Thank you MC for your betaing! And thank you to everyone who has been reviewing! I hope you continue to do so!

Reminder: Twilight and its characters are owned by Stephenie Meyer. This all human version of events, however, is mine.

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Chapter 17: Back to Reality

As the plane began its decent into SEATAC, we dropped into the grey haze that hid the ground beneath it. I found myself comforted when we sank into the clouds; it was almost as if they understood how miserable I felt. They blocked out the cheerful afternoon sun that had shone down on us above the cloudbank. The entire flight home we'd chased the happy sun, it had shined brightly in the sky as if it was mocking me. Maybe it was trying to cheer me up, but what it didn't understand was that I couldn't feel anything but lost and empty right now. I felt dismal; just like the grey, glowering haze we were now immersed in, the only thing that seemed to understand. It surrounded the plane caging us inside its dreariness, reflecting my feelings back to me; heavy, gloomy, grey.

No matter how many times I tried to reassure myself, I couldn't quite shake the feeling that, even though Edward had promised that I would see him again, I never would. The feeling was like a haunting hanging over me—heavy and chilling.

...

Rose and I had narrowly missed our flight due to my Edward-induced late arrival to the airport—something I wouldn't have taken back for anything. We had hurried through check-in, luckily got the short line through security and raced to our gate. Out of breath, we shoved our tickets at the attendant and boarded the plane as they shut the doors directly behind us.

"Okay, tell me," Rose said demanding as we plopped into our seats.

"Tell you what?"

"Don't play dumb Bella. I know you didn't listen to me. It's obvious that you got attached to him. So tell me what happened with you and Edward. How did you leave things?" she demanded.

She wanted it straight, exactly like she always wanted everything; no bullshit.

"He said he wants to see me again," I said trying the words out but they didn't feel right. It was what Edward had said and at the time it felt like he'd meant it, but now that I was going to be thousands of miles away from him, it didn't feel real. "Actually he said he only wants to see me. We even established that we're together."

"You sound skeptical. Do you think he was lying?" Rose asked carefully like she was trying to keep someone calm, like they might burst into hysterics at any moment.

Perhaps I wasn't keeping as good of a handle on myself as I had thought.

"No…" I said because it didn't feel like Edward was lying. But I could hear what Rose heard; I didn't believe that I'd see him again. The entire idea of dating Edward seemed so absurd… laughable really. I was nothing but plain, ordinary me. Edward was, well, Edward. It didn't make sense. "I don't know. He said that he wants me to call him when I land, so we can figure out when we can see each other again."

"Bell," Rose said my name with a sigh, "I still want you to be careful, because I don't want you to get hurt, but I also think you shouldn't discount what Edward said. If he said he wants to see you again, he probably does. You have this terrible habit of belittling yourself and it's completely unwarranted. Plus Emmett told me some things. Edward is not the kind of guy that just fucks around or does anything lightly. I know it quickly became more than hot eye-fuck lust and I'm inclined to believe that it wasn't just on your part."

"What did Emmett say to you to change your stand that they're poster children for unattainable, unavailable guys?"

"I still say they are, but let's just say there's more to Emmett than I'd first assumed. And as for you and Edward; for starters, Emmett really likes you. He thinks you're good for his brother," she said. "He said you'd brought something out in him he's never seen before."

Rose paused and a private smile crossed her face as her eyes went unfocused like they did when someone was lost in a memory.

"So, when are you going to see Emmett again?" I asked ascertaining that with the way sparks flew with the two of them and with her comment about there being more to Emmett; they would have wanted to see one another again. Plus, I wanted to redirect the conversation away from Edward. Talking about him wasn't helping me keep my feelings under control. I could feel that I was on the verge of breaking down into tears. I had been holding it in since before I left the hotel, and I was trying my damndest to wait until I was home in the privacy of my apartment, but my resolve was slowly breaking down, I knew I couldn't talk about Edward anymore.

"I'm not," Rose said, matter-of-factly, as her eyes refocusing on me and she composed herself, like she was trying to hide something. I felt my eyebrows push together in confusion—hiding what she thought or felt was not normal behavior for Rosalie. And the way she had just talked about Emmett… it didn't make any sense.

Or had I been right? Maybe Rose did still harbor feelings about Royce that she couldn't let go of.

"Bell," Rosalie elaborated, taking in my confusion, "I like Emmett. A lot. If it was just me, I wouldn't have thought twice about agreeing to see him again when he asked. But it's not just me; I have to think about Henry. I can't start dating a guy like Emmett. I need to find a man that will be a constant presence in my life, and eventually in Henry's life. It's bad enough that Royce and I failed to make it work. I can't get involved with a guy that will never be around; it wouldn't be good for Henry. No. It's best to just leave it as it is; a fun weekend fling, instead of complicating things by stringing it out and making it worse later when I would have to make the same decision. It just wouldn't work."

So it wasn't about Royce at all. I could tell by the tone of her voice it had really hurt her to cut things off with Emmett; but yet, she had.

I nodded like I understood her point of view, even though I didn't. Emmett was what I would consider Rosalie's perfect guy, and if she didn't still have a hang-up over her ex, then I didn't see the problem. So what if it wasn't the perfect situation? What relationship was ideally perfect in every way anyhow?

I spent the rest of the flight focused on attempting to detangle Rosalie's crux to keep my mind off of the securely locked Edward box that I wouldn't open until I was able to deal with it alone. By the time we landed, I decided that Rosalie was wrong; if she would truly be happy, it shouldn't matter that Emmett would be away some of the time. Shouldn't happiness and some time apart outweigh unhappiness and a constant presence? But then again, I had been ready to settle for a lifetime of mediocre love and lukewarm feelings for someone who was around, but when I looked back on it treated me terribly. But I wasn't a mother, nor did I ever intend to be, so what did I really know about her situation?

I decided I'd talk to Rose about that later, once she'd been away from Emmett for a while. I wondered if by the time I talked to her if she'd have changed her mind.

When we arrived at the baggage claim area of SEATAC, I spotted Jake almost immediately and felt myself smile involuntarily. I'd missed him more than I'd realized.

I raised my hand to wave to him, seeing that he still had the same facial hair look that he did when I'd left—something I'd half-expected to be different. He raised his head and looked directly at me, but he didn't wave back or flash me his Jacoby-warm smile; instead his eyes looked stormy as they bored into me as I closed the gap between us. Jacob looked intimidating, leaning against the wall near our flight's baggage claim carrousel with his arms crossed, tattoos on his arms peeking out from under his white t-shirt and a severe, contemplative look on his face. I watched as strangers gave him a wide breadth as they walked by him and, for probably the first time in my life, I could really see why.

"Hey Chief, glad you could make it," I greeted with a small smile in my attempt to hide my unease from the vibes Jake was throwing off.

"Tell me it's not true," he demanded point-blank as his brown eyes flashed to mine.

I stopped short. What?

"Is what not true?" I asked feeling my heartbeat quicken. I told myself that his question could have been about anything, and I wasn't about to admit to something I didn't know for sure he even knew about. As far as I knew, he still thought Jess had been going off the wall about more wax figures and was blissfully clueless that I'd actually spent time with the real thing. I'd tell him about that when I figured out what in the world I was going to say. He could have been talking about anything.

Jake let out an exasperated sigh as he unfolded his arms and held up a printed internet article I'd not noticed he was holding. It was a picture of Edward and me in my hotel's lobby the night before. The headline read: Anthony Cullen Spotted at Hotel with Same Mystery Woman.

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped. There was no doubt in my mind that anyone who knew me, would know that the "mystery woman" standing next to Edward was most definitely me.

Oh shit.

Jake knew there was at least some truth to the crazed nonsense Jess had been spouting.

How the hell was I supposed respond to such a thing? I didn't have a clue. My mind was completely devoid of thought other than taking in the fact that the article in my brother's hand felt like it blasted the sound of Edward making me come undone just minutes before the photograph was taken. A neon sign detailing exactly what Edward and I had been doing on my vacation felt like it would have been less blaringly obvious than the article Jake held in his hand.

"I, um—" I sputtered feeling like I was standing in a sauna.

What the hell kind of lights did they use in this airport's baggage claim anyway? Heat lamps?

Jake's eyes went wide realizing I couldn't deny it.

"Jesus Bells," he exclaimed and turned the article back to facing himself, looking at it again with the knowledge of my virtual confirmation. Apparently up until that moment he had still held some seed of doubt. "What the fuck did you do?" he muttered under his breath, studying the photo.

Rose laughed loudly. "I believe the question you're looking for, is 'Who did you do' not 'What', and it appears the article in your hand is quite clear on that subject, Chief." Rose grinned widely.

Oh my God.

I felt myself blush so deeply, I began to sweat from its warmth as I watched my brother's complexion take on a slightly green hue.

The airport most definitely used heat lamps for lighting. Very powerful ones.

I glanced around for any holes in the ground I could crawl into.

Nope. Not even one. Damn it.

"Ugh Rose! Seriously, that's my sister. I did not need to hear that," Jake grimaced.

Annoyance suddenly flooded in, overriding my embarrassment.

"You know what?" I piped up finding the bottled-up emotions had returned my voice to me. "You don't have any right to get all weird about this because I know about what happened between you and Rose," I spouted angrily at him. It was about time he knew.

Jake's mouth dropped open and his eyes flashed to mine in surprise.

"Yeah," I continued. "I've known for years, every last elaborate detail about your hook-ups. Details I wish I never knew; things I can never un-hear; things that a sister shouldseriously never know about her brother. So don't get all weird over a damn photograph and an implication," I huffed and turned on my heel to the baggage carrousel that was beginning to dispense luggage from our flight, leaving Jake in stunned silence and Rose trailing behind me in a fit of giggles over my rant.

When our luggage appeared, Jake huffily pulled both Rose's and my bags off the carrousel and towed them to his car without a word. When he shoved the bags roughly into the trunk, he flashed Rose an angry glare, she snorted.

"Oh please Chief, don't give me that. You shouldn't be surprised. You know full-well I tell Bell everything; I always have." Rose stated unabashedly.

Jake slammed the trunk harder than necessary and shot her another glare in response, as he stormed to the driver-side of the car.

"Or is it something else?" Rose asked. "You're not worried about what I'd said, are you?" She let out an annoyed sigh. "Boys! It's always about their dicks."

Rose slid sinuously into the back seat of the car. I less gracefully climbed into the front watching Jake flash Rosalie another glare in the rearview mirror; making sure she knew he was still pissed at her for telling me about what had happened between them.

Jake threw the car into reverse to back out of spot and snapped, finally breaking his angry silence, "No, I'm not exactly thrilled you told my little sister the details about that; but that's not the point! The point is Rose, you were supposed to keep an eye on her!" he yelled shooting daggers at her reflection. "Where the hell were you?"

He held up the print-out angrily as if showing her she wasn't with me in the picture, whipped it angrily to the floor and then threw the car into drive.

Wait. What?

Jake wasn't pissed at Rosalie for telling me about them hooking up; he was pissed at her for not upholding babysitting duties he'd apparently appointed her to?

What the hell? How old did he think I was? Ten?

"Do I really have to remind you that I am an adult Jacob?" I seethed. "We're not kids anymore; I am quite capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much."

Rose laughed unperturbed.

"It looks like you know full-well where I was Chief," Rose said ignoring my spout as she picked up several other sheets of paper from the back seat. She held up one that had a picture I'd not seen yet; it was of Rose in the striking red dress with Emmett, from the night before. "Apparently what happens in New York does not stay in New York."

Holy crow it was so strange seeing our lives announced like that. I wondered if it was something you ever could get used to. It didn't seem like Edward was used to it, but I'd have to ask him.

Edward.

My heart leaped as I dove into my purse and turned on my phone that had been off for the past six hours. I'd been so hell-bent on trying to not think about him, I nearly forgot my promise that I would let him know when I landed.

Butterflies assaulted my stomach as I waited for the phone to boot up ignoring Jake and Rose bickering. A thousand questions of doubt raced through my mind wondering if he would still feel the same about wanting to see me again. Now that I was thousands of miles away, would he wonder how he had felt that way about seeing me again, and change his mind? Would he have something akin to "buyer's remorse" after I left with knowing he could have me after my vacation ended? The chase was over, I was a guaranteed thing and he'd lose all interest?

My heart jumped when my phone indicated that I had both voicemails and text messages. I looked at the texts first because it was quicker. There were several from Jess, a couple from Jake, one from Mike (?), one from my mother and a couple from Edward. The texts from everyone else could have been about my apartment burning down or the world ending, it didn't matter and I didn't care, I went straight to the texts from Edward:

Call me if you didn't make your flight, I'll come get you and you can fly back tomorrow… it would be just one more day. X

He really did want me to stay. Sitting here a world away from him, I wanted more than anything to have missed my flight so I could be lying in his arms at this very moment. I could almost feel his arms around me; a feeling that was pure happiness and being without was agony. I missed him so much it hurt. I felt the tears begin to threaten. I hastily wiped away the one that managed to escape ignoring the feeling of Jake's eyes on me and composed myself.

Just a little while longer.

I read the next text from him:

I haven't heard from you, so I'm guessing you made your flight. Let me know when you land safely. I'll get my schedule and we'll figure it out, okay? I miss you. X

He missed me too.

"Earth to Bella," Jake's voice intruded my thoughts.

"What?" I asked distractedly.

"I asked you how your vacation was other than what I already know. Or did you two waste the entire trip with the dude from Army Force and his brother?" Jake asked and then muttered, "That's seriously weird to even say."

"How did that even happen by-the-way?" Jake asked before I could reply to his last question.

"We met them when we were at the Rules of Caius concert," I explained simply setting my phone in my lap.

"Technically," Rosalie scoffed.

"What do you mean?" Jake asked, looking at her intently in the rear view mirror; she'd caught his attention with the comment.

Was she really going to tell him about what had happened at the taping and my swallowing comment to Edward?

Oh God no.

I turned, begging her with my eyes to not go there. I didn't want to live the blowjob comment the first time when I'd said it to Edward; I really didn't want to re-live it with my brother.

"Well, we went to The Late Show taping, and E—Anthony was the guest, so—" Rosalie said simply, like that was all there was to tell. I silently thanked her.

"But the concert was the second night you were there, so you still wasted nearly your entire vacation with a couple of famous guys just looking to get laid?" Jake piped in angrily. "Nice. And what do you get out of the deal after they sent you on your way? Bragging rights and a couple of STDs? I'm so happy for you."

"Nice to know you think so highly of me and my standards," I singed.

This was going to be a long car ride.

Rose smartly bowed out of the argument between Jake and I, both of us knowing Jake's problem with what had happened rested solely on me not her.

"Come on Bells," Jake pleaded, his tone and eyes softer now. "I know you're not like that, but that doesn't mean they don't have the art of getting a girl into bed with them down to a science."

"It wasn't like that," I pressed stubbornly.

"Fine, if you say so. But I still don't like it," Jake said just as stubbornly, his words hardening again. "I don't trust hi—either one of them."

"I hate to break it to you Jacob, but no one asked for your opinion," I snapped. "Besides, why would he ask to see me again if he had just wanted to 'get laid'?" I asked impressed that my words sounded more confident than I felt in them.

"It wouldn't be the first time a guy misled into thinking something was different than what it was," Jake insisted eyeing me meaningfully.

"Ugh, that's a low blow Jake," I said stung by his words.

"Look," Jake pleaded, "I'd kept my trap shut about how I felt about James and still kick myself about it because maybe if I'd have said something you wouldn't have gotten so hurt. I'm not going to make that mistake again. Even if you end up hating me for it."

"Thank you for your concern Chief, but I assure you, I'm fine," I said through my teeth, closing the subject and drew my attention back to my phone. I needed to believe that Edward was telling the truth. I needed to hear his voice, and his reassurance, but there was no way I could talk to him with Jacob glaring at me, listening and analyzing everything I said. And I couldn't handle even thinking about what Jake would do or say if I called Edward and he didn't answer. I settled for sending Edward a text for now:

I did make the flight (just barely) though I wish I hadn't. We've landed and my brother is giving us a ride from the airport now. I'll call you after I get home. I miss you too.

Edward's reply came almost immediately making my heart flutter:

I really wish you had missed it too. I'll wait for your call. I have my schedule. X

I could feel his words form a foothold of reassurance inside me. His words weren't mind-blowing or exceedingly reassuring or anything of epic proportions. Rather, it was the simple fact that he was still there. Edward had felt more like a dream than reality and the fact that I'd been in a strange city, made the entire time with him feel even more unreal. Being in a familiar place and still have some sort of tether to him, made our time together feel more believable—especially after my doubts were festered by Jake. It was like waking up the day after something amazing happening and finding some sort of talisman that proved the amazing thing was real and not just a vivid dream.

I closed my eyes and smiled, pretending I had missed the flight and I was back in his arms the rest of the ride home.

When we arrived at my apartment, Rose quickly transferred her luggage to her car and immediately headed home to see Henry. Jake brought up my luggage and left; barely saying a word, still not happy with me. Jake had just left my apartment when Jessica was at my door assaulting me with a barrage of questions, squeals and incoherent ramblings. She took a solid hour to calm down, constantly vacillating between loving me because I was her link to "Anthony", to hating me out of unadulterated jealousy. It didn't help that the pregnancy hormones were running rampant through her body, making her bordering on manic insanity.

And all I wanted her to do was leave, so I could hear Edward's voice.

Eventually she calmed down and left, but not before I had to promise her that I would arrange for her to meet him. I couldn't help but feel like something of a liar, telling her that when I didn't know my fate of seeing Edward again much less promising one to someone else. But it got her to leave, reminding me we were all meeting at our parent's place for pizza in a couple hours.

Being back to reality sucked.

I closed the door behind Jess, took a deep breath and called Edward's number. I immediately felt the assault of butterflies much like I had the first time I'd called him and wondered if he would even answer.

"Bella?" Edward's voice graced my ears after the first ring.

I felt a wave of relief crash over me. It felt so good to hear his voice. I took a deep, full breath, realizing I'd not really breathed since I had left his side.

"You answered," I breathed stupidly in my surprise.

"That is usually how phone calls work Bella," Edward laughed. "One person calls, and the other person answers. Most of the time there's usually a conversation too."

"Shut up," I laughed at myself.

"Yeah, of course I answered, Bella," Edward said sending a round of tingles through my body. "Did you really think I wouldn't?"

"So you have your schedule?" I asked, dodging the question and biting my lip realizing I might not have wanted to know the answer to that as much as I didn't want to answer Edward's question.

"Yes, I do," he said hesitantly.

Oh God. This was going to be bad. I could feel my heart sink and my blood pressure ratchet up. My knees gave out beneath me and I sank to the ground. I could feel the swell of my unspoken emotions coming to the surface.

"I'm going to be in Seattle in a couple weeks for a family thing and I'd really like you to come," Edward said sounding wary.

"Really?" I asked in disbelief and then his words sunk in and a goofy smile spread quickly across my face.

"I know it's really soon to be asking you to meet my parents," he added quickly, "but I don't think I could handle being that close to you without being able to see you. Will you come?"

Had I fallen asleep on the drive home and was dreaming this? I had been half-convinced that I wouldn't ever see Edward again; hearing that I would be able to see him in just a couple weeks sounded almost too good to be true.

"Bella?"

"Yes?"

"Did I scare you off? You don't have to come if you don't want to meet them, I'll figure out something else—" Edward's voice faltered. "Or if you changed your mind about seeing me again—"

"What?" I asked alarmed. Then I realized I hadn't answered his question. "No! I mean, yes. Yes, of course I'll come."

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that," Edward breathed.

"Did you really think I wouldn't?" I asked throwing his earlier question back at him unable to stop smiling. "Definitely, I'll get to see you. But," I paused and whispered one of my fears as if the low volume meant that it softened the question, "what if they don't like me?"

"Don't worry, love," he chuckled. "They're not as scary as they must seem. I'm positive that they're going to love you, I don't know how anyone couldn't."

My breathing hitched and my heart felt like it swelled filling with a warm tingling sensation I couldn't help from swelling over me at his words.

Edward and I talked until I pulled up to my parent's house and I was forced to say goodbye. But I found it was a little easier this time knowing he really was still there after I'd gotten home and even more, knowing that I would see him again in just two weeks.

That knowledge kept me together and gave me the strength to walk into my parents' house to face yet another inquisition that loomed before me.

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