(October – December 2010)

Bella felt like she was swept up in a windstorm and had no desire to touch the ground once more. The months have passed in the most pleasant of ways since September. What had started out as a tentative and rather awkward relationship had now become a romantic long distance relationship. It had only taken them two months to find their rhythm and establish a routine. Aro would come at the end of each month and he would stay two to four days in the city. He would then travel to one of the other countries. That way he would make it look like he was simply traveling the world to see all of the covens or simply carrying out business. It also had the added bonus of helping him recruit if he so wished.

They had moved on from awkward and tentative hugs to full on make out sessions. Aros' hands never strayed far from the 'respectable' places but he sure did tease it. He wanted nothing more than to make her his with every fiber of his being but he held himself back out of respect for her and out of fear should she ever decide to leave him and he would be stuck with a completed bond and no mate. So, he held back.

Bella was in a flustered state and fervently wished she could be like some people she knew and simply jump into bed with Aro but she was well aware of the consequences and why he didn't push her. So she resigned herself to not being intimate with him. At first it had been an easy decision but then as time went on she found it harder to deal with. She was sure she was falling in love with him already which frankly scared her witless. She had been through this twice already and was not looking forward to going through it a third time.

Still, as time went on she could see her dreams changing. It did not help when Sam and Emily announced they were pregnant not long after their marriage. Jake had married as well and Seth had told her he and his wife were hoping to start a family soon. It hurt her heart on some level that Jake was no longer hers but she was happy for him. She had loved him completely and did wish him all the happiness in the world. She just did not want to see it constantly, her heart still felt the wound fresh.
Still, it was how the world worked, she knew this. She knew things would move forward no matter what and couldn't stand the thought anymore of becoming a vampire.

That was what kept gnawing at her at night. She knew Aro loved her. She knew he would die without her. Still, knowing it did not stop her aversion to it. She wanted a family, she wanted kids. She did not want to leave Charlie alone and break his heart once more. She wished she could tell him but knew she couldn't risk him as well. She had pushed lady luck far too much in her life for her to dare to risk Charlie's life for anything. It still didn't stop her from wishing it though.

Thoughts of children also plagued her mind as her relationship with Aro progressed. She knew she couldn't have a child with him. It was obvious but she did not want to give up on having a child herself instead of adopting. She knew Aro did not want her to sleep with another man so lately the thought of using artificial insemination had begun to pop up in her subconscious more often. They could find a man who looked similar to him just to make the child look more like both of them. The only problem would be that as the child grew they would know that Aro always stayed the same. Would Aro force their child to change? Would Aro kill their child should they chose not to? She was his mate and given a choice but her child would not be anything biological to him. Would Aro hurt their child?

Bella forced her thoughts to halt as she caught herself and stepped away (mentally) from the abyss. She did not need to go down that crazy spiral of thoughts right now. No, right now she needed to pack her belongings and help Rosalie pack as well as Emmett. The three of them were going to stay in Volterra and Bella did not want to be in a funky mood. She was only 23 after all, she had time to become a mother. Still, she would bring up her idea with Aro once they had a moment of privacy. The last thing she wanted was for it to be all over the castle. (Shudder) That would be a nightmare.

(December 28 2010) (Tuesday) (Cecina, Italy) (After sundown)

They had left late at night the night before to be able to make it not too late today. That all went to hell when their private plane had to be grounded for a few hours due to 'mechanical difficulties'. Rosalie had grumbled the entire time that she could have taken care of the problem if she so wished. Sadly the delay had caused them to be late and grouchy. Bella more so than Rose and Emmett. She wanted nothing more than to shower and fall into her bed. She was glad and cranky that she had kept herself awake so that her sleeping schedule aligned with the time zone of Italy.

They were met at the airport by two vehicles, both limos. Their luggage was handled quickly and efficiently much to the surprise of the crew who simply stared at the beautiful 'staff' that greeted them. The door opened and Bella automatically turned towards it somehow knowing who was there. Aro exited the limo and gracefully walked to her as he engulfed her in his arms in a few steps. They both unconsciously inhaled the others scent as they embraced. The Volturi guards smirked or had small smiles as they watched the exchange as surreptitiously as possible. Bella and Aro held their hug for a full minute before they pulled apart.

They smiled at each other in greeting.
"Hello my dear." Aro said as he gazed at Bella.

"Hello Aro." Bella replied.

"Nice to see you as well by the way." Rosalie replied dryly as she looked at them in amusement. Emmett simply stayed quiet.

Bella blushed at her thoughtlessness.
"Sorry guys." She said.

"Good evening Rosalie, Emmett. I hope the trip wasn't too unpleasant." Aro said as he finally looked at the couple that accompanied Bella.

Emmett scoffed, Rosalie rolled her eyes and Bella laughed incredulously. The only reason no one from the Volturi side took offense was because all responses were simultaneously.

"We were delayed." Emmett groused. "For hours." He moaned.

"The problem was simple enough to fix but they needed it done by a licensed mechanic and the plane had to be checked over again before we could continue on our flight plan." Rosalie said in a mood. She could have fixed it.

"As much as I would like to spend some time with you tonight I really just want to shower and sleep right away. I stayed awake this entire time to get with your time zone but now I'm exhausted." Bella said.

Aro could now hear the tiredness in her voice and despite his wish to have her ensconced in his rooms he would settle for having her stay in his wing of the castle. He had already had her set of rooms prepared for over a month. He would see her first thing in the morning though. He would not miss any time with her more than necessary.

"Very well, let's get you to the castle. I will simply give you a tour in the morning." Aro said as he guided Bella into the limo he had procured just for them. Rosalie and Emmett went into their own limo without a fuss. They understood his desire for privacy very well. They simply had to come up with their own entertainment until Bella woke up, whatever shall they do.

Aro tucked Bella into his side as they settled into their seats and made their way to the castle. They made small conversation and simply caught up. All the while Bella was enjoying the feel of Aros arms around her and tying to not fall asleep on him. She was sure she was not 'daisy fresh' and refused to go to sleep like that. Curse their heightened senses, she cursed inwardly not for the first time. They had the rest of their vacation time to make up for today. She would enjoy it and hope for the best. She did not want a repeat of her last time in the city.

As requested Bella and Aro have moved on but still have not 'gone all the way'. Remember that for Aro that is something from which they could never come back from so they are taking that step seriously. I know some of you really wanted to 'witness' their first kiss so I thought I would add that as memory from one of them. For now I am moving things forward because as you all know this is coming to its conclusion, finally. I won't drag it out into more chapters since this has already taken 6 years to complete and I don't want to drag it on more. I promised myself that I would end this story by this summer and I will keep that promise! I cannot keep letting it drag on. You all deserve better. I will stick to short stories or one shots' from now on. I cannot be trusted with longer ones.

I am not sure about adding a pregnancy scene since that would not be covered in a chapter without making it feel rushed. I do have the finale already in mind but many of you have asked for Bella to become pregnant so I am torn.

As always don't forget to Fav, Follow and Review.