I Do Not Own Twilight
Coming upon a wide flat clearing surrounded by trees Bella turned to Garrett and laughed. "I get it! It is a field to practice the lift in like in the movie."
Garrett grinned and nodded at her. He loved seeing her face light up when she was happy. "While it will be easy for me to pick you up in the lift, you will have to hold yourself in a straight plank. I thought if we came out here it would give up plenty of room to practice without being seen. I wanted to work on it today so you had plenty of time to learn to hold yourself up. Unlike in the movie there is no way either of us will get hurt. It is all aesthetics we are working on."
Garrett went on to explain the mechanics of how she was to run and hold her body is a firm plank. She was a little nervous but Garrett demonstrated on a large tree stump how he would swing her up and hold her in position. She giggled knowing she would be easier to lift then the tree. Garrett went across the clearing and set his phone in a tree and hit record. He flashed back to his start position and motioned for Bella to run, jump, and plank. Garrett caught her and whooshed her up but Bella did have trouble not wiggling once she was in the air. Garrett retrieved the phone and together they watched the playback of the lift.
Bella knew she was wiggly what she didn't expect was for the whole thing to look like Garrett was holding a flopping fish above his head. There wasn't a single part of her that remained motionless. She giggled, "That is the worst thing I have ever seen!"
"It truly is," Garrett chuckled at her his eyes filled with tenderness as he gazed at his mate, "Well, let's do it again." He deleted the video and went to set up the camera.
They repeated the lift over and over. Bella was getting much more comfortable with being swung over Garrett's head but she still wasn't as still as she should be. She didn't resemble a flopping fish anymore but she wasn't exactly graceful either.
Garrett showed Bella some core muscle developing exercises she was supposed to do everyday in order to strengthen the muscles she needed to hold the position. She was thankful he was spending all this time in order to help her with her show.
"Garrett, I just want to thank you for all your help. I know everyone was trying to joke with me but it still hurt. I'm glad you are here and are willing to teach me. I wish I was a better student."
Smiling and scooting closer to Bella, Garrett smiled, "I think you're an excellent student Bella. You might not see the progress but already you are less likely to fall down. You hardly trip anymore."
"That's right I haven't tripped in days. I think your right you are helping me. I'm glad you see a difference." Bella unconsciously scooted closer to Garrett causing his smile to widen.
Garrett was focusing on Bella's proximity which caused a shock when he realized she was asking him something. "What were you saying?"
"I asked where you thought we would go for my change?" Bella smiled shyly at the vampire beside her. She didn't know why but she was excited for him to change her. She was afraid of the burn everyone described but she was excited for him to bite her. Her heart would race when she thought of his mouth against her neck but this wasn't fear it was excitement.
"I have been meaning to talk to you about that. I have a place in Montana and a place in the Adirondack Mountains." He hesitated, "Esme mentioned staying with the family and going to their place in Alaska as originally planned. She even mentioned redoing a room so I could stay there for a while." Garrett hated the idea of changing her around so many other vampires. The help would be nice but with all the newborn instincts he worried the number of vampires would overwhelm her. Selfishly he wanted it to be the two of them so he could bond with her. He noticed Bella's shoulders sagged slightly at this information.
Bella did not want to go to Alaska with the Cullen's. She might want to stay with them from time to time but she didn't want to be around Edward. He was in their family first and she didn't want to take them from him. Plus, she knew they would tease her about all the newborn stuff she did. She didn't want to feel like she was a burden to them or to feel inferior because of her newborn tendencies. She hesitated, "I'm really sorry if it will be inconvenient to you but I would rather not stay with the Cullens. I know they love me but I don't want to be around Edward. Someday, it would be nice. They are my family but I think it is too soon."
Garrett grinned at her. "No, I'm thrilled you don't want to be changed there." He wasn't ready to explain why to her so he said, "Carlisle and I have a very different philosophy on newborn rearing and it would be easier if we are separate for a while."
"Will you have any help with me?" She looked into his eyes and inched closer."
He adjusted himself unnecessarily and scooted even closer to her. His shoulder was just barely brushing against her. "I am thinking of several friends who could help me. There is the Whitlock's, of course."
"Jasper's family?" Her face brightened as he nodded. "I've always wanted to meet them."
The corner of his mouth twitched up in a smile, "I also thought of asking Jasper and Alice. They know you and Jasper is the best newborn trainer in vampiredom."
She turned to him quickly and grabbed his hands, "Could Jasper and Alice really come. I don't want the whole family but I would really like some of them!"
He glanced down at their clasped hands and smiled widely. "I can ask them. I'm sure they won't mind." He leaned in closer to her and took a deep breath of her delicious scent. He gazed into her eyes and noticed her eyes flicked to his mouth.
One look was all the invitation he needed his mouth was firmly over hers kissing her hungrily. She responded happily by wrapping her arms around his neck and twisting her fingers into his hair. Bella's face was flushed and her heart was racing wildly. She pulled away panting and Garrett tried to lean forward and reclaim her lips.
"Garrett, wait." He groaned and Bella continued, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have done that I know you are waiting for your mate."
He nodded once and looked her in the eyes, "I did wait for my mate. Now I've found her." He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. He began peppering kisses along her jaw and moved down to her neck.
Bella's breathless blushed and asked timidly, "Garrett am I your mate?"
"Yes," He breathed huskily as he began sucking on the pulse point on her neck marking her as taken for everyone to see.
Bella pulled away quickly and Garrett was scared he had pushed her too fast. "We're mate?" She questioned again staring him in the eyes, searching for any untruth.
"We are. Carlisle confirmed it." She threw her arms around him, pulling him closer, and kissed him hungrily.
Minutes later Garrett pulled away to allow Bella to catch her breath, "I take it you are okay with being mated to me?"
Bella beamed at him, "Yes!" and she flung herself at him. "I have wanted it to be you since the first day I saw you."
He caught her in his arms and held her tightly to his chest. She tried to attack his lips but he pulled away. Bella pouted and he chuckled at her want and impatience. "Bella if you keep trying to kiss me that way, I won't be able to stop and things need to happen before we go any farther." He grinned at her swollen lips and placed a gentle kiss on them. "Why don't we get out of here before I get you in trouble."
Scowling Bella picked herself up and brushed her pants off. Garrett grabbed her hand and kissed it. He smiled at her glad he finally was able to tell her they were mates. "You didn't answer my earlier question. Where would you like to live?"
She thought a long time, "I think Montana. It is wide and empty. I don't want to risk the East Coast even if we are in the mountains."
He nodded, "Good choice. Someday we will get to see that house along with my family home in Boston. I was at the Tea Party you know?"
"Dressed like a Native American and everything?"
"Well, I doubt I would have passed as a native. I just stuck feathers from an old feather duster in my hair and smeared my face with soot. It is one of my favorite memories I have from my human life."
"When you were changed did you continue to fight in the Revolution or did that put an end to Garrett the soldier?"
"I have been in every major American war or military action since the beginnings of the country. I even served in the Pacific and European fronts in World War II. I was in Korea, Vietnam, I just got back from my second tour of Afghanistan last year."
Bella's eyes were wide, "How do you manage to not get caught in the military?"
"Hang around and steal a uniform off of someone dead. Pick up their weapons and fight with the other troops. No one cares who's in a fox hole with them if they are on their side."
Bella listened as Garrett regaled her with tales of previous battles. She wrapped her arms around her chest warding off the pain of hearing how many close calls he had. There wasn't much that could kill a vampire but getting hit by a bomb would cause venom to leak which could easily ignite. She was sickened to learn he had actually caught on fire twice but was able to get it put out quick enough he wasn't a pile of ash.
He smirked after one particularly gruesome story and looked down at her. Instantly he saw how green she had gotten. He grabbed her arm to stop her and turned her to him, "Bella, what's wrong."
She put her face in her hands and started crying, "Please, tell me you won't go off to a war again, Garrett. I don't know what I would do without you."
He released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, "Oh sweet girl, I only ever went off to all those battles for something to do. I was bored and since I am able to make a difference, I chose to fight for the country I believe in. I don't have to run off to battle now that there is a reason to stay home." He ran his hands through her hair and pulled her close.
She took a shaky breath, "I don't know why I got so upset."
"We're mates!" He said brightly, "You instinctively care more about me than anything else and I care more about you than anything else either." He kissed her forehead. He smiled thinking back to the conversation with Carlisle and realized having her in his arms was worth significantly more then the time he spent teaching her to dance. This was her gift to him.
He released her from his embrace but kept his arm around her in order to guide her back to the Cullens house.
"You know you could just carry me and run if you wanted."
Garrett's eyebrows shot up and he decided he quite liked this idea so he swooped her up and carried her off. She giggled the whole way home.