Stolen Dreams

Disclaimer: Don't steal. Stealing is bad. Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I own this. All good?

A/N: Thank you all for being so patient with me. This chapter did take me almost 6 weeks to write, but I don't think the next one will take nearly as long. In fact, it's already started. I'm aiming for two weeks from now, and hoping for next week. Thank you, JenRar, for turning this around so quickly. On with the show!

Chapter 35

I had forgotten what life was like before Edward came back to me. Now, I was thrust back into a semblance of it, and everything felt off, wrong. I did, however, get to spend some much needed time with Alice, since she was in the same boat I was. Angela even joined us on a couple of nights when Ben was working late.

Ryan called me every night, much like he had done with Esme and Carlisle when he was here. We didn't talk long, but he told me about his days, his friends, and his therapy session with Jacob.

"He's kind of like a big brother," Ryan confessed Thursday night. "He's really cool."

I smiled, though he couldn't see me. "Good! I'm glad you like talking to him. Does it help?"

"Yeah, I guess. I feel like he's just waiting for me to say something, but I don't know what that is." I could picture him shrugging.

"Does that make you feel uncomfortable?" I asked, knowing that if it did, there was no point in him continuing, because he wouldn't be honest about his feelings.

"No. Just . . . is there something I'm supposed to say or do? Am I not doing it right?" he asked.

I laughed. "As long as you're talking and you're honest, you're doing just fine. Jacob's just there to listen to whatever you want to say and to help you if you need it. Ryan, you've handled this whole situation a lot better than many kids would have, and I think Jacob's probably waiting for you to explode." I teased him to lighten the mood.

He made some noise like a bomb exploding and laughed. "Nah. I like having four parents. It means more presents."

And . . . there was the ten-year-old. I chuckled and told him I loved him before he hung up to go to sleep.

By Saturday, Alice and I had made all the wedding arrangements that were left to do, my dress was finished and altered, and the invitations were scheduled to arrive the following week. Everyone that was coming already knew the date, so those were more of a formality than anything. I even scheduled some time off work so we could take a honeymoon, though I had no idea where we would go. In less than a month, I would finally be Mrs. Edward Cullen.

Edward called Saturday night to tell me that he had survived a week in the mountains and to remind me that his flight would be in at one o'clock the following afternoon. More than anything, he was looking forward to the shower he was going to take at the hotel and a real meal, which he was hoping I'd be willing to cook.

On Sunday morning, I wasn't able to sleep in. I got up early and started preparing for Edward's late lunch. I decided on meatloaf, with garlic mashed potatoes and string beans in a garlic butter sauce. Knowing that the meat would take a couple of hours to cook, I put it in so that it would finish about twenty minutes before I had to leave. I figured that it would give the oven enough time to cool sufficiently, so it wouldn't cook the meat further when I put it back in to keep warm.

By the time noon rolled around, I was an anxious mess. I couldn't wait another minute to see him. At the airport, Alice wasn't in much better shape. We were both standing near the arrivals gate, dancing from foot to foot and watching the board to see when their plane landed.

There was no one else in the airport when he finally walked through the gate. At least, I didn't see anyone else. I just ran. When I was only yards away, he dropped his duffel and caught me as I jumped into his arms, kissing me with all the passion and love he possessed.

"God, I missed you," he breathed.

"I missed you, too," I mumbled against him, unwilling to pull away even a fraction of an inch. My heart, which had been absent all week, beat furiously in my chest.

I could have stayed locked in his arms for a week, but the noise of the terminal eventually filled my ears. Unwillingly, we pulled apart.

He took my hand in his and smiled at me. "Take me home, pretty girl?" he teased.

I grinned back and tugged him toward the car. On the drive home, I was thinking that lunch would stay warm a little longer. I wasn't sure I could wait to have him again. Then, of course, we walked in the door and Edward smelled the food.

"Oh, God," he practically moaned. "That smells so good. I'm so hungry."

I rolled my eyes at my luck and began pulling the various pieces of the meal together. "What? Those MREs didn't do it for you?"

He scoffed. "If only. By Wednesday, I was wishing we had them. It was survival training. I've spent the last week eating wild rabbit, grass, and acorns."

If I thought he was joking, that notion was quickly dispelled by his ravenous expression. Wordlessly, I passed him a plate loaded with food and sat down next to him with my own. Edward had always eaten well, but I'd never seen him inhale food like this.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" I asked, somewhat wary because I didn't know if he would growl at being asked to stop eating.

He wiped his mouth, took a drink, and then swallowed before speaking. "They took us to a remote location with basic supplies, as if we were on a recon fly-over, and land the chopper. The scenario they gave us was that the chopper crashed and we had to survive in hostile territory until a retrieval unit could be sent out." Between bites, he went on to explain how they'd found shelter, avoided detection by enemy troops, and scavenged for food. It sounded like hell on Earth to me, and I wasn't a girly girl opposed to getting out in nature.

"Were you alone the whole time?" I asked. His explanation had made it sound like he'd done most of the work by himself.

He shook his head while he swallowed again. "No, we worked together, but we couldn't stay too close to each other because large groups are easier to detect." He laughed at some thought. "Just be glad we showered before we got on the plane. If we hadn't, they would have thrown us out about 10,000 feet."

I laughed, imagining the looks his fellow passengers would have given him, but it was stifled when he yawned. "Didn't you get any sleep last night?" I asked. They'd stayed in a hotel, after all.

He shook his head and yawned again. "No, they let us get cleaned up, and then we had to debrief. At least they fed us while they talked."

"Why don't you take a nap?" I suggested. I tried hard to keep the disappointment out of my voice. I knew he was exhausted, but I was so tired of being by myself.

Edward gave me a sly, suggestive smile. "Come with me?"

He didn't need to ask me twice. I tossed our plates into the dishwasher and took his hand. When we got to the bedroom, I went into the bathroom and stripped. I'd worn a matching dark blue bra and panty set on purpose. It hadn't been more than two minutes when I opened the door.

Edward was passed out on the bed. He hadn't even made it under the covers. I smiled, slightly disappointed, and grabbed the blanket we kept at the end of the bed. I laid down next to him and pulled the blanket over us.

I woke up hours later. Edward was snoring lightly in my ears. Now that I was wide awake, I inched out of the arms that had encircled me at some point and made my way back downstairs. The files that I'd brought home with me for the weekend still sat untouched in my bag, and I figured that I could knock them out of the way while Edward slept.

My patients drew me in, and I lost track of time as I re-read my notes and thought about different approaches to use with each of them. It was dark by the time I closed the last file. Edward was still in bed, asleep, so I made myself a bowl of cereal, read for a bit, and then joined him back under the covers.

If I had known that those were the last peaceful moments we were going to have for weeks, I might have insisted that he wake up and at least sit with me on the couch. I might have savored them a little more.

All hell broke loose almost as soon as we woke up on Monday morning. At seven forty-five, Edward's phone rang with a D.C. number. Thinking it was Tanya calling from work with information on the interview, he answered it while chewing on his toast.

I watched as his eyes grew wide and his toast got stuck in his throat. He coughed hard and sprayed the bits of it all over the table. I was about to protest when I heard him say, "Yes, sir. At oh-nine hundred . . . thank you, sir."

He hung up abruptly and immediately dialed the phone again without a word to me. "Get your ass up and in uniform," Edward barked. "General Jacoby is going to be at the office at oh-nine hundred to read us in on a classified op." He paused. "No idea. I haven't been by since we got back. I just hope to God that Ben didn't wreck it. I'm heading there now."

I left the mess on the table and followed him to the bedroom. "What just happened?" I asked, bewildered.

Edward spun on his heel and looked at me. His eyes were slightly wild, and he looked completely at a loss. "The Vice Chief of Staff just called me to tell me that he's sending General Jacoby to our office to brief us on an operation."

"Okay," I answered, dragging the word out slightly. "Who is General Jacoby?"

Edward continued to talk as he hurriedly dressed. "He's the head of NORAD—North American Aerospace Defense Command. Along with Canada, they protect the North American aerospace and maritime borders."

"What does that mean?" I asked, an uncertain panic welling up inside me.

"I don't know," he answered. His voice was laced with tension, too. "Whatever it is, it's domestic, or Jacoby wouldn't be involved. I'll call you later when I get an idea of what's going on." He kissed me quickly and practically ran out the door.

There wasn't time for me to try to make sense of it; I had fourteen minutes to get out the door myself.

When I got to the office, I walked into pandemonium. Two of Zafrina's patients were screaming at each other so loudly that their words were clearly audible in the waiting room. One of my kids was cowering in the corner with her hands over her ears, her social anxiety disorder rearing its ugly head in the face of discord.

Zafrina finally got the couple calmed down, and the office quieted significantly. Unfortunately, my patient wasn't so easily placated, and her session ran over by almost an hour. I spent the rest of the day scrambling to catch up with patients that were almost as tense as my first one had been. Though I didn't have time to check, I was sure that it had to be the full moon—lunacy was rampant.

The day had been so crazy that I didn't even realize that Edward hadn't called until I got home and was pondering what to make for dinner. I checked my phone twice, sure that I had to have missed something, but there were no missed calls, messages, or texts. I threw together some chicken, rice, and green beans and then sat down to eat alone.

Edward finally dragged through the door as I was getting ready to go to bed. He looked more weary than I'd seen him in a long time. Before I could say anything, he held up his hand to stop me.

"I'm sorry that I didn't call. I couldn't. This . . . this . . . thing . . . is huge. They had to give Jasper and me top clearance for it, and if I tell you anything, it's basically treason. I knew that if I talked to you, I'd want to tell you, and I've spent the whole ride home trying to figure out what I can tell you so that you can make me stop if I try," he rambled.

"What'll happen if you tell me?" I asked, curious. It wasn't like I was the enemy or anything. Besides, who was I going to tell?

He looked me dead in the eye and said without hesitation, "I could either be thrown in prison for life or executed."

I felt the blood rush out of my face and my mouth fall open. He wasn't kidding. I shook my head. "Don't tell me anything. Just . . . can you let me know if you'll be home for dinner next time?"

He let out a tired laugh and cracked half a smile. "Yeah, I can do that." He walked toward me and wrapped me in his arms. I could hear his heart beating fast beneath my ear and I wondered it if was being here with me or his day that had him so worked up. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I love you. I'll try to do better tomorrow."

He did do better the next day, but only just. I got a text as I pulled in the driveway that he wouldn't be home for supper. Actually, he never made it home at all, as far as I knew. And so it went right up through the week leading up to our wedding.

Alice and Esme had kept me busy planning and finalizing details. Because Edward was working, we didn't make it to Forks for our weekend. Esme and Carlisle surprised me, though, by coming to Seattle with Ryan. He certainly didn't mind doing the final tastings on the cake I'd picked out, but Edward's absence was notable.

I started to worry that he wouldn't be able to get away for the wedding. The closer it got, the more it began to look like a real possibility.

"Are you going to be able to be there next weekend?" I asked one night as he tried to slip into the bathroom without waking me when he got home extremely late again.

He startled, not expecting to hear my voice.

"I promise that I will be waiting at the altar when you walk down the aisle," he vowed, coming to sit next to me on the bed. "Invading hordes of . . . people couldn't keep me away."

"We aren't going to be able to take a week away for our honeymoon, are we?" I said, knowing that it wasn't really a question.

He shook his head sadly. "No. I've got through Monday off, but that's it. And Tanya left me a message today that they are going to air the interview on Sunday. I don't know if you want to be in Forks with Ryan and the Cullens for it or here . . ."

"In Forks," I whispered. "Should we postpone it? The wedding, I mean."

"Fuck, no," Edward answered vehemently. "We can postpone the honeymoon, but I've waited long enough to make you my wife. I'll be damned if I'm going to let that go any longer."

I giggled, and he kissed my head. "Go to sleep. I'll be right back."

I fell asleep before he crawled into bed.

~SD~

On Thursday before the wedding, I drove to Port Angeles with Alice and Angela. We met Rose for dinner and drinks—a pseudo bachelorette party. It wasn't a wild and crazy night; I wasn't that kind of person. But it was nice to spend time with the girls and think about fun. I refused to imagine that Edward wouldn't be waiting for me on Saturday as promised. Instead, I reveled in the raunchy lingerie and slightly taboo gifts that they bestowed on me and giggled as we toured Port Angeles' one and only adult bookstore. I picked up a few items that looked interesting, much to the amusement of my friends. I just shrugged and grinned at them. Even though Edward and I were not going to be able to get away for a weeklong honeymoon, we would have the weekend . . . and the rest of our lives. Besides, the small amount of ribbing that I got from them would be totally worth it to see the look on my new husband's face.

Alice had insisted that we stay in Port Angeles for the night, so we all piled around Rose's living room on couches and chairs. Of course, the festivities didn't stop once we got back there. The girls had planned a late night of classic chick flicks—Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes—to celebrate my "last night as a free woman."

I didn't remember falling asleep, but I woke the next morning with a crick in my neck and Alice laying partially on top of me. The main screen for Steel Magnolias was still scrolling on the TV, and dim light filtered through the gauzy curtains.

Knowing that it wasn't going to wake Alice, I lifted her head slightly and shoved a pillow underneath it so I could dash to the bathroom. My mouth tasted like bitter mash, and I had to pee. Once I'd retrieved my toiletries and freshened up, I wandered into the kitchen in search of coffee. Rose was already up and nursing her own cup.

"She has more plans for us today; you know that, right?" Rose's voice was scratchy and strained.

I groaned and flopped into a kitchen chair. "I don't want to do anything else. I wanna go back to sleep," I whined.

"Shut up and stop your bitching," Alice groused as she ran a hand through her sleep-rumpled hair. "I promise you won't complain when we get there."

"Is there alcohol?" Angela piped up from behind her. "Because if there is, I'm gonna have to pass." She did look a little green.

Alice rolled her eyes and practically inhaled her coffee. "We have forty-five minutes to get there, girls. No need to get all prettied up. Just put some clothes on."

I looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. Alice never went anywhere looking less than her best. The very idea was laughable. She, however, wasn't paying any attention to the rest of us. She busied herself with her second cup of coffee and then strolled out of the kitchen as if we weren't there.

Angela, Rose, and I stared at each other and shook our heads, opting to get ready instead of trying to fight her, especially since we knew we wouldn't win. My act of rebellion, however, was to follow Alice's instructions to the letter. I dug through my bag and found an old pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt to wear. Once I was dressed, I put my hair up into a slightly messy ponytail and forewent my make-up. I grinned at my reflection—it would drive Alice nuts to go anywhere with me like this.

Or so I thought. I came out of Rose's bathroom to find Alice sipping on her coffee, wearing her own yoga outfit. Hers was much more stylish than mine, but it was still much more casual than I ever saw Alice anywhere but the gym. The other two girls shot me disbelieving looks as they walked up, but all I could do was shrug. I followed Alice to her car and contented myself with the knowledge that my best friend would never make me do anything the day before my wedding that she knew I'd hate . . . and she knew me better than almost anyone.

"Alice, what are we doing here?" I asked as we pulled into the mostly barren parking lot of Port Angeles' swankiest salon—and that wasn't saying much. There was a dim light inside, but otherwise, it was closed. "This place isn't open at—" I checked the time on my phone "—eight forty-nine in the morning."

She shot me a smug smile. "They are today. Well, they are today for us," she amended. "Let's go, ladies. Chop, chop. We've got relaxing to do!"

It was the perfect distraction. Alice had gotten them to open early for us so that we could all get our facials, manis, and pedis together. I even got a massage, something I hadn't done in a long time. The shop kept us supplied with water and fresh fruit, even after the doors opened and the regular patrons began filing in.

By lunchtime, I was feeling refreshed. I'd been able to shower in the spa and have my hair done by someone other than myself. My toes were a pale pink, and my fingers had a lovely French manicure. The girls appeared to be equally pleased with their selections.

"Alice, thank you," I said sincerely as we walked out of the building. "This was a lovely surprise."

She hugged me tightly and gave me an almost watery smile. "You've waited so long for this, B. I just wanted this weekend to be special for you."

"It is. You all are here with me, and tomorrow, Edward and I are finally going to get married," I replied with a smile. My answer was met with squeals and uncharacteristic giggles as we all made our way back to the car.

Alice had even made us reservations for lunch at a small, out-of-the-way bistro. Knowing that the Masens were planning a big dinner later, I thought the soup and sandwich combos were the perfect meal. Well, it was perfect until I heard the chimes of text messages ringing in on both Rose's and Alice's phones. The frowns they exchanged after reading the messages didn't quell my rising anxiety any.

"Who was it?" I asked, endeavoring to remind myself that it could have been anything—another surprise that wasn't panning out or a simple problem with flowers. It wasn't working.

Rose appeared to be trying to work out how to say whatever she needed to, but she looked pained all the same. "It was Emmett. He's up in Seattle. It was his job to make sure Edward and Jasper got here on time."

My heart sank, and I fought back the tears. We just couldn't catch a break. "He's not going to make it, is he?"

"Oh, Bella," Alice whispered, her own voice thick. "Don't think like that. Just because they couldn't leave when they'd planned to doesn't mean that he'll miss it."

I stared at my half-eaten sandwich, my appetite gone. Setting my napkin beside my plate, I scooted my chair away from the table and stood. "Finish your food. I'm going outside for some fresh air."

I just needed to be alone for a minute while my emotions warred between anger and despair. He'd promised that he wouldn't miss our wedding, and he hadn't even had the guts to call and tell me himself. He made his friends text mine to break the news. Who did that?

The restaurant had a concrete lip around the window just wide enough for me to rest on. It wasn't overly comfortable, but it was cold, and that helped center me a bit. Logically, I knew that whatever he was doing had to be important if it would keep him away from our wedding, but the lost little girl inside of me felt abandoned all over again.

"Come on, Bella," Angela said, startling me from my reverie. "Let's get back to Forks and see what still needs to be done for tomorrow."

I scoffed and wiped the traitorous tears from my cheeks. "Nothing. Nothing needs to be done for tomorrow. Didn't you hear? The groom isn't coming." Damn, I sounded bitter.

Angela cocked her head to the side. "No, I didn't hear that. I only heard that they were running late. Now, get up and get in the car."

For all the confidence that Angela projected, she'd already called her dad and explained the situation. He insisted that we needed to run through the ceremony, even if Edward didn't make it in for the rehearsal. If it hadn't been for his "mini me" standing next to me, I wasn't sure that I could have made it through. Ryan, however, thought that standing in for his dad was "so cool."

I had pulled Pastor Weber aside before the ceremony and requested that we not run through the special parts that Edward and I had put in to include Ryan. We wanted those to be a surprise, and I wasn't about to change that with him not present. He played it off by saying that there was a special song in that spot.

As the hours crept by, I could see more and more of our family checking their watches. Ed and Elizabeth had rented out the large party room at the lodge for the rehearsal dinner but turned it into a gathering of family and friends in an effort to draw attention away from the fact that Edward still wasn't present. In fact, I hadn't heard from him all day.

I could tell each time Rose or Alice got a text from their other halves. The sad smiles and looks of pity were hard to ignore. Each time, I had to rein in my emotions and put on a smile for our guests. Ryan didn't wander far from my side, for which I was grateful. Only my son could take away the sting of Edward missing our wedding rehearsal.

"We need to get you home and into bed," my mother told me. "You have a big day tomorrow." She held out her hand to help me up from my seat behind the main table, where I was sitting alone. Most of our guests either lived in town and had already gone home or were staying at the Lodge and were using the room as a place to gather.

I said good night to everyone and got back in the car with Alice. She was staying with me at Dad's for what was supposed to be my last night as a single woman. We didn't speak much as we got ready for bed. After the night before, we were both fairly tired.

I had just slipped under the covers when my phone rang. Finally, after more than a day of silence, Edward was calling.

"Hey," I said as I answered, trying to keep my aggravation out of my voice, but I couldn't hold back the sob and gasp at his next words.

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry."

I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think if you are so inclined.