*BPOV*

"Would you mind very much if I had a human weekend?" I mocked myself out loud while rolling out some pie crust dough with a little more force than was probably necessary.

What a stupid idea. I could've just bought the damn berries and saved myself a boring, lonely weekend without Edward. It's not like Charlie would know the difference, or really appreciate the effort I went to pick the stupid berries and slice up my hand in the process, I thought bitterly.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I assaulted the pie dough with my rolling pin.

"Jeez, Bella, what did the bloodsucker do now?" asked an amused voice from behind me. Startled, I jumped right out of my socks.

"Jacob Black, are you trying to give me a heart attack?! What are you doing here?" I angrily shook my rolling pin in his direction as I waited for my heart to restart.

He laughed, apparently unconcerned about being beaten by kitchenware.

"When Charlie came by this morning to pick up my dad, he joked that you were giving him the best birthday gift ever, a Cullen-free weekend. Though he felt bad that you canceled your plans when he wasn't going to be here to spend it with you. So I told him I'd stop by and keep you company," Jacob grinned.

"How nice of you, Jake," I told him. 'And self-serving,' I thought to myself. "But you can't be here," I said. I put my hands on his back and tried to shove him out the door he came in through. "Go back to the Rez. I'll call you as soon as I can hang out."

"What, why? But I'm here now, Bells," was his confused reply, as I pushed him out the door.

"Because you can't just show up like this, Jake!" I said exasperatedly. "When you're around me, Alice's visions don't work right. My future disappears and then Edward gets all anxious. We WILL hang out soon, I promise, but it needs to be planned. That's the only way it can work."

Right on cue, my phone started ringing.

"See?" I showed him the name display on my cell.

"Alright, alright. I'm leaving. Wouldn't want the bloodsucker to get his panties in a twist," he sneered, "But soon! I'm holding you to that!" Jacob promised as I shut the door in his face and hurried to answer the phone.

"Bella!" Edward's voice was panicked. "Are you ok?' I could hear tires squealing in the background.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" I rushed to reassure him. "I know, my future disappeared, right? I'm sorry. Jacob came over unexpectedly. I told him to leave."

He sighed in relief, and I could hear the Volvo's accelerator slowing down fractionally.

"Oh. You didn't have to do that, love. Just call next time so I can avoid the heart attack," Edward said with a hard laugh. I could tell he was trying to keep his voice light.

"I just didn't want you to think that this was something I planned. I would never lie to you to see Jacob behind your back," I said, hoping he'd hear the truth in my words.

"I know that, Bella. Thank you for saying it out loud, though. It helps." I could hear him smiling through the phone.

I sighed, ready for my human weekend to be over with. "Do you want to come over?" I asked hopefully.

"What about Charlie's birthday? I don't want to impose," Edward's velvet voice sounded uncertain.

That reminded me to be irritated at Charlie for his "best gift ever" comment to Jacob.

"He went fishing," I grumbled. "He won't be home for a couple more hours. Please come. I miss you."

"I'll be right there!" he promised. At that same moment, he strolled through the door of my kitchen as he was slipping his phone into his pocket.

And just like that, Edward was standing there with me. He looked like an Abercrombie model in his form-fitting charcoal grey button-up shirt, and dark wash blue jeans. I was momentarily speechless.

"How did you get over here so fast?" I said into the phone that I was still holding to my ear. I couldn't process the chain of events. Jacob had been standing in that exact spot not three minutes ago, and it took at least three times that long to drive to Edward's house from here.

"Hmm, now where have I heard that before," Edward smiled and tapped his chin. Then his expression turned serious. "I was standing right next to you, Bella" he answered, gently taking the phone out of my hand and slipping it into my back pocket, his face the picture of innocence.

Did he just do that? My heart spluttered at the idea of Edward's hand coming as close as it ever had to my rear.

He was referring to the day that he saved me from Tyler Crowley's van nearly turning me into roadkill. My jaw snapped shut and I growled at him.

"If you ever gaslight me like that ever again, I will spend eternity making you regret it," I picked up my rolling pin again and shook it in his direction.

Edward was laughing in earnest now. It was a welcome sight.

"I wish you could feel some small fraction of what I feel when you talk about spending eternity with me...even if it's you chasing me around with a rolling pin," He chuckled, and then took my left hand in his and reverently kissed my ring finger.

Thoroughly dazzled, "I missed you," were the only words I seemed to remember how to say.

"I missed you more. That's the understatement of the century. I'm glad Charlie's birthday only comes once a year. Can we never do that again?"

Edward put both hands on my hips and pulled me in close for a scorching kiss. The rolling pin clattered to the floor, forgotten. Our bodies were pressed together from hips to lips. If he'd had a heartbeat, I would have been able to feel it. My blood bubbled under my skin wherever his hands made contact. This was new. He didn't usually allow so many points of contact when we were close like this. When he finally pulled away, I was panting.

"How does someone so cold make me so hot?" I wiped at the perspiration on my forehead with the back of one hand while fanning myself with the other. He made a sexy little growl sound. When our eyes met, his were black as pitch, and the look on his face was pure need.

*EPOV*

This girl was going to be the death of me. Not an easy thing to do, that.

Before Bella illuminated my world, I could have let thirty-six hours slip by just being lost in thought, or playing my piano. But now, thirty-six hours without her felt like an impossible, immeasurable length of time.

I tried to keep busy, but occupying my time with menial tasks didn't help to keep my mind off of Bella the way it might've if I were human. I was driving my family, especially Jasper, crazy with my lovesick obsessing.

"Edward, man, you gotta calm down. You'll see Bella tomorrow. It'll be good for you both to have some time away from each other. It's not normal to be attached at the hip 24/7," Jasper threw a wave of calm in my direction.

"I don't think that's where they're attached, Jazz, " Emmett snickered.

"Edward wishes," Jasper razzed. "That's part of their problem is that he's such a prude!"

"What would you know about the self-restraint required to not kill a human, Jasper?" I countered acidly. Jasper's thoughts were apologetic, and I nodded at him in acknowledgment.

"Ooooh sick burn, bro," Emmett guffawed. "Now would you two shut up, you're scaring the bears away. I told Rose I'd be home in time to watch the Seahawks game with her."

"He really means 'Dancing with the Stars,' I revealed and jumped out of the way a tenth of a second before he tackled the air where I had just been standing.

We returned home from our hunting trip in short order. I had gorged myself on two mountain lions because since Bella came into my life, it was rare that I went hunting far enough away from her to bag anything tasty.

"Let me know who wins the disco ball trophy, Em!" I laughed as he flipped me off and flew up the stairs to find Rose.

I then heard Carlisle's thoughts beckon me from the direction of his study where I went to join him.

"Catch anything good?" Carlisle asked in greeting. This was the closest vampires ever came to small talk.

"Quite! Two big male cats. It was a relaxing hunt, if you don't count the company," I smiled widely as I heard the profanity volleyed at me from opposite corners of the house. "You wanted to speak to me?"

Yes, have a seat, won't you? He asked silently and gestured to the chair facing his desk. I sat down and looked at him expectantly. His thoughts were carefully controlled, so I knew this wasn't a medical consult about a patient that he would occasionally request of me.

"Uh oh, the doctor is in," I tried to make light of his formality. "I'm in trouble."

He chuckled out loud. No, no, nothing like that. But I did want to see where your head is at with Bella's impending transformation. We haven't discussed it since the vote, and I was hoping that you had come to accept Bella's decision to join the family?

I sighed. "No, not really. She says she wants this life, but how many 18-year-olds have you met that know what they'll want in 10 years, much less 100 or 1,000?"

Ah, yes, well I seem to remember a 30- or 40-year-old version of yourself that thought that romantic love was nothing more than a chemical reaction in the brain. Just biology's 'neat trick' to compel humans to procreate, I believe is how you put it. Do you still agree with that assertion? Carlisle regarded me with a patient smile on his face and a knowing look in his eyes.

Humbled, I sat back in my chair.

"How long have you been waiting to throw that back in my face," I laughed grudgingly.

Awhile. He smiled like the cat that swallowed the canary. He was enjoying this.

"All you're doing is proving my point, Carlisle. If I didn't know what the hell I was talking about as a 40-year-old with two doctoral degrees, how can I trust what she says she wants now?"

If you've chosen Bella to be your mate as I believe you have, then you are going to have to give her a bit more credit, son. As someone who's had just a little bit more experience than you in the area of romantic relationships, let me caution you that constantly intimating that your feelings are more valid than hers is going to cause resentment on her part.

"You're right, I know you're right, but what am I supposed to do, Carlisle? Just allow her to end her life for me? Risk her soul? And just hope that she doesn't despise me for it a few years from now when some sort of maternal instinct kicks in? I couldn't bear that."

What makes you think that that will happen, Edward? You know as well as I do that we are developmentally frozen from the time we are changed. If she doesn't have that instinct now, maybe she never will.

When Rosalie came to us, she was already in a place in her life where she wanted children. And Esme lost her only child. Those feelings and instincts were already there inside them. You can't compare them, Edward. It's not the same thing.

"Well that's certainly something to think about, but even if my fears never come to pass, I would still know that I robbed her of that potential, and robbed the world of whatever legacy she might've had if she never met me. I'll have to live with that for the rest of my existence."

If I ever meet my end, Edward, will I not leave a legacy behind me? Have I not made my mark on this world with the thousands of lives I've saved over the centuries. I never had biological children either.

I sighed. He had me there. He smiled and reached across the desk to pat the back of my hand.

I know you'll come around. It's the right thing for all of us, including Bella. I know this hasn't been an easy life for you, son. But you're going to have to find it within yourself to allow yourself some happiness. You deserve it, you deserve her.

I can see that you aren't ready to talk logistics about changing her yet, just know I'm prepared whenever you are. My door is always open. But for Esme's sake, don't take too long. She worries about what will happen to this family if...Well, as you know, she was devastated after you left us and went to Italy. And the Volturi is only one of the threats looming over Bella at the moment.

I nodded my head contritely. The amount of damage I had caused in the wake of leaving Bella would haunt me for the rest of my existence. Of that, I had no doubt.

"Thanks for the chat, Carlisle. I can always rely on you to keep my head screwed on straight."

"Anytime, Edward," he said out loud, smiling warmly.

Just then, Alice knocked on Carlisle's office door.

"Sorry to interrupt, but it couldn't wait. Edward, don't freak out, but Bella's future went AWOL on me again."

Carlisle was tight-lipped and gave me a pointed look. I didn't need to read his thoughts to see he was trying not to think something along the lines of "See? I was afraid of that."

Less than a second later, I was getting into my car when I slipped my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Bella. It rang once, twice…

"C'mon, Bella! Pick it up!" I anxiously growled into the still-ringing phone. She answered on the fourth ring. I exhaled loudly in relief.

"Bella! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! I'm fine! I know, my future disappeared, right? I'm sorry. Jacob came over unexpectedly, but I told him to leave."

I had expected Jacob was involved in some way. I tried not to think about how my waking nightmare of Jacob joining her for dinner was coming true. But she had turned him away? Now that was unexpected. What did the mutt do to upset her this time, I wondered.

Bella went on to tell me that she was worried that I'd think she had planned to meet Jacob behind my back. So she sent him away so that I wouldn't worry about her? My cold, dead heart swelled with the amount of love and longing I felt for this sweet, silly, considerate, self-sacrificing, kind-hearted girl.

Angel of mercy that she was, the next thing out of her mouth was to invite me over, ending her human weekend a whole day early. I was already on my way to her house after Alice sounded the alarm, in case she needed me. While I fully expected Jacob to be involved, I would not have intervened unless she asked me to or if I found her in some kind of trouble.

That she had chosen to protect my feelings at the expense of the mutt's had me positively exultant. And remembering how and why this whole weekend even began, (presumably, because she wanted to go berry-picking and didn't want me there for that) made me think that maybe she was starting to take her safety more seriously. I could only be grateful for that, if not a little curious as to why now.

She was an absolute vision standing there in the kitchen, completely in her element. She was wearing a white apron over her t-shirt and jeans, her hair tied back in a loose ponytail with a few loose strands framing her exquisite face. She had a dusting of flour splashed across her left cheekbone and chin. She was even barefoot. I wanted to kiss every inch of her, but I settled for what was appropriate. More or less.

Before things got too out of hand, I reluctantly put some space in us. I hopped up on the kitchen counter sitting opposite where she had been rolling out some sort of pastry dough. I gestured for her to continue what she had been working on.

With her back to me, she returned to the task of assembling a pie. I watched her subtle movements as she confidently laid the dough into a baking dish. Using the fingertips of both hands, she methodically crimped the edges into a traditional pie crust shape. I was transfixed by the practiced motions of her fingers as she told me some of the details of her weekend.

"Ok, so, I need to be honest with you," she began, sounding hesitant, her eyes still on her work.

"What I told you before about wanting to spend time with Charlie was the truth, but it wasn't the whole truth," she looked over her shoulder at me, gauging my reaction.

"Go on," I encouraged while maintaining my relaxed posture. She kept her eyes down and continued working on her pie, pouring a viscous purple sludge into the pie crust that she had just prepared. It was hard for me to not see her expressive eyes as she spoke, but it must've been easier for her to speak to me this way.

"This pie...it's a blackberry pie. I wanted the time to myself because I...God, this is going to sound so stupid," her face scrunched up in embarrassment. "I wanted to pick blackberries to make this pie for Charlie. I was worried that I might get a little bloodied up by the thorns, and I didn't want you or your family to be uncomfortable. Or me to be, ya know, at risk." Bella swallowed hard and risked another glance over her shoulder. She seemed surprised by what she saw on my face. She turned around to fully face me.

"I know," I said simply.

"And you're not mad? Or sad? Or getting cold feet?"

I closed the distance between us and took her face between my hands.

"Just the opposite, in fact. It is a huge relief to me that you are finally starting to see us for the dangerous creatures we are. And that you're actively trying to keep yourself safe. It's a load off my mind that I'm not the only one with that goal in mind."

"Edward, I don't think-" But I didn't let her finish the absurd statement she was about to me.

"I know you don't think we could ever hurt you, and I'd like to think that's true, too. But we can't get complacent about the fact that accidents happen, and with you, they happen a lot. So until you're a bit more sturdy, we shouldn't take any chances. And I appreciate that you seem to be taking that seriously." I kissed her once more softly on the lips.

I slid my hands from the soft skin of her face, down her long, elegant neck to her shoulders. Then my hands descended further down her arms so I could take her petite hands in my own. I reveled at the sensation of goosebumps raising under my fingers as they trailed across her alabaster skin. Thoroughly abstracted, I wondered where else on her body she got goosebumps.

"Until I'm a bit more sturdy?" she prodded with an excited gleam in her eyes. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

"It means that I'm done assuming that I know what you want better than you do. You deserve more of my trust and faith than that. If you say that a life of immortality is what you want, I'm going to try to start believing that."

Her face broke into a jubilant smile.

"Now," I continued, tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ear, "Would you allow me to make a confession of my own?"

"Oh boy. Let's hear it," she chewed on her luscious lower lip, and I momentarily lost focus.

"I knew about the whole blackberry scheme because I saw you pick them from where I was watching you in your yard," I cut to the chase, utterly humiliated. Her eyes grew wide.

"I was a little thrown when you asked for your human weekend. And to be honest, it was much more difficult than it should've been, being away from you. I let my imagination run away with me, and I just had to know that you were safe. I am so very sorry for invading your privacy."

I said the words so quickly I wasn't sure if she had heard all of them. I also hoped she didn't make me promise to never do such a thing again, because it was a promise I wasn't sure I could keep.

She was silent for a painfully long moment. I willed her with my eyes to say something.

"I should be more upset with you for spying on me," she said, raising an eyebrow in consternation. "But it makes me anxious being away from you, too, so I get it. I'm curious though, you said your imagination ran off with you. What did you think I was doing?" She looked amused.

"Riding motorcycles with werewolves?" I sheepishly replied.

"I guess I earned that," Bella admitted with a shrug. She turned back around to take her now fully assembled pie and slide it into the hot oven. She then set a kitchen timer.

"Would you mind humoring me with one more question?" I used my most persuasive voice.

"Shoot," she answered affirmatively.

"I was just wondering what you said to Jacob to make him leave. I wish I could've seen that!" I said truthfully.

Bella rolled her eyes at me. "Be nice!" she scolded. "I told him that he can't just show up out of the blue. That if we're going to hang out, it needs to be planned, otherwise, Alice's visions don't work right and then you go a little crazy."

She hesitated briefly. "I hope that was ok. I wouldn't have said anything about Alice's gift except that she's talked about it before right in front of him," Bella explained.

My eyes widened. Now that came as a surprise. "Really? When?"

"When she came back to Forks and found me alive. Jacob was here, and she told us what she saw you doing in Volterra," she said scowling at the memory.

I nodded in understanding. I would be grateful to Alice for the rest of my existence.

"How long does your pie need to bake?" I asked, wanting to drop the subject of Volterra. Forever, if possible.

"An hour. What should we do in the meantime? Charlie won't be back until at least 4." Bella noted.

I grinned at her crookedly. "I can think of a few things."

Wanting nothing more than to show her how much I had missed her, I picked her up and carried her to her bedroom in my arms at vampire speed.