Happy New Year Peeps!

EPOV

"What do you need? I'll get you anything you need," I say. Bella is settled in my bed. She looks good there…minus all the bandages and cast. I like her here. And she's pretty much here for good now. It is more than likely that Bella will be here through graduation. Charlie's not going to be well enough to be on his own for a while. He's going to be staying with the Blacks until he can return home.

That is going to be a nightmare. I tried to get him to let me hire him a home health aide, but he refused. Then, Jasper came up with an application for "free" charity home health care. (It was very well done, too) Again, Charlie refused. Bella was of no help in the situation, preferring he be with people he knows than strangers or spending any unnecessary time alone.

I blame the drugs.

"What I need is for you to stop hovering," she replies.

I chuckle and try to cut it off. I am unsuccessful. "Well, I'm not going to do that." She glares at me.

"What is that heavenly smell?" Renee says, breathing deeply.

"Esme is making dinner," I reply. Bella's eyes widen.

"It smells wonderful," Renee sighs. Esme's cooking, according to Bella since she's the only one that's ever had it, is wonderful. Bella's eyes widen and she looks at me with dread.

"Esme's cooking?"

"I thought you said she was a wonderful cook," Renee replies, misunderstanding why Bella is upset.

"She is," Bella mutters. "I'm just…uncomfortable with the fuss."

"Doesn't she cook for a large family all the time?" Renee prods.

"Yes, of course," I answer. Bella sighs and drops her head back into the pillows. None of this is sitting well with her. She has to be waited on hand and foot, not like I wouldn't anyway, but she just physically can't do things like that, not that she ever did here anyway. But as you would expect, with someone as self-sufficient as Bella has always been, she really doesn't like being taken care of.

"Ready to go down?" I offer.

"I guess," she mumbles.

Renee sweeps out ahead of us. She and Esme get along famously, of course. It's difficult not to like either one of them. Renee is very perceptive though. She made several very astute observations in her mind when we arrived back here earlier today. Flighty as she is, she's incredibly observant. It's obvious where Bella gets that particular trait from.

I sweep Bella up gently in my arms. Just to cheer her up, and because I can't get enough of it anyway, I drop a kiss on her delicate neck. She smiles sadly in return. "Soon you won't need this sort of attention ever again. It's one of the things I'll miss. Not that I would ever miss you getting injured, but letting someone else take care of you for a change and shower you with attention, most definitely."

"Has there ever been a time when you haven't done that?" she chuckles and lays her head on my shoulder as I breathe her deeply in. She almost smells normal again. I do not answer her question because the answer is when I first met her and desired to kill her more than any other human being I have ever encountered.

"Settle down and be good," I shush her as I kiss her forehead and bring her downstairs.

Renee and Alice practically cluck over her as I seat her at the dining room table. Carlisle rolls his eyes and chuckles to himself. Esme's breezing in and out of the kitchen with a flourish putting more and more food on the elegantly set table. Jasper and Rosalie look like they're being led to their execution. Only Emmett seems laid back about the disgusting process we're all about to endure.

Renee fills up Bella's plate. The rest of us take just large enough portions so as not to arouse suspicion. Except for Emmett, who likewise loads his up. "Hey, in for a penny, in for a pound, right?"

It almost works.

"Rosalie, you're not hungry?" Renee asks, gesturing to Rosalie's empty plate.

"I'm on a diet," Rosalie replies.

"Damn! Why didn't I think of that?" Poor Jasper.

"Oh, honey, you don't need to lose any weight. You're beautiful," Renee smiles.

"I'm maintaining," Rosalie smiles sweetly.

"She's probably bulimic." Renee's thinks. "Bella's awfully skinny too. She needs to fatten up a bit."

Well, that's certainly not going to happen at this meal, as she'd have to actually eat something to gain weight. She's just pushing her food around her plate at the moment. Renee looks over to me and I immediately shove something into my mouth and chew.

Gross.

"Bella, honey, you're not hungry either? Esme made a delicious meal," Renee asks. Esme beams at Renee.

"No, not really," Bella says softly.

I look over at Carlisle. "It's normal," he assures me. "It's probably from the medication. We'll get something light into her later."

"I think I just want to go back upstairs," she says, still in that soft tone.

Rosalie, Alice, Jasper and I all jump to our feet with variations of "I'll take her!"

I glare at all three of them. Alice and Jasper sit back down with a heavy sigh. Only Rosalie remains standing.

"Edward, don't be silly. You sit and eat. You know I don't normally eat dinner anyway." She smiles angelically at me. Sometimes, seriously, I really hate her.

"Ha, ha!" Stupid Jasper… "She's right, Edward. Why miss this perfectly wonderful meal? Rosalie would just throw it back up anyway." Rosalie gives him an unamused look. Technically speaking, that statement was totally true, but now it's made her sound bulimic to Renee, who of course is now drawing those very conclusions.

"Jasper," Esme chides, but Jasper doesn't look the slightest bit repentant. "That's hardly appropriate dinner conversation."

"Bunch of wusses." Emmett shoves a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

Rosalie and I help Bella up out of the chair and Rosalie 'assists' Bella in hobbling out of the dining room in a normal human looking way, before sweeping her up in her arms once she's out of sight and carrying her the rest of the way upstairs. That must have freaked Bella out more than a little bit.

I stay in Rosalie's head, as she must know I will, all the way up the stairs, and monitor as she gently lays Bella in the bed and helps her get settled.

"You don't have to stay with me, Rosalie," Bella says.

"No offense, Bella, but I'm better off up here,"Rosalie says with a slight chuckle.

"I never thought the day would come when I thought, that," came Rose's unbidden thought. She and I both.

Bella eyes Rosalie up as she wanders around my room.

"I'm sorry about the inconvenience," Bella apologizes again. She's been apologizing to everyone. Luckily, I successfully resist the urge to sigh in front of Renee. She's already sitting over there worried about Bella and we need to set her mind at ease as soon as possible that Bella will be just fine with us so we can get rid of her.

Rosalie stays with Bella until she falls asleep, then she moves to her room, after which I really could care less what she thinks anymore, so I turn my attention back to the meal from hell. Only countless more to endure… If this isn't a testament to just how much this family loves my wife, I just don't know what is.

"Alice, I have a stupid question to ask," I say as we're 'walking off' dinner. That's our story to Renee for why we all leave the house after a meal. It sounds better than 'We have to go choke up our food because you're staying with a house full of vampires, and oh by the way, you don't mind if I keep your daughter for eternity, do you?' Carlisle and Esme have stayed behind with Renee, and of course Rosalie, who didn't eat.

"Edward, obviously I can't tell you whether or not you will be able to hear Bella after she's changed. If I could, Aro would have me chained around the neck and locked to him like a dog," she replies. This is true.

"But I have heard her. I know I have," I insist. Many things make me think I'm losing my mind, but this isn't one of them. I know Bella's voice better than anyone's and she was right in front of me. I did not need to conjure her.

"When?"

"Just before she was taken into surgery and then again right after," I confess.

"When her defenses were down," Jasper murmurs. My head snaps in his direction. "You heard her when she was at her most vulnerable. If you really did hear her, Edward, then maybe she can control it somehow." He shrugs as we continue to run back towards the house. We decided to do a little hunting while we were out here. Better to be safe than sorry.

"Eleazar would know," Jasper continues. I can't believe I didn't think of that before. Eleazar had been with the Volturi before he'd left to find his own path, and his talent is identifying other talents. But until we went to Italy, I hadn't thought of this as a potential talent. "You should ask him to come down after Renee leaves and see what he says. It's worth a shot."

"Everyone would probably come with him," Alice snickers in her head. "I'd love to see Tanya's reaction to Bella."

More like Bella's reaction to Tanya. Then again, she doesn't know that there is any kind of history between Tanya and I. Of course, there isn't much to tell. Tanya was interested and I declined as politely as I could. But that, of course, is all Bella needs. Finding out that Carlisle had originally intended that Rosalie was to be for me sent Bella's brain, and ego, into outer-space; the discovery that Tanya was interested in me as well and that I could be with her right now if I wanted to, something which I never have and never will want, would probably set her hair on fire.

But Jasper has definitely given me enough to think about. Calling Eleazar is definitely a good idea. I speed up as the house comes into view, anxious to check on Bella and talk to Carlisle about Jasper's theory.