Stephenie Meyer... owns nearly all my characters but not my imagination.

This story started in the heat of summer and now it's Christmas time! It amazes me that this is chapter 38 already.

None of this would ever have been uploaded without the help of two girls who give every week and get nothing in return. To Beach and VampyreGirl86 I give you my sincere thanks.

...

Chapter 38 – News

Edward

Gerandy managed to get Bella an appointment with a therapist the week before Christmas. He said we'd have no chance on our own, that it was peak season for suicides and of course, Bella said she could wait; that many people were worse off than her.

I told her I wanted to know what the nightmares were about and she took the first appointment she could get.

It worried me that the first important thing I asked her to explain was too much for her to handle and that maybe my optimism was naive. I just wanted her better.

She wouldn't let me come in with the therapist and at two minutes before the hour, she came out looking very emotional and sat in my lap.

She said she wanted to buy a Christmas tree.

Pine needles sprinkled the elevator and the hallway leading to our apartment, now cluttered with boxes of decorations and lights. She didn't understand why I was taking photos of the mess, but it was such a happy mess I couldn't help myself. The trunk of the car was a disaster and I loved it.

She said next year we'd have to place a barrier around the tree because there would be little fingers wanting to pull everything down and I melted inside. The moment made me visualize our child in this apartment and it felt like home.

That night she called Renee and laughed through tears, telling her she was going to be a grandmother for real this time, and since I knew Charlie had already told Renee, I thought she played it beautifully, giving Bella just the right amount of chastising for not sharing her news earlier. When she hung up, Bella announced that she wanted to tell all the Cullens on Christmas Eve and I agreed it sounded like a perfect idea.

Two days later, she had her second appointment and hit rock bottom, the session releasing a lot of the blame she had denied over James and the death of Jimmy. I was very close to giving her the diary that afternoon but called Charlie instead who told me to wait until she was stronger. He already knew I had taken it from James' laptop and had advised me never to mention how I came by it.

He had read it and had the same reaction as I did, beating himself up and saying he'd let her down, so I decided it would be best to forget it until at least after Christmas. Charlie had agreed to join us at Matthews Beach for Christmas lunch and I didn't want anything to spoil him becoming part of the extended family.

Bella was out buying my Christmas gift with Rosie. We had spent a fortune on recliners for our home theater room and she insisted we could only buy one tiny gift for each other, that it was the thought that counted on this one. I bought her a pair of Jimmy Choo boots, discounted with my sister's help, and I hoped that she got the "thought" that was coming with them. It intrigued me wondering what she was going to get for me because I knew it would not be expensive.

I don't know why she bothered to worry about our finances when we seemed to amass money without thinking about it, even without the royalties from the book. We just didn't spend much and I think the last clothing she bought was for the launch of the book which we could use as a tax deduction. She just wasn't greedy in any way and apart from her regular waxes; she never went to a salon.

While the girls were out, my mother called to ask me how she was really doing. When I told her Bella was making a big effort to improve but that I was still very tentative with her, Mom made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

"Why don't you take her somewhere spectacular, Edward? You both could do with a vacation after the big year you've had. Don't worry about the money. It will be Carlisle's and my gift to you."

"Mom, you don't have to…"

"I know Edward, but your father has made a good deal of money this year because of Bella and I want to do this for you. We both do, but he will never admit it."

I seriously felt a wrench in my chest. Even though Carlisle had been furious with her, they really cared for her personally, cared for us as a couple.

"Oh Mom, thank you. Getting away would be good for her. When it first happened, she said she wanted to disappear to a warm beach, like Bandol."

"Well unfortunately, darling, I don't think Bandol would be very warm at this time of the year. You had better start researching."

I ended the call and fired up my laptop, full of excitement. I knew I wouldn't have much time to do this so I Googled "trip advisor romantic hotels" and luckily found a link that read, "Trip Advisor Reveals World's Most Romantic Hotels."

I rubbed my hands together, ready to hunt. With a list of hotels to choose from, I ignored anywhere that sounded cold and that left me with French Polynesia, Mexico, St. Lucia, Fiji and Hawaii.

Since there were three on the list in French Polynesia, I thought I'd start there. It was exotic enough and my speaking French would help everything immensely. The thatched huts over the water looked incredibly appealing at first for someone like me who loved the ocean but the more images I saw, the more they looked like lines of mushrooms growing in vivid blue gel. It was missing the cool shade of gardens out there so it looked hot, like it would be baking hot in January. It was also a significant hike out to the furthermost ones, a big walk for a drink or a snack, and I figured we could get room service but for the distance and the money, it wasn't what I had in my head.

The hotel in St. Lucia was stunning and ridiculously glamorous – it wasn't Bella – and Kauai was smack dab in the midst of a hundred other hotels, more like the kind of place we'd go with a group.

Disappointed, I decided to look at the last hotel in the list for the hell of it, the Royal Davui Island Resort in Fiji, knowing nothing at all about Fiji except that it was a long way from Seattle. The image that came up was of a very modern bungalow, positioned to take in the spectacular ocean views, completely open to the outside, as if they'd removed the front wall. It made me want to take a big breath of salty air.

I clicked on the link to the hotel website and exquisite images floated slowly to the left, showing a place of tranquility, a calm blue ocean surrounding a very small island fringed with coral. When I saw the picture of the two chairs and beach umbrella on a secluded white sand spit, it brought back memories of the stunning morning we spent at Clearwater and I could see myself there.

The words on the home page, "adults only resort" had my imagination going, losing myself in images of a hot fuck on the beach where nobody could see us. I had no doubt that my future wife's kinky tendencies would come out in this secluded sexy environment and this was a big selling point.

When I read the hotel's philosophy about luxury being more about service than gold faucets and marble floors, I found myself smiling at the screen. Then when I read about their profound responsibility to the natural ecosystem, using only Pure Fiji products in their bathrooms and spa, I almost looked over my shoulder. It was like someone had hacked into my life and given us a destination so perfect that it couldn't be real.

Inhabiting this ten-acre island were just sixteen split-level rooms, or vales as they called them, nestled into lush gardens that gave them all complete privacy while providing direct access to the beach and an easy stroll to the restaurant. I started to daydream again when I looked at the king-sized bed, open bathroom with spa tub, private plunge pool and outdoor shower, thinking I'd never want to leave the room.

I snapped myself out of it, realizing I hadn't even checked availability since this was summer, peak season in that part of the world. Luckily, there was a vacancy from January 5 and I was confused why two weeks away only gave us 12 nights accommodation. At first it looked like it took us two days to fly there but I finally worked out that Fiji was right on the International Date Line, a day ahead of everything east.

I thought about calling Bella first and then looked at what was in front of me on the screen - there was no way she would say no to this.

I booked it - without knowing anything about the country, whether they spoke English or what the food was like, or if we'd have internet and cell phone coverage. It wasn't like me at all, but I'd fallen in love with the idea of the perfect vacation.

The door suddenly opened and I tried to close down the dozen or so pages I had opened on the computer, wanting to surprise her properly later.

"You don't have to hide it, Edward. I know all about it."

Had my mother called her after she called me?

"Did Mom call you?"

"No, Victoria."

Okay, this had nothing to do with the hotel I'd just booked. I looked at her and frowned.

"Jenks' review is up on the Times website. It's going in print on the weekend."

Oh shit. Merry Christmas everyone.

"How bad is it?" I asked, opening the site up, clicking on arts and then books. It was the second review in the list under the name J. Jenks and he'd titled it, "Baffled By Bandol."

She started to pace. This was the last thing she needed right now. "It's… fucked, Edward. I'm fucked. Victoria is going to demand that they retract it. Do you know if that's possible? Carlisle will… Oh God, he's going to fire me for sure."

She was wrong about that. If Dad was going to fire her, he would have certainly done so the other day when Jenks left, so I think she was safe from that fate.

I read the review. It wasn't particularly clever or entertaining. He elaborated on what he'd said in the office, that based on her lack of answers when asked straightforward questions about the book's content, he suspected she was never a co-author and warned the readers that this was possibly a publicity stunt by an insignificant Seattle publishing company, probably used to get younger readers interested in Victoria Sabourin's work. He said when he accused Bella directly, that she told him to "Eff off back to New York," so this review turned from a critique on this holiday season's surprise success into a retelling of what happens when you leave New York and go to an inconsequential place like Seattle. He went on to say he had no idea why someone as successful as Miss Sabourin would align herself with Cullen Publishing when she had the pick any publishing house in Europe.

Fuck. There it was, a search on our company name would bring up this garbage on the New York Times website and it would appear in the paper on Sunday, the day before Christmas Eve.

"How did Victoria take it?" I asked, scrolling up to read it again, trying to sound like it didn't matter.

She snorted. "Surprisingly, not as bad as you would think, but she is angry."

Then I saw it - so tiny I almost missed it – forty-seven comments.

"When did this go up?"

"This morning some time."

"There are forty-seven comments here Bella. I'm almost too frightened to read them."

She stopped pacing and leaned over my shoulder. "Oh God, what do they say?"

I clicked on the link, started to read and almost laughed I was so shocked.

"They're defending everything: you, the book, Victoria, especially Seattle. Look at this one! 'Mr. Jenks should be ashamed of the way he treated Miss Swan. Doesn't he realize she almost died last weekend? Obviously, the lofty heights of the towering New York Times prevent reporters from investigating what's happening on the ground in other parts of the country.' And this one, babe. 'If I was Isabella Swan, I would have told him to f_*k off as well. Good for you girl, we know you wrote it and we loved it."

There was a comment from Victoria or someone who signed the comment as her. It was a warning that the Times had crossed a line with her in allowing this review to go live in the public domain.

After many more comments, she added a second one; a "right of reply" as she called it, stating she had evidence of emails going back and forth between herself and Isabella Swan, showing how the collaboration developed. She said that Bella recreated the character of Jillian and injected herself into the work with Victoria's encouragement. She explained that she chose Bella because of her honesty, creativity, vision and humor, not because of any allegiance with a major publishing house and she stated that she was very proud of this book, that she felt rejuvenated by it. She attacked Jenks, saying a reporter should have known that Bella had witnessed two horrific deaths and been left for dead in a blizzard just days before the interview, so his callous treatment of her was unforgiveable in her opinion. She noted, however, that the dishonorable J. Jenks did not make one negative comment about the book itself.

She welcomed the Times publishing the piece as long as it included her right of reply and she signed it Victoria Sabourin.

After that, the comments continued to support Victoria, slamming Jenks' mean spirit, going as far as calling him Scrooge. The name stuck and appeared in many of them, along with mini reviews for the book and heartfelt comments about what Bella had gone through.

Christ, we could not get publicity like this if we tried. The asshole had unknowingly done us an amazing favor. I refreshed the page and saw the counter had risen to fifty-five comments and I clapped and laughed, swiveling the chair to grab Bella, dragging her down to sit in my lap so I could kiss her.

Carlisle apologized to Bella for putting her in that spot with the reporter, blaming me for not telling him of her true mental state, and said he didn't want anyone to mention it over Christmas. He was absolutely right; it was my fault because only I knew how bad she was. At the time, all I was thinking about was getting her to face that she had a problem.

The press bombarded us with phone calls and emails over the following days, asking for interviews with Bella, wanting the full story about what happened when the Times came to Seattle. We told them all she was unavailable for comment, still recovering from her ordeal, and we never told her of their interest, knowing the pressure would make her withdraw into herself when she was starting to improve.

Surprisingly, the Times actually published it in print and included Victoria's right of reply, even with the backlash coming at them in the form of over two hundred comments now, nearly all supporting us and attacking Mr. Jenks.

We closed the office early on Christmas Eve, but it still took us over two hours to drive to Matthews Beach and even though the traffic and rain was horrible, it couldn't dampen my spirits. I was taking my girl to Christmas with my family and we were about to drop some good news on them.

Instead of getting shitty over the traffic, we played music and held hands. Occasionally, I would pull her hand over for a kiss and sometimes she'd respond by leaning over to put her head on my shoulder, playing with the hair above my collar.

I was thinking about Bella's reaction when she found out we were going to Fiji and I figured it was the appropriate time to let her and everyone else know that I'd actually booked the Alderbrook for the wedding so they could save the date. Add to that our baby news and we were about to blow everyone away.

We walked in the front door, enjoying the welcoming warmth of the house and the fantastic smell of something roasting in the oven when Emmett called out "Finally!"

"The traffic was bad, sorry," I said, looking around at the house decorated beautifully for Christmas and wondered why he would care what time we arrived.

"Well come in guys, we've been waiting to make an announcement!"

Bella's eyebrows shot up as we glanced at each other and dumped our bags on the floor. Carlisle was already pouring glasses of champagne.

"We're getting married," Emmett said with a huge grin and then Rosie smacked the back of his arm.

She added, "No he means we've found somewhere to get married. It's taken us months but we finally got a free date at the Arctic Club for September 21."

It was only because I knew Bella's mannerisms so well now that I caught the secret look of disappointment that she covered with a smile. I should have told her before we came up here. Once again, my keeping secrets had backfired on me and if the timing hadn't been so bad, I would have said something right away. Instead, I shook Em's hand and hugged Rosie.

Rosie grabbed both of Bella's hands and said, "Wait till I show you the photos, Bee. It's so beautiful. You have to be my maid of honor."

"Of course I will Rose. I'd love to!" They hugged each other and then Rosie beckoned Alice over to join in.

"You too, Alice! Will you be my bridesmaid as well?"

"Really? Yes! Really?" Alice looked like she was holding back, unsure of her welcome.

"Absolutely, you're going to be my little sister so you have to be there with us."

"Yes! Yes I am!" She bounced before she joined in the hug and soon there were tears flowing from all three girls.

"Let's have a toast!" Dad called with a big smile, handing us each a glass. "It's about time one of you finally got organized." He looked straight at me when he said it. I smiled back cheekily, starting to enjoy this immensely now. He held his glass forward and we all touched our glasses together before drinking. I watched Bella bring her glass to her lips and take the tiniest sip.

Emmett was soon next to me with his arm around my shoulder. "Goes without saying, Ed, I want you as best man."

"Sure thing Em. I'd be honored."

Mom watched us lovingly, then held her glass up again and said, "Merry Christmas everyone. That's a wonderful Christmas present, darling. I'm so happy for you two."

We all joined in the toast again, nobody noticing that Bella didn't actually drink hers because we were all focused on Rosie and Emmett. Bella occasionally glanced at me with a hint of disappointment, thinking the same thing as I was probably, that we should wait for another day to tell everyone our news.

The girls all left, Rosie saying something about an idea she had to copy one of Esme's classics for the bridesmaids dresses, and they headed up to Mom's wardrobe.

As soon as they were upstairs, Emmett asked, "So she really told that guy to fuck off? I saw the review in the Times."

I looked at Dad to see what his reaction was and he smirked. "That she did, son."

"I wish I'd been there. It must have been hilarious!"

"No, it wasn't at the time, was it Edward?"

I looked at my shoes and shook my head, hoping they would just stop talking about it if I said nothing.

"Edward is going to take her away to help her recover, aren't you?"

I glanced up and stopped him. "She doesn't know about that yet, Dad, so don't say anything, okay?"

"Oh, why doesn't that surprise me, Ed? We share our news with you as soon as we get it. What's the point of keeping it from her or from us?"

I looked at him, then drained my glass and said, "You're right. I'll be back." I raced up the stairs and found the girls in Mom's huge wardrobe looking at dresses, Bella holding one up against her and Alice wearing one of Mom's hats.

"Excuse me ladies. Could I please have a minute alone with my fiancée?"

"Uh, sure we need to get on with dinner anyway," Mom said, and the two girls followed her out, prattling away about colors and heel heights.

I sat down on the chair and looked up at her, waiting for the right words to come.

"I'm so sorry, Edward."

What? What could she possibly be sorry for?

"We should have booked that hotel when we had the chance. I did love it. I do love it and now we'll probably have to wait until 2014 before it's available. I'm sorry."

This was awesome. She'd just validated my decision to go ahead and book it, knowing she was the one who tried to convince me to consider it in the first place.

"What are you smiling about, Edward Cullen? Are you making fun of me?"

"I booked it, babe. We're getting married there on August 10."

Her hand covered her mouth and I heard her gasp. Then her mouth fell open before she asked, "When did you do that?"

The smug smile burst out on my face now. "While we were there."

She stood in front of me, smirking at me. "You sneaky…"

"And there's more."

"What are you up to now?"

"I'm taking you on vacation. We're leaving on January 5 for two weeks in Fiji. The hotel… Christ, its paradise, Bella. You're going to love it."

Slowly she shook her head, still smirking and then said, "I don't believe I'm actually marrying you. Am I dreaming?"

I tapped my thigh and she sat down immediately, putting her arms around my neck.

"You're not dreaming. This is happening and now we're going downstairs to tell them everything."

"But what about…?"

I put my finger to her lips, knowing what she was going to say. "Emmett wants us to share our news."

"Does he know?"

I shook my head and said, "Sort of; Dad said I was taking you away, nothing else."

She huffed out a breath and started to get up. "Okay, let's get this over with."

"Kiss first?"

She smiled and then kissed me, one of those perfect kisses where your eyes can't stay open because you lose yourself in it. Then she ran her fingers through my hair and said, "I owe you so much more than a kiss."

I laughed and said, "I'll be collecting on that, don't you worry," before kissing her back.

We found the girls in the kitchen, turning roasted vegetables and the delicious smell was overpowering. "Oh my God. Are you cooking the pork rack, Mom?"

"Yes, darling, it was pretty successful last year and Emmett requested it."

"Speaking of Emmett…Dad! Emmett! Can you come in here for a minute?"

I winked at Mom and said, "We have a little announcement of our own."

Rosie looked up with interest directly at Bella who grinned back at her as Em and Dad walked in.

I took my queue from Bella and waited. She held her hand out for me to go ahead.

"We're pregnant."

Everyone's eyes shot straight to Bella's tummy, Mom's gasp turned quickly into a squeak and Rosie said, "Oh my God!"

Emmett grinned and Dad gave me one of those looks that asked if I'd worked out what contraception was yet. I laughed at him and said, "And... we're getting married on August 10 at the Alderbrook Resort."

Emmett scratched the back of his neck and asked, "Jesus, Ed, can't you let me get one wedding in before your second?"

"Well I only just found out about you, so how could I have planned it that way, Em?"

Rosie looked worried. "Won't you be very pregnant then, Bella?"

Bella shook her head and said, "I'm already over three months pregnant. I'm due in June."

"Over three months!" Mom glared at me, shaking her head slightly. "Really, Edward?"

"Mom, we thought she was only two months pregnant until we had an ultrasound in the hospital after… anyway after last time, I didn't want to tell anyone until she was three months."

Her shoulders dropped and her face softened. "I understand, darling. Have you told your parents yet, Bella?"

Bella nodded and quietly answered. "Charlie found out when they were trying to find me and I told Renee a few days ago."

"What's the Alderbrook, Bee? I've never heard of it." Rosie asked as she placed a tray back in the oven.

"It's about an hour and a half away at a place called Union, right on Hood Canal. It's a big rambling hotel in a stunning location. We are thinking of making a weekend of it."

I added right away, "We're paying."

I turned to Emmett and said, "Goes without saying, Em, I want you as best man."

He shook my hand and said, "Sure thing Ed. I'd be honored." We looked at each other for a second and then both burst out laughing.

From that moment, all talk was about weddings and babies and it turned into the happiest Christmas Eve dinner we'd ever had. Emmett was shocked that we were going to have our baby at our wedding, asking us why we didn't just get married here immediately and Bella scoffed at him, putting her arm around me, saying he was being old fashioned, that the only thing that was important was that we loved each other and wanted a future together. She said she wasn't the slightest bit embarrassed about the fact that the baby would be born out of wedlock.

Mom served the most delicious cheesecake with coffee and then, as usual, the boys had to clear up while the girls stayed chatting around the table. I heard screams of "Yes!" and assumed Bella was asking the girls to join the wedding party. We shoved as much as we could in the dishwasher and I got the job of scrubbing the oven dishes and pots so I rolled my up sleeves and got started. Dad just mooched around, putting stuff away after Emmett wiped.

"Jesus, Ed, you really know how to drop a bombshell. I thought you were just going to tell us about your vacation."

"Oh yeah, that was the other thing, we're going overseas on January 5. We're off to Fiji."

Em looked at me as if I was insane. "Why would you want to go there?"

I knew they would all think it was a long trip to get there, but I instantly wanted to defend my decision. "Have you seen it, Em? It's incredible."

"You didn't see the news the other weekend?" He instantly stopped wiping a pot and leaned against the counter.

I just kept scrubbing because nothing he could say would make me change my mind about Fiji as our destination. "No, I kind of kept us away from any news. I didn't want her to see anything about… you know, what happened."

He tapped the front of my shoulder to get my attention. "Edward, look at me. Fiji was hit by a category 4 cyclone last week."

I stopped what I was doing. "Cyclone? What's that like a tornado?"

"Hurricane, Ed, they call them cyclones in the southern hemisphere."

Oh fuck. No wonder I got that booking so easily.

I wiped the back of my hand across my forehead and looked for any sign that he was joking. "How do you know so much about it? Are you sure it was Fiji?"

"Yes I'm sure. They're looking for builders to go and work there. The storm flattened parts of the country, mainly on the west coast. Where are you going to?"

I looked at him as the realization hit me that this was very serious. "South, near Suva - shit, I knew this was too good to be true."

I continued to scrub the hell out of the pots and pans, disappointed and feeling all the energy drain out of me. We'd now have to find somewhere else that I would forever compare to that tiny island in the perfect blue ocean.

We finished and joined the girls who were passing round an iPad, laughing and looking carefree. Bella looked up with a smile for me that faltered when she saw the expression on my face.

"Oh good, it's gift time!" Mom called out. "Only one each everyone!"

Bella stood, came over to me and put her arms around me. "Please choose mine."

"Of course, baby. Yours is the one I'm most looking forward to," I said back, running my hands down her hair.

She crouched at the tree and picked up a very small gift which she handed to me and kissed me, saying, "Merry Christmas my love."

I grabbed hers and gave it to her. She looked at the size of the box and said, "I thought we were only buying a small gift," shaking the box up to her ear. I watched as she opened it and the look on her face was priceless when she found out that she now owned a pair of Jimmy Choos.

She looked like she was going to kill me but she sat in my lap and thanked me, saying they were a good replacement for the ones she had ruined in the snow. She told me to open mine and I ripped the paper with my arms around her, my heart leaping when I saw what she'd given me. She'd remembered. It was a DVD of She's The One, my favorite movie with Ed Burns.

While everyone showed each other their presents, I snuck away to find out what I could about the cyclone that had hit Fiji. I turned on my iPad and Googled "cylone Fiji" and found a link to a meteorological site that detailed the progression of the storm. The cyclone tore through Samoa as a category 2 and then gained momentum as it headed towards Fiji on December 17 with winds up to 145 mph. The storm was 300 miles wide, an unimaginable and terrifying monster - the strongest cyclone to hit Fiji in 20 years.

It showed various tropical disturbances and cyclones nearly every day since November. This area was called the South Pacific Convergence Zone – the southern hemisphere's most expansive and persistent rain band - with predictions of between five and ten tropical cyclones during the wet season from November to April. They weren't all in Fiji but it was a shit load of constant extreme weather to deal with.

When Bella came upstairs looking for me, she looked at me sweetly. "Are you disappointed? I thought we said one small gift, Edward."

I almost laughed and put my arm out to her. "Come here. I absolutely loved your present and I want to watch it as soon as we can."

"Then what's wrong? What happened in the kitchen?" God, she never missed anything.

"Something bad, babe. A huge storm just went through Fiji and I don't even know if our resort is still standing. We might have to look at another option."

I watched as her shoulders slumped, standing there watching me for a couple of seconds before she came to the bed and put her arm around me. "Never mind, we could go back to Florida. The water is always warm in the Gulf."

I nodded like a child. Having to let go of this plan, this perfect plan, was crippling me with disappointment. I laid my head against her shoulder and felt her hand on my head. I breathed out slowly, thinking she was probably right, that Florida might be a nice alternative and that we could postpone the trip until the cyclone season was over.

"Show me the place you were planning on taking me, handsome."

I opened the site and she gasped before squeezing me, the images obviously having the same effect on her as they did on me. She'd walked right in to those pictures floating across the screen.

"It's… God, it's incredible… Adults only, huh?"

I caught her enthusiasm that never really left me. "Wait until you see the rooms." I clicked on Villas and then Deluxe Plunge Pool Vale and her jaw dropped.

Her eyes grew and she looked at me. "Do we get all of that?"

"Yep, and it's completely private."

She looked at the screen in wonder and asked, "Wherever did you find this?"

"Trip Advisor," I answered, quite proud of my selection.

"Do they have a Facebook page? Did you see if they'd posted any news?"

"Oh, I didn't even consider that."

She cuddled in closer, playing with my hair, as I pulled up their page showing an entry for December 18. I held my breath and read.

"Bula Vinaka Gang,

I've just heard from the island and after a full day and night of strong winds, heavy rain and general nastiness I am pleased to let you know that there has been no structural damage to the island, villas or buildings. All the staff and guests are safe and well.

The seas are still rough around the lagoon but the weather is starting to settle down. The clean up has already started and everything is returning back to normal.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, it clearly made a difference. Comms to the island are still down and may take a few days to get back up and running. Please bear with us at this time. If you do need to contact us please email me here in the Australian reservations office.

Vinaka

Chris"

She squeezed my shoulders again and said, "There you go, Edward. It looks like it's over now. We're lucky it happened before we got there."

I kept reading and the entry on December 17 actually described what it was like during the storm - they were obviously playing the reality of it down. "It's not that simple, babe. These weather conditions happen all the time during the wet season."

She frowned and looked directly at me. "Edward, why are we even hesitating about this? What are the chances of it happening again so soon and even if it does, we can stay inside for a few days, can't we? I mean look at it. I could stay in there forever."

"Bella, the south east was lucky this time. The place could be torn apart if another big cyclone came through."

She shook her head. "I feel very lucky at the moment and I think it's worth the risk." Then she took my face into her hands and said, "I need something magical like this Edward. Just thinking about being there with you is already filling me up with happiness. If it's half as good as our trip to Provence, then I know I'll come back like a new person."

I looked into those beautiful brown eyes, pleading with me to give her the answer she wanted and wondered if she had any idea what she was risking.

"I cheated death not that long ago, remember? I know what I need to do to survive if I have to. You know what my nightmares were about, Edward?"

Christ, she was finally going to tell me.

"You were there, in every one of them, dead in the snow in Jimmy's place. My shrink says they were my way of punishing myself because of the blame I felt over everything but I'm starting to feel them leave me because I know I'm safe when I'm with you. I found out through lots of talking and crying that you're my safe haven, Edward Cullen. In fact you're my savior in every way."

I hugged her with everything I had. She had truly been to hell and back.

In a little girl's voice, she said, "Edward, I really think we should take the chance and go there. We have to get some good weather over the two weeks so let's just enjoy what we can."

I still wasn't convinced I should be letting her make this decision. "We could put it off until after the cyclone season in April."

"I'm damn sure you won't let me fly when I'm seven month's pregnant, Edward."

"When we get married then?"

She pulled back and looked at me incredulously. "What and take the baby on our honeymoon?"

"No, we'd have to leave him or her with Mom or maybe Renee would like to come up and stay."

She shook her head as if I'd said something silly. "I'm not going to do that, not at six weeks old, Edward. I know I won't want to."

Yeah, she would hopefully be breast-feeding and I wouldn't want to leave the baby either. The "adults only" vacation I had in mind was only for the two of us.

"I tell you what, I'll do some more research and then I'll contact a travel agent when we get back. If they say we should risk it, then we'll go."

She threw her arms around my neck and said, "Thank you my darling. It will be okay. I know it."

I had to be crazy. I was letting a girl who walks blindly into danger lead me, but for some reason it felt like it was worth it and not a huge mistake. Yep, I was definitely crazy.

- bURN -

Charlie and Jasper both arrived about ten o'clock on Christmas Day. Bella was jumping out of her skin to tell her father about the wedding plans but she waited patiently as they exchanged gifts. They obviously had some agreement about not splurging at Christmas for she gave him a coffee mug that revealed "Charlie" when you filled it with hot liquid and he presented her with a pair of baby's booties, saying they belonged to her, that he'd kept them for her. She hugged him and bawled.

When she finally composed herself, she told him about the wedding and he beamed as if it was the best news he'd ever heard, looking straight at me for confirmation. They hugged again and when he stood to face me, he swiped a tear before grabbing me in a bear hug.

The others stood around, enjoying our moment. All except Alice who had dragged Jasper up to her room and was missing in action. I didn't want to think about what was going on up there. I liked Jasper a lot but she was still my little sister. I hoped that they were only exchanging… gifts.

Mom, Rosie and Bella spent the next two hours cooking in the kitchen to the strains of Mom's old Christmas favorites on her portable CD player. There was a lot of laughing and singing coming out of the kitchen and once again, I felt happy, complete in the knowledge that our girls were becoming part of the family with our parents' blessing.

We men lazed around, playing pool and then sat by the fire, reading the newspapers and drinking beer. I spent quite a while talking to Charlie about Bella's recovery, as well as the trip to Fiji and the potential dangers. He encouraged me to speak to a travel agent before making any decision but he was more worried about Bella's disappointment if we had to cancel, saying the light in her eyes when she told him about the vacation was a sure sign that she was getting better. I nearly spat out my beer when he said he would love to come with us as he'd always wanted to see the South Pacific.

We Cullens were very traditional when it came to food at Christmas and the table looked amazing filled with turkey and ham, all kinds of baked vegetables, steamed greens, gravy and sauces. I wiped a smudge of flour from Bella's cute little nose before kissing it and thanking her for helping. Rosie and Bella glanced at each other and giggled when Emmett and I shoved our napkins in our collars. We'd been doing this for so many years that it felt normal around this table – all part of tradition.

We stuffed ourselves stupid and when Mom and Alice cleared the table and returned with steaming apple and cherry pies, we looked at each other and laughed, knowing that this was a really bad idea but devouring them anyway. Then we had to drag ourselves to the kitchen and deal with the mess, so by the time it was over, I was ready for a nap.

Charlie settled in front of the television with Mom and Carlisle and everyone else had disappeared so I headed up to my room and found my sweet angel already in bed, having fallen asleep with my iPad. I took off my clothes and as I moved it out of her hands she opened her eyes, murmuring, "They use Pure Fiji at the hotel, Edward. That's a sign don't you think?"

"Mmm, yeah maybe," I said as I got in and she snuggled up to me, smelling of cinnamon.

Maybe it was a sign that meant that we should go, that it would be everything I hoped for, and that she would heal.

She was well on the way already.

...

Rec of the week from Beach is "Coming Attractions" by BoysNBooksRBetter

Edward is a member of a popular BDSM club in Port Angeles and looking for a new submissive to perform scenes with there. Will Bella turn out to be everything he's looking for, or much more than he expected? Rated M for frequent lemons (but make note this is NC17) . BPOV and EPOV. Mature. All human.

"This one is highly ah... NSFW but no violence, only love."

...

Here's a question for you: What do you think James' diary is going to reveal?