Bella and Edward spend their first Christmas together.
Bella was down in the basement hunting up Christmas decorations. It was December 21st. Christmas break had just started and she was feeling in a particularly Christmassy mood. She put on a Bing Crosby Christmas CD and started baking cookies. As they cooled on the counter she went downstairs looking for the tree she was sure she had seen down there.
"Dad," she yelled up the stairs. "How old is this tree?" She yanked it out of its dusty box. Plastic needles exploded everywhere.
"Well, how old are you Bella?"
Bella rolled her eyes, "Seventeen".
"Then it's at least seventeen years old," Charlie said as he came down the stairs. He handed Bella some money, "Why don't you call that boyfriend of yours and you two go to the Christmas tree lot to get one? Maybe some new ornaments too." Charlie kicked the box of mostly broken bulbs on the floor. Bella smiled and ran around Charlie and up the stairs to call Edward.
Edward drove up to Bella's house half an hour after she called. He came to the door to pick her up.
"Edward," Charlie asked as Bella grabbed her coat and hat.
"Yes, sir," Edward replied.
"Maybe after you and Bells pick out the tree would you like to watch the ball game?"
"Yes, absolutely!" Edward replied enthusiastically
Bella looked from Charlie to Edward and back to Charlie. What is happening here she thought.
"Have a good time kids. Be careful," Charlie called as they left the house.
Bella tossed her keys to Edward because they would need her truck to get the tree home. He came over and opened the door for her then got in the driver's seat.
"I think the lot over on Big Pine Highway had a few trees left." Bella said, rubbing her hands together. Edward smiled at her, he had a much better idea.
They headed out of town Edward drove until he found the dirt road he was looking for. Bella's old truck rumbled and lurched down the rough road. He parked off to the side of the road and sped around to open her door. He helped her out of the truck and they walked into the forest.
"Do you see any trees you like?" He asked. She looked around amazed. Of course, he would take her out to the woods to pick out a tree.
"That one," she said, pointing to a six-foot Douglas fir.
Edward walked over to it and jerked it out of the ground. Bella started laughing hysterically.
"Edward," she asked once she caught her breath. He looked so proud of himself as he loaded it into the bed of her truck. "How are we going to explain all the tree roots to Charlie?"
"Um," he paused to think "we will stop by my house and have Emmett cut the bottom off."
After a quick stop off at the Cullens and running to the local stop and shop for decorations they were back at Bella's. Charlie had found the tree stand and a few other odds and ends for decorating the tree down in the basement. He left them on the couch with a note. He had been called to the station and would be back in a few hours. He would bring pizza home for dinner.
"Well, let's get to work," Bella said excitedly. Edward put the tree in the stand while Bella unpacked everything they had bought and sorted through the things Charlie had brought up. She came upon some picture frame ornaments, and could not believe her parents had ever hung these baby pictures on their tree. In all the photos she was either naked or had food on her face. She tried to hide them in the bottom of a box when Edward got suspicious.
"What are you hiding?" He knew she was embarrassed her cheeks were bright red.
"Nothing, just some broken ornaments. I don't want anyone to get cut."
"Bella, you are a horrible liar," he said as he grabbed the box out of her hands. He pulled the frames from the bottom of the box. He bent over laughing.
"Yeah, I can see why you were hiding these," he howled.
"Give those back." She said trying to be mad but she so rarely heard him laugh like this the embarrassment was almost worth it.
Charlie came home and the tree was decorated. Bella and Edward sat holding hands on the couch admiring their work.
"Hey that looks nice. Good job Bells," Charlie said. He went into the kitchen to put the pizza down.
"Dad, Edward has to run home. Esme needs some help with some things around the house." Bella said as she entered the kitchen. While this plan seemed a bit odd, it was better than the "sorry my boyfriend doesn't eat pizza he's a vampire" conversation she was trying to avoid.
"O-Kay" Charlie answered.
"He will be back for the game though. What time does it start?" Bella asked while getting plates down from the cupboard.
"Seven," Charlie said as he grabbed a beer from the fridge.
Edward came into the kitchen then, "I will be back at seven." He assured Charlie and went out the front door.
He did come back in time for the game. Bella thought basketball was the most boring of all the TV sports besides golf so she brought a book to the living room. She settled in the armchair to read. Charlie and Edward sat on opposite ends of the couch. Edward seemed interested in talking stats and strategy with Charlie. Bella smiled to herself. She was glad they were getting along. When the game was over Bella walked Edward to the door.
"Thanks for this tonight, it means a lot to Charlie for you to come over and hang out. I'm clueless when it comes to sports stuff, and I think he is starting to like having you around."
Edward smiled. He knew Charlie was starting to come around. He was beginning to trust Edward with Bella. He gave her a small peck on the mouth, and whispered into her ear, " I will be back in an hour." Bella closed the front door behind him. He came back to her window an hour later. As he laid next to her they made plans for their first Christmas together. Bella wanted to spend Christmas morning with Charlie so they decided to give their gifts to each other on Christmas Eve.
Bella answered Edward's knock at the door Christmas Eve afternoon. He was holding a square box tied with a beautiful bow. He leaned down and kissed her cheek.
"Merry Christmas Bella," he said sweetly.
Bella blushed "Merry Christmas".
"Okay Bella I'm going to give you two some time," Charlie said putting on his coat, "but I'm just going to the diner for one cup of coffee" He emphasized one. "I won't be long."
"Thanks, Dad", Bella hugged Charlie. Once Charlie was out the door she and Edward settled on the living room floor around the tree.
"Here, open mine first". Edward said as he handed her the box. Bella opened it slowly. It was the most gorgeous stationery she had ever seen, but it looked familiar.
"Is this from the stationary store in Port Angeles?" She fought back tears, he had remembered.
"Yes, I saw how much you admired it." She opened the box to get a closer look. There was an envelope on the top with her name on it. Edward's perfect old-fashioned script.
"Can I read this now?"
"Of course."
Dearest Bella,
It is an extraordinary thing to meet someone who you can bear your soul to, who will accept you for what you are. I have been waiting for what seems like a very long time to get beyond what I am and with you, I feel like I can finally begin. Merry Christmas to my beautiful girlfriend. No measure of time with you will be long enough, but let's start with forever.
The tears she was holding back spilled over. She had no words. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his lips. This was perfect. He was perfect.
"I'm glad you like it." He said with a shy smile on his face. Bella reached under the tree for Edward's gift. She couldn't decide between a book of sheet music from his favorite composers or a book of poetry, so she bought both. After seeing his thoughtful gift though she didn't feel like either was enough.
"Bella, these are perfect." He said flipping through the books. He had written her such a sweet note she hadn't even thought to write something inside the front cover. He kissed her forehead and then her nose. He made his way to her lips and then kissed her deeply. He loved this girl so much, he hoped she knew.
"Edward," she said softly, "thank you so much for my gift, and your letter." She sighed contently. "I love you."
"I love you too, my sweet Bella."
They sat under the tree until Charlie came home.
It had been a fun Christmas break. Their first Christmas together was magical. They went out on Christmas Eve night to look at Christmas lights. They drove through every neighborhood in Forks. Edward loved to watch the amazement on Bella's face, as she took in all the colors and decorations. Then, she and Edward had spent time with the Cullens at their New Year's Eve party. Alice had pulled out all the stops and most of the town was invited. Everyone was curious about the strange family that lived out in the woods. The house was packed with party goers. The festivities went on long past midnight and Bella had stayed to help clean up but she didn't last long. She fell asleep on the couch and had to be carried up to Edward's room.
Now a few weeks into the semester Bella woke with a start, it was Tuesday at least she thought it was Tuesday as she grabbed her alarm clock and jumped out of bed.
"Edward, why didn't you wake me up? It's nine thirty and we are so late for school!" She was trying to pull on her jeans, brush her hair and grab a sweatshirt from the closet all at once. He stood up from the rocking chair he was sitting in.
"Calm down, calm down", he said as he took her by the shoulders. "Look outside".
Bella opened the curtains. "Snow! It never snows, not like this anyway." She turned to face Edward, "Did we get an actual snow day?"
"Yes, Charlie came in around five and turned off your alarm."
"We can't waste it!" Bella found her heavy coat and rain boots. "Let's go!"
"Where do you want to go?"
"The meadow."
As they were leaving Bella's house Edward's phone rang. It was Alice.
"We have plans, Alice. Okay okay, hold on, let me ask her?" Edward turned to Bella. "Would you mind if Alice, Emmett, and Jasper tagged along?"
"Of course not!" Bella said, clapping her hands, she could hardly contain her excitement.
"We will meet you at the meadow." He told Alice over the phone.
When everyone got to the meadow it was Emmett that threw the first snowball. It flew right by Bella's head and crashed into Edward's back.
"We have to remember there is a human present." Bella reminded them, "Breakable girl, ya know!"
"Don't worry, I got your back," Alice said winking. "These boys aren't so tough anyway". She launched a snowball right back at Emmett hitting him squarely in the chest.
They spent the rest of the afternoon building a snowman that was half snow and half mud. Another rowdy snowball fight, and the boys testing each other, who could climb trees the fastest. Edward was the fastest, but Jasper got the highest. They played in the meadow until almost dark. Bella was freezing. Her boots had filled with snow that was now a cold slush. Her gloves and coat were soaked through. She hated to be the one to complain and it was Emmett who finally spoke up.
"Edward, your girlfriend is turning blue." Edward turned to look at her to see her lips were blue. Her teeth chattered, her nose and cheeks were bright red with cold and she danced around trying to keep her feet warm.
"Time to go home," Alice said in her usual sing-song way.
They piled back into their cars and Edward cranked up the heat. How had he missed this? She seemed like she was having a good time and she never said anything. He forgot sometimes she got cold, tired and needed to eat regularly.
"We are going to get you home and warm, then I will go get you something to eat." He told her. "What time is Charlie expecting you?"
"He's not with the roads being slick there have been a lot of car accidents. He will probably work through the night."
"Okay, where do you want to go? My house or yours?"
"Yours. I really like spending time with your family. Let me call Charlie so he won't worry if he comes home and I'm not there."
When they got back to the Cullens, Esme was waiting with a huge mug of hot chocolate.
"Bella, I know you must be frozen." She handed Bella the drink. Bella smiled and wrapped her hands around the hot mug.
"Thank you so much, this is perfect". Bella took her hot chocolate and wandered into the living room. She had become comfortable at Edward's house so she sat down next to Alice on the couch. Jasper was on her other side, his arm around her. Emmett and Rosalie were snuggled together in front of the fireplace.
Edward came in with a blanket in hand. "Warm from the dryer," he said as he handed it to her. "Esme thought you might need it." Edward wrapped the warm blanket around her, as she tucked her feet underneath her on the couch. Edward sat down next to her, careful to not be too close. He wanted her to get warm before he took her hand. Esme came in then with a hot bowl of soup.
"I hope you like chicken noodle," she said hopefully.
"Thank you, Esme, I do". It smelled wonderful. While it was still a little weird to be the only one that ate real food, she was getting used to it and no one made a big deal about it. Once she was done eating Edward pulled her in close. He kissed the top of her head, it had been a great snow day.