A/N: Once again thank you everyone for your lovely reviews, likes, etc. Makes me smile every day to see how you guys like my little story. One more step here...enter the siblings! Enjoy!

Chapter 7

I woke up when the coffee pot beeped indicating it was turning off. I had fallen asleep next to Edward on the couch. His eyes were wide open, though, so I wasn't sure if he had actually slept. I stretched a little, then I put my arms around his neck.

"Did I ruin this, Edward?" I asked him quietly. His eyes shot to mine and he smiled at me.

"No, Bella. I was just thinking." He kissed my head. "You haven't ruined anything. Come on, let's clean up and take a walk."

After the breakfast dishes were cleaned, and I had poured myself a to go cup of coffee, we walked hand in hand outside toward the Pier. Edward was quiet, which made me worry, but he was still holding my hand. That was a good sign, right? He showed me around our neighborhood, pointing out different restaurants we could try, bars we could go to, and then we just walked around by the water. By the time my coffee was almost gone, we were getting cold and decided to head back home.

I made us a simple lunch of sandwiches. Edward wanted to help, but I told him to let me. I was trying to do nice things for him so he would realize that I wasn't always a basket case. Unfortunately, I was still wondering about it myself. We sat down on the couch, after starting a fire, to eat.

"Have you ever talked to anyone about this?" Edward asked, shifting in his seat so he could look at me.

"About what? The freak out I had earlier?" He nodded. "I never knew it was a problem before you. It was just my way of life."

"Do you think you would want to? Talk to someone, I mean."

I considered this for a moment. Before Edward I never really saw anything wrong with the way he acted. I mean, ok, that's not entirely true. I hated it when he got mad and yelled. I was always jealous of Angela because Ben never acted like that; at least not that I had seen. I knew my father wasn't like that...

Then, just as suddenly as the freak out happened earlier, I realized something. I had let him treat me like that for years. And, I had let myself think it was normal, even though I damn well knew better. My dad always used to tell me not to get myself into a situation where I was not treated right. But I had ignored that, or at least hadn't ever identified that I was actually in that situation.

My eyes grew wide. "He abused me?" It came out as a question, but in my head, it wasn't any more. "I never realized it until now. God, even when he hit me, I made excuses for him!" I stood up, sandwich forgotten and began pacing. "I let him do this to me!"

Edward stood up and stopped my pacing by placing his arms around me. "No, Bella. He did this and he tricked you. He treated you poorly for so long that you thought it was normal. This is not your fault!"

I stared up at him, eyes still wide. "You are right, Edward. I need to talk to someone. I'm only just realizing what he did to me."

He kissed my forehead, leaning his against it. "I will help. Hell, I'll go with you if you want me to. I just don't know if I can help you enough on my own. I don't know if I'm saying the right things or making it worse."

I scoffed. "You know more than you think. You always seem to say the right thing to me all the time."

He laughed. "I'm acting purely on instinct, love. You need someone who knows way more than I do." He leaned back and put his hands on my cheeks again. "I'm not going anywhere. We'll find someone for you to talk to together, ok? But I'm not leaving. You are stuck with me, Bella."

"Good. That's the best thing that's happened all day." I pushed up and kissed him. We smiled at each other, sat back down on the couch and started to talk about something else finally.

We had been discussing furniture we would need, and other things to make our new place a home when the doorbell rang. I stood up and walked to the door, Edward hanging behind me a little. I opened the door to a short, spiky haired girl standing in front of a giant of a man. They were total opposites of each other. She looked like she was trying to restrain herself from bouncing, where he looked like he didn't want to be here at all.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you! I've been waiting forever for you to get here!" the short one said as she threw her arms around me. I hugged her back lightly, trying to figure out who she was. "This is Emmett, and I'm Alice." She pulled back and kissed me on the cheek. "We are going to be great friends."

"Oh, um, Edward's siblings, right?" I looked up at the big guy – Emmett – who half smiled and nodded down at me. "It's so nice to meet you both! Come in, please."

I ushered them in, leading them to our barely furnished living room. Edward hadn't spoken; the look of shock still evident on his face. "I'm sorry we don't have more chairs; we were actually just talking about the furniture that we still need to buy. I didn't realize you guys were going to stop by today, or I would have found something for you to sit on, or have food prepared..." I was rambling, I knew that. I was so nervous about what his family would think of me, so I couldn't help the nerves from spilling out of my mouth.

Alice didn't appear to mind though. She plopped herself down on the couch and motioned for me to sit next to her. "It's totally ok. Edward told us to leave you guys be for a bit, but I wanted to meet you. So, we came over anyway. Right, Em?"

"Uh-huh."

I liked Alice immediately. She was happy and nice, and didn't seem to care about any situation we were in. I leaned in closer to her. "He doesn't seem like he wants to be here."

She shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "Emmett can't seem to get over the cheating thing. But, in my opinion, this is a better situation for everyone. No one liked her. But when Edward was telling us about you, I just knew we would get along. I don't care about any of that."

Emmett shuffled his feet. "I'm sorry, Bella. I don't mean to be rude to you or anything, but the whole cheating thing just makes me really uncomfortable."

"Em, I told you what happened, and that I ended it with her. It may have started as cheating, but Bella and I knew we loved each other. The first thing we did was end it with our current relationships." Edward glared at him, walking over to sit behind me on the couch. "I wish I could make you understand."

I nodded, holding his hand that had slipped around me. "We didn't plan this; but when it happened, we realized just how much we loved each other. We did the right thing and ended our relationships as soon as we could. Hell, I got home on a Friday and on Saturday morning I told him that I wanted out. Edward only waited because of a birthday party.

"I understand why you are concerned. And if you don't want to be friends with me, I understand that, too. But I just want you to know, I never meant to hurt either of them. Edward didn't either. We fell into it and realized just how right it was."

Emmett looked at us, sighed, and sat on the floor with his back to the fireplace. "I'm sorry, I'm not always such a downer. I'll get over it, I'm sure. If my brother loves you, then I know I will too."

I could sense something in Emmett, and I thought immediately that he was right. We could be good friends. "Well, I don't like awkwardness, Emmett, so maybe you don't have to love me the way Edward does."

For a moment I thought I had chosen the wrong thing to say. But then, after a few seconds of silence, the three Cullens burst out laughing. Emmett was almost lying on the floor he was laughing so hard.

"I like this one, Edward. She's feisty and hilarious. Keep her!" Emmett laughed again. Edward, shaking in laughter behind me, kissed my head while Alice wiped her eyes.

"See? I think we are all going to get along just fine!" Alice said, taking my hand. "Now, the most important thing to discuss! Edward says that you need to go shopping for work clothes?"

I laughed, reaching over and hugging her. She was surprised, but hugged me back. "Thank you, Alice. Yes, if we can do that this weekend that would be so great. I don't know Seattle very well, so I'm relying on you to take me to the places that are inexpensive, but have a great selection." I leaned in closer to her. "Plus, it's always nice to have someone's opinion on what I'm picking out. No reason to show up to meet my new boss looking like a hooker."

Alice leaned back and clapped her hands. "Yes! Let's go Saturday, ok? We can do the whole shopping and hang with the sister thing. I always wanted a sister!"

Emmett and Alice stayed for dinner, which ended up being take-out from a diner a couple of blocks away. Emmett and Edward had gone to get it, leaving Alice and I alone for a bit.

"I'm really glad you are here. Edward seems so happy," Alice said, sitting down at the bar. I was getting some drinks ready for everyone while the food was on its way.

"I'm really happy I'm here, too. He makes me happy; and it's the best thing in the world to hear you say that about him."

"She stifled him. And didn't like any of us very much. Really, that should have been his first clue. Also, she didn't want a big wedding. Who doesn't want a big wedding? Seriously?" Alice popped a pretzel in her mouth. "She never wanted to go shopping with me, preferred to go with her prissy friends. I don't know, she just didn't quite fit for him. I never really liked her."

"Edward told me the story of how you picked up on it. About me, I mean."

She laughed. "He thinks he's so sly. I saw right through it. I could tell he was in love, and there was no way it was with her."

I leaned forward, placing my arms on the island. "And the whole cheating thing really doesn't bother you?"

Alice mirrored my position. "You don't understand just how unhappy he was. Hell, he didn't even realize it. She was sucking the life right out of him, and he didn't get it. Now? He's smiling, he looks at you like there's no one else in the room. And you look at him the same way." She leaned over the island and placed her hand on mine. "That's all I ever wanted for him. That's all he ever wanted for himself!

"So, no, I don't care about the cheating. You remedied it fast anyway. You didn't play my brother, lead him on or anything. You got here as quickly as you could."

"Thank you for saying that, Alice. I guess I just worry sometimes. Eventually this will all be out, and I don't know what others are going to think about me."

"Who the hell cares what they think! What do you think? Do you love my brother?"

"More than anything in this world."

"That's the best answer I've ever heard," Edward said, walking in and placing the food on the counter. Emmett hung back a little as Edward kissed me quietly. "I love you, too, Bella."

It was a sweet exchange, and ultimately, between that and my jokes, ended up totally winning Emmett over. The rest of the evening was really great. By the time they left, though, I was exhausted. Edward said he would clean up so I could jump in the shower.

I was letting the jets hit my back, soaking away the emotions from the day, when cold hands reached around me, bringing me closer. Edward kissed my shoulder and neck, rubbing my body. "I was cleaning but I realized I was an absolute moron if I didn't get in the shower with you. Cleaning over seeing you wet and naked? Yeah, my priorities weren't in line."

I laughed while turning around, putting my arms around his shoulders. "I'm glad you set them straight then." He laughed with me, bringing his lips down to mine.

I felt a rush of emotion as he kissed me. This was my new life. In my old life, I never even thought about anyone joining me in the shower. Or just hugging me because I happened to be in the room. I knew, logically, that this was all new and could mellow out down the road, but even in the very beginning of my relationship with my ex it was never like this.

Edward began kissing me harder, picking me up slightly and pressing me against the shower wall. I wound my legs around him as he pressed himself into me. The cold of the wall shocked my skin, but I didn't care. I couldn't think of anything other than what he was doing.

His mouth never left mine as he started pounding into me, pushing me against the wall with every thrust. My head fell back against the wall and Edward moved his mouth to the side of my neck, sucking right below my ear. His heavy breathing is in my ear and I love it. I loved everything about this new life we have found. His touch, scent, and the easy acceptance of who I am. And just as I thought that it couldn't get any better, Edward set me down and dropped to his knees, throwing one of my legs over his shoulder. His tongue replaced other parts, sucking and licking until I was a shivering mess above him.

Then, before I could even breath or come down off my high, Edward picked me up and started pounding into me again. He stole my breath away by kissing me. But it was his to take, I decided. I would give him anything he wanted, because he was already doing that for me.

As he picked up the pace, I could tell that he was close to finishing. "I love you, Edward." I licked the side of his ear. "Fuck me harder."

He groaned, picking up the pace only to surge within me, his breathing ragged. "You are going to kill me. I'm sure of it."

I smirked at him as he pulled back. "You started it."

He laughed and kissed me slowly. "You weren't complaining."

"I'm still not."

The water was already turning cold, so we hurried and finished washing ourselves. It was late by the time we are done, and freezing. Edward and I made our way to our bed, not bothering to dress, sliding under the covers. We faced each other, still wearing smiles from our shower.

"I love you so much, Bella," He said, bringing his hand to my face.

"I love you, too, Edward."

The next couple days were filled with furniture shopping, delivery date discussions, food shopping and lazing around the apartment. At one point we decided that we need a TV, so Edward ordered one online claiming he didn't want to go back out. But we settled into the apartment already even without all the extra stuff, so I was just as happy to stay home.

Friday morning, almost the end of our week off, Edward approached me with a worried expression. "Mom and Dad really want to meet you. They want to know if we will come over for dinner tonight."

I paused, biting my lip. He walked over to me and gently pulled my lip out, kissing it softly. "It's ok if you aren't ready."

"Do they hate me?"

"No one in my family hates you, Bella."

"Let me rephrase. Did they like her?"

Edward stared at me for a moment, which made me think the answer to my question was yes. "It doesn't matter." Yeah, that's a yes. "They want to meet you. They know how important you are to me, and they want to get to know you. But if you aren't ready, we don't have to go."

"No, it's fine. Band-Aid, right? Let's do it. Rip it off. Tell them we'll be there." I went back to the eggs and bacon I had on the stove. "Will Alice and Emmett be there also?"

"No, they wanted just us to come over. Probably so Alice doesn't monopolize your time."

I laughed. Alice really was a force of nature. I spent the day nervous about what would await me, and Edward could definitely tell. He kept kissing me and telling me he loves me. My theory was that he was trying to not so subtly tell me that he would love me no matter what his parents thought of me. I would typically beg to differ, since a parent's approval usually means a lot, but then I thought about how I would feel if my mother didn't like Edward. I would definitely not care; it wouldn't change how I felt about him. So, I went back to just being nervous, and not really worrying about how Edward would be with all of it.

When we got to their home – or better yet, their freaking castle! - I was still nervous, but not as bad as I had been throughout the day. I had settled into a grim understanding and acceptance that this was going to happen, and I had no real control over how they felt about me.

Edward's mother opened the door, and I immediately like her. She was a little taller than me, but not by much. Her hair was the same color as Edward's, coppery-brown, but her eyes were a dark brown like mine. She smiled easy, without any hints of concern, and hugged me, welcoming me to her home. She ushered us in, sitting us in what I think may actually be called a 'sitting room' in the biggest damn house I've ever seen. Hello nerves, welcome back.

"Your home is just amazing, Mrs. Cullen," I said, trying not to stammer. I was super overwhelmed already. How rich are these people? My dad's tiny two-bedroom house in Phoenix was looking pretty shabby right now.

"Esme, please, dear. And thank you. We've been very lucky." She smiled as I glanced at Edward, my eyebrows up. Lucky? A handsome man entered the room through the door opposite we came in, walking toward us. "Oh, Carlisle, please come in and meet Bella."

I stood up, because that felt right, and held out my hand. He shook it and smiled at me, sitting next to his wife. Then there was about ten seconds of silence where I was trying not to die.

"So, Bella, I understand you are getting a divorce?" Carlisle asks, as nonchalantly as he could when asking a question like that.

"Dad!" Edward said, at the same time that Esme whispered, "Carlisle!"

"No, it's fine." Breathe, you can do this. "Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, I understand this is a strange situation. I want to explain to you, just as I did with Alice and Emmett. I want us to be friends, because anything less would be too hard on Edward. I don't want anything else to be hard on him, so give me a chance to explain." I took a breath, and they didn't say anything, so I continued. "Edward and I have worked together for two years. We've been friends, close friends, but not the kind of close we are now. We talked almost every day. We got to know each other slowly, and developed a wonderful friendship.

"When I was in Seattle recently on business, our true feelings came out for each other. We never intended to do this – to our spouses or each other. But sometimes things are meant to be." I looked up at him, and he smiled back at me. I leaned toward them. "I love your son with all my heart. I will always be sorry about the people that we hurt in this process, but I will never regret him. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Edward put his arm around me. "We did the right thing by telling our spouses and ending it. We never would have continued what we were doing without being free first. It was a moment of weakness that caused us to act before we ended our marriages. Mom, Dad, I know you are disappointed in me, but please believe us. We never intended to hurt anyone; we simply couldn't deny how much we loved each other."

Carlisle, who had listened patiently to everything we'd said, leaned forward. "But neither of you are free. You are both still married to other people, yet living together. Why wouldn't you wait for the divorces to be final before taking the next step?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but Edward beat me to it. "She needed to get out of a really bad situation, Dad. And, to be perfectly honest, I couldn't live another day without her."

I know that I blushed, but it didn't matter. I looked up at him and smiled, loving him even more in that moment than I had before. He leaned over and kissed my head, keeping me tight against him.

Esme looked up sharply at me, and then Edward. "Bad situation?"

"It's sort of a long story, one I'm not sure I should burden you with right now. But, yes, I was in a bad situation with my ex and Edward and I decided – together – that I needed out as soon as possible." It wasn't really a lie; it just wasn't exactly the truth. There would be time for all of the truths later; for now, this was about getting us to a point of being friendly to each other for Edward.

Carlisle didn't seem to notice I had said anything, because he continued to press. "But in a few months the divorces will be final. I don't understand why you didn't wait to move in together until that time. Then, you could have started your lives together without any complications."

Esme placed her hand on his arm and pulled him back to sit normally on the couch. "Whatever their reasons, let them be dear." She turned to face us. "I can see how much you love Edward; that's all I needed to know."

After a few more awkward moments of silence, Esme told us that dinner was ready. We made our way to the dining room table, where I sat down and tried not to stare at the elaborate setting around me. Thank god there was only one fork, knife and spoon. I thought I was going to end up in one of those movies where I picked the salad fork to eat my steak with or something. Edward slid in beside me, grabbing my hand under the table and squeezing it.

The rest of the evening wasn't as bad, but I did notice that Carlisle didn't say much. I was determined to get him to like me. It helped that I definitely had Esme and Alice on my side. And Emmett, too, I suppose. He seemed cool by the time he'd left the other night.

"So, Bella, has Edward shown you around town yet?" Esme asked, taking a sip of her wine.

"A little. We walked around near the pier, and our neighborhood. He also walked me to the office so I knew how to get there. It's so great being within walking distance of everything. Where I lived before you had to drive to get anywhere you needed, and with the traffic in the city it felt like it took forever. I like being able to walk all the time."

"I also took you out to the furniture store. But I guess I haven't really done the whole tour yet." Edward grinned at his mom. "Though, she is going shopping with Alice tomorrow. She'll know her way around the malls in town by tomorrow night."

"Alice is taking you shopping?" Carlisle asked, looking at me.

"Well, I've worked from home for almost 8 years. I realized a few days ago that I didn't really have a work appropriate wardrobe. Edward asked Alice if she would help me, and-"

"And she jumped at the chance to go shopping?" Esme added, laughing.

"Yeah, she did. She is so great; I'm looking forward to getting to know her better."

Carlisle warmed a little at that. Maybe Alice's friendship was the key? Who knows, but I wasn't going to give up. The rest of the night was good, and soon it was time for us to head back home. I hugged Esme – she had started it – and then I leaned in to hug Carlisle. He was stiff, but still hugged me.

"I know you don't care for me, or the situation. But please, for Edward, understand that I love him and I would never do anything to hurt him." I leaned back and questioned him with my eyes. He nodded, and hugged me again; a better one this time.

The trip back home was quiet, both of us contemplative. I didn't even have time to worry about what Edward was thinking, because I was still trying to figure out how to befriend his dad.

"You were amazing tonight, Bella," he said, as we were walking into our apartment. "You were sweet and honest. That's all Mom needed to see from you."

"They are both great, Edward. I see you in them. I understand your personality a lot better now that I have met them." I leaned against the counter, taking my shoes off. He was leaning against the counter as well, crossing his arms.

"You are scheming."

"I am...what?"

"You are hatching a plan to get my Dad to like you."

I stared at him. "And you call Alice psychic? How the hell did you know that?"

He leaned over and brought me closer to him, his arms wrapping around me. "I know you, silly girl." He kissed my nose. "Don't worry about Dad. He's very practical, but he will get over his concerns. He will love you as the rest of them do soon enough. Without your scheming." He bopped my nose with his finger.

"Are you sure?" I bit my lip. "I don't want him to dislike me; that would make all of this even harder."

Edward had an aversion to me biting my lip, I'd noticed. Whenever I did it, he pulled it out; this time wasn't an exception. "Dad doesn't dislike you now. He's just worried. The more he sees us together, and sees how much we love each other, the less concerned he will be. He will just be happy for us."

"Well, if you are sure I don't need to be 'scheming...'" I used air quotes.

He laughed, kissing me softly. "Let's go to bed, baby. No scheming tonight. You need to rest to be able to handle hurricane Alice tomorrow."

A/N: Thoughts on Edward's family? More with Alice in the next chapter.

Oh, yeah, so the fic is fully edited and complete. Ten chapters and an epilogue. Still trying to focus on completing my vampire fic (check out Twist of Fate when you can!). Will most more soon!

Thanks again to my beautifully wonderful beta zombified419!