Bella sits by the kitchen counter, her head still dazed from last night. Rosalie busies herself helping Esme on tasks she could never screw up. Last time she tried to make tea for Bella it was too salty. And Irina's coming any minute now. Can't risk Bella choking while she's under Rosalie's care. The last thing she needs is getting into another brawl with her cousin, at least not when Bella's feeling so horrible at the moment.

Esme is patient enough to teach Rosalie again the difference between sugar and salt and the maximum amount of sweetness Bella can take before she gives her diabetes. It's been frustrating; learning about human's food and beverage but she finds herself very determined. She wants to learn to care for Bella instead of depending on Esme every time. Not that she knows Esme enjous dotting on the human, but she just wants to be independent and reliable, whenever Bella needs her.

Bella presses her forehead against the cool marble counter and finds relief. Her sleep was not as peaceful as she wanted it to be. It was dreadful and confusing. Her dreams were a mix of peace and turmoil. And she knows Rosalie tried really hard to calm her. When Bella was beginning to whimper a lot of Nos, that's when Rosalie knew it was clear as day that she was better off awake than asleep. So Rosalie went to call Irina while Esme ushered Bella to the kitchen.

She is too distraught in trying to remember what she dreamt about that she blinks rapidly when Rosalie places down a cup of hot tea and a small tea pot right in front of her, looking nervous. Esme smiles assuringly at her and Bella wastes no time to try the drink. When the warm liquid hits her tongue, she hums appreciatively.

"It's good, Rose. Thank you."

Rosalie lets out a breath and throws Esme a grateful smile. Both of them sit opposite side of the counter of Bella and Esme engages with the human on topics of interior design to keep her distracted. And it seems to work.

A knock is heard from the kitchen way and there stands Irina looking concerned and worried. At a human pace, she walks to Bella and wraps her in a tight embrace. She releases a breath of relied as a feeling of peace engulfs her. Irina releases her and remains standing by Bella's side, not letting her mate go. Rosalie watches in awe, learning in silence at the way Irina handles her. Irina catches on but doesn't say a thing while Bella sips her tea and continues conversing with Esme. She wants to say something to Rosalie but decides against whispering out of respect for her mate being in the room. Isabelled had confided in her how it made her feel hurt sometimes that she's being left out on vampires' conversation and it made her feel insecure. So she doesn't and continues to rub Isabella's back in an attempt to make her mate sleepy again.

Once Bella's started doozing off, Rosalie tried to lead the human back upstairs, which is something out of habit but Irina gives her a stern look and she backs off. Rosalie thought Irina is going to whisk Bella away from the Cullens' residence so she is surprised to see Irina dragging her mate to her room. Before they enter the room, Irina turns to her, "Aren't you coming?"

Esme squeezes her hand and urges her to go so she too follows them on human pace, careful not to surprise the human. She watches from the door as Bella drapes half of her body against Irina, a content feeling on her face. She thought she should leave the mate be, regardless of how painful it is, that is until Bella calls out her name with her eyes closed, "Rose?"

She threads carefully and looks at Irina for permission, to which her cousin chuckles, "If I didn't want you here, you wouldn't be here, Rosalie." So Rosalie takes the cue and settles on the bed on the other side of Bella who's falling asleep now. A few minutes later and Bella's heartbeat slows down. It is now safe for them to converse.

"It started since she had the fever, am I right?" Rosalie asked softly. Their super hearing meant they could whisper and still hear each other correctly.

"Yes. We are still trying to determine the cause."

"It's more than her PTSD, isn't it?"

"We believe so. So far she hasn't had any nightmares when I'm around. How did she fare tonight with you?"

"At first she slept okay but then she started to toss and turn and whimper. I held her tighter and she stopped for awhile. But then it happened again. I woke her up when she kept pleading No."

Irina looks at her mate and kisses her forehead. She loves being the one to calm her mate but she wished she didn't have to. She wants her mate to be able to sleep peacefully. After everything that occured to her, Isabella deserves the peace.

"I have to admit I'm jealous," Rosalie spoke again.

"Don't be. With you here with us, it took her less time to fall asleep. I usually have to hum her to sleep or rub her back to soothe her."

The newfound info makes Rosalie extremely happy. She's happy to know she has an effect on Bella. Irina notices Bella's book on the nightstand, "So she spoke to you about college yet?"

"I'm not sure if it's an actual plan or a backup plan. It worries me," Rosalie admitted, more on the latter. Because she knows Bella and after the whole debacle with Edward, if Bella has made a backup plan, it means she doesn't feel 100% sure on her original plan. While she is glad her best friend is thinking about her future again, it bothers her to know Bella might be overthinking again.

"Aren't you?" She asked Irina.

"She's been through so much, Rosalie. And I'm on my way to earn her trust. My coven's offer to her still stands; whatever she chooses, we will respect it. Until she makes a decision, I plan on proving my love for her every single day that she allows me to."

Now Rosalie's even more envious of Irina. That's the huge difference between the two. Irina oozes with solid confidence and she is selfless, which makes her the perfect pair for one Bella Swan.

Doubts flood in and she feels anxious and underserving.

"You have doubts," Irina noticed Rosalie tried to make a move. "Like Isabella, much of this is your choice too."

Rosalie ponders on her cousin's words.

"But before you decide, won't you at least give it a chance too?"

"Even when I know it will end in a disaster?"

"Especially then. Because the end result is worth it," she glanced at the sleeping human cuddling into her. Irina pities her cousin and decides she could use a little nudge, for her Isabella's sake. So she leans down and whispers into Isabella's ear and her mate shifts in her sleep to turn to her other side. She lets out a sigh and cuddles into Rosalie instead.

Rosalie automatically breaks into a wide grin and welcomes Bella into her arms. She helps the human get comfortable and notices Irina spooning Bella from the other side. So she pushes all dark thoughts away and decides to enjoy this rare moment.

"She's worth it," Irina said with finality.


Rosalie glares at the relentless boy who's talking Bella's ears off and wouldn't take the hint. She wants nothing more than to throw him off a wall but as of now, or even claim Bella as hers by kissing her in front of the entire school senselessly. But, the school still thinks she and Emmett are together and that Bella has been single for awhile. Plus, there's Irina in the equation and she has all the rights that Rosalie doesn't have just yet.

"She's a big girl, she can take care of herself, Rosie," Emmett said.

Not a moment too soon, the devil arrives in her red Audi A5 and parks right in front of the school. Bella is relieved to see her so they can now set their plan in motion. Irina exits the car and leans against the hood, ignoring envy stares from the girls and drooling boys. Her eyes focused on the most beautiful brunette there is.

"So, now that Edward's gone, would you like to go out with me?" Mike asked, still following Bella like a puppy.

She knows Irina can clearly hear him and her face hardened at him. So Bella throws her a bone and gives her a beaming smile.

"Not interested Mike. I'm with someone else now," Bella brushed him off and sped off to Irina. Irina takes her hard eyes off the shameless boy and opens her arms to welcome Bella instead.

Bella, frustrated at having to reject Mike Newton for the nth time, decides to do something to make him understand. She whispers her request onto Irina's ear and Irina smirks before grabbing her by her jacket, spins her around and pushes her down gently to sit on the hood. Bella grins and reaches up to kiss Irina gently on the lips.

All heads turn to stare at the shocking sight and the whispers begin. Rosalie smirks watching Bella's newfound confidence soaring. She notices the human has changed drastically ever since she started dating Irina. Long gone the insecure Bella who dated Edward.

"My dear Isabella, anytime you want to kiss me, I'm all lips," she heard Irina whisper teasingly. Bella laughs and playfully shoves Irina away.

"Let's go. Thank God it's Friday. I don't wanna have to deal with the questioning."

Angela looks happy, Jessica looks shocked and Lauren looks digusted but jealous at the same time

Bella throws Rosalie a smile before climbing into the car.

"And I can't wait to take you out on that date."

Irina is damn too happy about the progess. Bella asking her out on a date meant that technically they are dating, sort of. But this display of affection seals the deal on their label. For Bella to pull such stunt, knowing it would cause a stir among the people of Forks, meant that she is comfortable and open to take the relationship to another level. It also means Irina can take her on that date on not worry about showing off her affections for her mate.


"Is this a date or a road trip?" Bella inquired after seeing they officially left Forks.

Irina smiles and squeezes her mate's hand, the same hand that had reached out to hold hers when they began their journey.

"A little bit of both, my love. I have no doubt you will love the place," she kissed her hand's mate, earning her a crimson red Isabella.

"I hope you know that I would be happy to go anywhere with you in Forks. The gossips don't bother me as much."

Irina momentarily takes her eyes off the road to see a concerned Bella.

"No, Isabella. That is not the reason why, I assure you. I love you and Forks kind of grew on me but there's not much place there where I can sweep you off your feet. And I want to make this really special, for the both of us."

Bella thinks over it and agrees. Forks is quite boring and there are limited places and activities to do here. All her adventures and misadventures with Edward, the Cullens and the pack sort of covered the whole area already. Port Angeles is still a black area for her. There's not much place to create new and happy memories with Irina back there.

She turns to the back and notices Irina came well prepared, for her sake rather than her own.

"So that's why you have the pillows and blankets ready. We're going for a long ride," Bella stated.

It truly makes sense seeing how Irina picked her up at four in the morning.

"Yes, I helped to pack you hot tea too. In order for the surprise to work, I need you to be asleep for most of the ride."

"Planning to drug me? Wow, this is worst date material right there," Bella joked.

"I don't need substances to make you intoxicated with me, Isabella. I do rather well just on my own."

To prove it, she releases Bella's warm hand and rests her hand on Bella's thigh, much too high up, which instantly freezes Bella. She sucks in a breath to control herself. Not like Irina couldn't tell by how her heartbeat sky-rocketed. But she needs to save face, damn it!

Ever since the episode with Rosalie, Irina and Bella have somehow made progress; emotionally and physically. Bella was more thankful and in awe of the blonde after she voluntarily helped bring Rosalie back in one piece. Before she went to the Cullen's residence that night to welcome Rosalie home, Bella had shown Irina how grateful she was for her kindness and empathy, they made it to second base all on their own accord.

Suffice to say, Irina had been amazing and Bella allows the mate bond to wash over her without any resistance. Every day she craves more of the blonde. During their first date, Bella has planned to make them official. Once Alice saw it in her vision, she excitedly left the house and dragged Bella to go shopping. Thank God Rosalie caught on to Alice's look of mischief and tagged along. Rosalie was sure Bella would have tried to strangle Alice for pushing her to go into the lingerie boutique that displayed rather provocative items on their front window.

"I'll have you know I don't kiss on first dates," Bella said and redirected Irina's teasing hand to the console and entertwined their fingers.

"Oh, trust me Isabella. You'll want to do more than kiss me once we're finished with our first date."

It gives Bella's chills, the pleasure-kind and she's sure Irina can smell her getting excited at the prospect. After all, they did have that talk.

Irina was pressing Bella against the wall, her hands cupping her mate's waist gently, as she kissed Bella passionately.

"Before we go any further...we need to talk," she said in between the kisses.

Hearing the seriousness in her mate's voice, Irina immediately reigned her lust and stopped to listen.

"I need to know where you stand on... having sex," she looked away, blushing.

Irina stood still, confused and wary.

"Before marriage," Bella clarified.

Thinking her mate wasn't ready, Irina pecked her lips and pulled away her hands, much to Bella's dismay.

"I'm sorry if I pressured you, Isabella. Tonight, well, I clearly misread your signals," Irina apologised genuinely.

Bella shook her head and put Irina's hands right where it was.

"No, no. It's just that... The only other person I ever dated couldn't be physically intimate with me and he said he wanted to wait until marriage. So, I need to know where you stand so I don't cross a line."

Irina knew Edward never got to touch her mate in that way because he was always such a prude but to be reminded that Bella was still a virgin made her excited and possessive. The vampire inside her wanted to be the first to claim her mate. And she was also touched by her mate's concern for her when really Isabella should be more concerned about herself.

"Isabella, I'm yours. Whatever you want from me, whenever you want it, it's yours to take," she took one of Bella's hands and placed it on top of her breast. "I'm more than happy to oblige."

She felt her mate's hands trembled at the privilege but she could also feel it itching to touch more. So she swiftly took off her bra and led the same hand to her now free breast and taught Bella to squeeze it.

And Bella did it again, causing Irina to shut her eyes in pleasure and moan. Driven mad by the lust, Bella reached forward and captured Irina's lips all the while her hands explored Irina's gorgeous body.

"So, we can do it even while I'm human? You won't get uncomfortable or lose control?"

Irina hissed as she felt Bella's hands squeezing her ass over the jeans. Bella's fast heartbeat was driving her wild and horny.

"The only control I could ever lose when I'm doing it with you is my orgasm."

She picked Bella up and had her mate wrap her legs around her waist.

"Is it your wish then for us to make love before you are turned?"

Bella blushed hard but nodded and bit her lips.

"Then I'll make sure it's the night we'll remember for eternity."