A/N: Hey guys, this is my new story. Just wanted to clarify, this is not a sequel to my last story. It's going to be longer than the last one I posted. I hope you guys enjoy reading chapter one.

I do not own the rights to Twilight.


CHAPTER 1:

I took a short glimpse at the sky as a cobalt-colored butterfly passed in front of me. The sky was a shade lighter than the crystal clear waters below. Over the curved metal railing, a line of colorful houses created a picturesque view on the other side.

In the distance I heard the slow playing of a violin, the sound seemed to get louder and louder. Glancing back out toward the ocean, I stared at the lavender and yellow flowers that sprouted from the box that clung to the metal railing. Another butterfly passed, grabbing my attention.

He chuckled and I turned back to gaze at his expression. The sun changed his green eyes into a vibrant hue that reminded me of a dense forest. I let my skin soak in the sun as I smiled at him flirtatiously. Our eyes connected, sending a round of butterflies to my stomach. I sipped my water. Patiently, I waited for him to pop the question.

Glancing around, I quickly memorized the faces of the people around us. Under the awning, an elderly couple sat with their hands intertwined. Their faces portrayed a deep happiness that continued with age. Across from them, a young man stared at his menu. He was alone at his table, but still seemed to be enjoying his time.

Emmett gave me a small nod across the restaurant without eye contact. My smile grew, as I knew Edward would be pulling out a small box any moment. My dress ruffled with the slight breeze. Tucking a loose piece of hair behind my ear, I bit my lip anxiously. Suddenly, his hand was extended towards me.

I grabbed it and let his touch calm my nerves.

"You look beautiful as always my dear," his soothing voice steadied my heart beat, but only momentarily.

"And you are handsome as always." His white shirt contrasted nicely with his brown hair. The wind combined with the light played with the different shades of amber.

The seconds passed. His smile beamed as he took a small blue box out of his pant's pocket. Finally, the box snapped open. Inside sat a large sapphire surrounded by diamond that formed a band. I watched the ring reflect the sunlight while he arose from his seat.

"Isabella, will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you marry me?" Short, sweet, to the point, just how we practiced.

"Of course, I love you," my grin widened.

He slid the cold ring onto my finger and picked me up. My arms wrapped around his neck as our bodies touched. Our lips met.

"Found anyone yet?" He whispered, so quietly that even though the attention was on us, no one would suspect anything.

"Man in the corner, alone, dirty blonde hair," I murmured as he put me down.

"She said yes," he announced and the entire restaurant erupted in applause.

I kissed him on the check as I sat down. My face blushed from the attention. I continued to smile, every so often looking at the ring to play my part.

In my earpiece Ben started to talk: "Okay you two love birds, time to go home."

Taking Edward's hand, I pulled him to the exit. My body practically touching him the entire time. I looked off into the distance, the sun started to set creating a pleasant shade of pink in the sky.

I lifted my heels to kiss him again.

"Ready to go?" He opened the car door.

We drove to the cottage, going at the exact speed limit. It was maddening how much time it took, yet it gave us a better chance at the criminal following us. Once I stepped out of the car, he scooped me up and carried me through the doorway.

After he closed the door, I plopped down on the cheap mattress. He made his way to the bathroom. The room was very bland, but it had potential. Pieces of the old wallpaper were chipping off and the old wooden flooring had a thick cover of dust. It was the cheapest place we could rent. Staring at the ceiling, I let out a sighed. Then I heard the doorknob turn. Coming out, he looked very relaxed, his hair still wet from the shower.

"I'm glad that's over," I said to break the awkward silence.

"What, was my company bothering you?" He chuckled.

"Not really, I just really don't like acting."

"Well, you're good at it," he winked. The feel of his lips on mine fought it's way to the front of my mind

"Hopefully he comes this time."

"Do you not want to get proposed to again?" A bright smile lit his face.

"You know when I actually fall in love I won't even remember the proposal, we've done this so often." I had lost count of the number.

"When you fall in love? Now when will that be?" He asked teasing me.

"Probably never," I felt the light atmosphere drop as the words left my mouth. I sipped my coffee.

The room remained silent, except for the house creaking every once in a while.

"What about you? When is your misses coming?" The exhaustion was pulling me down and I needed something engaging to keep me awake.

"I don't need one, I've got the job." His voice lost its usual optimism. The job did take up quite a lot of our time.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better I think you'll get another chance at proposal."

"I wouldn't say that just yet. We've got time." His eyes not daring to look away from the wooden door.

"It's two in the morning. I'm exhausted. I doubt he's coming."

"Go to sleep then. I'll be the look out." He propped himself into a sitting position, his gun right next to him with the safety on. I laid down next to him on the bare mattress.

"Wake me up in ten minutes. I just need a small nap." I closed my eyes for a second and I was out.

Hands covered my mouth startling me. I was definitely awake now. Realizing that it was just Edward, my heart went back to its normal rhythm.

"Shhhh. Don't speak. I hear something." He slowly moved his hand.

I dug into my bag and pulled out my gun. Inching toward Edward I said, "I'll go behind back."

"Okay, but be careful. This guy knows his way around a weapon." His voice reeked of sincerity. I thought back to the last couple. The man an ex-marine, he and his fiancée shot down at gunpoint.

Opening the back door, I tried my best to not make a noise. The old frame squeaked slightly. Peering around the corner, I saw a white van. My eyes locked on the license plate number: HNG 6804. I needed that number, just in case this went south.

The adrenaline rushed through my veins as I backed around the car.

Then, two shots went off. No, no, no. The beating pulse of my heart quickened. Opening the old door quickly, it almost came off its hinges. Edward's eyes darted to mine.


A few hours later, our apartment door squeaked as he opened it. To others it seemed weird that the lived to together, but as my partner, it was more convenient to live together. That and my last roommate was annoyed at my weird hours. My feet dragged against the ground, exhausted. The adrenaline high had faded too quickly.

Turning on the lights, I headed to the freezer. I picked up one of the many ice packs that lined the cold walls.

"Edward, come over here." He had headed to his room to put his stuff down. The memory from earlier shuffled through my head.

The couple-killer's chest was on the floor with Edward hovering over him. The wall behind him had two bullet holes, the killer must have missed, twice. I gasped as I looked into Edward's eyes. I shouldn't have left. His breathing was sharp as he tightly held the killers hands. The killer had clearly gotten a few punches before Edward knocked him to the ground. A cut adorned his upper lip and a black shadow was appearing on his jaw.

"Some help would be nice." His tone was irritated, but I didn't let that bother me too much. I pulled out a pair of handcuffs out of my bag. Walking towards Edward, I glanced down at the killer. Although the side of his cheek was pressed to the ground, he had a wicked smile on his face. His eyes appraised me, and quite frankly, scared me. They traveled up and down my body before he found a more interesting object to ogle at.

Standing up, Edward let me take his place. I snapped the metal handcuffs tightly on the man's wrist. Forcing him to get up, we headed to the car.

"What now?" He was still in a pissy mood from the fight.

"Take this," I handed him the ice pack.
"I'm fine, I don't need it."

"Take it and thank me tomorrow when your face doesn't look like a balloon." I smirked at him, hoping for a smile in response. His face was going to be swollen, the purple bruises were just developing. They wouldn't fade for a few days.

"Thanks," he snatched the ice from me and pressed it against his face. As the cool surface reached his skin, he winced and then pressed harder.

"Well that's over." I opened the fridge door, hoping to find something to eat. Plastic containers lined the walls. Both of us thoroughly loved to cook. Gazing over the tuber ware, I found what I was looking for. Pasta.

"Dang it, I was really hoping to propose again." Turning around to see his expression, his lips formed a crooked smile.

Chuckling, I replied, "And what was going to be your grand proposal if we had to do it again?"
"I think I was going to draw it out, going on and on about how much I love you." He rolled his eyes, "I think I could have made a ten minute speech." His longest yet had been five minutes, and that one was thoroughly entertaining. He talked about our fake pets and made up memories, some of which were really embarrassing.

"I think I would have wanted to see that."

"Maybe one day you will," he winked. I rolled my eyes and headed to the couch with a bowl of pasta.

He laid his head on the arm of the couch as I grabbed the remote.

"Tomorrow's going to suck." He sighed.

"Yeah, I hate paperwork." The conversation ended as I scrolled through the channels. We settled on the history channel because I didn't have the energy to argue to find anything better. The tv droned on about the civil war for what seemed like ages before I decided to go to bed.

Edward looked startled as I got off the couch.

"Goodnight Edward."

"Goodnight," he waved his hand.

Pulling off my work clothes, I pulled open the drawer of my ancient dresser to find my pajamas. The thin gray shorts greeted me. Throwing on the soft shorts and a tank top, I sat in bed and switched the light off.

My eyes adjusted to the lack of light as I stared at the ceiling. Closing a case was always a huge relief. Releasing the tension in my shoulders, I curled up and pulled the comforter closer to me. My eyelids became droopy and, within a minute, I was asleep.

Bright sunlight came through my windows lighting up the entire room. It couldn't have only been 7 o'clock. Sitting up, I started to dread the day already. Writing your exact movements was never an appealing thing.

Rushing out of bed, I wanted to get a quick shower before Edward got up. I walked to the closet and grabbed a worn t-shirt and a pair of jeans out of my dresser. Opening my door, I watched as my shirt slipped out of my hands. Before it hit the ground, I saw Edward sitting on the couch. His back was up against the arm rest with his legs laid out in front of him. A cup of coffee was held firmly in his hand and was making its way up to his lips.

"Morning Bella." He didn't look up from the book in his hands.

"Good morning? How long have you been up?" It bothered me that he was dressed up and I looked—well I looked like a mess. I could feel that my hair was knotted and huge and, judging from how tired I was, there were probably large black circles under my eyes. And well Edward looked perfectly put together. He was wearing a nice button-down shirt with khaki pants. Even his hair looked combed, which was not usual. The only thing that was out of place were the bruises on his jaw and the cut on his lip.

"I took a quick jog this morning, so maybe a few hours." I hated how put together he was.

"Oh, okay. I'm going to take a quick shower and then we can leave." I was starting to rethink my clothing choices.

"When you're done, there's coffee in the pot."

Smiling, I finally made it into the bathroom. I turned the water on and waited for it to warm up. The drops cascaded down my skin leaving their warmth. I stood still in for minutes just letting the water hit my back. Then, I decided that I was taking too long so I rushed the rest of my routine. Turning the shower off, I missed the warmth.

Pulling on my clothes, I felt way underdressed now, but I knew he wouldn't care. He never commented on what I wore. My hair dripped on my shirt as I made my way to the kitchen.

Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I sipped it and grabbed an apple for breakfast. When I headed to the couch, he automatically moved his legs and changed his seating position so that I could sit on the other side. There was something about our friendship that was automatic, sometimes it startled me. He didn't look up from his book.

"How's your face?" Guilt filled my stomach. If he went around back instead of me, I would be injured.

"It's fine," his eyes finally connected to mine. He lied. My fingers skimmed the skin on his jaw, he winced.

"I could get you more ice."

"It's unneeded, and we need to head to headquarters soon." I sighed thinking about the stack of paperwork that we had to complete. "It won't take that long," he said, but his words didn't comfort me. This was the part of the job that I hadn't considered when I signed up.

An hour later we sat in our office around the large wooden desk. Edward scribbled something down quickly, while I typed on my computer. The room was completely silent except for the tap of my keyboard. I took a short mental break and stared out the window. Then Edward started humming and I resumed this frivolous task.

Watching the minutes tick by, I had finished almost all of the paperwork. I glanced up and noticed that Edward was staring. It felt like his emerald eyes were examining my every detail.

"Edward?"

He blinked really hard and then focused again, "Sorry I was a little zoned out. Was I staring?"

"Just a little bit." My lips formed a soft smile.

"Sorry."

"I think it's time to get you home. You seem exhausted." He probably hadn't slept even 3 hours. The killer came at 12 at night and we got home around two and guessing that he woke up at 5 to run (his normal routine, when he runs), he couldn't have sleep much at all. I, on the other hand, had had a nap during the stake out and slept a solid 5 hours when we got home.

"Yeah that sounds good. I can finish it in the morning." His seat slid out and he opened the door for me as we exited.

Driving home was somewhat therapeutic, the sky had turned into a wonderful mixture of pink and purple by the time we arrived home. Edward's step faltered slightly as we climbed the steps.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah just a little tired," he tried to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

I threw my keys on the counter and found some leftover food in the fridge. After putting it in the microwave, I turned around. Edward was laying on the couch in plaid pajama pants fiddling with the remote. I laid the plates on the table in front of the couch. He moved his legs to allow me to sit, but I refused. I was trying to make him comfortable in whatever way possible. Sliding down, my back pressed up against the couch with my legs sprawled on the floor in front of me.

We ate and watched television for some time. In the midst of a car commercial, I heard a small snore. Getting up I pulled a blanket over him and left for my room. My phone went off alerting me to a new case:

Murder of a 25 year old woman. Near Pier 39.

My heart sunk.


A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed reading this. Just to let you know the story does have more action in it. This chapter was more about their relationship. Please leave a review! :)