Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Stephenie Meyer created it all.

Just to help with any confusion…remember that Edward promised Bella a re-do of their honeymoon.

The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten.

Cesare Pavese

Bella POV

Edward waited for me in the water. I could see him standing as still as a statue, the waves gently lapping at him. When I stepped into the warm waves, a flash of memory washed through me, and then I realized what he was doing. His exit from Carlisle's and Esme's with the words to join him, the note that he was at the beach…the oval moon…him motionless, his palms down against the water. I tried not to squeal in girlish excitement, ripping the bathing suit from me. Then I knew I wanted to do it right, so I raced back into the house into the bathroom and found one of the thick white towels, wrapping it around me. Making my footsteps intentionally heavy, I made my way across the sand, leaving the white towel fluttering in the warm breeze beside his clothes.

I heard his soft chuckle as I stepped to the water and made purposeful splashing noises. The warm liquid flowed over my toes and then legs before I came to stand beside him.

"Beautiful," I said taking him in. I'd nervously commented on the moon last time, but this time I was appropriately infatuated by his allure.

Catching onto me, his lips quirked. "It's all right." He turned slightly toward me. "But I wouldn't use the word beautiful. Not with you standing here in comparison." His eyes looked silver in the moonlight. This time we did match, skin for skin, eye for eye, heart for heart. We'd been to hell and back several times since that night. I snorted mentally to myself at that thought.

"I promise we would try. If…if I do something wrong, if I hurt you, you must tell me at once," he pleaded.

I remembered his words and how comforting they'd been.

"Don't be afraid. We belong together." No truer words had ever been spoken. He was truly my other half. I'd understood that with my human mind, and my vampire one was able to contemplate the truth of those words to fathomless depths.

He wrapped his arms around me, bringing our bodies flush together. The heat sizzled between us as our bare skin touched. "Forever," he said in a gruff manner, the lust making his velvet voice harsh…intoxicating.

With that, he pulled us into the warm water, placing his lips to mine.

~FMR~

Edward POV

The scream echoed throughout the house, jarring me from my satisfied daze where I lay on our bed. Bella had given me a passionate kiss before mumbling that she was going to work the snarls out of her hair…snarls I'd left the previous night as we'd made love.

Running naked into the bathroom, I found her looking in the mirror.

"MY GOD! What did you do to me?" she gasped out, looking at her arms and then pulling the robe down to gaze in a horrified manner at her perfectly white shoulder. "You MONSTER!" she spat, glaring at me in the mirror. "Couldn't you control yourself?"

It took a second for me to catch on, but when I did, I gave back as good as she was giving. "Love, I was being gentle. Do you want a taste of what it's like when I'm not?" I challenged, my eyes going dark at the thought.

Her eyes were focused on me, seeing what the thoughts of taking her roughly did to my body. She licked her lips like a cat considering a bowl of cream before her eyes traveled back up over my stomach, chest, and then to my face. Then a sound of purring ripped from her chest…the epitome of a very large cat considering such a treat…and she grinned evilly.

"Bring it on," she challenged.

It was a miracle the bathroom didn't lay in shambles before I was through, and this time it was Bella who lay in my arms in replete abandon on the tiled floor.

"Man…I remember that. The feeling of wanting so much more, while you avoided me like the plague."

I chuckled remembering the perpetual state of arousal I'd walked around in for the days until I'd succumbed to her pleas. The memory of her scalding heat surrounding me and the smell of her blood had brought me precariously close to losing control that first time

"Thank you," she said simply but with great emotion. "I remembered more than I realized of that night." She leaned up on her elbows, her long hair dragging in silky trails across my chest. "You were and are amazing; I hope you realize that now." I was still uncomfortable with the praise, but what could I say when she added, "You constantly say that my opinion of you is the most important, so you can't play both ends…saying it is crucial when it fits your means, but then not accepting it when it meets mine."

I held my hands out like I was surrendering. "Ok, Bella, I give in. I'm wonderful, perfect, God's gift to women, and …" I didn't make it any further because she screeched and began tickling me. Our laughter quickly filled the room. Making love, yeah it was and always would be one of the most enjoyable ways I could connect with Bella, but laughter was definitely another one.

When I caged her below me, she took the opportunity to begin running her fingertips across my face, tracing my nose, lips, and the scar on my cheek. She was silent for several moments, and I waited calmly, knowing she had something on her mind.

"I'd like to go to Forks soon. I don't know why, but I'm missing my dad a lot," she said pensively.

"Why don't we go now? Tanya and the others don't expect us back in Volterra for another week. The others can stay here, and we can just meet them back in Italy. All we'll have to do is tell Sam that we're coming." The more I thought about it, the more excited I got.

But the look on her face put a pall on my enthusiasm.

"Edward, we'd need to take at least some of the guards. We couldn't go entirely by ourselves. I'd be afraid that she'd try something. She's too focused on you…" She bit her lips without thinking.

"Okay. I'll talk with the others about it and ask Demetri and Heidi if they'd be willing to come with us. We'd have the wolves at our backs in Forks, so I'm fairly certain we'll be well defended." I couldn't help the harried tone to my voice. It was hard to abide by the thought that I now needed caretakers. I hated being babysat; I'd gone without for a century after the first year or so of my vampire existence. Having wandered for a few years on my own, the need for freedom lingered strongly even as I ruled the vampire world.

Bella arched her eyebrow at my petulant voice. She leaned up and moved her arms into a hug around me.

"Sorry. It's just my life now, as a leader, is so very different than what I would've ever expected. I was alone for so long, and now I never know a moment's peace…" then what she'd been able to give me a short bit ago hit me "…well except for when I'm with you."

When her fingers brushed through my hair, the words burst out of me. "I wonder sometimes just how our life would be if we'd just avoided the problems with the Volturi and been able to live our lives under the radar, to just be Bella and Edward." I looked down into Bella's eyes. She did not respond, allowing me to express my thoughts. "But just as I begin to think how wonderful it would be, I realize that we wouldn't have Henry and I can't abide by that possibility. So there is really no answer to it all."

"Edward, you are doing so well."

"We! We, Bella. This isn't about me, but I guess I know why you are saying that though. Here I am gripping about me and my needs and ignoring what the others have given up." I released her and stood up, turning away from her into our bedroom for a moment. I could feel myself becoming morose with the burdens I was feeling at this moment.

Bella rose and stepped toward me, grabbing my arm gently, turning me back to face her.

"No one believes they have it worse than you Edward. No one! You've never been selfish, and you aren't now." She stopped and then grimaced. "We can't even imagine what it is like to have Aro's memories buried inside."

Ah…back to the poison. But her face turned quizzical, and I knew the look. Bella had an idea, and her ideas were always things to be pondered.

Her eyes jerked to mine. "We've been going about Aro's memories all wrong," she said quickly. "You're trying to relieve the horror so that it doesn't overtake you. There has to be some good things in there, Edward. The man lived for 3,000 years, and he stole more memories than I'm afraid I can even imagine. It has to be eminently true that not everything he took from all these people was negative. He took everything, both good and bad from each person he touched." She began pacing around the room, still naked. I was a male and her husband, so I did attempt to pay attention to her words, but the sight of her was a much more exciting distraction than her words. I flopped down onto our bed and followed my mate's form as she moved around slowly.

"Edward, I'm being serious here. Pay attention to me!"

"I am," I said harshly. I'd rolled over onto my stomach and propped my chin in my hands so that I could ogle her.

She huffed and then blurred to the bathroom. She reappeared wrapped in a deep blue silk robe. It was marginally better, but it still clung to her enticingly.

"Okay, let me talk through this," she said as she came up to me and sat next to me. "I know we have to let you relive them… God knows if I thought we could get by with it, I would be adamant about not letting you go through that torture. But why can't we also benefit from it. Tell me one Edward. Tell me a good memory, something that would astonish me."

She'd taken me by surprise and it took me a few seconds to catch up. "A good one?"

"Yes, someone's memories. Tell me something that would amaze me!"

Suddenly as if the gate was thrown open, a million memories ran through my mind. It was only the beginning, I knew, and I struggled to control the flood, shutting it down. The rush had left me euphoric, almost as if Jasper had hit me with a wave of his mood control. It was the very opposite of how the memories had been for me in the past. Babies being born, weddings, festivals, moments of intimacy and love, family reunions, the thrill of first love…sans the bloodlust, moments of little league championships, ballet recitals… The list went on and on. How could I even explain or choose one?

Suddenly, I knew. I locked onto a specific set of memories very important to both of us.

"Renee was so proud of you."

Bella gasped.

"The moment you were born, she looked down into your eyes and realized her whole world revolved around you. She was secretly pleased that you looked like Charlie." I smiled up into her eyes. I felt a rush of enormous nostalgia at the expressive, depth-filled chocolate brown eyes she had before.

"But I look like her!" my wife exclaimed.

I smiled. "Yes, you do, but all she saw was Charlie's eyes and hair. She loved him, you know, even until the end." I was quiet for a moment. "You were right, she just couldn't stand Forks…it did suffocate her. She thought if she stayed, that sooner or later she would grow to hate Charlie. It was easier to leave than stay, really. It was the other thing she saw about you that was all Charlie…your steadfast nature. She knew at our wedding that we would 'make it.'"

Renee had believed we'd survive the trials of the marriage we had entered into at such a young age, because of both of our natures. She had been very observant of our interactions that first time we had visited her in Florida so long ago. I sampled briefly her memories of that time. Little had she known the unbreakable bonds between mates.

I sat up and pulled her into my lap. "It is an extraordinary honor to have seen your mother's thoughts. I'm able to see you as you grew up…your first loose tooth…and when you'd lost both of your top two at the same time."

She gasped.

"Do you remember that?" I asked.

She shook her head briefly and unfocused her eyes, as if trying to recall that memory. "Not exactly, more from seeing that picture Alice and Rosalie used for my mom's memorial party. You know the one where I had the piggy tails."

It was one of my favorites. However, now I had the memory from the source…Bella's mother and her memory via Aro's theft of it.

"You want to know one of her fondest recollections?" Of course, I knew she did, but I enjoyed seeing the excitement in her face. "The day you won your first award for being a super reader. You were in the first grade. She still had your certificate framed and hanging on a wall in the house in Florida…well, up until the house was destroyed."

I expected the reminder to sadden Bella, but she waved her hands at me attempting to tell me to keep going.

"She was extremely proud of you and your inquisitive nature." I chuckled recalling a moment of extreme confusion for Renee. "She was astounded when you told her about me."

Bella grinned at that. "Why?"

"She'd never expected you to find someone, at least that early in life. She thought it would take you until at least college to find a man mature enough for you, and she was really worried…until she met me. The intensity of our feelings for each other scared her though." I leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "But when she saw my face at our wedding, she knew…that no one could or would ever love you more. It was the moment she was truly fine with us."

Her golden eyes were wide as she watched me. "I remember her crying once, but I don't know why. She was younger and the tears seemed to be one of happiness. We were already living in Phoenix."

I filtered through the many memories I held from Renee and narrowed it down to just a few. "Bella, there were a few times, but honestly they each were around the same thing…her pride about you. One time in particular it was over a poem."

"Poem…" It was obvious that she was perplexed.

"Third grade, you won first place. She was convinced that you were going to become the next American author. It was about your fish that died, but the teacher said it was 'Frostesque.'"

"'Frostesque'? Fish?"

"Charlie the fish. You named him after Charlie the Tuna, but your mom thought it was funny considering what your dad spent all his time doing."

She looked truly disappointed. "I don't remember it. Can you write it down for me?"

"Better than that, I think your mom sent an original signed copy to Charlie. I am almost certain he has it somewhere. Maybe seeing it in your own handwriting will help jog your memory of it. If you can talk him out of it, let's have it framed and hang it in our room," I suggested.

Bella's smile was brilliant, and I wasn't surprised when she looked at me and asked, "Edward, what did she really think the day I told her about you?"

And so we spent the rest of the day, in between the conversations with our family and phone call to Demetri and Heidi, talking about Renee and the many happy memories she'd had. In truth, other than her divorce from Charlie and the last few days of her life, Renee had been a happy, carefree spirit. It was easy to forget the darkness when the light shone brightly into the expanse, like the "Big Bang."

Bella had been right once again…my beautiful, brilliant wife. It seemed she was forever reminding me to experience not only the negative, but the positive side of my gift…the good with the evil.

I was suddenly reminded of Father Paul's words at the Christmas service in Seattle several years prior.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

The Apostle John had formulated these words two thousand years ago and Bella had reminded me of them in her own way.

Who was I to argue with two saints?

~FMR~

"HEY!" Embry called out into the house, and we could hear the wolves tearing through the woods at speed coming toward us.

"Bro!" Jake yelled back, and his heavy footsteps starting crashing down the stairs.

Seth, Jacob, Nessie, and the twins had come with us. They would be spending time on the reservation, while Bella and I remained at the house. Which had, of course, meant that Demetri and Heidi wouldn't even hear of leaving us alone.

"Embry has a surprise, Love," I whispered to her, and I could tell that she'd guessed.

She rocked her arms as if holding a baby, and I nodded. "Alice!" she mouthed, knowing that she and Jasper would want to come if they knew…such was the depth of their relationship with Michelle once she came to terms with who precisely we were.

As Bella took out her phone to text Alice, I wondered just how soon we'd be joined by my sister and brother. They were still on the island, so it was a question of whether or not Alice would wait to take a more human course or if she would literally swim all the way. I was laying odds on the swimming. Alice could always dry out running in from the shore at First Beach.

The immediate response was "WHAT!"

The second one, immediately following, was "Tomorrow!"

I'd been right; Alice was going to swim it this time.

Bella grinned and then pouted. "I wanted to have the place to myself, in order to take advantage of you. Now, it'll be a full house."

"Ah…My Love…I'll tell them just to ignore us, and there is tonight…"

Slinking forward, she pressed against me. "Ok." After nipping at my jaw, she announced, "Guess we need to go socialize for now, though."

Seth and Quil were already knocking each other's arms in a manly show, while Collin and Brady inquired about the twins. William and Stefanie ran down the stairs just behind us, leaping into their "uncles'" arms. It became rambunctious quickly, and not much later, Sam and Paul arrived.

"Edward," Sam came directly toward me as he entered, shaking my hand. "Did you stop by to see Leah and the others on the way?" he asked.

"No. The others got nervous with just the thought of us coming here."

He grinned at my tone, just like Bella had. "Tough being the Alpha isn't it."

I laughed, realizing that indeed it was.

"Well, I can't imagine that any vamp would come around here. It has been quiet for years, not that we are lowering our guard. We haven't seen, or chased off, any vampire in the last few years. I think that your family has made it abundantly clear to just about every vampire in the world that this territory is off-limits on penalty of death." He waved a hand at us, and then chuckled. "We still watch over Charlie, but I can tell you that we breathed a sigh of relief when he turned in his resignation a couple of weeks ago. It was time he retired, and it'll be easier to monitor him fishing on the reservation lands."

I smiled briefly at Sam. "Thanks, Sam. We just came for a quick visit; Bella wanted to see her dad. But I have a favor to ask you," I admitted.

"What can I help you with?" His eyes were very serious, focusing on my face. If I'd ever doubted their loyalty to us, which I didn't, his look would have calmed any fears. I'd long known his thoughts.

"I need the wolves' honest opinions on us, things you would note about each and every one of the family."

"Wait! You're actually asking us to like tell you what we think about you! Without any sort of repercussions?" Quil barked out with humor as he came up to us.

"Stinky!" Embry threw out first.

"And that goes for all of them except William and Stefanie. They at least smell…better," Jared added in.

"Nah! Better than better. William has like a serious wolf-boy smell," Paul added.

William giggled when he heard Paul's comeback.

"Okay, okay," Bella snorted, knocking Paul in the back of the head. "We need something more than the fact that you can't appreciate our smell.

"What's this about?" Sam asked finally, calming down the stream of rants.

"It was something that William, Stefanie, and Ellie came up with. It's the brainstorming idea. That something about us might give perspective as to what she is after or why she is focusing on us."

"Hm…it's actually a brilliant thought," he conceeded.

"Well, I'm glad you think that, because it was noted that we should also put you through the same inspection," Bella said in a very nonchalant manner. "Wet dog…"

Seth hooted at Bella's jab, and then the banter was back on again. Even with Demetri and Heidi present, albeit discreetly in the background, the wives couldn't be contained, and before lunch, the house was full of Jacob and Seth's kinsmen and women.

Demetri finally spoke up, "Why don't you get some paper and let everyone go at it, Isabella?"

Several of the wolves cocked their eyebrows at the formal name Demetri still insisted on. I could hear the humor in their thoughts, and I knew that I'd hear about it. Paul was already thinking of several ways to work "Master" into the conversations with me, as a way to tease me about how Demetri had formerly referred to me.

"I'll get my laptop," I said of the one I'd left here. "That way I can send the list directly to Carlisle…and I'll email it to you, as well, so that if you come up with any additions after we leave, they can be added to the ongoing document."

While Bella moved to the kitchen, I flew up the stairs to go into our bedroom's closet. Eager to get back, it took me a double take to acknowledge the envelope propped on the mantel near the door. I froze into immobility in shock when my eyes fell upon the missive, now creased and slightly aged. It took everything I had to not hiss and scream out for everyone to stand ready.

It was the letter I'd sent the Ancient One. My handwriting was clear on the outside.

MISTRESS

The same term that Demetri still felt an honor to call Bella…I'd only utilized it to pamper her ego.

I approached the thick wooden mantel and stared for several moments at the innocuous-appearing document. Feeling a frisson of dread, I snatched it down and saw that it had been carefully opened. I lifted up the flap of the envelope and pulled the paper out, silently unfolding it lest the others hear the crinkling noise.

You have my attention. What do you require of me to ensure that my family remains unharmed? I await your response. Edward Cullen

My words.

Submit yourself to me, and I'll allow them to live. Your father will ensure their happiness, as best as possible.

By the way, lovely house.

Her words…written just below my question in spidery handwriting.

I attempted to control my shaking. Venom flooded my mouth as I prepared to fight, every muscle bunching to lunge, feeling the need to tear into something. She'd been here! She'd walked through our house, most likely touched Bella's and my bed and the different objects within. Had she looked? It was as if the room was defiled. This was our private place, something I held sacred.

She'd been here!

The thought echoed in my thoughts again. It infuriated me in the extreme. And more importantly, she'd been able to do so, evading and without alerting the wolves. Worry crashed into my mind, again locking me down. How long had it been? I took a deep sniff of the air in our room. There was no trace of another vampire's smell in the room. It'd been over three years since I sent the parley letter, and I'd assumed either that the ancient woman had gone to ground with the mysterious Cimil or the strange werewolf after we'd wiped out Maria's coven, or that she'd been simply uninterested either in my question or the implied possibility of an agreement. But I suddenly remembered her taunt from that distant mountaintop.

Submit…

How the hell was I to do that when I didn't even know where she was?

More importantly…how could I separate myself from my family…from Bella? The thought was excruciating, almost incomprehensible to consider. But more painful was the thought of one or more of the family being hurt, much less my entire family being destroyed by the ancient woman's machinations. If I left the family, I would only be doing it until I could get back to them, only long enough to find a way to destroy her. And I had to acknowledge I did not have the slightest idea of how to do that. But I couldn't speak to the others for advice and strategy either.

I carefully sniffed around the envelope and could barely catch a scent. Awhile…it'd been awhile. Most likely not long after we'd been here for Embry and Michelle's wedding. Had she been watching even then? How? I wanted to scream in frustration and anger…we'd allowed the triplets to run free on the lands around the house. We'd been careless, but it made me angry to think that what little normalcy we were able to give them would need to be limited even more. And how would I explain it?

"Edward?" I heard Bella call from the living room, obviously worried about what was taking me so long.

Taking several really deep breaths and pulling on everything within me to calm, I forced the chaos away. From somewhere deep within, I pulled up an innocuous and calm demeanor onto my face and body to hide the discovery, my racing thoughts, and my stormy emotions. I could not allow my mind to consider this now, not without giving it away to everyone. I grabbed the laptop, shoving the envelope deep within the pocket of one of my coats. I would have to think about it later, but before Jasper arrived, because he would definitely sense my vacillating emotions.

"Sorry, Love. I'm coming." I called out in a calm voice. "I was just looking for the power cord and wireless mouse."

Moving down the stairs, I used the excuse of booting up the computer to orient and further calm myself. While the wolves and their wives threw out comments that ranged from the serious to clearly inflammatory remarks, I typed, all the while my mind frantically pondering the implications of what I'd found. I lifted my eyes a couple of times to see Bella frowning at me, and the guilt ate at me. She knew me too well, but I had to keep my nascent scheming under my false demeanor from her at all costs. It was necessary.

The last time I'd kept a secret from her…

I couldn't think about it that way. This was entirely different. This time her life really was on the line…and the life of everyone I held dear.

Reviews are an author's nirvana. Thoughts please?

Yes, there is an outtake lemon. I'm posting as a separate chapter for those who prefer fade to black…

My utmost thanks to my betas:

To: Cold One Paul – Thank you so much for your extreme polishing of this chapter and for all your thoughts along the way, making it infinitely better.

To: Crmcneill – You can't even imagine how nice it is to get feedback from you across the wires, considering how busy your life is. Many, many thanks my friend.