A/N: Hello again friends! I hope that you all had a great week :) Here is Edward's version of getting to California, and the drive. I hope that you enjoy!

Chapter 5 – EPOV

By the time I landed in Sacramento, I was panicking. Since I was trying to surprise Bella, I couldn't ask for her address. Which meant that I had no idea where she was. For a moment, I just sat down in the airport wracking my brain thinking of how I was going to find her in a city this big. I had acted impulsively, sure, and now I was paying for it.

Finally, my brain started to clear and I realized that Bella had given me Angela and Ben's cell numbers, just in case. I searched through the text conversation with Bella trying to find the numbers. Smiling, I relived all the sweet conversations we'd had over the last month, missing her and loving her even more. Eventually I found the numbers I was looking for, and clicked on Ben's to call. For some reason I thought calling him would be better than Angela. Perhaps, he would understand the bind I put myself in.

He answered on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Ben Cheney?"

"Yeah, who is this?"

"Hey, you don't know me, but my name is Edward Cullen. I flew in to surprise Bella and realized that she never gave me your address. I'm sorry if this is weird, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise by calling her."

"Oh! Um, hold on a sec. No, Ang, go ahead. You and Bella need this today. I'll be fine. What? It's just Tyler. We are talking about getting together for a baseball game next weekend." There was shuffling, and then what sounded like a kiss. "Have fun you two! I'll see you in a couple hours."

I remained silent, not sure of what I should do. He shuffled the phone a couple more times, before he came back on the line.

"Sorry, they were just heading out the door. So, Edward, huh? And you flew down here to surprise Bella?" His voice sounded like he was teasing me a little. I liked him immediately.

"Thanks for not blowing my cover, man. I don't know what I was thinking coming all the way down here and not knowing how to get to her."

"You here so she doesn't have to drive all the way to Seattle alone?"

"Yeah."

"Well, then let me give you my address." He proceeded to rattle it off and I realized I didn't have anything to write on.

"Hey, can you text it to me? I'm going to catch a cab. How long does it take to get there from the airport?" I started walking toward the front, looking for the ground transport signs.

"In Sacramento traffic? Probably 30 to 45 minutes. Easy."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Traffic sort of sucks here." He chuckled.

"Ok, well I'll see you in 30 to 45 minutes then. Thanks, Ben, I appreciate it."

"No problem, Edward. See you soon."

I hung up and started searching for the ground transportation area, I heard my cell go off. One text from Ben with the address, and a missed text from Bella telling me that she loved me. I responded to them both, and pocketed my phone to go hail a cab.

It took almost 15 minutes just to get one, though. I considered getting an Uber, but didn't want to deal with downloading the app. Instead, I waited in the taxi line until I was up. I gave the driver the address, and we were speeding off toward Ben and Angela's house. I had never been to the Sacramento area before, so I was taking in all the sights. The city itself seemed to be mostly suburban housing developments. I wasn't sure where downtown was in relation to where I was, or where I was going, but where we were didn't appear to have many businesses.

Then the driver got off the freeway, and we were flying around a fairly large street. There were shopping centers, gas stations, grocery stores, and bookstores everywhere I looked. I decided that this was probably the downtown area? Who knew? I just sat back and watched the area as he got me closer to Bella.

We pulled into a small neighborhood sometime later, filled with houses of all shapes and sizes. This wasn't any kind of standard subdivision. Not soon enough, the driver pulled up to the address I had given him, a small single-story house that was white with red trim. I paid him and got out with my backpack, making my way up to the house to ring the doorbell.

A dark-haired man wearing glasses answered the door. He was about as tall as I was. He smiled at me.

"Edward?"

"Ben?"

I reached forward and he took my hand shaking it firmly. "Come on in. They are still out; I don't expect them back for a bit." He stepped back, letting me walk in the house.

I took in my surroundings. It was small, but larger than it appeared to be from the outside. The entryway opened into a living room, with a walkway to the kitchen on the right-side of the house. From the doorway, you could see all the way down the hall into where I assumed were the bedrooms. Two-bedroom? Maybe three?

Ben led me into the kitchen, offering me some coffee, which I took gratefully. He sat down at the table opposite me, getting his own cup. For a moment we both focused on the coffee in front of us, rather than speaking.

"So, Ben," I said, trying to figure out how to formulate the questions I had for him without sounding like an idiot. "Tell me about Jake."

To my surprise, Ben laughed. "You mean the asshole? Sure, I can tell you about that son of a bitch." I glanced up at him and, while he was smiling, his face was fierce. "He's always been loud, you know? Like, don't piss the guy off. Ang never liked him; I'll tell you that much. But she loves Bella and wanted her happy, so she always held her tongue. And trust me, for Ang, that's hard to do!"

We both laughed. "Bella says that he never hit her before?"

Ben sobered quickly. "That depends on your definition. He hit her with emotional abuse for years, man. Ang is sure of it. She said that the last two years were better, from her perspective, but when Bella moved in here, we got the full story."

"Which is?" I leaned forward, eager to hear this.

"Bella was going to you first, Ang second. Ang and I only got a portion of what he was actually doing. So, where we thought it was getting better, it was actually getting worse. She just had someone else to talk to."

I sat back in a huff, running my hand through my hair. "Fuck. I knew I should have come down here and killed the jackass."

Ben laughed humorlessly. "Well, he could certainly use an ass kicking session, that's for sure. I don't understand how you could have someone like Bella, such a gentle person, and treat them like that."

Shaking my head, I agreed with him. I looked at him again, wanting him to understand. "I love her, Ben. If she lets me, I'm going to spend the rest of my life protecting her."

He regarded me with careful eyes. "Well, I'm not her keeper or anything, Edward. I'll support Bella in what she wants, not you because you said that. Get me?"

"Yeah, I do. And that's fair. I just wanted you to know."

"I appreciate it, man, I do. But Ang is the one you need to convince, not me. I'm cool just because you showed up. That tells me how much you care about her, and that's all I needed. I'm all for romantic gestures." We both laughed again, sipping our coffee. "Ang is tougher, and I love her for it. She ranted about calling the cops on Jake for almost 2 hours before she finally let Bella get some rest. I'm telling you, don't be scared of me, man, be scared of my wife!"

"Why didn't she call the cops?"

Ben glanced at me, smiling. "She didn't want to have to stick around to testify. She wanted to get to Seattle."

"Fuck." I ran my hand through my hair again. "God damnit. I almost wish I didn't know that."

"I get it. From both sides. Between you and me, though? Charlie will take care of it."

"Charlie? Bella's dad, right?"

"Yeah. She tell you much about him?"

"Just that he's a cop..." Ben grinned, as realization dawned on me. "Ah, Charlie will take care of Jake. I get it."

"Yeah, man, so don't worry." We continued the conversation, and I got to know Ben a little more. It was clear that he was just a genuinely nice guy. We didn't have much in common, considering movies and books we liked, but we had a shared love of baseball and spent some time discussing that.

"What time do you think they will be back?" I checked the clock on my phone. It was almost 4pm. He and I had talked longer than I thought.

"Anytime." Ben glanced at his phone. "Oh, I missed a text. Ang said they were heading home about 20 minutes ago. So, literally anytime now."

I heard the front door open, and my heart started racing. Ben glanced up, indicating that I should stay where I was.

"Ladies, you look lovely. I want you to meet my new friend," Ben said, smirking down at me.

I stood up and turned around, grinning like an idiot to finally be seeing Bella again. It had been one month, but that was too long. Her face was pale and beautiful, her hair trimmed and styled. She was amazing, and I realized right there just how much I'd missed her. I braced myself as she ran into my arms. Lifting her slightly, I inhaled deeply, enjoying the unique smell of Bella.

"What are you doing here?" she said, hugging me tightly.

"I didn't want you to drive all that way by yourself. I got us into this, right? I needed to come down and help you." I kissed her head, thankful that I had come. I'd needed her more than I'd even let myself believe. Being with her now was exactly what had been missing in my life the last month.

We stared at each other for a while, and I felt a familiar stirring. I stomped it down, knowing we were not in the right place for that thought. But I continued to stare, just taking her in. We both almost jumped at the clearing of a throat behind us.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I set her down, keeping my arm around her, as she turned to face Angela and Ben. "Ang, Ben, this is Edward Cullen. Edward, Angela and Ben Cheney."

Angela stepped forward, almost shoving Bella out of the way, throwing her arms around me. "It's so nice to finally meet you. Been listening to Bella talk about you for two years!" Then, with a much quieter voice. "Thank you for loving my best friend." I laughed, not knowing how to respond, and hugged her back.

We decided to go out to dinner after that, Bella wanting to go to a restaurant she loved to frequent. Having seen very little of the city, I was excited to go. Honestly, it wouldn't have mattered. If she had wanted to stay home that would have been fine also because I got to spend time with her. We had opted to take one car, since parking was usually an issue at this restaurant, so Bella and I sat in the back together. I held her hand the entire way, just happy to be close to her.

The wait at the restaurant was long, but I was enjoying the conversation. Ben and I continued chatting, as we had at his house, and I found myself really liking him. My initial thoughts of him had been very accurate, I just hadn't realized how funny he was. We joked and laughed almost the whole time we were waiting, while Angela and Bella watched us. They would join in now and then, but mostly they let us get to know each other. I made sure that Bella was never too far away, though, just having this need within me to keep her close.

Dinner was great, and we ended up closing the restaurant down. They closed at 10pm, and we were finally asked to leave by 10:30. The traffic wasn't as bad at that time, but they lived some distance from downtown – or, Old Sac, as they called it. We stopped and got gas on the way back, which sort of caused me to feel agitated. I just wanted to be in Bella's room, holding her. It was almost midnight by the time we got there.

After Bella and I made love that night, I held her close to me, basking in her warmth. She fell asleep almost immediately, but this time it was me who couldn't sleep. I stared at her, holding her close, for over an hour before my eyes finally felt heavy. If this kept up, I would never sleep again. I was just so happy to be with her again, and this time it was permanent.

We were saying our goodbyes and Angela came over to me, wrapping me in a tight hug.

"Promise me that you will treat her right. Make sure she feels loved every day. Never make her feel the way he did, ok?" she whispered to me.

"I promise, Angela." I leaned back and smiled at her, before turning to Bella. "Ready to go?"

Once we had said our goodbyes, we were on the road. I was quiet, staring out into the countryside that I'd never seen before. Amazingly, growing up in Seattle hadn't really given me that many opportunities to travel south. For the most part my parents stuck to the Pacific West Coast's northern region. When we went on vacations, we would stick to Seattle, southern British Columbia, Alberta or Alaska. We had taken a trip to Portland once when I was a teenager, but that was about it. This was my first time in California, and I was enthralled by the state so far.

We didn't talk much in the first leg of the trip. We discussed Bella's need to go shopping, which of course brought up Alice. I knew that my sister was excited to meet Bella; I only hoped that I could reign her in some. I didn't want my overly excited sister to scare Bella with her attitude. After telling her about my sister's response to my revelation of being in love with her, a year ago, Bella became quiet.

At first, I thought I had said something wrong, but I shrugged it off. We were both tired, though staying up late last night had been totally worth it. It was like having a piece of what we would always have as of tonight. Sleeping in a shared bed, not worrying about her leaving and going back to him.

As I sat there, staring at the passing scenery, I realized how peaceful my life was already. It was like an aura of contentment had settled around me, engulfing me in pure bliss. If I had ever doubted that Bella was the right person for me, today just blew that all out the window. We were quiet, sitting in the car, getting closer and closer to our new home together. It was euphoria personified.

"It's beautiful here," I said, after some time of silence. I wasn't just talking about the landscape, though it was very pretty. The sense of completion and perfection in the car was also beautiful. I smiled internally, just so happy that my life was finally getting on track.

After driving for a couple hours, I was starting to get hungry. We hadn't eaten at Angela and Ben's, assuming we would find something on the road. When I saw a sign for a diner coming up, I suggested stopping. Bella's answer was short, and I wondered again if she was ok. But when we got out and I reached to grab her hand, she didn't take it reluctantly, so maybe I was overthinking everything.

"What's wrong, Bella? You've been really quiet for a while." I wanted to touch her, but we were sitting on opposite sides of the table. So, instead of bringing her into my arms, I grabbed her hand. I wanted to have a connection with her, even if it was small.

"You were quiet, too. I thought something was wrong with you. Are you ok?"

"Of course. Tired, but last night was totally worth losing sleep." I studied her for a minute. "You sure you are ok?"

"I'm fine. I'm tired also, but good other than that." Her smile didn't reach her eyes.

Breakfast was wonderful, and I was feeling much better. About hunger, anyway. Bella on the other hand was worrying me even more. I analyzed every word and mannerism through breakfast, and I realized something was off about her. She was hiding something from me.

I moved to sit in the chair next to hers, my eyes scanning her face for any clue as to what was going on. I watched her close her eyes, and I waited patiently, just hoping she would be honest with me. I couldn't solve anything if I didn't know what it was that was wrong.

When it finally came out, I could have slapped myself for being so stupid. The dumb comments I'd made about loving Kate, about not seeing myself cheat on her...what the hell was I doing to Bella every time I made an off-hand comment like that? I tried to explain, hoping she would understand. I wasn't sure I was breaking through, because I watched her eyes fill with tears as I finished. She let out a sob, and threw herself into my arms. Shifting, I pulled her into my lap just so I could hold her closer.

There were many things I didn't tell her about Kate. I really never believed in speaking bad about other people – the sole exception being her ex-husband – so I didn't want to just bad mouth Kate. She had her flaws, as we all do, but I couldn't bring myself to tell Bella how much of a bitch I saw her to be.

Thankfully, my story got through to her. She apologized, which really wasn't necessary, and I encouraged us to just get back on the road and go home. I paid for the meal and led us back out to her car. Before she could get in, though, I cornered her, my arms on either side of the car, pushing her back into it.

"I love you, Bella. Please never forget that. I'm not saying it for any other reason besides the fact that it's the truth. I've never loved anyone as much as I love you. I don't think, in the history of the entire world, that anyone has ever loved anyone as much as I love you. Please, baby, try to remember that?"

My eyes bored into hers, willing her to see the total truth coming out of my mouth. She smiled at me, bringing her arms around me and kissing me softly.

"There's just one exception," she said, smiling widely. I smiled back and brought my lips down to hers again.

We had a lot to figure out in this new relationship. I just hoped that going forward we would do it together, without giving the other time to wallow in doubt.

A/N: So, thoughts? My favorite part of this chapter was being able to have Edward and Ben talk. When I wrote this chapter from Bella's POV in Inappropriate Love, I always imagined that Edward would ask Ben about Jake. No matter how far we get away from the abuse, Edward can't forget it. The woman he loves, right? In my head, Edward would feel consumed with guilt to a degree that he hadn't been able to protect her from Jake's abuse. And I get that. You always want to protect those you love.

See, Edward didn't want her to be alone in this. They had decided to cheat together, but he feels like he started it with that first kiss. Does that make sense? Maybe that's just an insight into my mind? LOL.

Anyway, thanks as always for reading! And thanks to my beautiful beta, zombiefied419 for all of your help! Don't forget to read my vamp story Twist of Fate! New chapter coming up tomorrow!

Till next time! This is basically done written, by the way. Ten full chapters from Edward, aimed to match perfectly – fitting in like pieces of a puzzle :)