A week had passed since the confrontation with John at my house. It turned out that John had been staying at La Push, and that the men who had disappeared had actually been 'drafted' by the Council. John had been able to convince Billy that he could at least let Charlie know that the boys were safe, so that Charlie would call off the investigation. John even arranged a fishing trip for himself, Billy, Charlie and Jacob, so that the two friends could officially put the whole incident behind them. Needless to say, Charlie loved John.

Edward spent the first few days pouting. There was no other way to put it. Beautiful, perfect Edward was pouting because of the way Charlie and I had welcomed John. I couldn't believe it, but secretly, a part of me was pleased that Edward cared so much. I knew exactly how he felt - it had taken some time for me to be comfortable around Rosalie myself. But I couldn't stand to see Edward hurting in any way because of me. I knew that it would help if he could read John's thoughts, so I convinced John to stop taking the serum. After that, the tension between Edward and John lessened somewhat.

Edward still refused to even think about changing me to protect me from the Council. As it turned out, there was still some dissention within the Council itself on using the serums. Billy's insistence that the testing was wrong, coupled with a break-in at the lab by rogue werewolves, had convinced the Council that they needed more time to think through their plans more carefully.

Emmett and Jasper had their own way of indoctrinating John into our little group – they challenged John to every sport and physical activity they could think of. At first, I was horrified at what might happen, but Edward assured me that his brothers wouldn't actually hurt John – much. So we spent days watching the boys go at it. Alice and Rosalie were an enthusiastic cheering section, looking more alluring than any human cheerleader ever could. In fact, Rosalie was such a good cheerleader, she often made John lose his concentration until Emmett finally pounded him into finding it again.

Edward opted to stay out of the competition. I think he didn't want me to see just how much he would enjoy taking on John, but I appreciated it nonetheless. Having his solid frame lounging next to me, and his cold hand in mine, helped keep me calm.

John usually lost, but he didn't seem to mind. Now that Edward was able to read his mind, he told me that John never really expected to win – he knew how strong vampires were. He just wanted to make me happy by playing along with Emmett and Jasper. Edward alsosaid that the games were actually helping John – he had been so conflicted about trusting vampires, that seeing how close we all were was slowly setting his mind at ease.

Edward told me that the others were also impressed with John's abilities – even Emmett, though grudgingly. Edward himself seemed to be more and more receptive to John as time wore on. They actually both shared a passion for music, and John was awed by Edward's collection. All in all, things were working out better than I had hoped.

One day, after Emmett and Jasper had totally exhausted John in a series of relay races that could have passed for boot camp, we all sat in the back yard, enjoying the sun. Edward was lying back on the grass in only a pair of Bermuda shorts, looking delectable. I sat next to him, cross-legged, tracing random patterns on his sparkling marble chest with my finger. Emmett had collapsed in Rosalie's lap, and Jasper and Alice chose to snuggle in one of the lounge chairs on the deck. John was lying face down in the grass a few feet away.

"Still alive?" Rosalie purred at John.

John slowly lifted his head to look at her, then glanced at Emmett, "No," he said, putting his head back down.

"Good answer," growled Emmett. "The boy's a slow learner, but he does get it eventually."

John just grunted in response.

"I don't get it," I said, my focus never straying from Edward's chest, "I thought there was a serum to help you fight vampire magnetism. Doesn't it work with Rosalie?"

John didn't answer, but Edward began to laugh. John flipped onto his back and gave Edward a dirty look. "I must have been crazy to let a cold one into my head," John mumbled.

"Let's not keep it a secret," Jasper said, "this sounds interesting."

Before Edward could say anything, John said, "Let's just say that the serum had certain side-effects that I didn't care for, and leave it at that."

"His girlfriend didn't care for them either," Edward snickered.

"His girlfriend?" I asked, confused. Then it hit me, and my cheeks turned red, "Oh."

Everyone began cracking up at John's expense. To my surprise, John didn't look angry, just incredibly embarrassed. And his cheeks looked suspiciously pink under his tan.

"Are you blushing?" I asked, teasing.

"I can't help it," John admitted, "On the plus side, Sarah thinks it's cute."

"Sarah would be the aforementioned girlfriend that doesn't like the side-effects to the serum?" Jasper asked, enjoying John's embarrassment.

"Yes."

"Is Sarah a werewolf, too?" I asked, curious. There was still so much I didn't know about John.

"No," John answered, "She's human. And perfect." John gazed up at the sky, his thoughts clearly miles away.

"You know, she thinks you're pretty special, too." Alice said, "She has a surprise waiting for you when you get home."

John smiled at Alice. "It must be nice, knowing the future."

"When you're seeing the good things, sure," Alice said, "but sometimes I see things I wish I hadn't."

The thought made us all fall silent. I rested my palm on Edward's chest, and his hand came up to cover mine. I stared into his beautiful topaz eyes, and he smiled softly at me, both of us thinking of all we had been through.

Finally, Emmett broke the silence. "Why don't you tell us more about Sarah?" He said, looking up at Rosalie. Rosalie just smiled down at him knowingly, stroking his face with her fingers.

"Sarah and I went to the same high school. Since my primary responsibility has always been to the pack, I ended up missing school a lot. Unfortunately, my grades took a nosedive as a result. I just couldn't seem to care about school. Sarah was assigned to me as my tutor to help me get my grades out of the gutter. It was either that, or not graduate, which Louis informed me was not an option."

"So that's when you started dating?" I asked.

"Not exactly," John said, smiling at the memory, "we definitely rubbed each other the wrong way when we first met. I didn't want a tutor, didn't want to deal with school at all, and Sarah couldn't figure out why I was such a jerk about it. We were constantly fighting. But she was so damn gorgeous when she was angry. I couldn't stay away from her, and found myself trying to irritate her just to see the spark in her eyes. I know it was childish, but I just couldn't help it."

"So how could an intelligent human being fall for you?" Emmett taunted.

But John didn't take the bait. He said simply, "She figured out I was a werewolf."

"And she's okay with it?" I asked, thinking about my relationship with Edward. I remembered when I told him it didn't matter to me what he was, how furious he had been with me then.

"We're still working on it," John admitted. "Our relationship is not exactly where I would like it to be."

"Is she afraid of your being a werewolf?" I asked, thinking of all the warnings Edward used to give me. Thankfully, those days were behind us now, but I guess I could see how it could make a girl nervous to have a non-human boyfriend.

"No, I think I've convinced her she has nothing to fear from me. No, it's just that I'm away so much. It's hard, that's all."

"How did you convince her not to be afraid?" I asked, curious.

John turned pink again. That's interesting, I thought. But just then Edward sat up and said, "Come on, Bella. Give the guy a break. He doesn't need the third degree from you after what Emmett and Jasper just put him through."

John shot him a grateful look and stood up. "Actually, I should head back to the reservation. I want to call Sarah to see what kind of surprise she has for me."

"She won't tell you," Alice called, as John jogged away. He just waved without stopping.

"I think it's time for us to head indoors, too," Edward said, standing up and pulling me up after him.

"But I want to enjoy the sun," I protested.

"Please, Bella," Edward urged, gazing into my eyes.

"Su..Sure," I stammered, dazzled by his gaze and his sweet breathe.

"See you guys later," Edward called as he dragged me up to his room. Honestly, the sun couldn't compare with the heat that coursed through me when I thought of being alone with Edward in his room.

He shut the door behind us, and began selecting CDs for his sound system. His distance gave me a chance to clear my head.

"So what didn't you want John to tell me?" I asked, knowing very well that was what he was trying to do.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Edward declared, putting in the CD, and pushing play.

"You dazzled me on purpose down there, and don't deny it. I can tell when you do that, you know."

"Bella, don't be silly. I was just tired of sitting outside with everyone. I wanted you for myself," he said with a smoldering look in his eyes, as he slid down next to me.

I could feel myself melt, so I said, "Oh no you don't, Edward. Now I know there is something going on, and if you don't tell me, I'll just go get it out of John."

Edward sighed, "Bella, I just don't want you to get any ideas."

"Ideas about what?"

"I saw how John got Sarah to trust him," Edward started.

"Oh really," I said, trying to be nonchalant. "How was that?"

Edward mumbled something unintelligible. Exasperated, I said, "Now loud enough for us humans?"

Edward stood up and walked across the room, deliberately putting distance between us. Then, so I could hear, he said, "Hand-cuffs."

My cheeks turned red. I whispered, "Hand-cuffs?"

Edward was right. My head felt as if it would burst with the possibilities. I could just imagine what would happen if I could….

Edward growled, "Bella, stop that!"

"Stop what?" I asked, knowing perfectly well what he was referring to.

"It wouldn't work, Bella," Edward growled as he paced the room. I took in his perfect form, his muscles taut with tension.

"Don't you trust me?" I asked, pouting.

"I don't trust me!" Edward said in frustration.

"We could ask Alice if it would work..." I suggested timidly.

"No!" Edward responded immediately. I looked down, more disappointed than I thought I would be. I would never want to push Edward too far, I loved him far too much to do that. Still, all the delicious possibilities…

"Oh, Bella," Edward sighed and came to sit down next to me. He opened his arms, and I slid into his cold embrace. I laid my head on his shoulder, and thought, This is enough. It has to be.