A/N: Hello again friends! To those reading in the US, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend! And here is the next step in the story. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 17: Aftermath

Bella

I was sad to see Jasper, Emmett and Rose leave. Once the fire had stopped – which was sort of disturbing to think about, actually – they hung out for a bit, but left after a day maybe. The other vampire wasn't allowed in the cabin, just in case, so I only really saw him from a distance. Jasper was convinced that he would be fine, but it was an abundance of precaution keeping him away from me.

When they left, Rose gave me another big hug and a smile. I thanked her for being there for me, and she smiled telling me that she just wanted me to be happy. She did give me a lot to think about, though. And I was sure that it was going to linger in my head for a while until I made a final decision.

Edward and I went about our days after that in sort of a haze. He helped me get set up with the online school, so that started consuming my days. It was fine, it just wasn't what I wanted to do. I felt isolated and trapped; even though I was with Edward, I still wanted the ability to roam around and go places. I couldn't be seen anywhere, so that was impossible.

I spoke to Charlie often. He seemed to be doing well. He spoke of getting to know the Alaska coven, learning about his gift and how to use it. When he first told me that he had a gift I was shocked. I hadn't expected that, since Edward thought they were sort of rare. But Charlie had one, and he was working on controlling it. Apparently one of the Alaksa coven was good at helping vampires with gifts. I thought idly if I would have a gift, but I didn't voice anything. Edward had been better about the concept of me changing, but I didn't want to push it.

We hadn't continued our physical relationship. I didn't know how to talk about it, and he never brought it up or started anything. I stayed frustrated, because I was trying to figure out how to talk to him about it. I knew his thoughts on marriage, which was not something I wanted yet, and I knew that I had pushed him in a direction he didn't want to go. I was trying to be respectful of his feelings, but at the same time I missed being with him.

About a month after his siblings left, we were sitting doing our normal routine of me doing school work, and him reading, when I finally got fed up.

"You aren't going to touch me again, are you?" I demanded, raising my eyes to his. He looked at me with wide eyes. He brought his hand up to my face, stroking my cheek. I shook my head. "That's not what I meant."

"I don't know if I can, Bella. I almost lost it the last time. What if this time I do? I think we should wait." He sighed, putting his book down. I set my laptop down also, shifting so I was facing him while he did the same. "I want to be with you again. I mean, of course I do! Being with you and expressing physically what you mean to me was an amazing experience. I want to do this every day. But I don't want to hurt you."

"What makes you think that you will? The last time was fine. No issues, actually, except the fight afterwards. It was wonderful for me; I just feel like you don't want me anymore." I bit my lip. That made me sound like a pathetic child begging for attention. I looked down at my hands in my lap, embarrassed that I hadn't censored my thoughts better.

I felt Edward's hand on my chin, raising it up so I could look at him. He had shifted closer to me on the couch. "Never think that, love. I want you every single day."

"You are beating yourself up for sleeping with me, though, aren't you? Because we should have been married first." I didn't ask, I knew.

His eyes betrayed that I was right. "I'm trying not to. It was a choice we both made, and I do not regret it. But, yes, I would have preferred that we get married first."

"Why didn't you just tell me that, then, Edward? You are talking about not wanting to hurt me, when you and I both know that's wrong! We were together without any complications, and you tell me that line of crap? Really?" Suddenly, I was angry again. I closed my eyes taking a deep breath, not wanting to be angry or have another fight.

When I opened my eyes, he was staring at me, inches from my face. "In truth, love, I fear both issues. If I lost control, just once, I could kill you. I also worry that I may have damaged your soul by stealing your virtue."

That's when I'd had it. "For god's sake, Edward! My virtue? Are you kidding me?" I stood up and walked away from him. "First, you assume that I care about my virtue or my soul, or whatever. Just because you haven't grown past the early 20th century, doesn't mean that I have that same concern. Not only is that thought outdated, you are taking all responsibility off of me! I made the choice, and I stuck by it. You could have chosen to stop me, but you didn't."

I stared straight into his eyes, standing a few feet from the couch. "We both could have stopped. We didn't, and now we deal with it. If you believe that you just damned my soul because we slept together before marriage, then I honestly don't even know how to talk to you. Maybe we are just too different, Edward. Our ideals don't match."

He stood up slowly, eyes wild, reaching out and placing his hands on my arms. "What are you saying, Bella?"

"Part of being in a relationship is communication, right? Well, the other important part is that you both need to be on the same page. We should have similar thoughts, or at least similar ideals, like marriage, kids, where to live...we don't share similar thoughts on anything." I looked down again, concentrating on what I was trying to say. "I know we love each other Edward, but maybe it's not enough."

When he didn't say anything for a few minutes, I raised my eyes to his face. He looked stoic, like I hadn't said anything at all. I heard his cell ringing in his pocket, but we both ignored it. He stared down into my eyes, not moving, facial expressions staying firm. We stood there for a few moments just staring at each other, not willing to break contact. When his cell phone rang again, though, I disconnected myself from him.

"I'm going to go take a nap. Answer your phone, since clearly, it's important. I'll be out in a couple hours so I can make dinner." I started walking toward the bedroom, my mind clear finally. "Don't bother making it for me; I can manage on my own."

I closed the door firmly, knowing that it wouldn't matter if I locked it; he could get in regardless. I just hoped that he would respect my privacy while I mulled over what I had just done. I laid down on the bed, curling on my side.

If we were in just two different places, maybe what I said was the right thing to do? My chest burned and ached as I thought of separating from him, though. I couldn't imagine my life without him in any way. But I also couldn't keep doing this. He and I were born at very different times, and for him to expect me to conform with his ideals was crazy – but, if I'm being totally honest, it's wrong of me to do the same. I had no right to force my own ideals onto him.

Which took me right back to: we are just not in the same place. I didn't want to get married for a long time; he seemed to want it much sooner. I wanted to continue our physical relationship; he wants to get married first. I want to handle things on my own, only asking for help when I need it; he wants to take care of me, do everything for me.

As I thought more and more about everything, I came to a grim determination that I had been right. What I said was right. I loved him with my entire soul, but some things can't be settled just because you love someone. We both had to compromise in order to work it out together, right? How in the hell were we going to do that?

Edward

I stared at Bella as she walked down the hallway, and my dead heart broke with every step she took. When my cell rang the third time, I finally was able to answer it.

"Hello, Alice." I said into the phone, knowing for sure it had to be my sister.

"What the hell did you do, Edward?" she snapped at me.

"I don't think that I did anything, other than be honest with her. You and Mother both told me I had to do that; I needed to tell her how I felt so we could talk things through. She said that maybe love wasn't enough for us, because we are so different." I sat down on the couch, hoping like hell my sister could help direct me to how to fix this.

Alice sighed. "I have no words of wisdom for you. Liz needs to be closer to you both to help; she never saw Bella choosing this, because it wasn't an option before. Or, maybe, it was just a faint choice that she couldn't see it to the end."

"What did she choose, Alice? What did she see?"

"Bella is wavering, actually. She hasn't made a hard decision yet, but there are two possibilities that are going on in her head."

"What are they?" I demanded. If I had any hope of fixing this, I needed to at least understand the outcome and what she was really thinking. I cursed again that I couldn't hear her thoughts.

"I'm not telling you."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because, Edward, you two should talk. It's up to you both to fix this, if it's even possible. I'm not telling you all the secrets so you are armed with knowledge you shouldn't have. Go in there and talk to her, damnit! That's how you find out!" I could almost see Alice rolling her eyes at me. "You take this kind of risk in a relationship; even a vampire one. Yes, you are mates, but does that make it a forgone conclusion that you will always be together? That you won't go through hard times? She is human, so I think not. You can't expect her to feel as deeply for you right now; humans are simply not capable of that."

I growled at her. "You have no idea, Alice. Bella feels things deeper than anyone I have met in my life. She is selfless and kind, and strong. She will fight for those she loves. She loves me deeply, I know. I have felt that from her."

"Then what are you waiting for, Edward?"

Evil little pixie had a point. She got it out of me, just like she knew she would. "Bye, Alice."

I walked to the back bedroom, knocking on the door slightly. When Bella didn't answer, I opened the door a little. She was curled up on her side on the bed, with her back to me. Without a second thought, I laid down next to her, putting my arm around her. I could hear her breathing and tell she wasn't asleep.

"I have to beg your forgiveness again, Bella. I never meant to make you feel unwanted; or feel like your ideals or wants in life didn't matter. You are right, though. We do have to communicate; we have to compromise. We love each other, and we can do that. But I need to start by opening up to you more. I am dreadfully sorry for holding back."

She sniffed, bringing her hand up to her eye to wipe away a tear. "I do love you, Edward. But I just don't understand how we can be together when we are so different."

"Like you said, communication, love. We need to get much better at it." I held my breath as I smelled her arousal start to swirl around me, making me hard instantly. In the last month, I had ignored this; settled on loving her from afar until I could marry her. She was right, though. We had made the decision together to be intimate, and I was now making another decision for her. I pressed my body into hers. "Also, I'm tired of holding myself back. I want to feel you again, my love. I've been dreaming of it, and holding myself back wasn't the right way to handle it. We have already crossed the bridge I thought I couldn't until after marriage; I do not want to wait any longer to have you again."

She shifted in my arms, looking at me. "Don't say that just because you know that's what I want. You can't do this with me and make me feel guilty about it afterwards."

I pulled her leg over mine and ground into her again. "I want you, Bella. I won't feel guilty about it. I can't when you feel so wonderful. I promise. I just want to be with you again."

She raised her eyebrow at me. "Sex doesn't solve all of the other problems that we have right now, Edward."

"I know, love." I leaned down and captured her lips. "But it helps us start the communication we need, right?"

I was rewarded with a groan, and a throaty "Edward", and I got impossibly harder.

I ground into her again, and watched in satisfaction as her eyes rolled back into her head. Before she could blink, I had my jeans, her shorts and our underwear off, not even bothering with anything else. The need I had for her was coursing through my body and I couldn't wait any longer. I shifted so she was on her back, and I looked at her to make sure she was ok with this. She smiled and then bit her lip looking up at me.

My hands wandered down her body, feeling her skin pebble under my touch. Her eyes got even darker as I touched her breasts, before sliding down and circling her clit softly. I wanted her to fall apart when I was inside her, so I didn't spend much time in the current position. I moved my hand back up, touching her face slightly with the back of my hand, staring into her eyes.

Without hesitation, I slipped inside her. As her overwhelming warmth engulfed me, I felt my eyes roll back. I concentrated on the feel of her, being cautious to be gentle while starting to move inside her. The heat wrapped around me was making all my nerves live wires. Like everything was on fire, but in a good way. I leaned down and captured her lips in mine, and she kissed me back with a passion. Her hands settled on my back, pulling as if trying to get me even closer to her.

"I love you, Bella. I love you so much," I whispered in her ear when I finally released her lips so she could breathe. "I am so sorry; I will never do that again. Please tell me that you love me; that you want to be with me."

I felt her tongue lick the side of my ear. "I am with you, Edward. I love you, just as much, if not more. Just...oh god...just keep loving me just like that."

And then I lost almost all of my coherent thought again, as I continued to move inside her. Her breath was ragged, her eyes – when I saw them and they weren't closed – were wild with lust. I decided that Bella like this was the most open and emotional part of her. She was free to express everything. She never really shied away from things before, but I really felt her openness like this.

I felt her clamp down on me, pushing her chest into me even harder, and I completely lost it. Her unraveling beneath me was the best thing I'd ever experienced, felt, or saw. I lost myself shortly after that, resting my forehead against her shoulder, just inhaling her beautiful scent. We stayed like that for a few minutes, before I disconnected us, and brought her new clothes to wear with a sheepish expression. She didn't say anything, but the smile she gave me as she settled on my chest, before she slept, told me everything I needed to know.

Carlisle

I had known that Alice and Liz had been working with Edward on improving his relationship, and I was trying to stay out of it. Honestly, I knew that he didn't want me involved, and I was trying to respect that. Everyone in the family would seek out Alice and Liz for advice because of their gifts, and many would come to me if all they wanted was an ear. Alice and Liz were for decisions, paths forward. I was the ear – the person who would listen without judgement. Edward never came to me until he found this human.

I was trying to respect his privacy, and not question too heavily the comfortable place we had finally gotten to when he left for the cabin. I did not want to put a strain on the relationship. Which is why I was so surprised when he called me out of the blue one day.

"Edward? Is everything ok?"

"I think I messed up, Carl-Father. I need some advice."

I was so surprised that I didn't respond right away. He asked if I was still there, and it broke me out of the stupor I was in. "Yes, I'm here. What can I do to help, Edward?"

He explained the situation with Bella, even that they had been intimate. I understood where he was coming from with the whole marriage thing, having come from a time when that was essential just as he had. The concern I had in the conversation is that Bella had been contemplating ending the relationship, and Edward had chosen to sleep with her instead of really talk it out.

"Son, I want you to really listen to what I'm saying."

"I will, I promise. That's why I called you. I really need help."

I smiled at that, since he had only ever come to me once before. "You cannot fix all of your relationship problems by sleeping together. Yes, I know that was one of the issues, that Bella wanted to again, but you must talk to her. Tell her everything you are thinking and feeling, and she must do the same with you. She may be happier now, but if you do not truly bare everything then you will never be able to resolve this fully. It will hang over both of your heads until one of you gets pushed too far."

I heard Edward sigh. "I knew that was dumb. I just realized that I had been holding myself back and that wasn't good for either of us. Father, I've never wanted anyone, physically, as much as I want her."

"I understand, Edward, truly I do. When you are in the presence of your mate, it is often hard to hold yourself back. Please, try to open up to her and talk. Do this as much as possible and you will mend this riff between you, I know you will."

"Thank you, Father. Truly. I appreciate your help."

After we hung up, I was still thinking about the changes in him since Bella came into his life. It was an amazing thing for me, since all I had wanted for years was for him to see me as a father figure, though I knew I would never take over fully for his true father. I loved him as a son, and I loved his mother beyond anything else in the world. I had just wanted to help him.

As I was sitting in my office, I overheard Emmett and Rose talking about the coven they had helped disband, and I got me thinking about when I heard what they were going to do, before leaving. When I heard Liz and Alice discussing killing this vampire in a coven we had only met briefly; I raised my concern with my wife. We were enjoying each other one afternoon, while everyone else was out of the house, and I confronted her.

"I don't like the thought of killing another, Liz," I said, kissing her hair. Her head was leaning on my chest, her hand stroking my arm. "It feels wrong to seek him out to kill him, rather than give him a chance."

"I've already told you about the paths, Carlisle. If we don't kill him, then overwhelming sadness will envelope us. When I made the choice to not send anyone up there, Alice saw that he would kill Bella. None of us want that. But when I made the choice to send Rose, Emmett and Jasper, the sadness went away and they were all happy. Bella is safe for now."

"For now?" I shifted so that I could see her better. "What do you mean for now?"

She shrugged, looking up at me. "I can't see every facet of the future, you know that. There could always be something that shifts later and creates new options that could lead her to be in trouble. For now, though, she will be safe. They will get there soon and take care of the problem."

She seemed entirely unphased by the course of action, but I was still troubled. Of course, I didn't want Edward to lose his mate, or Charlie to lose his daughter. I just never liked the idea of killing without providing a chance at redemption. But, like always, I trusted my wife to make the right decision.

Liz had been right about them getting to the cabin soon. Before we knew it, the fight was over and it had happened exactly as Alice had said it would. I never voiced my concern again; I just trusted Liz and Alice to lead us all down the right path. By the time Rose, Emmett and Jasper got home, with a newcomer trailing behind them, I was satisfied that I could live with the choice we had made.

Laurant was around the same age as me. It turned out that he had grown up in France around the same time that I had been in London. We chatted for a while, before he ultimately determined that he was uncomfortable living this close to humans. We tried to teach him our way of life, but it was hard on him. I knew it would be; he was set in his ways and hadn't found his compassion for humans yet.

Liz and Laurant went on a hunt together, and by the time they came back he had made his choice. He was going to join Esme and Charlie with the Denali clan. Liz assured me that it was safe for him to be there, out in the middle of nowhere without humans close enough to pose a concern. She saw that he would be happy there, and that was good enough for me.

Three weeks after Laurant had left to make his way to Alaska, though, everything turned. I had just come home from another shift at the hospital when Liz and Alice approached me. Jasper, as always, hovered behind Alice, but so did Rose and Emmett. Immediately concerned, I glanced through the group.

"What happened? Is it Bella? Charlie?" I mind swirled with possibilities.

Alice shook her head, taking a step toward me. "Victoria. The part of the coven who got away. She's made a decision." I took another step closer to her, putting my hands on her shoulders. She was visibly shaking. "She's creating an army. She's fueled by anger at losing her mate."

I glanced at Liz. "I thought they weren't tied like that?"

Liz shook her head. "They weren't. James didn't care about her, but she never knew that. She was fully devoted to him. I saw that much in the choices she was making around him. Jasper felt her connection to James, but knew it wasn't reciprocated. We all thought Victoria would be of concern, I just had no idea she would do this."

I looked back to Alice. "When, Alice? How much time do we have to prepare?"

Her eyes glazed over. "If she stays on this current path, then we have about three months. Four, maybe, if she can't get the numbers she wants."

"Wait, what kind of army?"

Jasper took a step forward. "Newborns."

Now it made sense. Why Jasper seemed to tense, why Alice looked like she could cry, and why Emmett looked fierce. A newborn army headed for us was nothing to scoff at. I remembered the newborn armies that Jasper had been a part of, though of course I hadn't known him at the time. I remembered the devastation they had brought to the southern states and into Mexico. The thought of a newborn army this close to Forks was terrifying.

"Where should we go?" I moved over to Liz, knowing she would have the right path forward.

"We need to choose two paths," she said, leaning her head against my chest. "We need to talk to the wolves again. I can only see a positive outcome if we bring them into this. Second, we need to all pack up and go to Edward and Bella as soon as possible. We cannot have this army come close to town; the cabin is the best place due to the isolation it provides."

"Why do we need the wolves involved?" I asked her, dreading the answer. Unfortunately, she verbalized the fear I had.

"She has too many. Or will, by then, according to Alice. We need more people to help us." Liz glanced up at me. "There's something else, a little more hidden, but it's after the fight with the newborns. I can't see it clearly yet as it's a remote possibility. I am sure as we get close, I'll be able to see it more clearly. The fact is, though, we must make those two choices and fast. We cannot delay in leaving, but we must speak with the wolves before we go."

Trusting her as I always did, I sat down on the couch and pulled out my cell phone, calling Sam Uley on the reservation. He was surprised to hear from me, but was amenable to meeting up to discuss a new threat. He was a smart man who thought things through carefully. Though they had never said anything about our treaty, we all just assumed it was still in effect. We made arrangements to meet at the treaty line the next afternoon.

I was wishing Edward was with us by the time we got there. It would have been nice to know what they were thinking at that moment. Jasper said they were all on edge, but not overtly dangerous at this time. I took that as a good sign, and allowed Liz to take the lead in explanations. They were all in shock by the time we got to the newborns.

"Wait, so they are coming here?" a boy in the back said, stepping forward. "We can't let that many blood suckers near the town!"

"Quil, stop," Sam commanded. Quil took a step back, looking down. "You said we had another choice to make? What was that?"

"We need to find a more remote area for this to happen. We have a cabin in the Northwest Territories, close to the Alberta boarder. If we all choose to go there, then we will be in a better area for this fight. We can keep them away from the population of Alberta if we draw them north of our cabin into the woods. Not many live there. It's safer for the humans if we do that."

Sam nodded, his face passive. "And I assume that you are telling us this because you want us to join you?"

Liz nodded. "I feel that we can take them out easier if we work together." She took a step forward, but made sure to keep her distance. "If we don't work together, the result could be disaster for all humans in their path."

Sam glanced behind him, and excused the tribe. They all went behind some trees and I could hear them shifting. They must be conferring with each other on the decision that needed to be made. Again, I wished that Edward were with us. I glanced over at Jasper; who's eyes met mine. He shook his head, indicating that he couldn't feel anything coming off of them that would be bad for us or the decision.

After a few minutes, they all reemerged. Sam took a step toward my wife. "We will fight with you. Let's make plans on when we leave and where we are going. I cannot leave the town unprotected, so we will not be bringing the whole pack."

I nodded. "That's a wise choice, Sam. You should leave three or four here at minimum. The rest of the pack can come with us. You have about, what, ten or twelve now?"

Sam's eyes widened. "How did you know that?"

"We haven't been honest with you about a few things. Let's sit and chat for a while about what my family can do. Then we can make some decisions. Ok?"

He reluctantly sat down, staring at me. I dove into the explanations of all of our gifts, and by the end of our discussion, he was ready to work on a plan.

A/N: Well, the happy couple is having issues. But is anyone surprised? You can't ignore a problem in the relationship and expect it to go away. You also can't solve everything with sex. Unfortunately, now that there is a new threat, that may take focus. We'll see, yeah? Next chapter should be interesting.

I hope that you are all still enjoying my little story here. Leave me a comment and review please! I'd love to hear from you!

PLUG: Please take a look at my all-human fan fic in progress Consuming Love. It is a companion piece to Inappropriate Love, so you may want to read that first!

Thanks again to my sister and my beta, zombiefied419, for prereading! Love you both!