A/N: I do not own Twilight, any of its characters or plot points. I do, however, own my storyline and original characters. Copyright 2009, Lillie Cullen. All rights reserved worldwide.

I want to give a special thanks to twimom_13. Your review made my day, but since it was anonymous, I couldn't reply. This one's for you.


"No."

I cleared the distance quickly, taking both of her hands into my own. "What are you saying, Bella?"

I watched and felt as her resolve steeled within herself until she found her voice. "I'm not moving in with Edward. I'm not leaving Jasper."

Everyone started talking at once, everyone but Adrian and I voicing their disagreement with her decision. Edward's voice stood out in the crowd.

"But, love..." Bella wheeled on him.

"Don't, Edward. Just don't. I am so glad that you and I have been able to work through our issues and build a true, lasting friendship from the ashes of our relationship. But Jasper just asked me to marry him, and I said yes. Moving in with you, pretending to be in a relationship with you would just blur the lines too much, and that wouldn't be fair to anyone, not Jasper, not me, and least of all you. I love you too much to give you false hope."

Edward stood frozen, the weight of his emotions almost bringing me to my knees. My heart broke for him then, all animosity forgotten. My brother had just realized that it was truly over.

Bella turned her attention to Alice. "How long?"

"Two weeks."

"That's plenty of time to change me." She turned back to me. "I want you to do it. Do you think you can?"

I beamed at her. "Of course I can. You just say when." I bent down and kissed her nose. Was it wrong of me to feel such joy when everything around us was falling apart? Bella had just chosen me, for eternity, to Edward and in front of everyone in a way that almost felt more real to me than it had an hour ago when she'd agreed to marry me.

"I want to say goodbye to my father first." I completely understood that. I wanted the opportunity to talk to Charlie, to let Charlie know that I loved Bella and that she was happy before I had to take her away from him, possibly forever.

"I'll call the airlines, you go pack." I bent down and kissed her cheek then raised her left hand and kissed her ring finger before releasing her. She turned and headed for the stairs.

"Wait!" Alice shouted. "We don't know that will work. I can't see. They want you for a reason, though. There is more to it than seeing we kept our promise to change you. And what about Adrian?"

Adrian turned Alice around to face him before he spoke. "I agree with Bella that changing her is the right thing to do, Ally. If you have to change me now for us all to be safe and together, then fine. You come first. Always. But if there is a way, I'd like to wait, at least until after the season is over."

"Here's what we're going to do," Carlisle stated with authority and all eyes turned to him. "Jasper and Bella will go back to Forks tomorrow. We will pack up Adrian's things and put them in storage on the off chance the Volturi come back here. As soon as they return, Jasper will change Bella. We will all accompany Bella to the airport to meet them as they get off the plane, provide a united front. If they question her entourage, we will simply say we are there to help her keep control. It won't be a lie." Bella cringed at that, not having considered that she will be going through this ordeal as a newborn. Carlisle either missed her reaction or chose to ignore it. "Adrian will be there too, watching from a distance. At the first sign of trouble, he will get on a plane and out of harm's way. Hopefully it won't come to that."

I had to admit, the plan had merit, and it would explain why Alice couldn't see our future. Adrian was still in it. It was hard for me to focus and analyze everything, though, because the emotions were getting out of hand. Edward had completely lost control of his barrier, and for once I wished he'd get it back. It was just too much. Alice was scared and conflicted, Adrian was utterly bereft, Carlisle was cautiously optimistic, and Esme was just all over the place. But Bella, Bella was…fine. I felt her strength, her bravery. I knew she was brave, she'd proven it time and again with James and Victoria. But this was on an entirely different scale. I don't think I'd ever loved her more.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and clung to her, my security blanket in the emotional typhoon. If it weren't for her, I probably would have bolted, run away to escape it. Although I refused to let it show, my insides were vibrating under the strain. Bella must have sensed my distress, because she started running her fingers up and down my forearms tenderly.

"Guys," Bella asked gently. "Could you please try and calm down a little. Your emotions are assaulting my fiancé." Everyone made a concerted effort to get themselves in check. I squeezed Bella gratefully.

Adrian took Alice by the hand and guided her upstairs. "Come on, Ally-Angel. This is supposed to be Jasper and Bella's night at home, and they're supposed to be celebrating their engagement, if you know what I mean. Let's get a hotel room for the night, okay?" Embarrassment and chagrin replaced some of the emotions in the room. This time it was Edward's turn to cringe. I could only imagine what thoughts he was being subjected to. Carlisle and Esme congratulated us and welcomed Bella to the family before leaving. They were going to stay at Edward's.

Edward, still in the far corner of the room, took a couple of deep breaths and finally regained his artificial calm before approaching us. He shook my hand, then bent down and gave Bella a long, heartfelt hug.

Edward pulled back from their hug and bent down so their foreheads were touching. His words were barely a whisper, but I could sense they were meant for both of us. "Congratulations, love. I have always only wanted for you to be happy, and now I can see that you truly are. I, too, am glad that we have been able to become close again as friends, and I hope that we can stay that way for eternity, since it looks as though you're going to be around that long." Bella chuckled at his lame attempt at a joke. He kissed her cheek and his façade broke for a moment. "I love you, Bella. Never doubt, Never forget." He looked up at me and apologized with his eyes, then bolted out the door.

Bella leaned into my embrace and took a couple more seconds to get a hold of herself, then turned to me with a mischievious smile, lust rolling off of her in waves. "Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?" She wiggled her eyebrows at me and jetted for the stairs before I could even reply. I let her beat me, but only by a step or two. I stayed right on her tail the whole way. She ran to the far side of the bed, giggling hysterically, then tried to crawl over it to climb off the other side and probably run back downstairs, but I wasn't having that. Before she could even process what happened, she was pinned beneath me on the bed. I growled a little in her ear, knowing how much that turned her on. It did not disappoint.

"Bella, Bella, Bella. Where are you running off to, my lovely fiancé?" Bella squirmed, wiggling her body against me in all the right places.

"Umm…" was her astute answer. She stuck out her bottom lip and pouted. I knew exactly what she was thinking. You can't win when you're a human playing against a vampire.

"Don't worry, darlin'. Before long you'll be giving me a run for my money." Bella smiled at me and if I couldn't sense her emotions, I would have believed that she was totally okay with the course of events tonight. I slid off her and laid on my side next to her, running my hand through her hair. "What's troubling you?"

"Silly stuff, really. Worrying about my dad, and how long it'll be before I can see him after the change. Worrying about school – I was really hoping to finish first. Now who knows when I'll be able to get my degree. And then…" Trepidation and guilt.

"And then…what, sweetheart?"

"And then there's Edward. Please don't be angry or take it the wrong way, but I'm kind of going to miss my evenings at 'Hotel Edward'. We've become really good friends because of my time there, I'll be sad to lose that. Plus, I could see that he was hurting tonight, and I felt bad I couldn't comfort him. No matter how much progress he's made, he never wanted to see me become one of you. He sees a human life as a better life, no matter what."

"Bella, as far as you becoming a vampire is concerned, he's just going to have to get used to the idea. There is no other way, and even if there was, it's something we had planned to do eventually. One lifetime with you just isn't enough for me. As for the rest, well, I'm sure we can work something out. You'll be a newborn. Newborns are a lot of work. A day off every now and then would probably do me good." Bella's eyes grew wide as saucers. Disbelief and joy and love.

Bella lifted herself up on her elbows to meet me eye to eye. "Are you serious? You'd be okay with that?"

"Of course, baby. You're my fiancé. Soon you're going to be my wife. For the rest of time, it's you and me. Your friendship with Edward, or Jacob or Alice or Adrian or anyone else for that matter, is not going to change that." I surprised even myself when I realized that I really meant it.

Bella attacked me then, lips and hands and legs all with a unified purpose of pulling me to her. "I don't deserve you, Jasper, but I love you so, so much."

"I love you, too," I whispered between fevered kisses. I had wanted to make slow, sweet love to Bella tonight, but she had other ideas. She clawed and tore at my clothes like a woman obsessed. I was more than happy to oblige. I loved feeling her emotions when she was like this. Her desire, her love, her lust were like a drug to me. I threw them right back at her as I lifted her up to remove her dress. It was much too pretty and sentimental to shred. Her underwear, however, were another story. Bella gasped when I grabbed her bra by the cups and pulled them apart, easily shredding the sliver of material joining them together. Bella's beautiful breasts broke free with a luscious jiggle. I took them in my hands and brought them together so I could lavish attention on them both at the same time.

Bella put her hands on either side of my face and brought me back to her, kissing me. I let our love swirl around us, feeding us both as I slid into her welcoming body. I wrapped my arms tightly around her and rolled us over so she was on top of me, but didn't loosen my hold when she went to sit up. Instead I rocked my hips, slowly thrusting in and out of her. Our bodies were as close as they could possibly be. Her breaths pushed against me, her heart pounded against my chest. In all the times that Bella and I had made love, it had never been quite like this. It had never felt more real, more true, more perfect, more free. Without a word, Bella clenched around me at the exact moment I exploded within her.

Bella pressed her forehead into the crook of my neck, heated and slightly damp from sweat, and almost immediately fell asleep. I held her there for a while, stroking her back with a smile on my face, until I felt Edward's presence approaching the house. I slowly slid her onto her side and kissed her forehead as I covered her up. I threw on a pair of pajama pants and headed downstairs. He was waiting for me on the porch, sitting on the top step.

"Edward?"

"Is she asleep?"

"Yes, she is."

"I just wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. It was inexcusable and rude."

I sighed deeply before sitting next to him. If I were human, I would have offered him a cigarette. "There's no need to apologize. I know how much you love her. I'm sorry this is hard on you." Edward hung his head and nodded. I put my arm around his shoulders and hugged him. "I told Bella that even after we're married and she's changed, she can still have her 'Hotel Edward' nights with you." Edward turned to look at me, his head still hanging down, his emotions matching those of Bella's when I'd had this conversation with her.

"You would allow that?" I rolled my eyes a little at that. He was going to need a few more 'Hotel Edward' nights to teach him a few things if he ever wanted to have a real relationship with someone else.

"Edward, whether or not she's my wife, I can't 'allow' anything with her. She makes her own decisions. But, yes, I told her I would be okay with it, because I knew she wouldn't even consider it otherwise. She felt guilty for even thinking about it. I trust you to be more of a gentleman than me." We both awkwardly chuckled a little at that.

"So are we okay?" he asked. I nodded my head.

"What do you think is going to happen with the Volturi?"

"I honestly don't know. I can't understand their motivation. Why are they so interested in Bella? And with Alice running blind, it makes me nervous. My gut tells me that Bella being changed won't be good enough for them."

"I agree. Whatever happens, we'll face it together. If they want to get to Bella, they'll need to get through all the rest of us first."

"Thank you, brother."

"Who said I was doing it for you?" he teased, and I knew we were going to be alright.


A/N: I was reminded that I didn't send the Cullendales anywhere last chapter. Shame on me! LOL Honestly, though, I don't know what cities I hadn't hit yet, so you need to remind me when you review. :)