates at vampire speed.

He had to stop abruptly when he heard one woman speak up. "Lucy did you put this vol-au-vent on my plate? I don't remember getting any."

Esme glared at Emmett as he smiled happily down at his near empty plate. What an idiot.

As soon as our plates were cleared away the others stood up and started heading over to the dance floor. I would have asked Bella for a dance but I could see she was still feeling slightly uncomfortable in her surroundings, so we spoke for a while instead. We were talking about our old classmates.

"Do you remember Jessica Stanley and Mike Newton? Well they got married a few years into college and had a child together. They divorced a few years later when Mike found out Jessica had been cheating on him. I saw from my online browsing that Mike hadn't exactly been faithful either. Those two deserved each other."

I shook my head at that news, it was so obvious.

"Oh even better! Do you remember that cow Lauren Mallory? She's in low class porn movies!" I choked on air at that statement.

Who would watch that?

Bella saw the shock and disgust on my face and elaborated. "I bet you're thinking how the hell did I find that out? I searched her name online and found no records of her after her 20th birthday. It turns out she works under a different name. She actually chose to name herself Busty Cummings!"

That did it. I burst out laughing embarrassingly loud, hunching over the table slightly in my amusement.

After our laughter died down we talked for a while longer about some more of our classmates. It turns out Angela Webber became a successful lawyer and got married and had a family. I was happy with that news having always liked Angela when she was friends with my Bella. A comfortable silence settled over our table of two and I noticed she had finally relaxed into her seat. Now was perfect timing.

"Bella. Would you like to dance?"

She tensed up at my request and darted her eyes out to the dance floor. She watched the couples twirling around together to the beautiful orchestral music and relaxed her tense posture.

Looking back to meet my gaze she took a deep breath then spoke. "OK. You have been warned that I can't dance though."

I jumped up from my seat probably faster than I should have in my excitement and moved over to Bella's side. I offered her my hand to help her up and when our hands touched the electric current always present around Bella flared up incredibly. I noticed her slight jump from the feeling and knew I wasn't the only one experiencing the wonderful sensation.

I led us out onto the middle of the dance floor and placed my right hand on her hip while clasping her hand in my left hand. Her arm moved to my shoulder and we started swaying to the beat. The music wove enchantingly through the room providing the perfect rhythm for dancing. After a minute or two she really began to pick up the steps and soon we were gliding around the floor in our own little world. Our eyes stayed glued to one another and the rest of the world disappeared. I pulled her slightly closer to my body and gazed into her beautiful eyes. I wasn't sure how many songs passed or if the music was even still playing, all that mattered was Bella being in my arms where she belonged. She felt so right here secured in my embrace, I hoped with all my heart she could feel that to. Gradually both of my hands found themselves resting on her lower back while her arms wrapped around my neck. I could feel each breath she took brushing against my mouth and her scent overwhelmed my senses. Slowly moving my head lower, I rested my forehead against hers and closed my eyes at the sense of rightness that washed over me. Her hands moved delicately up my throat before grasping the hair at the nape of my neck sending a shiver of pleasure through my body. I opened my eyes and moaned at the sight of her darkened lust filled eyes looking up into mine.

At that sound she pulled her head away from mine and closed her eyes taking deep breaths. She slowly stopped our swaying and pulled herself away from my body with obvious effort.

She opened her eyes and offered me a weak smile. "Thank you for the dance Edward. I s s should go back to our table for a bit I think."

She must have seen the desperation in my eyes as she sighed and pulled me back into her arms. I buried my nose in her hair breathing in the scent of my love while praying for her to finally realise we were meant to be together. A minute later she eased herself out of my clutches and smiled before making her way back to the table. I watched her sit heavily in her chair and cradle her head in her hands in annoyance. She pulled at her hair a few times before staring intently at the centrepiece on the table like it held the answers to all her questions.

I looked over to the orchestra who continued playing happily and I came to my decision. I walked up to the stage with purpose and waited for a lull between songs. Now was my time to show Bella how much she means to me. How much she will always mean to me. It was now or never.

Only two more chapters left! :)

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