Bella had retired to bed early that night due to exhaustion from the day's event. It was during these moments that she did not envy the vampires in the house for their inability to sleep.

She wasn't sure how long she had been asleep but Bella woke up in the middle of the night and the only way she knew that it was still too early was because it was still pitch-black outside of her window.

With her sleepy eyes, Bella caught a figure standing beside the window and her sleepiness instantly disappeared as soon as she recognized who it was.

"Edward!" She gasped in surprise and immediately sat up straight, glaring at the vampire in front of her.

She didn't think that he would dare sneak in her room knowing that she wasn't the Bella that he loves.

"What are you doing in my room?!" She demanded. Edward had the decency to look guilty at being caught.

"I wanted to see you…" was his lame reply and Bella crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised her eyebrows.

"You know you could do that in the morning, when I'm awake , right?" she stated.

"I'm sorry… I didn't think you would wake up." Bella's eyes almost grew in horror.

"Excuse me? Even if I didn't wake up, I do not appreciate you hovering over my sleeping figure! Did anyone ever tell you how creepy that is?!"

He looked taken aback.

He ran his fingers through his messy hair nervously.

"I didn't think - - - I was used to being near her even when…" he didn't continue because she was already glaring daggers at him but when Bella saw the desperation in his eyes, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and tried to keep her annoyance from showing.

"She talks in her sleep… she used to dream of me and say my name in her sleep… I just thought… maybe… I wanted to hear her say it…" he reasoned weakly and her irritation earlier quickly dissipated and she just felt sorry for him.

"I really don't know how this future-self-inserting-into-another-version-of-me-works but the only time I've felt this Bella's presence was yesterday when emotions were high. Don't think as well that I'm trying to stop her from reaching out to you because if it's up to me, both of you are long overdue for a heart-to-heart talk but neither one of us are in control of the situation here. What I can only do is take care of her body while I find my way to get back on my own. That means, making sure this body gets enough rest after everything that she's been through and finding you sneaking in her bed is not really helping."

Edward looked like a lost puppy, unsure of what to do next. Finally, he made a move towards the window, in human pace.

"I shouldn't be here… I'm sorry" he started to say.

"Wait…" Bella huffed. Edward had set out to be alone last night and now that he was here, she was curious to know what he had decided for himself or if he was finally allowing himself this chance at being with his mate. First things first, she needed to address his behavior.

She tapped the empty space on the bed.

"Sit down Edward" He stood there, torn on what to do next but after a few seconds, he walked slowly towards her and sat down on the spot that she gestured, careful to keep his distance while Bella tucked her feet under her.

"Look, I get that you two spend your nights together in her room and Bella is not calling you out for it but that's because she didn't have it in her to do it.

She's a teenager and this…" She gestured to all of her for emphasis. "...was a point in our lives that our insecurities were in the forefront. We never thought that we were good enough to be loved by anyone, much more someone like you that's way out of our league and here you are, sneaking in her bedroom… showing her that she's the most important woman in the world and that you can't stand to be away from her even during the night time… she's bound to agree to having you around than kicking you out to give her, her privacy"

"I didn't think that she would mind… "

"You never really did give her a choice, did you?" Edward looked down, unable to look her in the eye. That was answer enough for her.

"I thought so. We've already established that I'm not her and even though I'm in her teenage body right now, I'm not in a anyway, a teenager anymore. I've grown out of those feelings and I value my privacy very much. I get it, if Jasper had done all that sneaking when I was still at this age, I would have let it go myself but you know how he is… he's more of a giving-you-space kind of guy" she thought of her mate fondly and she couldn't help the smile on her face.

Edward now looked up with his brows furrowed. "Jasper doesn't visit you at night?" He sounded like Jasper did the wrong thing by not spending time with her when she sleeps and she took offense to that notion.

"Of course not!" she said indignantly.

She understood the need to be always be by your mate's side all the time. How many times have she wished that the day would not end whenever they were together? No matter how much she wanted to always be with Jasper every single second, they had boundaries and they had their own lives to lead.

Now that she'd seen how Edward is with this Bella, she couldn't help but compare and she was glad that Jasper wasn't the stalker type and avoided creeping in her bedroom when she was unaware.

"Jasper respected me enough to give me my own space when we were not together and avoided hovering especially when I'm unconscious in my sleep" she emphasized the last part then added, "Besides, when he does visit, it was because he had asked permission beforehand or I asked him to and only when I'm awake and definitely not to watch me sleep" Edward looked scandalized when he realized what exactly she was implying.

"Oh, don't you give me that look! You're in a family with mated pairs. That shouldn't come as a surprise to you!" she huffed.

"But – how…you… you can't…" It was almost funny to see a vampire like Edward at a loss for words. He's been doing that a lot lately.

"I can't what?" she challenged.

"Do you know how dangerous that is?! What if you get hurt?!"

"I know how dangerous it is and I know exactly how breakable I am as a human but I trust my mate and besides... I'm here, aren't I? That means Jasper didn't accidentally kill me by losing control." Bella didn't need to mention that she may not have been accidentally killed while Jasper and her were intimate, she did not come out of it unscathed.

She knew what she was getting into by making love to a vampire while she was still human and although both of them took all the necessary precautions to make sure she did not get hurt, she still got the bruises to show for it that she had to keep hidden.

Bella could just have simply waited for her to become indestructible like him but she knew that she was not yet ready to become a vampire at a young age considering that Jasper was, by human age, a few years older than her. If she was going to be with him in immortality, she wanted them to at least have the same age in human years or maybe a few years or two, she didn't really mind being the one older. She was ready, however to take the next step in their relationship, human or otherwise.

"We don't have to get into detail about my personal relationship with my mate when you have yours to worry about. What I'm saying is…. boundaries, Edward. It goes a long way to build a healthy relationship."

Edward opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, unsure of how to respond.

"A piece of advice from your mate's doppelganger who have been through more than she has… Your Bella would appreciate it more if, instead if sneaking in to be with her when she sleeps, allow her that time to be by herself and spend the rest of her waking moments showing her that she matters and not like every day you spend time with her, you're in the verge of running away. That's how she felt whenever you were together. Like every moment was only borrowed time and at any given time, you would just disappear. And apparently… you did"

Edward sighed, a resigned expression on his face. "I'm doing it all wrong, aren't I?"

"… mmmyeahhh but relationships aren't built from perfection. A lot of mistakes would be made but what matters is that you are trying to make it right. The only thing that is complicating this relationship is the supernatural aspect of it and you're dwelling too much on that part that you are failing to see that it's affecting both of you much more than you think."

They were silent for a moment and Edward turned away from her.

"If only I was human… I would have been good for her"

"But you're not. And you are good for her, if you allow yourself to be."

Edward turned to look away from her. Bella was the one who continued.

"To be honest, I take offense with how you're dealing with your relationship here. In my reality, I've seen you happy, I never saw you struggle with what you are, with what you can give to Alice as your mate and in how she can bring you that happiness, love and contentment that only a mate could give. I find it unfair that with a version of me, of Isabella Swan, you're not allowing her to give that to you. Why can't she be enough to make you happy? Why can't this Isabella make you feel that you do deserve to be loved?"

"No! That can't be! She has always been enough!" he argued.

"Then why?!" she argued back.

"It's our humanity again, isn't it? That has always been what's holding you back. I've never seen the Edward of my world struggle because when he met Alice, she was already a vampire then. He didn't have to go through all of this guilt and pain and distaste because Alice was already damned in the first place" there was a bitterness in her tone that she could not help but show and Edward cringed.

"I never wanted her to feel that she could not make me happy because in truth... I have never been this much happier in my existence. Bella had made me feel things that I thought I would never feel." He was trying to make her understand, and Bella could see that behind that tortured soul was a man that just wanted to be loved and in fairness to Edward, Bella could see that he was trying indeed.

"I never meant to make her feel unwanted and I know I made a huge mistake by leaving but everything that I had said when I left... it can never be true because I love her, more than anything else, more than my whole existence, I do."

"Then show her" She reached out her hand to grab his and Edward looked at it and she could see the mix of emotions that was showing on his face. "The version of Edward in my world and me, as another version of Isabella... we are both happy with our respective mates and I really want that happiness for both of you as well. You can have that... I know you can. You just have to believe that with whatever you have become, whatever you have done in the past, whatever darkness you think you have inside you, it would not matter anymore knowing that there is someone who accepts you for who you are and love you as much as you love her.

I know you might be afraid that she's going to hate you if you take away her humanity. Maybe you're thinking that at first, she would accept you but after years and years of immortality ahead of you, you fear that she's going to change her mind and realize it's not for her. You are so afraid that she will no longer look at you the same way when she turns but that is not the case because she wanted this as well. Think about it... imagine it... Bella... with you, in immortality... all those years doing the things that you love together... exploring the world, learning new things, learning more about each other, loving each other more every day... don't you want that?"

The gleam in his eyes clearly shows that he did and Bella could finally see a trace of hopefulness from him. She thought that maybe Edward was not a lost cause after all...

"I do... and I'm really trying..." He started to say and Bella smiled at him softly.

"I know you are... you wouldn't be here if you aren't" she patted his hand affectionately and sat up straight. He was observing her and Bella suddenly felt conscious and she raised her eyebrow at him in question.

"Sorry... it's just that... I look at you and all I see is her but the way you talk, your actions... and everything else... it's like... there's something missing yet I know it's just there"

Bella sighed and she was filled with melancholy and that numbing pain that she was feeling before was slowly starting to resurface.

"I know what you mean..." She spoke in almost a whisper and she turned away from him so he would not see the sorrow in her eyes.

"You're lucky because even if I have taken over Bella's body, I can still feel her inside me and I know that deep down, you can too... I guess that's what you are talking about... that fine line of the mating bond. Both of you are trying to reach out for it, I'm just standing in the way. Nevertheless, it's still there because Bella is still within me, in her own body. But for me, no matter how much I try to look at Jasper, he will never be the Jasper that I have known and love. The mating bond is not there at all and no matter how much I want it to be there, it can never happen because he is back there in my future and I'm stuck here." Her voice almost broke as she tried to keep her tears from showing.

Edward allowed her a few minutes to let herself be lost in her own thoughts before he finally spoke again.

"Can you tell me...in your reality and in your future... how are we like?" Edward suddenly asked and Bella blinked and turned to stare at him. She was suddenly grateful for the topic change and she was able to compose herself before she smiled at him fondly.

"We were very close, considering that I was still your singer in my world" She started and Edward frowned.

"I didn't... or the Edward in your world... didn't try hurting you, did he?" He asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, your counterpart made an extra effort to make sure that I was safe from him. He really went out of his way to be able to control his blood lust whenever I was around and having his singer around him all the time, he got so good at it that his control could rival Carlisle's and Rosalie's."

"But how? Aren't you afraid that I… that he would slip up?"

"There's really no other way of doing it than to just have him get used to my scent. That's what you have been doing with Bella here already and that's why you can be close to her"

"But I'm still struggling with what I am and I'm afraid that..." he couldn't bear it to continue.

"I know that... I've been there, remember? Well, I haven't really met my singer yet but I know what it's like to have that constant burning in your throat... that need to satiate it with the nearest source of blood that you can find. I can't imagine what it would feel like for you to have that amplified a hundred folds and not be able to satisfy the monster inside you because that would mean destroying the one life that matters to you the most." He could see Edward's tortured expression when she said those words.

"But Bella trusts you... I trust you... I trust the Edward of my reality as well and we know that with any version of you, you would not hurt us because no matter how you think of yourself as a monster, you would never do anything to hurt the one that you love.

Not to mention, our Edward has an extra incentive of being careful around me since he's not one to try to unleash Jasper's wrath if something bad happens to me or face Alice's disappointment if her best friend would get hurt, or worst-case scenario..." she didn't need to finish as Edward knew what she was going to say and he looked at her in disbelief at how casually she can talk about herself being accidentally hurt by her family.

"Anyway, that's all moot now since I'm already a vampire and we've been closer ever since. I think it helps that as a human, it's a relief to you to not be able to hear my thoughts and as a vampire, I could finally shield you from the thoughts of the family whenever Jasper and I were around."

"Shield me?" Edward was suddenly curious.

"I mean, shield them from your gift." She corrected herself and she could see Edward's doubtful look and Bella couldn't help but smile. "You'll see... anyway, because of that, Edward prefers to be around me more so Carlisle made it official by making us siblings in the eyes of the humans. Me, being the older sister and our Edward being my annoying little brother." Bella couldn't help but grin at him but Edward didn't seem to be following her mood because he still looks like the idea of an Isabella Swan and Edward being siblings was foreign to him.

"Siblings? Older sister?" He tested the words in his mouth and his brows furrowed. Bella laughed at his expression.

"Yes... older sister. Remember? I got turned at twenty-one so in human years, I am technically older."

"Wait... that's four years from now... that's too soon" Edward was unfortunately focusing more on the age and Bella knew that this was a topic that for sure, was going to add to his struggle with Bella's future as a vampire.

"You think that's too soon? You should brace yourself because your Bella already thinks otherwise. We don't mind being older by maybe one or two years but any more than that, than it's going to be an issue for us. We're both sensitive that way. I don't mind being turned at twenty-one since that is still close to Jasper's age but this Bella is not going to wait that long to be with you forever because you're only forever seventeen so as early as now, start accepting the fact that she would want to be turned as soon as possible."

Edward's expression morphed into dread and Bella groaned internally. She didn't want to have to go back to square one with trying to get Edward to be with Bella but she had to bring up Bella's immortality as early as now. The sooner he can start accepting the reality that Bella is going to be part of their immortal family, the sooner he can get over his issues with her mortality.

"Edward, look at me"

He reluctantly did.

"Bella belongs to this world as much as I belong to mine. If we weren't meant to find out about all of you, about the vampire world, we wouldn't be here but we are and we've been destined to be by your side. I know that you want to spare her the life of damnation but it is a consequence that she is willing to accept so both of you can find the happiness with each other in spite of the ugliness that the vampire world has to offer."

"There should be another way for us to be together" He insisted but his tone showed that he was already starting to resign to the idea of Bella becoming one of them.

"You know that the other way is something that we would never accept" Edward was silent because he knew that she was right. Bella would never allow herself to wither with age and die and lose a chance to be with Edward forever when she knew that, that option was always open for her.

"Can you do me a favor Edward?" Bella suddenly asked and he looked at her in question, letting her continue.

"Talk to Bella. When I leave and she returns to this body, I'd like you to talk to her... I mean really talk to her about all your fears and hesitation. That's what's been missing between your relationship. You keep making decisions about her life for yourself without even attempting to sort it out with her and Bella could not tell you about what she really feels, afraid that it would push you away from her even more. You have to sit down and have a conversation about your actions. Let her understand that your hesitation is not about your love but with the life that goes along with it and she needs to be able to express herself when she's with you. Listen to her as well... let her make the decision for herself because you can't just decide on your own about your relationship."

Edward gazed into her eyes and he had the same expression that she has whenever she stares into Jasper's eyes, as if in any moment, it would be the eyes of their own mate that would be staring back at them.

"After all that I have done to her, after everything that I did to hurt her, I still can't believe that you would want me to be with her."

"I can't believe it either but it's not about what I want because at the end of the day, Bella loves you and you love her and as much as I would like to smack you in the head for making those stupid decisions that affected not just you but everyone else, you are still my brother and I want to see you happy just like I want a version of me to find the true happiness of being with the man that she loves."

Edward couldn't help but chuckle, breaking the tension from their topic. "I don't think I'll be able to get used to that... you calling me brother" he shook his head.

"Then help me find my way back home so you could get your Bella back and you don't have to get used to it." She smiled back then added, after catching herself yawning. "In the meantime, I think we've had enough talk for today. I'm gonna need that boundary, that I was talking about earlier, now"

He ran his fingers on his hair sheepishly and eventually stood up.

"I'm sorry to keep you up. Get some rest. Goodnight, Bella..."

"Good night, Edward"

He made a move towards the window when Bella cleared her throat and he turned to look at her in question.

"You might as well use the door on the way out" She pointed her head to the other side, where the door was.

There was a booming laugh that could be heard all the way from downstairs and Bella rolled her eyes. She didn't really expect that no one else was listening in on their conversation.

When Edward finally closed the door behind him, she let herself fall on the bed in relief. She believed that there was progress with the situation with Edward and when sleep was finally starting to creep back in, she made a vow to the Bella inside her that she was going to do everything in her power to help Bella be with Edward.

Th next time that she woke up was from an insistent knocking on the door and she groaned while she tried to go back to sleep, ignoring the sound but it went on until she eventually had to get up.

"I'm coming... I'm coming... What is it?" She opened the door and was greeted with an overenthusiastic Alice and an awkward-looking Jasper behind her.

"Alice? Isn't it too early to spread your energetic spirit?"

"Bella... we found her. We found Helena."

A/N: okay... this one took loooonger than normal. I'm so sorry... got caught up with an old hobby that I started back up again but I'm here now... and it looks like Bella still has a lot of things to say to Edward XD enjoy!