**BPOV**
It was finally here, the day before our wedding day. If I was being honest, I was thinking quite a bit more about our honeymoon than the wedding itself. I wondered where we would go. I racked my brain for exotic locales that were known for dreary weather. Russia? Iceland, maybe?
Every time I begged Edward for a hint, he just threw his head back and laughed devilishly. It was such a beautiful sight to see his angelic face so joyful that I started asking him just to see his reaction more than out of genuine curiosity.
I imagined Edward holding me close to him in the steamy, mystical waters of Iceland's Blue Lagoon and sighed dreamily when I thought of him doing that thing to my neck...
After I bit his head off for leaving me hanging the other night, he had been very careful to be even more chaste than he was before we started pushing the boundaries. I let it be, knowing it was an impossible situation until after the wedding.
Nothing short of everything would've satisfied me at this point, and as much as I enjoyed our attempts at "practicing," the teasing had become almost painful. Our wedding night was tomorrow. Tomorrow!
I had a feeling that the journey to our honeymoon destination would be a long one, so it was anyone's guess whether we'd try tomorrow, or the next day, but within 48 hours, Edward and I would be married, and we would try to make love. Holy crow!
"Penny for your thoughts?" Edward asked softly from the driver's seat of his Volvo, giving my hand a slight squeeze where it rested on my lap.
I smirked and bit my lip. "I think that might qualify as prostitution."
Edward's eyebrows shot up sky-high at that, and after saying nothing for a moment, he cleared his throat in a nervous-sounding way. He looked like he'd be blushing if he could.
Then he recovered and turned to look at me. His smoldering eyes gazed at me through his long, dark lashes."Then, it's probably a good thing I can't hear your thoughts. If I got into a car wreck, Emmett would never let me hear the end of it," Edward flashed my favorite crooked smile. I nodded in agreement.
Edward made the turn onto the narrow road bordered by alder trees on either side. As usual, he was driving too fast for comfort. With a crunch of gravel, the Volvo jolted to a stop in front of the house.
Before I had time to let myself out of the car, he was there, holding the door open and extending his hand out to me. I took it, and with the slightest twitch of his wrist, I was vaulted into his arms like Morticia Addams being flung into the arms of Gomez as they tangoed.
We were nose to nose now, my feet dangling off the ground. I was supported by his arm around my back. My breath came in ragged spurts from having the wind knocked out of me. His lips were on mine then, kissing me with a fervor that I had never felt before. Then just as quickly, he set me down lightly on my feet. I was just as breathless, but this time for another reason.
I blinked a few times, dazed, and then took a step toward the front door but was stopped by a gentle tug of my hand.
"We're taking a detour. I'm under strict orders not to let you see the inside of the house until the big reveal tomorrow," Edward explained at my quizzical expression.
He held out his hand, which I wordlessly took, and he led me around the house to the northern face of the Cullen home.
Edward scooped me up into his arms. Suddenly, my stomach lurched into my throat as we shot up toward the second-floor balcony, landing with a soft thud.
I took a moment to reorient myself. Looking through the wall-sized window, I could see we were standing outside Carlisle's office. Carlisle himself was sitting in his leather wingback chair. He turned to us and waved us inside with a smile.
Edward slid open the french doors and stepped aside to let me enter first. Carlisle rose to greet us smiling warmly. "Lovely to see you, Bella. It's been quite a busy week around here! Esme is so excited you'd think it was her wedding," Carlisle chuckled affectionately.
I smiled back, feeling the heat rising to my face. "Good to see you, too, Carlisle. I can't wait to see what Esme and Alice have planned. I'm sure it will be magical," I said, meaning it.
I took a seat in one of the chairs facing Carlisle's large, ornately carved desk. Edward pulled the other chair closer to mine and sat down beside me. He took my hand, lacing his fingers through mine, and rested them gently on his lap.
Carlisle took his seat behind the desk.
"Thank you both for coming to see me today. For reasons that I'm sure I don't need to explain, I wanted to talk to you both before you jet off on your honeymoon," he smiled a bit ruefully. "Now, Bella, I assume you're still of the mind that you want to start the transformation process soon?"
"Absolutely," I said firmly, giving Edward's hand a tight squeeze.
"Very well," Carlisle said, all business. "The purpose of today's conversation is to answer any of your questions and to iron out the particulars so that we're all on the same page about how and when your transformation will take place," he paused briefly. "You're the only one of us to ever have a choice in the matter, so I want to honor your wishes as closely as possible.
"That said, I also think it prudent to get this out of the way before you and Edward engage in any, shall we say, risky behavior. Just to be on the safe side," he added with an apologetic smile. I could tell he was trying hard not to embarrass me.
"In case I break you by accident, he means," Edward grimaced.
"Edward, you know I have complete faith in you, but I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the risk and didn't prepare Bella accordingly," Carlisle explained patiently.
"Sounds sensible to me," I assented with a small smile.
"It would," Edward muttered sarcastically under his breath.
I sighed in exasperation, "I don't believe you! I thought we were finally in agreement that it would be better for everyone if I became one of you," I huffed, embarrassed to be squabbling like this in front of Carlisle.
Edward exhaled loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not better for you," he whispered so softly I couldn't be sure he said it.
"I'm sorry, love. I've just been fighting against this for so long... It goes against the grain to sit here and go along without objection, but I can control myself. Please continue, Carlisle."
"Yes, you can control yourself. That's why we're here," I smiled brightly, squeezing his hand again.
"So then," Carlisle interjected, "Bella, what are your questions and concerns? I'll do my best to answer them as candidly as possible. I apologize if I'm repeating myself, but it would make me feel better if I knew without a shadow of a doubt that you are 100% fully informed before I have any part in the termination of a healthy human life. I guess you could say I'm pro-choice," he chuckled.
"Carlisle, was that a dad joke?" I gaped.
Both Edward and Carlisle laughed at the surprise in my tone.
"I've been known to make them from time to time," my soon-to-be father-in-law's silky smooth voice rang with amusement. I giggled. It was impossible to feel uncomfortable around Carlisle.
"Okay, so I think I get the gist of the transformation part. Edward bites me, and then I burn for three days." Edward absently rubbed a cool thumb over the scar on the back of my hand. "And when my heart stops beating, I wake up a vampire."
"Yes. Three days, more or less. And just like everything else that's completely unprecedented about your transformation is that you have had the added benefit, for lack of a better word, of experiencing something of what that burning will feel like. You can expect that, but all over your body. For about 72 hours."
I locked down my muscles making every effort not to cringe outwardly, but I couldn't control the sickened expression that twisted my features. Edward wasn't facing me, but I knew he could see my face in Carlisle's thoughts, and he tensed.
"I can handle it," I nodded with more confidence than I felt. "What's three days for an eternity with you?" I asked softly, looking at Edward.
"Though, in theory, we will have time to plan and prepare. So I'm hoping that if we get enough morphine into your body before the venom spreads that your experience won't be as difficult as it was for the rest of us. I hope you don't mind being a guinea pig for science," Carlisle theorized with his characteristic optimism.
"And Edward, I hope you'll forgive me for taking the liberty, but I put together a little emergency kit for you to pack on your honeymoon in the event that you need to administer the morphine yourself."
Carlisle reached into his desk drawer and pulled out what looked like a small black leather case. He unzipped it and showed me the contents. Inside were hermetically-sealed hypodermic syringes and a vial of the powerful narcotic. He zipped the case shut and slid it across the desk to Edward who accepted it with a curt nod.
"So what's your timeline, Bella?" Carlisle inquired.
I had given that a lot of thought as of recently. The selfish part of me, the part that wanted forever to start as soon as possible fantasized about Edward changing me in the heat of passion on our honeymoon. Though, my more practical self knew that I couldn't do that to my parents. I couldn't vanish on my honeymoon never to be seen again.
I reasoned that it would be better if Charlie already thought I was away at school, busy with a new husband in a new town. He would accept the tapering off of my phone calls to be a normal occurrence for a teenager freshly off to college. At least it would buy me some time before I ran out of excuses for not visiting on the holidays.
"I like the Dartmouth plan. I think that would be the least painful to mom and Charlie if I went away to school, and ya know, I got too busy to call and visit. I'd rather be a bad daughter in their eyes than a dead one," I whispered that last part, my voice thick with pain.
Carlisle nodded gravely.
"Really? We're going to Dartmouth?" Edward asked, sounding cheerful for the first time today.
"For a semester," I shrugged. "It's already paid for, right? If I hate it or flunk out, you can change me then," I said with a hard-edged laugh.
Edward gave me a fierce hug. "You're going to love university life," he whispered excitedly in my ear before pulling away.
"New Hampshire then, when the time comes," Carlisle confirmed. "And I'm sorry that I even need to ask this, Edward. But just so that we're all clear, Bella, in the event that you are seriously injured on your honeymoon, do you even want any extraordinary measures to be taken to save your human life? Even if it means a long and painful recovery? Or would you like to be changed right then?"
"IF it comes to that, it sort of uncomplicates things, doesn't it?" I asked wryly, my mouth suddenly very dry. "Change me and I guess we tell my parents I died in an accident. They'll be devastated, but at least it would sort of be the truth."
One look at Edward had me mentally backpedaling. He looked...nauseated. I didn't need to be a mind reader to know that he was imagining being the one to tell Charlie that I died on his watch, on our honeymoon, when he was supposed to protect me. On second thought, it would probably be better for Charlie to think we both died, I thought grimly.
"There's just one more thing," I said, furrowing my brow and chewing on my lip. I knew what I was going to ask for next would not go over well.
Edward could read me well enough to look concerned. "Anything, Bella, what is it?"
I bit back a laugh. I would've thought he'd learned his lesson from the last time he made me that same promise.
I took a deep, fortifying breath. "Rosalie said that when she was turned, she begged for death," I began. I could tell by his face that Edward was surprised by the direction the conversation had taken.
"If it's the same for me...I don't want Edward there to hear it." I closed my eyes, bracing for his explosion. He did not disappoint.
"WHAT?!" Edward roared, jumping to his feet, ripping his hand out of mine in the process.
"Bella, you can't ask me to do that. No! Absolutely not. No. NO!" Edward shook his head so fast, it was slightly blurred. "Hell no! Over my dead body. And if I haven't made my thoughts on that clear enough in English, let me say it in six other languages: NON, NEIN, NYET, NÃO, NEE, NIE!" he lambasted. I could swear I saw the picture frames on the fall rattle with the intensity of his voice.
"You've made your point, Edward, you don't have to be an ass about it," I said testily, crossing my arms tightly over my chest. "Besides, I thought we were going to discuss this together," I said glaring right back at him.
"And I was with you up until that last point. But you can't ask me to stay away from you when you're burning, Bella. I told you, didn't I? Wild horses couldn't keep me away from you."
A cool hand reached out to cup the side of my face. I stubbornly tried to look away, but his gentle-but-firm hand was having none of it.
"It's sweet and not at all surprising that you would be so self-sacrificing, Bella, but you can't ask me to be your creator and then leave you to burn so that I may spare myself the agony of your pain. It goes against everything I stand for, and I won't do it!" His own arms crossed stubbornly against his chest, mirroring my posture.
"Do you think I could bear your pain any more than you can bear mine? Especially when I'm in that state?" I argued. "I'm asking as much for me as I am for you."
His eyes softened and his fists unclenched slightly.
In a softer voice now, "I can promise you this, Bella, when my venom is coursing through your veins, you won't be thinking about anybody else's pain but your own." Edward's eyes were heavy with grief. "You let me worry about what I can bear," he pleaded, folding my hand back into his.
"Edward has a point, Bella," Carlisle chimed in. "As your creator, it would be Edward's right and more importantly, his responsibility to help you through the transition as best he can." Edward shot his father a grateful look.
I knew Edward would react that way, though I had to try. I just hadn't anticipated Carlisle taking his side. I sighed in concession.
"Okay, okay. Have it your way, you silly, stubborn, masochistic man!" I fumed.
"I think that should wrap things up for today," Carlisle said, trying to diffuse the tension. "I will make the necessary arrangements in New Hampshire. You two go out and enjoy the day. Bella," Carlisle took my hands in both of his, "I will see you tomorrow. I am honored that you have chosen to join our family. I couldn't ask for a better daughter or partner for Edward," he leaned forward and softly kissed my cheek. I smiled and lowered my burning, watery eyes to the pale, spotless carpet.
"Edward, I'll see you tonight. I'll be driving the getaway car," Carlisle smiled in amusement.
Not understanding, I looked up at Edward.
"Emmett is insisting on a bachelor party since I won't be staying with you tonight. It's bad luck if I see you before the wedding and all," Edward explained regretfully.
"Oh right, of course," I said flippantly. "Just make sure you wash off all the stripper glitter when you get home. Wouldn't want any to get on your tux," I replied acidly.
I was pouting. Somehow I hadn't expected my vampire fiancé to observe such ridiculous human superstitions, and I was loath to sleep alone. Not to mention, the idea of buxom exotic dancers with their hands (and god knows what else) all over MY Edward didn't exactly sit well with me, either.
"Silly, beautiful girl," Edward smiled widely and brushed his lips over the back of my hand. "No strippers. Though, I can't guarantee Emmett will keep his clothes on," he laughed. "Just a few mountain lions and maybe a grizzly or two."
"I guess that's alright then," I grumbled, the disappointment not entirely leaving my voice. "See you tomorrow, Carlisle. Thank you for sitting down with us. I feel better now that we're all on the same page," I said sincerely to the always gracious elder Cullen.
"Anytime, Bella. My door is always open. And that includes the balcony!" Carlisle chuckled and gestured to the French doors leading outside.
I had almost forgotten that we had to exit out the back way. I inwardly rolled my eyes at my sister aka my drill sergeant wedding planner.
"Thanks, Carlisle. See you later tonight," Edward said as he followed me through the sliding glass doors.
Edward grabbed me up into his arms and leapt easily over the handrail. I screeched as the ground rushed toward us, but we landed as softly as if I had ridden an elevator to the ground floor. I slowly opened my clenched-shut eyelids and looked up into his dazzling, smirking face.
"You're adorable when you're jealous, by the way," he murmured, pressing his forehead to mine and kissing the tip of my nose. "It's surprisingly enjoyable."
I narrowed my eyes at him, my gorgeous, smug, gravity-defying, show-off of a vampire fiancé. Whatever else happened I could live through, because tomorrow he really would be mine.
**A/N** Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Thank you for your patience with this update. I hope you all have a safe, happy holiday with loved ones around. I am so grateful to all of you for reading and supporting this fic.
It's one thing for somebody to "like" a post on social media, but the validation I get from all your wonderfully positive feedback on this story (which has grown rather personal to me)...well, it's so, so much more than that, so I thank you from the bottom of my Twihard heart. Stay well, my friends!