A/N… I know. I'm a bit slower at this than I used to be. I'll explain at the bottom. We last left off with the crew heading to Trinity to the mountain cabin. I'll let you get to it.

~o~H&E~o~

Chapter 16

BELLA

The Mustang was quiet except for the sounds of Alice and Mack typing in the back seat. Rose was up front with me. Checking the rearview mirror, I noted the vehicles following behind me. Mickey was driving Edward's Challenger, Jasper was in his truck with Dean, and Edward was driving an unmarked moving truck. Bringing up the rear, Ben and Eleazar had a small convoy of SUVs filled with Feds and military.

The moving truck contained the six thermobaric bombs. Ben had loaded them up the second Eleazar let him in on the plan. The EMP that had been housed just outside of Seattle was inside one of the large SUVs. We had taken possession of the two things Kim Min-Jun wanted most, and we were taking them off the grid.

Carlisle's GPS showed him still in Canada. From what Alice could see via satellite, they were on a large piece of property in the middle of nowhere. Once we'd met up with Ben and the other agents who'd removed the weapons from their locations, Eleazar had called Carlisle's phone.

Eleazar told Kim he'd now have to trade Seong and Carlisle Cullen for the weapons he wanted. He also told him that the DMZ would stay occupied with American troops since Kim had reneged on their original deal by taking two hostages with him. Now, if Kim Min-Jun wanted safe passage out of the US, he'd have to go through us. Otherwise, he was now marked as a terrorist and would be hunted down as such. Carlisle's private plane was added to the negotiations, along with a private pilot.

That last part had me narrowing my eyes on my husband three vehicles behind me. My nostrils flared in frustration. I wasn't sure who I was angrier with – Edward or Carlisle. The latter had already set the whole private plane shit in motion, knowing the only pilot he had access to was his son. The fact that Edward was ready and willing wasn't helping my temper, but this was all a pretty shitty deal.

All we wanted was Carlisle safe and the weapons to be kept out of Kim's hands. Whatever we had to do for that to be a reality, we'd do it. Seong was still the unknown in the whole scenario.

We'd been out of Twi Tech Tower now for only twelve hours. A few of us had grabbed some sleep and some more food, but it felt like we'd been running for two days straight.

"Well, hello my handsome minions," Alice crooned from the back seat.

"Hey, Aunt Alice," I heard Sammy's and Caleb's voices from the small speaker, making me grin.

"Aunt Alice, IGOR is online for you," Sammy added.

"You are awesome!" she told him with a giggle, typing rapidly. "Just so you know, your mom and dad are fine. They're driving, so I'll have them talk to you in a bit. Okay?"

"Yeah," he said in his usual soft tone. "I see you guys moving," he told her, so apparently he had the GPS monitor up as well. "What's in…Glacier Peak Wilderness?"

"A safe house," she answered him honestly.

That was the thing about Alice the kids loved and adored. She never placated them, she never sugarcoated shit for them, and she didn't lie to them. She told them the truth as best she could. They trusted her honesty, even if it wasn't what they wanted to hear.

"Why not come here?" he asked her.

"Because we still have bad guys to stop. This place is better for us. That place is better for you. Got it?"

"Yeah, I guess." There was a bit of noise and talking in the background, and he added, "Boy, Uncle Alec really owes the swear jar, but now he's in trouble with Aunt Kate."

There was a tone from my son that sounded just like Edward, like amusement and curiosity and mischief all rolled into a soft laugh.

Rose laughed, shaking her head. "I'm sure Caleb has learned a new one or two today," she mumbled, raising her eyebrow my way.

"Hey, Aunt Alice!" Bethy and Abby called out.

"Pretty girls, what'cha up to?"

"Uncle Emmett wanted me to tell Mom that Aunt Sarah is with us. She met us at the airport," Bethy replied. "Good thing, too, because Uncle Alec is way cranky, and he only seems to listen to her."

"Poor Sarah," I muttered, shaking my head. "Been there; done that."

Rose chuckled, nodding a little. "I do not envy either of you."

"Thanks," I said through a laugh.

"Uncle Emmett also said that if you need them in the computer room, just say so. Since they can't be there to fight, they'll help with info."

"Oh. Huh. Okay, then," Alice told her, clearly surprised but grateful from the sound of it. "Tell him thank you. We'll call back."

Alice shut the laptop as I slowed the car down. Something in my heart gave an electric shock at the sight of Elizabeth's mountain cabin. The long winding driveway and the wildflower-filled meadow around the house hadn't changed a bit.

"Wow," I breathed, parking in front of the house. "It looks exactly the same."

Alice sat forward, and Rose took in the view, both wearing awe-filled expressions as the convoy of vehicles parked in various places around the house and on the property. Edward pulled the moving truck around to the back of the house.

I got out of the car, popping the trunk for everyone's equipment and bags. Picking up the large black duffel I'd packed for Edward and me, I walked up the steps of the wraparound deck and unlocked the front door.

The feelings that hit me were pure nostalgia. It was memories of fights, of panic attacks, of falling in love, of learning to work together. The last time I'd seen the house, I'd fought with Carlisle about burning it down. I remembered the look on Edward's face; it had been heartbreak and shock, but he'd have done it. We'd stripped the house, cleaned it from top to bottom, burning anything we'd come into contact with, but we'd saved the house. However, it was somewhat back together again, so I'd have been willing to bet that Carlisle had someone come out and look in on the place from time to time.

"I'm guessing the sleeping arrangements won't be much different than before," Rose teased, shoving me into Edward's old room.

Grinning, I shrugged, setting the bag down onto the bed. Nothing about this room was different. From the framed pictures over the large bed, to the sofa over on the wall, it was exactly the way I remembered it. I swallowed around a lump in my throat at the memory of Edward touching me for the first time, of the first time I'd told him I loved him.

I heard the door click closed behind me, and the sexiest voice I'd ever known said, "My only regret in this room was scaring you when you stopped Dad from burning this place to the ground."

Nodding, I turned around, tears pooling in my eyes. "You were a bit intense, baby." I smiled at his grin. "My only regret was my inability to let you touch me."

He was shaking his head as he pushed away from the door. "Th-There's n-not a-a s-single s-step w-we t-took i-in th-this r-room th-that I-I r-regret. What I wanted could wait, sweetness."

"I wanted it, too, Edward," I sighed, walking to him and wrapping my arms around him so I could bury myself in his neck. "More than I could even wrap my head around."

Edward hugged me close, pulling me back to kiss me stupid. It came out of nowhere, and I wasn't prepared for the speed in which it built. I wasn't sure if it was the room, the house, or the fact that we hadn't really had a chance to calm down since getting out of Seattle. There were moans and fistfuls of hair, heavy breathing and a firm grip on my ass, and that merely led to Edward lifting me up and taking a seat on the sofa. When I realized what he'd done, I started to giggle.

His sexy grin just made me giggle harder, grab his face, and kiss him roughly.

"You're an ass," I teased him. "You're starting something…"

"I know," he said through a chuckle, but he raised a deadly eyebrow up at me as he pulled me closer. "We don't have time, but sweetness… There will be things done on this couch you wanted over eleven years ago. I think it's time we made that happen."

"It's a date, Mr. Cullen, but we need to set up, check all the motion sensors, and get those weapons hidden. As much as I would like all the things on this couch and that bed—" I jerked a thumb behind me, making Edward drag his tongue sexily across his bottom lip as he smiled"—we have to get out there and help."

The expression on his face was heated and a touch contrite, but he held me a few seconds longer, reaching up to caress my cheek gently with the backs of his fingers. He huffed a soft, light laugh through his nose, his brow furrowing a little.

"This place," he started softly, bringing me in for a kiss. "I remember going crazy with everything you made me feel all at once. Everything." He smiled at my giggle. "You were hurting so badly, but you were so fucking strong, sweetness. You're smarter than me, and that really drove me fucking crazy."

I laughed, leaning in to press my forehead to his.

"You were beautiful. Even hurting, you were just gorgeous, Bella. I mean it. I wanted to drown in you."

"Edward, you have to stop," I whispered against his lips. "Because I feel all those things still, but we have to go help." I urged the last two words, making him laugh.

He grasped my waist, lifting me off his lap and standing up in front of me. "I was really scared yesterday, Bella. I just… You need to know how grateful I am that you're okay, the kids, and Esme too. Nothing would've stopped me. And I…"

Nodding, I lifted up a little and kissed him to shut him up. "I love you, baby. I know where this is all coming from. And once we've done all the perimeter checks and everything is set up, we'll finish this conversation. I promise, Edward."

He kissed me once more, nodding as he stepped away. He took a deep breath, giving me a sweet, sexy smile, and left the bedroom.

~o~H&E~o~

EDWARD

I stepped out onto the back deck, staring out over the lake. Everything was exactly the same as the last time I'd set foot out there. The dock jutted out into the water a few yards, not to mention the floating dock was still out there all alone. Memories of racing Bella out to that thing made me smile before sipping my cup of coffee.

I was trying to stay awake, trying to find some sort of energy to keep going after little to no sleep and an entire day of running the day before. The sounds of activity were everywhere. The truck with the bombs had been carefully hidden in the cluster of trees not far from the shed. There wasn't enough room in the weapons basement of that shed for all six, so currently, the truck was being camouflaged by military netting, tree branches, and shrubbery. Pretty soon, the damn thing would be practically invisible, even from the air.

A drill whined behind me, and I turned to take in Alice at her genius finest. She was fiddling with the EMP, which scared the ever-loving fuck out of me. That motherfucker could take away all our power, communications, and research in the blink of an eye. According to the pixie, if someone set it off in the atmosphere over the US, the whole country would go black. Poof! The thing was smaller than I'd expected – just about the size of a large refrigerator. However, the fucker dwarfed Alice, so there was that.

Alice's gaze flickered up to mine, and she grinned. "Stop worrying. I'm going to render this bad boy unusable. I'm disabling it."

"Whatever you say, Alice." I chuckled, waving her on, but gazed past her and into the house.

Rose, Mack, and Bella were hard at work on laptops. They were monitoring my dad's GPS chip, communicating with Emmett and Alec at Aunt Kate's, and researching who was remodeling the three floors in Twi Tech Tower. We'd already double-checked the motion sensors and lights down the driveway and the back yard, not to mention the alerts into the house. The Feds and the few soldiers El had brought along had set up temporary tents for sleep and communication just inside the cover of the trees. When night fell, there would be constant guards walking the property.

Jasper and Mickey had left the house to load up on supplies. There were a good number of us, and we all would need to eat, drink, and stay alert. Eleazar wasn't sure how long it would take for Kim to take the bait or to call back with a counter offer for the weapons we'd just stolen out of his grasp.

"Hey, Edward?" Bella called from the dining table.

I walked to her, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "This whole thing feels eerily familiar, ladies."

Rose laughed, glancing briefly up from her computer.

Mack grinned, nodding. "Yup! Want me to draw a few bad guys and post them on the wall, Edward?"

Laughing, I shook my head, taking a seat beside Bella. "No, I'm good. Thanks." Turning to my wife, I kissed her temple. "What's up, sweetness?"

Without even looking up, she stole my coffee out of my hands.

"You know there's a whole pot all warm and shit in the kitchen," I pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

Bella giggled, sipping anyway. "Well, good! You'll probably need more."

Rolling my eyes, I waited for her to continue. Her eyes were on the computer screen in front of her as she typed away.

"Okay, the three floors under construction," she started, her gaze flickering to mine. "This is interesting." She tapped the screen. "Twi Tech has always leased out floors and offices, even when my dad was running it. The whole building isn't just Twi Tech. There are law offices, small publishing houses, accounting offices, internet businesses, and on and on. What used to be on floors forty-five through forty-seven was a small software company that specialized in websites and internet sales programs. They're still in business, but they moved to another building."

Bella waved that away, clicking the mouse several times. "Here's what was moving in next."

The screen filled with a bright logo, several symbols, and dollar signs, of course. From what I could gather just from the website, it was a company that specialized in international business – sales, trade, job opportunities, and communications. The key was the name at the bottom and the origin of the company – Seoul, Korea…and the last name Cho.

My eyes narrowed. "So was Cho planning on moving to the US? I mean, I thought Seong was coming here to go to school and intern with my dad…blah, blah, blah. Not open an office in my dad's building."

That caught the girls' attention at the table.

"I don't think so," Bella said, shaking her head. "I think someone is using Cho's name. And it's probably Kim Min-Jun. I'm still tracing the contracts and the permits for construction. However, at the center of it all is still whoever at Twi Tech leased the floors to them. Someone fucking knew Kim was not legit. And I want to know who it is."

"You'll need the real estate agent for that," Rose pointed out. "Carlisle uses his own to lease out space in the tower."

Bella rubbed her temple, nodding and studying the screen. "I've got a call into the office, but you know, no one's really working today. The whole building is sort of a mess."

Chuckling, I kissed her head and stood up. "You're lucky the fucker is still standing, sweetness. It was all I could do not to destroy it to get to you." I sighed, shaking my head at just how true that was. "IGOR, give me the status and location of my dad."

"Carlisle Cullen is currently in Canada, fifty miles south of the last location."

That caught our attention, and we all looked up to the map IGOR was showing on the back wall of the dining room.

"Well, well, well… Is he about to sneak back into the country?" I muttered, leaning back against the table and folding my arms across my chest.

My dad's GPS chip had come to a halt on a large piece of land about a hundred miles across the Canadian border. He'd stayed in one location for the last twenty-four hours. However, according to the map on the wall, Dad was traveling south back toward the US.

I tapped my earpiece. "Eleazar, you might want to get in here."

"Roger that."

Eleazar stepped through the back-deck door, taking a glance at the map. "He's on the move?"

"Looks like it."

"He'll be calling soon for a trade," he thought aloud, nodding and looking to me. "Question is… You want to bring them straight to the front yard? Or do we cut them off and ambush them?"

"Can't we do both?" I asked with a grin. "Bring them to the front door and end it here?"

"Kim may not take that bait," Bella said from behind us. "But if he thought he was sneaking up on us…"

Her smirk was evil and sexy as she pointed a finger Alice's way as she came back inside the house.

"Right, right, right…" the pixie chanted, setting the drill down on the table. "So he lost his computer tech, thanks to Carlisle. However, he still has Jacob Black's laptop. He's been trying to get back in, but IGOR shuts him down." She held up a finger. "We could give him a 'list' of safe houses. This one being the key. The rest would be bullshit."

"He may see through the bullshit," El noted.

"My bullshit is not the average bullshit," Alice argued, rolling her eyes, and I couldn't help but chuckle. "My bullshit will get the job done. You want them to show up here, and I'll make it happen, because the list I'll send him will make this look like the best possible option."

Eleazar glanced my way and then back to Alice. "Okay, do it. We'll be ready for them."

Alice locked gazes with me. "Edward, you know once this happens, this place will no longer be a safe house option in the future."

I nodded. "Yeah, I kinda figured."

"Okay, as long as you know. And you'll deal with your dad on it." She pointed my way, and I waved it off. "Then let me see what IGOR and I can do."

~o~H&E~o~

The rain poured down around me as I jogged to the sensor that was giving us trouble. It was in the far back almost to the lake. The wires kept coming loose, either from the weather or the swaying of the tree branch the light was attached. I snorted into a soft laugh at that. The last time we'd been here, we'd spent an entire night covering the whole property in those lights and alarms. The tree had been a split-second decision. Now, I wasn't sure it would continue to hold up.

Glancing around, I saw the next lights a few feet away on either side of me. I briefly debated whether we'd need this one at all.

"Jasper, is this one necessary? Because it'll never stay," I said over the radio. "It was loose when we got here, and it's already loose again."

"Probably not, Ed," he said, and I knew he was watching from the computer in the dining room. "It's either fix it so it stops going off or yank the bastard. Otherwise, we'll keep getting a false alarm."

"Fine. Fuck it." I pulled my knife out, cutting the wires to the light and the sensor. "The rest will cover this small area."

"Fair enough. You gonna run a perimeter check before coming back?" he asked.

"Yeah, just around the house."

"Roger that. We'll ignore the alarms for the next few minutes."

I put my knife away and took off at a jog. I wasn't going to run the entire five miles – I was too fucking tired for that shit – but I didn't want to rely on Eleazar's men completely either. This was my property and most of my crew was here. Their lives and those weapons were top priority.

As I ran, the memories of this place started to play through my mind like a damn movie. I remembered all the times my mother brought me here – summers swimming in the lake, racing my dad to the floating dock, and staying outside until the sun was down. Those were strong memories – good ones.

However, the last time I was here was stronger. My dad had wanted to hide Bella away from Miller, away from Royce King to keep her safe. This place had been perfect. It was months of hiding, of learning to work together – my crew and her girls – and it was fights and nightmares and scars.

I shook my head to clear it as I ran up the back-deck steps and into the house. I was soaking wet.

"El said for you to get some sleep, Ed," Jasper stated, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. "Bella's already out. You're next. Go. We're not making any calls or any moves or releasing any info Kim's way until the morning. He said everyone needs to be sharp, and he's got men out there."

I nodded in acceptance. "Wake me if you need me, though."

"Ten-four."

I stepped into my old bedroom, and Bella was indeed curled up on the bed. I knew better than to just strip down and crawl in. I was cold and wet from the rain, and I needed a shower. As I stepped under the warm spray, I shook my head at just how much had changed since the last time the two of us had shared this room.

We'd seen it all now, but back then, we were so tentative, nervous, and Bella had been so traumatized by Miller. Every touch came with a panic attack. Every kiss had been a victory. Every tear she'd shed had shattered me, but goddamn, I lived to make that beautiful girl laugh and smile. Now, we'd been married for eleven years, had two amazing kids, and we worked together every day. But the last time we'd been in this house, I could barely stutter the words I love you.

I dried off, pulling on a pair of Air Force sweatpants and running the towel over my head one last time before stepping back out into the bedroom. My heart hurt at the sight on the bed. Nothing changed about that. She still was the most beautiful girl in the room.

She'd shifted in her sleep, her leg escaping the covers. The moonlight from the rain-spattered window caught her skin just right and highlighted the long, twisted scar. It was that scar that I'd touched, telling her I loved her for the first time. Hell, it had been raining that damn day too.

Grinning at that, I knelt beside her, my thumb caressing that scar lightly. To be able to touch her without a second thought was such a strange thing in this particular room. Leaning down, I closed my eyes as I pressed my lips to that scar. The memory of how Bella told me she loved me was as clear as yesterday.

"I remember every hit and slap and burn Miller gave me. But I also remember the sound of your voice the first time. I remember your eyes being the first thing that had made me feel safe in three fucking days. I remember that this scar... That scar was the last one he gave me, because you were there. I remember the first thing I ate was something you cooked. I remember almost killing Jake and the only voice that mattered was yours..."

I pressed more kisses to that scar on her strong thigh, closing my eyes at the memory of her tears and sincerity.

"I remember meeting you when we were kids and your stutter and the prettiest green eyes I've ever seen. I remember you carrying me up the stairs and out of Miller's basement...and the first time you made me laugh...the first time you let me cry...and the first time you shot someone in order to save me. But I don't remember when I fell completely in love with you. I can't do it. I've tried to figure it out, but I wonder if it was always there..."

"I-I l-love y-you, s-sweetness," I sputtered in a whisper against the soft skin of her thigh, grinning when fingers slipped through my hair. Glancing up, I met sleepy-sweet eyes.

"Love you, too, Edward. You okay?" she whispered, and I nodded, crawling up the bed to her side.

Face-to-face and on our sides, I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her flush to me. I just needed to feel her. I knew she was exhausted – hell, I was exhausted – so I had no intention of starting anything, but being in this cabin, in this room, and in this bed after the fight in Seattle to get her back made me need her in ways I could barely wrap my head around, much less articulate into actual fucking words.

Letting out a long, slow breath, I pressed a kiss to the middle of Bella's forehead as she trailed her fingers down my spine. I chuckled softly when those same fingers slipped beneath the waistband of my sweatpants.

"Careful, sweetness, you might start something…"

Her giggle was soft against the skin of my neck. "You mean like you did earlier?"

Grinning, I pressed my forehead to hers. "Somethin' like that."

Our eyes met, and Bella smiled softly, brushing her lips light over mine. "This feels oddly familiar, Edward."

Smiling, I nodded. "Yeah, no shit. All sorts of things happened in this room. First time you told me you loved me…"

"First touches."

I kissed her for that. "First time I wanted it all with someone. More than I could comprehend."

"First orgasms."

I huffed a laugh, trailing my lips to her ear. "First blow jobs."

Bella's giggle was evil and secretive, buried in my neck. "Edward, I swear…"

I squeezed her close, still smiling when she met my gaze again. "I think about us then, and I look at us now. Jesus, Bella… I-I w-wouldn't ch-change a-a f-fucking th-thing."

She was shaking her head. "Me, either, baby."

Bella's lips met mine, and it wasn't a simple kiss. It was deep and emotional. This room had us both reminiscing, it seemed. But the difference from then to now was vast in comparison, because now it was a practiced dance. It was steps we knew and loved that required no thought, just feelings and touch and whispers for more.

My sweatpants were pushed down, her shorts and shirt swiftly removed and tossed away. Skin on skin and hands everywhere. There were no panic attacks now. There wasn't any coaxing or worry or scar cream. This was the safety of loving someone completely for so long that nothing required overthinking.

I knew exactly where to put my mouth to hear my name out loud. I knew where to touch her to have her pull my hair to keep me close, keep me exactly where she wanted me. I knew where her skin was most sensitive and where she tasted the most delicious. I knew when she was about to explode on my tongue and then beg me to be inside her.

Nothing about us was tentative anymore. And the change from then to now made me gaze down at her before slipping slowly inside her. Our relationship essentially started in this room. I'd surrendered to the beautiful woman beneath me then, and she owned me now. It was so much more than I'd imagined back when we'd first stayed at this safe house.

We moved in sync with shifting hips and gripping hands toward the same goal, building up so we could fall together. And we came as quietly as we could, considering we weren't exactly home.

Brushing Bella's hair away from her face, I pressed a kiss to her lips. "We should try to sleep, sweetness. I think Eleazar will be leaking our location to Kim in the morning."

Bella nodded, trailing her fingers down my back and through my hair. "Okay. We'll get your dad back."

I nodded, kissing her and then falling down beside her. "And we'll stop this asshole. I know. We'll just have to fight to do it."

Bella nodded, turning in my arms so that her back was to my chest. I kissed the back of her head and then her bare shoulder. My mind was weary as I drifted off. The last thing I wondered was if this house would survive us a second time.

~o~H&E~o~

A/N… I got really nostalgic with that mountain cabin. Not even kidding. Anyway, so they'll be hoping to bring the fight to them, so we'll see if that happens.

I want to thank all of you for the messages and the well wishes. I'm pretty much back to normal (which is a debatable state for me. LOL) However, I'm having to re-learn how to write without smoking. It's all about developing a new habit while trying to keep writing. It makes me slower…or really, it means I don't always sit down and spit out 2000 words. Sometimes I have 500. I'm sure I'll get faster and more at ease with it, but what's keeping me going is that I'm almost 2 months smoke-free. It's fucking hard. It's scary how much control something so small had over me…and still does, really.

Anyway, I'm getting there, but I'm completely over the pneumonia and now coming to terms with not smoking, so I'll be posting as I go. Until next time… Mooches, Deb ;)