A/N: So long story short... real life and work has been kicking my ass. So much so that the first draft of this chapter was god awful! You my faithful readers deserve so much better! So I hope the longish wait is worth it!

Special belated birthday wishes to my super beta Twi Di! Thanks for always having my back and just sitting quietly and letting me have my breakdown until I realize I still have to power to write something good or something at least worth reading!

Dear Rob: Please stop killing me. The new haircut...the new pix from "Water for Elephants" I am dead. okthxbai.

Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I own very pervy thoughts every time I see another RPattz interview in which he charms everyone.


Freeze Frame - Chapter 28

~Edward~

"Marry me, Edward."

Her words hung in the air. Frozen. Some weird part of me regressed and I could literally picture an episode of Sesame Street with the words magically appearing over the heads of muppets. Muppets! My girl just asked me to marry her and I'm thinking of fucking muppets! Well, not literally fucking muppets because that is just wrong on so many levels.

My brain is shutting down. I've beaten the shit out of someone, I've lived through an explosion, my girlfriend is a Playboy bunny, my Grandfather is some kind of 'BIG BAD' and I'm just rendered senseless right now. My heart is all up in my throat and I can't even begin to make sense of the three words that Bella just said. Three words. Three words! I am numb. I don't know what to say.

"Wow. Look at that face." Bella uttered.

My attention span finally found its way back to the here and now.

"Bella… I'm sorry." I am a shit. I couldn't think of anything else to say. She quickly untangled herself from me and moved towards the bathroom.

"It's okay, Edward. It was just a spur of the moment emotional thing. Don't worry about it." She waved her hand dismissively in the air and the door to the bathroom shut with a resounding thud.

I pounded my fists into the bed and groaned at my ineptitude. What the hell was wrong with me? She wanted me. Now. Forever. I choked. I couldn't do it. There was just something holding me back. I didn't know what it was but I, sure as shit, needed to find out.

I did the first thing I could think of. I called Emmett.

"This better be good, Cullen, because Rosie is all in the kitchen and she's actually wearing a fucking apron. I'm about to live out my June Cleaver fantasy."

"You are one twisted fuck. You know that, right?"

This coming from the man who thought about fucking muppets.

"Hell yeah! I know that. But my woman? She loves me for it."

"Bella just proposed to me." I harshly whispered into the phone.

"Say what?"

"You heard me. She just asked to marry her."

"And you're on the phone with me… why?"

"Because I panicked. I didn't answer her. I don't know why. I want the 'forever' thing with her. This is just not the way I wanted it to happen."

Emmett laughed loudly over the phone. "Okay, listen, Princess, it wasn't moonlight, roses and candles, but she wants you, right? You! Edward fucking Cullen."

"Yeah," I nodded, "your point is?"

"Get the fuck over who asked first. Tell her 'yes' and then sweep her off her fucking feet with a proposal that she will never forget."

Emmett McCarty just became the most intelligent man in the world.

"Thanks, Em. And a bit of advice? Don't be so hard on the beaver."

"Hilarious, Cullen. You just may become a fully functional perv one day." Emmett guffawed as he ended the call.

I was smiling as I put my phone back down on the bedside table. I could hear the shower running and I jumped up immediately to make my way to the bathroom.

Yes.

The answer was definitely 'yes'.

~Bella~

"So, Paul, I have something very serious I need to discuss with you."

Paul pulled the ladle out of the soup he was stirring and laid it on the counter.

"If this is about your man's sense of fashion, I am so in for this discussion!"

I chuckled and then stopped. "What's wrong with the way Edward dresses?"

Paul rolled his eyes at me. "Are you freaking kidding me? Girl! His suits are boring. They are off the rack. Take that man to a tailor and have his suits made for him! He's a hottie that just hasn't fully recognized his potential. And that hair? Oh my God… go get it professionally cut so he has that 'just fell out of bed' look all the time. Don't even get me started on the desperate need for a mani-"

"STOP! Okay, Carson Kressley! I get it!" I laughed, "this is not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Then spill, girl! I'm not getting any younger or any prettier."

"I'm planning on staying in Chicago. I want you and Sam to run Chow Bella in L.A. I'll sell it to you and it can be yours."

Paul's face didn't move a muscle. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Paul wiped his hands on his apron and came over to pull me into a tight hug.

"Thank you." He whispered. No histrionics. No nothing. Just pure gratitude.

"Is that a 'yes'?" I teased him.

"Fuck yes! Now, let's get drunk after the restaurant closes tonight! We have to celebrate. Wait! You'll still be involved… right?"

"If you both will have me." I answered smiling at him.

"OH MY GOD! I am going to have my own restaurant!" Paul squealed. We both jumped up and down like two kids. I couldn't even begin to think how happy I was that I could turn over the L.A. location of Chow Bella to two of the most perfect people in the world.

After the initial squeal fest had run its course, Paul turned his intuitive gaze on me.

"You love him, don't you?"

I smiled and blushed. "More than life itself. He is…"

"Stop. I know. He is." Paul hugged me.

"I asked him to marry me."

Paul stepped back and glared at me with complete surprise.

"You did what?"

"You heard me. I asked him to marry me."

Paul shook his head. "No. No. No. This just won't do. An epic woman like you needs the romance, the buildup and the drama of all of it."

I laughed. "No. A woman like you does."

"True… so true." Paul agreed, "so, did your hunky man say 'yes'?"

"It's on the table for discussion."

Paul slammed his hand on the counter and started to take his apron off. "That is not good enough. I'm going upstairs right now to give that idiot a piece of my mind."

I put my hand on Paul's chest. "Slow down there, sport. We agreed that I needed to get this restaurant opened first. Edward also insisted that we go home to Forks so he could ask Charlie's permission. Plus, he wants to tell his family as well. How can I say no to that?"

Paul sighed. "Now, that is romantic. He's a little bit old fashioned, isn't he?"

I sighed back. "Yeah. And it's the best thing ever…"

~Edward~

Radiant. That was the only word to describe Bella right now.

I watched her finesse each one of the guests who came into her restaurant. She had forgone the chef's jacket and God-awful hound's-tooth pants in trade for a beautifully figure hugging vintage Herve Leger sapphire dress. I knew the designer because Paul had made it his mission to tell me so. Regardless of whether it was called a "bandage dress" or not, all I knew is that she was spectacularly gorgeous. I envied the way the curls of hair caressed her back. Her laughter was light and genuine. I watched her work the room and people were immediately enchanted by her. Bella was fully in her element.

Every once in a while, she would glance up at me and give me the smile that I knew she only reserved for me. My heart would literally thunder in my chest when she did.

Emmett and Rosalie kept me company tonight. Rose was looking exceptionally beautiful as well. I could appreciate the Grace Kelly like glamour that she was going for. It suited her.

Emmett had finally had his cast removed and he was slowly walking with a cane. As a joke, I bought him a bowler to wear along with several "Avengers" videos and encouraged him to watch them. Emmett couldn't get into the original claiming that he had a thing for Uma Thurman and preferred the movie with Ralph Fiennes as John Steed.

Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort I could get into… John Steed? Never!

Emmett and I sat comfortably at the bar sipping on our drinks.

"So, all the arrangements have been made?" He asked me.

I smiled. "Yeah. It's all happening as we speak."

"This is your best idea yet, Cullen. Hell, it knocks my proposal to Rosie in the dirt."

I laughed and glanced over at him. "No it doesn't. Not yet. At least with your proposal, Rose said 'yes'."

Emmett winked at Rose from across the room and she positively beamed back at him.

"Yeah, she did." Emmett grinned.

"You finally did something right. She's a good woman, Emmett."

"Are you feeling okay, Edward? Did you just say something nice about Rose? You're still going to be my best man, right?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah. Only because I kind of owe you for the whole protecting me and Bella from the explosion thing." I teased.

"Damn straight, buddy. You and Bella better be in Tuscany with bells on!"

I clapped Emmett on the back in a somewhat brotherly gesture. He was the closest thing that I had ever had to a brother and I knew there wasn't anything I wouldn't do for him either. I pointed to both Bella and Rose chatting with the guests at the table they were visiting.

"Look at them, Em. Fire and Ice. They are heartbreakingly beautiful."

"Yes, they are, my friend." Emmett commented. "The best thing though is that they are ours."

The one thing, I never counted on, was the plane ride to Washington to be as vile as it was.

Bella finally had me trapped with nowhere for me to go when she started to ask the questions I had managed to successfully skirt over the past three weeks.

"Edward? Who killed James?" She thumbed through the 'SKY' magazine with practiced precision.

"Um… what?" I asked. My feigned innocent look wasn't flying. At all.

"And why didn't you take me to a hospital after you found me? Ben's not saying anything and neither is Emmett. And I'm wondering what kind of secret you are keeping from me."

Shit.

I leaned in and took the magazine out of Bella's hands. "There are some things that are better off not being discussed."

"Edward Cullen, I absolutely refuse to start our marriage with a secret hanging over it. Its bad luck and we've certainly had more than our share. So, until you answer my questions I'm retracting my offer. We had enough secrets at the beginning of our relationship. I prefer that the man I marry fully trusts me." She whispered back and snatched the magazine out of my hands.

"You're joking, right?" I asked with a look of incredulity on my face.

"I don't joke about marriage, Edward. I never thought of getting married until I met you. Hell, I put myself out on the line and proposed to you!"

"Bella. Don't do this. Not here. Not now."

"Fine." She snapped and opened the magazine back up and proceeded to ignore me.

I sighed and suddenly I realized two can play at this game. I leaned over and ran my nose along the hollow just under Bella's left ear.

"Don't!" She whispered. I silently laughed as I realized she crossed her legs. Oh. I was going to break her. She couldn't ignore me while I was teasing her.

I dragged my fingers slowly up her denim clad thighs. I felt them involuntarily clench underneath my touch. I whispered into her ear.

"I will tell you everything. Just not here. Not now." I promised as my fingers started moving closer to the apex of her thighs.

"You don't fight fair, Cullen." Bella admitted with a slip hip thrust forward.

"Neither do you, Swan. Emotional blackmail? But I think my way is much more satisfying, don't you?" I stared at her hard, capturing her gaze with mine, the smirk more than evident on my face.

Bella raked her teeth over her lip and I knew that the discussion had been stopped momentarily. I would tell Bella the truth. Just not here. Not now. I had wanted Charlie to be a part of that conversation.

"Okay. Truce." Bella submitted to me finally. "Distracting me with your fingers-of-death can only last so long."

"Have I told you how much I love you lately?" I smiled as I placed a warm kiss against her full mouth. I placed the blanket over her lap, undid the button of her jeans and slid my fingers inside them.

"Yes. Tell me again. And again. And… oh my…"

Riding into Forks, Washington in the back of Chief Swan's cruiser was a little surreal. I could catch glimpses of Charlie's amused expression in his rear view window every once in a while.

"You're too thin, Bella." Charlie remarked. "You've been working too hard."

"Dad? Please…" Bella pleaded. I had to suppress a smile. Bella sounded exactly like she did when she was seventeen.

"Plus, your hair has gotten longer."

Bella rolled her eyes and absentmindedly stroked several strands of her hair through her fingers. "It's gotten cut since I last saw you."

"How are you doing back there, Edward?" Charlie glimpsed back into the mirror again. I could see the sides of moustache twitching.

"Good, Chief Swan." I answered back. I quickly pulled my Blackberry from my jacket and texted Dad to let him know I was on the outskirts of Forks and should be home soon. I had no sooner put my phone back inside my jacket when I received an excited text from my mother. I smiled. I was looking forward to seeing them as well.

I stared out at the wet, green and very tall forests of Forks, Washington. Living all these years in Chicago had made me realize just how desensitized I had become by living in a concrete jungle. Chicago had its beautiful areas but nothing compared to the untouched and indescribable beauty of the trees that flashed by my window in a verdant blur. I wondered if Bella would be game to go on a hike with me while we were here. Surely my favorite spot to meditate hide, or just escape still existed?

As we came around the familiar bend in the road, my sense of anticipation increased even more. I knew I would miss the feeling of waking up with Bella in my arms but part of me relished in the idea of what it would feel like to be back in my old bed and thinking about her like I used to do.

Charlie pulled the cruiser to a stop in front of the three story wood and glass home I grew up in. The front door flew open and I immediately got out of the car to greet my mother.

Esme flew down the steps, her caramel colored hair coming loose from the simple chignon she wore it, her cheeks were pinked with excitement and I couldn't help but smile back the moment she engulfed me in her arms.

"Mom! You're choking me!" I chuckled.

"Oh Edward! Let me look at you!" She pulled back, keeping her hands resting on my shoulders. "You look so handsome. So…"

"Happy?" Carlisle said as he walked up next to my mother. He quickly gave me a hug and patted me on the back. "Welcome home, son."

"And, Bella! Look how beautiful you are! City living agrees with you!" Esme gushed. Bella flushed at the compliment.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen." She said quietly.

"Call me, Esme! Please! You'll make me feel older than I already am! I'm so thrilled you two have come home for a visit!"

Esme exchanged pleasantries with the Chief and my father as I unloaded my bags from the trunk of the cruiser. Bella stood there shuffling back and forth from one foot to another, her lip being tugged on gently by her teeth.

"It's just one night, Bella." I reassured her. "I'll call you later to tuck you in and wish you good night."

"I know I'm being irrational, Edward, but it feels so strange all of a sudden to be separated from you."

I leaned down in put my nose in her hair and inhaled the wonderful scent. I kissed the top of her head. "We'll survive one night. Hell, Bella… we've survived worse. I love you."

Bella smiled at me and I knew without a doubt I was going to surprise her later. I just wanted to give her the luxury of being able to relax around Charlie and really open up to him and speak to him about all that had happened. It would also give me the perfect way to ease into the tense conversation we were all going to have about my Grandfather tomorrow.

"Tomorrow. I promise. Nothing can keep me from you." I held her hands tightly in mine. The Chief cleared his throat and I bent down and gave Bella a quick kiss. My fingers ghosted down her cheek and I rubbed my thumb along her bottom lip.

"I love you." I whispered.

"I love you." Bella whispered back. I opened the car door for her and helped her into the front seat of the cruiser.

"It was nice seeing you again, Charlie. We'll all have to get together while Edward and Bella are in town." Esme said as she looped her arm through mine.

"Sounds good, Esme. I could go for another one of your fabulous brunches."

"It's a deal then, Charlie. I'm sure I speak for Esme when I say this Sunday?" Carlisle immediately answered.

The chief nodded and Bella waved with her fingers as they drove back down the driveway.

As I walked up the front stairs into the behemoth house that I grew up in, my mother started her inquisition immediately.

"So, this isn't exactly a purely social visit is it, Edward?"

"Dad, she's scary when she does that." I glanced helplessly over at my father.

"She's been that way ever since the first day I met her and she told me we were going to get married. Just roll with it, Edward. I do and I've never regretted a single moment."

"See, Edward? Your father is the perfect example of good looks and intelligence all rolled into one. Good thing the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Now, come inside. I want you to tell me all about Bella."

I laughed as I escorted into the comforting smell of my mother's homemade cooking and the warmth of the home I would always be welcome in.

Mom fussed around the kitchen and poured me a fresh cup of coffee as I sat at the breakfast bar watching her. Dad fixed himself a cup as well and stood leaning against the far wall.

"What's on your mind, son? You look a million miles away." Carlisle inquired as he sipped at his coffee.

"I'm going to ask Bella to marry me."

Mom practically launched herself over the counter at me as she pulled me into another embarrassingly strong hug.

"Oh, Edward! I'm so happy for you. You've been in love with Bella ever since I could remember!" She gushed as she peppered my face with kisses.

"Mom!" I laughed. "Please… this is embarrassing."

"Do you have the ring picked out? Is Bella expecting this?" She fired off question after question barely giving me a chance to answer each one.

"Grandfather gave me Great Grandmother Cullen's ring. It's perfect for Bella."

Carlisle put his coffee cup down and cleared his throat. "How is Dad?"

"That's another reason I need to talk to you. Dad, something really serious happened to Bella back in Chicago. I need some advice from you on how to broach certain sensitive subjects with Chief Swan in regards to Grandfather."

Esme's brow creased with worry. "Edward? What happened to Bella?"

"It's a long story, Mom. We may need some more coffee and I can certainly use a piece of that pie that is sitting on the counter over there.'

Carlisle sighed. "Might as well cut a piece for me too, Esme. I have a feeling we're going to be sitting here for a while."

So, I proceeded to tell Mom and Dad the whole story. I didn't leave anything out. The afternoon light started to pass into the delicate lavender shade of twilight. Dad and I spent a good part of the evening discussing things about my grandfather and my family that I had never known. Finally, darkness had settled over the house and Mom moved from room to room switching on lamps, the soft light dispelling the shadows and bringing warmth and comfort back. I stretched and excused myself to go upstairs to my room to call Bella.

As I opened the door to my old bedroom, I was immediately stunned by the fact that Mom hadn't really touched anything in there since I had left for Europe and then college. My old high school yearbook was sitting on my desk. I flipped open the cover and the book opened to a well visited spot. My fingers traced the girlish script of Bella's handwriting. Bella had signed an inscription just below her photo as the school newspaper's editor.

I loved that photo of Bella. Her hair was pulled back into her signature ponytail and she had two pencils stuck in the back of it. She was laughing and her whole face was completely animated.

Suddenly, I felt the overwhelming urge to see her. I raced down the stairs and grabbed my jacket.

"Edward? Where are you going?" My mom called out from the living room.

"To see Bella. Are my keys still hanging by the back door to the garage?" I asked as I trekked through the kitchen on my way to the garage.

"Yes. Just be careful, please!" Esme hollered back. "Do you want me to save you a plate?"

"Yes, please. Thanks, Mom." I grabbed the familiar keys and opened the door to the garage. My appreciation for fine vehicles definitely came from my father. I noticed he had acquired not only a new Mercedes E350 coupe but he had collected a classic 1967 Chevy Impala. I walked past both cars admiring the mint condition in which my father maintained them.

Finally, I stood in front of my old silver Volvo. I smiled as I ran my fingers along the side of the car.

"Hello, girl. Miss me?" I whispered as I unlocked the door and slid in. I quickly pulled out of the garage and drove like a bat out of hell to Bella's house. I could see the flickering of the television downstairs but noticed the light was on in Bella's bedroom.

Whether I was being caught up in the memories of high school or just plain wanting to avoid seeing Charlie, I pulled myself up the tree right outside Bella's window. I finally made my way across the branch and peered inside.

Bella was reclined on her bed, comfortably dressed in warm sweats and reading a very dog eared copy of "Wuthering Heights". I gently rapped against the window and chuckled as Bella sat up with a start. Her eyes widened when she spied me and she leapt off the bed and immediately came to open the window.

"Edward? What are you doing?"

I grinned at her. "Came to see my best girl."


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