Here it is, the chapter where Bella and Peter finally have that talk we've all been waiting for. In fact, it's pretty much all talk...but then, if you've read Twilight, you're no stranger to chapters that are heavy on relationship talk and light on action, so I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 14: The End of Heartache

Alice led Bella around the outer rim of the dip between mountain peaks that held the Cullens' current abode, to a slightly smaller building separated from the main house by a small stand of hardy pine trees. "This is our guest house. Not that you're a guest, of course, but we thought you might like some privacy."

"That's very considerate, thank you," Bella said politely, though she wasn't fooled. They don't trust me not to lose it again, so they're banishing me to a separate house so that they won't have to put up with me if I do. She couldn't blame them; considering the fact that they had not only saved her life but also taken her in, only for her to repay their generosity by ignoring them and generally being a drag to have around - Rosalie's analogy about her misery infesting their home like 'invisible toxic mold', while harsh, was quite apt - she was just grateful they had let her come back at all.

Besides, once she stepped inside the guest house, she had to admit it wasn't a bad place to be banished to; the rooms, though fewer than those in the main house, were just as spacious and well-appointed. She was especially pleased to note that the sizable bookshelves in the living room were fully stocked, though she didn't stop for a thorough inspection of their contents. At the moment, her desperate desire for a shower eclipsed everything else.

Making a beeline for the nearest bathroom, she was overjoyed to find it fully stocked as well; someone had even been thoughtful enough to buy a bottle of her favorite shampoo, plus a bunch of other products she had never used before.

"I hope you like that stuff," Alice said from the doorway, having followed her upstairs. "Elle told us what kind of soap and shampoo you used, but she didn't mention your preferences on conditioner, shower gel, aromatherapy oils..."

"Right now I'd be happy with the generic stuff you get in hotel bathrooms," Bella assured her. "Not to be rude, but do you mind if I-?"

"No, go ahead." Alice waved her toward the shower with a shooing motion.

She needed no further invitation to start tearing off the remnants of her dress, not even bothering to feel for the zipper but rather peeling it off of herself in strips, as if it was a coat of paint or plaster rather than cloth. At this point, that didn't feel too far from the truth. Once it was gone, she practically dove into the walk-in shower, her eyes falling closed in ecstasy as the hot water hit her.

As she washed herself, she was aware of Alice moving around in the adjoining bedroom, but she didn't spare too much thought for what the other girl might be doing; her senses were too consumed with the glorious warmth and the feel of the various soaps and gels on her skin and scalp, each with its own uniquely exquisite fragrance. When she stepped out at last - taking a moment to enjoy her thick, fluffy towel and the equally fluffy mat under her feet - with a subtle scent of strawberries and jasmine clinging to her, she felt like a new woman.

The question is, do I look like one? Ever since her transformation, she had diligently avoided looking at her reflection, even in puddles on the street, knowing it would only serve to remind her of what she thought she had lost along with her humanity. But there's no reason to keep hiding from it now. Might as well see what I've got to work with.

Wrapping her towel around herself, she strode up to the mirror that spanned the length of wall above the long countertop...and gasped at what she saw. The face staring back at her from the glass was flawless, almost otherworldly in its perfection - smooth, unblemished porcelain skin, elegant angles in her jaw and cheekbones that she was certain hadn't been there before, gracefully curved lips in a delicate pale pink hue...and bright red eyes that peered out of the mirror with searing intensity, their vivid color as shocking as a wave of fresh blood splattered across an otherwise pristine field of snow.

She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away, but the image was burned indelibly into her brain. This is what I am now. There's no getting away from it.

"What's the matter?" Alice's chirpy, perky voice inquired from the doorway. "Can't stand how gorgeous you are?"

"Actually," Bella replied, her own voice coming out rather choked as her throat tightened, "I was just thinking how far from human I look."

"Oh, sweetie..." Alice crossed the tiled floor in a few quick strides and took hold of Bella's shoulders in a comforting yet firm grip, her expression changing to one of somber sympathy. "I know it takes some getting used to, but try to look on the bright side; you look a lot better now that you've fed. You'll never blush like you used to, of course, but at least you're not a whiter shade of pale anymore. If you want, I can show you how to use makeup to minimize the differences even more. We hardly ever bother with it even when we're among humans, but you'd be amazed what a little foundation can do..."

Unbidden, a memory floated to the surface of Bella's mind, of a time when her mother had given her a makeup tutorial once she'd deemed her old enough, before they both realized that Bella had neither the artistic talent nor the inclination to doll herself up every day. One of the lessons Renée had imparted involved choosing the best eyeshadow for her eye color, though Bella couldn't quite remember now which shades were supposed to complement brown eyes. I wonder what colors Mom would tell me to wear now... Of course, she would never get to ask her, because she could never see her mother again.

"No," she said sharply. "This is what I am now. There's no point trying to cover it up."

Alice searched her face and then, seemingly convinced that Bella was sincere in her resolve to embrace her vampiric nature, dropped the subject with a shrug. "Okay then, no makeup. You might still want to put on some clothes, though. I brought a few things over for you..."

Obeying the shorter girl's tugging on her elbow, Bella let herself be led into the bedroom, where she discovered that Alice's definition of 'a few things' actually comprised enough clothing to cover every inch of the king-sized bed that dominated the room. None of it, however, was anything Bella particularly wanted to wear; the selections ranged from floor-length evening gowns and dresses that she was positive were outrageously expensive to some rather revealing leisure wear, with nary a t-shirt or pair of jeans in sight. "Alice," she sputtered, "what the hell is all this?!"

"I thought you'd want to look your best for when you see Peter, but I wasn't sure if you'd want to go for glamorous and sexy or cute and cuddly."

"It'll take a lot more than a shirt with a cute teddy bear on it to make me cuddly," Bella muttered, running her fingers over the incredibly soft fabric of the item in question. "What's with the pajama-type stuff anyway? You do know I can't sleep, right?"

"No, but he can. That's for if you decide to keep him company."

"What?! I- You- That's not even- You're crazy! Peter's going back to New York, and I'm not wearing any of this. Give me some jeans."

"Sorry," Alice replied, sounding anything but, "this is all I brought."

Bella's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What?"

"Of course," she continued with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, "if you really can't find anything here that you like, I guess there's nothing stopping you from going to the main house and borrowing something different from Elle."

"Go to the main house," Bella repeated flatly, "where all the guys are. In what, my towel?" Thinking back to how she had jumped into the shower without a single thought as to what she would put on when she got out and how she had blithely ignored Alice's comings and goings while she was inside, she could only shake her head at how she had walked right into this trap. "You're evil."

Alice just grinned, apparently taking the accusation as a compliment. "The choice is yours," she said cheerfully, "but don't take too long to decide. Peter will be here soon, and he really wants to talk to you. You shouldn't keep him waiting."

With that, she made her exit through one of the room's many windows, leaving Bella alone - but not for long. A few minutes later she heard a door opening downstairs and knew instantly that it was him. No one else here had a pulse, yet somehow she thought she would have known even if she hadn't heard that soft, steady thumping. Suddenly the question of what to wear didn't seem nearly as important, and she grabbed some of the first items her fingers touched, pulling them on quickly. Might as well get this over with.

###

After Carlisle and Esme showed him to the guest house, then left with the promise that Bella would come downstairs shortly, Peter paced in front of the living room's stone fireplace, pausing once or twice to stare into the flames before resuming his restless movements, his body filled with a nervous energy that made it impossible to stand still - at least until the soft sound of someone clearing their throat reached his ears. When he turned toward it, the sight of her froze him in place.

The figure gracefully descending the stairs and making her way through the arched opening between the front entranceway and the living room didn't match the image of her human self he still had in his head, the one that still came to mind whenever he thought of her, and he could only be thankful that she didn't much resemble the bedraggled, half-feral creature he'd encountered in Primatech's labs either. Something - probably her recent meal - had taken the chalky edge off of her pale complexion, her tangle-free hair fell in thick, shining waves down her back, and she had changed into clean clothes, though he was surprised at her choice of attire. The lace-edged silky white camisole with a hemline that didn't quite meet the waistband of her extremely short shorts - made of the same silky white material, and patterned with pink, purple, yellow, and green pastel hearts - were like nothing she'd ever worn before, even for sleepwear. During their hotel stay in Odessa when they'd gone to rescue Claire, he had learned that she preferred sleeping in old sweats, or at least she used to. Maybe that was just another thing that had changed along with her physique and dietary needs.

She paused just inside the room, watching him with an air of self-consciousness as if waiting for his appraisal, and he didn't want to embarrass her by commenting on her outfit. When he cast about for something else to say, however, what came out was only marginally better: "You've lost weight."

Bella raised her eyebrows - of all the things he could have said about her new look, he picked that? - but went with it. "A couple months lying in a hospital bed and a steady diet of intravenous fluids will do that to a girl." She immediately regretted the remark when Peter winced, probably feeling guilty since it was, according to some interpretations, sort of his fault she'd ended up there, but he brushed it off before she could apologize.

"Well, it's nothing that can't be fixed. Gaining back the muscle you lost would go faster if you could actually eat protein, but-"

"That's not going to happen. Didn't they tell you? When you become a vampire, your body freezes exactly the way it is at the moment your heart stops beating." She waved a hand at herself. "Except for the eye color, this is it."

"Oh. I didn't mean... You look good." And she did; in fact, she was more beautiful than ever, but it was a strange kind of beauty, like the airbrushed pictures in magazines that were just a little too perfect to be real. That was it, Peter thought - it was like she had been turned into an unrealistically idealized version of herself. "I just want to make sure you're...okay."

"Thanks for your concern," she said with a smile tinged with sadness, "but I don't need you to play nurse for me. I'm fine."

"I'm not so sure about that. Can we sit?"

He gestured to a leather sofa that faced the fireplace, and although Bella would have been just as comfortable standing, she nodded in agreement. They situated themselves at opposite ends of the sofa, not as far apart as they could have been, but still leaving the middle cushion empty between them. She suspected that his reason for asking to sit down had less to do with his own comfort than the fact that, for some reason, people often found it easier to have serious conversations while sitting, and the sober look on his face seemed to confirm it. Crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap, she waited for him to speak.

"Earlier, when you told me how Adam convinced you to help him break into Primatech, I said we'd have to talk about it-"

"Oh, that." She ducked her head in embarrassment, letting her hair fall forward to obscure whatever look he was giving her now. "I'd hoped you would forget about that."

"Forget that you wanted to kill yourself?" he asked incredulously. "Not likely. Bella, look at me." She did so reluctantly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'm so sorry for everything that happened to you-"

"Please don't-"

"Don't tell me not to blame myself," Peter snapped. "You ended up like this because of me, and I can't tell you enough how sorry I am. I never wanted you to be this miserable..."

"I'm not. Really," she insisted when he gave her a look of frank disbelief. "It was definitely an adjustment, but being a vampire isn't so bad."

"Just a few hours ago you'd decided you'd rather be dead."

"That was a mistake," Bella said firmly. "I was depressed over...well, pretty much everything. I can never see my parents again or finish school, I thought you were gone, but I never would have... It was all Adam's idea. I see now that he would've said anything to get me to help him break into that facility, but he just...made it seem so reasonable, you know?" She shook her head incredulously. "He actually convinced me that killing myself was a perfectly logical thing to do."

"He can be very persuasive when he wants something," Peter said darkly. "He tricked me into setting him free first, and from what Mom told me, he's been manipulating people longer than either of us have been alive. You're not the first person to fall for his lies, and once you learned the truth you helped stop him from destroying the world as we know it, so don't beat yourself up too much, okay?"

Bella nodded gratefully. "Thanks - I feel like much less of an idiot now. And I swear I'm not suicidal, so you don't have to stick around to keep an eye on me or try to make anything up to me. You can go. Thank you, though...for staying long enough to say goodbye."

Peter inhaled sharply, like he would if someone threw cold water on him. It wasn't that her abrupt dismissal was unexpected - despite the Cullens' crazy ideas about him being her 'mate' (and he didn't even want to think about why they used that word instead of something more casual, like 'boyfriend'), he had known all along that it was coming - but that didn't make the moment when she actually told him to go away any less of a blow. Still, there was something - a tiny hitch in her voice that she was obviously trying to hide, maybe, or a shadow of regret in her eyes - that made him ask, "Is that really what you want?"

"Isn't it what you want?" she asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Your family is in Manhattan, your home, your work; I know you quit your job, but it should be pretty easy for you to find another one in a city that size. Everything that matters to you is there."

It was his turn to frown at her then, though his expression was one of sadness rather than puzzlement. "Not everything. Carlisle told me you're not going back."

"No," she concurred, "but I don't see what difference that makes."

"You don't see?" Peter echoed, unsure why he was surprised; when it came to his feelings for her, there had always been a lot she didn't see. "Bella...do you remember the last time we were together before today, on Kirby Plaza? What I told you?"

Her response was immediate and filled with certainty. "I remember everything you told me."

"Then why," he demanded, his hesitance giving way to impatience, "do you think I'd want to go back without you?"

Realization struck her then like a lightning bolt, her eyes widening as the conversation veered sharply away from all the scenarios she had played out in her head. "Well, that- That's not- Things were different then," she finally stammered out. "I was different."

"Not different enough to change how I feel about you. Bella, I l-"

"Don't!" She turned away and shook her head violently. "Don't say that! Peter...you can't."

"What? I can't love you, or I just can't say it?"

"Either one!" Sensing him leaning closer, she slid to the far end of the couch, still refusing to look at him. "You need to go now...please. Please just go."

"No."

She did look at him then, her mouth open in shock, because this was the first time he hadn't backed off when she asked or even intimated that she wanted him to, the first time he had tested her boundaries this way.

"If you don't feel the same way, I won't try to change your mind or make a nuisance of myself, but I need to hear you say it so I won't wonder if I gave up too easily, like I might've done too many times before. Look me in the eye and say you want me to leave, say you never want to see me again. Say it!"

"I want you to go." Even as the words left her lips, she knew her delivery left much to be desired; she succeeded in maintaining eye contact, but her voice came out as a pathetic whisper, barely audible to human ears and utterly devoid of anything resembling resolve or conviction.

Unsurprisingly, Peter shook his head. "Not good enough. Tell me you don't love me."

Her gaze dropped to the expanse of leather separating them as she whispered, even more quietly than before, "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't lie to you...and it would be a lie." Hearing his heartbeat falter, then resume in double time, she raised her head to look at him again, her face twisted in anguish. "I'm sorry, Peter. From the moment we met, you were the only man other than Charlie that I felt completely safe with, even if it took me a ridiculously long time to trust that feeling...and of course, I never realized I loved you until it was too late."

"Why is it too late? We're finally together again-"

"Are you kidding? Have you seen me?"

"My eyesight may not be as good as yours anymore, but I see you just fine, and it doesn't change anything." It was true; his initial feeling that her altered appearance made her seem unreal had faded as they talked and he saw more of her old self beneath those unnaturally perfect features, until he suddenly realized with a jolt that he'd almost forgotten she had changed at all. "You just look like Bella to me."

"I'm afraid the rest of the world won't see it that way," she said sadly. "To them, I'm a monster." Before he could object to her choice of words - as she could see he wanted to - she went on, "Of course I'm trying not to be one, but the fact is that I'm not going to be able to go back to my old life. Vampires aren't made to live in close quarters with that many humans."

"Elle and Edward managed it for a while," Peter pointed out.

"They didn't enjoy having to stay cooped up inside all day, though, plus they've had more practice at controlling their appetites." She swallowed to assess the burn in her throat; it wasn't too bad at the moment, less of a roaring fire than a faintly glowing ember, but it was still there, and she knew she would never be completely free of it. "If I hadn't been so depressed when I wandered into the city, or if someone nearby had been bleeding... I don't want to think about what I might have done. Besides, Elle and Edward were able to pretty much live in their own little bubble where they didn't really have to interact with anyone, and I know you wouldn't be happy with that, so where would I fit in?" Seeing that he didn't understand her point, she sighed impatiently and said, "This isn't Jane Eyre, Peter! People don't keep their vampire girlfriends hidden away in the attic anymore."

"I don't want to keep you hidden," he protested. "I would never do that to you."

"And what would you say when people ask what your girlfriend does for a living, or why I never go out during the day unless it's overcast? If we went out with your friends or coworkers at night, how would you explain why I never eat or drink anything? What if someone noticed my eyes changing color? I'm sorry, Peter; the risk of exposure is just too great."

"So we won't live in New York City then. It's easier for you guys to stay under the radar in smaller towns, right?"

"That does seem to be one of the Cullens' main criteria for choosing where to go when they want to live among humans," Bella conceded, "but is that really the life you want? Bouncing from one sunless little place to another, not to mention the times we'll have to go off the grid completely to hide the fact that none of us are aging. I mean, you'll probably have to do that too, but during the times that you're able to rejoin society, you can blend in a lot better than we can. Your options don't have to be as limited as ours."

"Thanks for having my best interests at heart, but don't I get a say in this? You know, since it's my life and all?"

The question caught her off-guard, not because she didn't think Peter had every right to make his own choices, but because she'd been so certain he would see the logic in her arguments that she hadn't anticipated any disagreement. "Well...sure. Of course you do."

"Good. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you bringing up all the things I might not have thought through myself, but those things don't matter to me as much as you seem to think they do. Bella, the life I want is with you. I don't care where we have to live, or how, as long as we're together."

Her reaction wasn't quite what one might expect from someone who'd just heard that kind of declaration from the man she professed to love; instead of falling into his arms or responding with some equally romantic words of her own, she just continued eyeing him skeptically.

"You don't believe me," Peter sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I don't get it, Bella - what more do you want me to do?"

"I believe that you mean what you're saying now," she said carefully, "but you're human; you can change your mind a lot more easily than I can... Your feelings can change. I'm just afraid that after a hundred years of getting dragged around with us you'll end up resenting me, and I-" Her voice cracked, forcing her to pause before quietly confessing, "I couldn't handle that. It would be easier to never see you again, as long as I knew you were out there somewhere and you were okay, than to have you here if you were unhappy because of me."

"That's not going to happen; you can ask Alice if you want a second opinion, but I don't need to look into the future to know that nothing's going to change how I feel about you. I've dated other girls, and before we met I really thought I was in love with Simone, but I can't imagine her being there for everything you and I went through together, and I'm glad it wasn't her, or anybody else. Bella, I've never loved anyone the way I love you."

She didn't say anything - in fact, she couldn't, not having taken a breath in so long that it was a good thing she no longer needed oxygen - but he noticed a shift in her demeanor; her stiff posture, which she had maintained throughout most of their conversation as if bracing herself for a blow, relaxed slightly, and her eyes softened, her expression changing from wariness to acceptance.

Seizing the moment, he moved closer, until she stopped him by holding up her hand so that her palm ended up flat against his chest. She didn't push him away, however, but simply rested her hand there, feeling his heart beating under her fingertips while he felt the chill of her touch seeping through his t-shirt. It suddenly occurred to him that this was the closest he'd come to skin-to-skin contact with a vampire; while he had touched Alice, Edward, Elle, and Bella in order to teleport them, there had been more layers of clothing between them, and he found himself wondering if their skin was really as hard as he'd been told. He lifted a hand toward hers but didn't take hold of it, mindful of her aversion to unsolicited touch. "May I?"

When she nodded her assent, he gently grasped her wrist and removed her hand from his shirt before taking it between both of his own. Her skin was indeed hard, not giving at all under the light pressure of his fingers, and shockingly cold, but that was where the reality broke sharply with his expectations. For some reason, he'd imagined that 'hard' also meant 'rough', yet her skin had an almost velvety texture, like a river rock worn perfectly smooth by the currents.

"That feels nice," she murmured, and he glanced up at her face to see that her eyes were closed, her expression one of the most relaxed he'd ever seen on her. "I haven't really felt warm since I changed. Cold doesn't bother me anymore, but I still miss the heat. I used to love how sunny Phoenix was when I lived there with my mom..."

"Really? You never looked like someone who spent much time in the sun."

"I guess it didn't love me back," Bella replied with a slight laugh. A faint smile touched her lips. "That's why I'd rather have you to warm me up."

"I'll do my best." Moving closer, Peter ran one hand up her arm to her shoulder, drawing her in until their faces were only inches apart.

Her eyes popped open at the feeling of his warm breath on her face, just in time for her to see him leaning in, clearly intending to kiss her. The excitement that surged through her was nearly as overwhelming as what she'd experienced while hunting the goats, although this was a very different kind of hunger; she didn't want to bite Peter, but she did want to pounce, to crush her lips against his and finally claim him as her mate, to get as close to him as she possibly could...until she remembered the consequences that had ensued the last time she let her guard down around a human.

Just before their lips met, she yanked her hand out of his grasp and launched herself backward; by the time he registered what had happened and looked around for her, she was all the way across the room, crouched on the floor with her back pressed flat against the wall. Getting up from the sofa, he approached her slowly and cautiously, speaking softly to her as he would to a nervous or injured animal. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to freak you out. I guess I got a little carried away there, but I shouldn't have-"

"Not your fault," she interrupted, eyes squeezed shut as she employed her old tactic of taking deep, calming breaths. She didn't need the air anymore, but focusing on the rhythm still soothed her. "I just had a flashback, but not what you think. Not...Port Angeles."

"What was it, then?"

"Primatech. When Adam and I went down to the lower levels, there was this security guard-"

"I know." It was Peter's turn to interrupt, because he didn't want to be reminded of the gory scene, or the fact that she'd been responsible for it. "I saw him."

"Oh." The revelation that he'd seen her accidental victim caused her to look back at him, guilt etched all over her face. "I didn't mean to hurt him, you know," she said in a small voice. "I only wanted to make him stop trying to shoot Adam, and then...his whole arm just came off in my hand." She closed her eyes again, trying to block out the details not conveyed by her deceptively simple description of the event - the snapping of bone and wet ripping sound of his flesh tearing, the hot geyser of blood that had erupted right under her nose and very nearly broken through the haze of mind-numbing despair holding her thirst at bay until Adam reminded her of what they were there for - and, most horrifying of all, how easy it had been.

"I know you didn't mean to..."

"I didn't really understand how fragile humans are until that moment," she continued as if she didn't hear him, her eyes open again but glazed as she stared off into her memories. "Tearing that man's arm off - killing him - was as easy as the time I accidentally pulled off one of my dolls' arms when I was little...which is why I have to be extra careful around you, because even though I know you can heal, I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you." She paused, her lips curling into a self-recriminating grimace. "The trouble is, when you're that close, I don't want to be careful."

Peter's first thought was to dismiss her concerns - after all, he doubted she could do anything to him that would be as excruciating as his body generating and releasing enough nuclear energy to level a city, or that she could test the limits of his healing power as thoroughly - but he could tell that, absurd as it seemed to him, she was genuinely worried about it. Besides, it was reassuring to see that the guard's death had made such a strong impression on her.

"Let me help you." He held out his hand.

After a second's hesitation, Bella placed her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet, then followed him into the kitchen area that was separated from the living room by a low half-wall. Once they were there, he backed her up against a set of cabinets and positioned her hands on the countertop, curling her fingers around the edge.

"I trust you not to hurt me, Bella; I need you to know that, okay? Still, if you're worried about losing control, just keep your hands right there. Can you do that?"

"I think so." She stopped breathing then, determined to hold herself still as a statue while he brushed his thumb over her cheek and tucked her hair behind her ear before moving his hand to the back of her neck, tilting her head up as he leaned down and kissed her at last.

The instant his lips touched hers, her restraint evaporated; she managed to keep her hands where he had put them but bent her arms backward at an impossible angle in her almost frenzied effort to press herself as close to him as she could get while her lips moved with his, responding hungrily to his kiss...until an earsplitting crack rent the air, causing her to freeze again.

Peter, who hadn't seemed bothered by her failure to contain herself - instead of pushing her away, he'd only held her tighter - jerked back, his eyes widening in alarm. "What the-?"

Bella sheepishly held up a chunk of granite she'd broken off of the countertop's corner. "I warned you that I'd probably end up breaking things if I got carried away."

Peter took the piece of stone from her and examined it curiously, noting the indentations her fingers had made in it, before setting it aside. "Well, at least you only broke the counter, not me."

"That's true," she reluctantly admitted. "I guess maybe I'm stronger than I thought."

"I always knew you were." Seeing that she still looked dissatisfied, he added, "The Cullens told me it's perfectly normal for new vampires to slip up, though. Don't beat yourself up for being ordinary for once in your life." He bent down to rest his forehead against hers. "Besides, practice makes perfect, right? We have all the time in the world to fine-tune your control."

The thought of these future practice sessions finally wiped away her frown, which was replaced with a glowing, slightly giddy smile. "All the time in the world, huh? I like the sound of that."

Yes, I know - I missed a golden opportunity for some New Moon-style 'vampire ditching the human love interest for their own good' angst. I was tempted to go that route for a minute, but I just couldn't do it when these two have already let various issues keep them apart way too long. I wanted to give them at least a short time to be happy together before the next crisis hits.