Chapter 17 Edward's love
A/N: So SM owns Twilight if you didn't already know :)
I have finally recovered from a very nasty chest infection so here is the next chapter of our busy bee and her mr fancy pants.
See you on the other side.
"That's it perfect, hold there and smile." The reporter had taken at least six shots trying to get an interesting photo of the two teenagers who'd defied the odds, coming from a tiny town high school to achieve outstanding academic results.
He was putting in every effort to try every angle. As a junior reporter for the Seattle Times this was his first big opportunity to get a byline and maybe even have the story picked up by other publications.
Edward and Bee were ready to throw the reporter's camera out the window as they'd been in the photo shoot for over two hours. Edward was bored and Bee was hungry, not to mention that it was Bee's birthday and this was not how she intended to spend the day.
"Got it, thanks kids. This'll be a great shot to go with the story."
"Finally," Edward sighed. He grabbed Bee's hand to lead her out of the library where they'd been photographed in front of a mountain of books. The librarian was going to have a fit and neither Edward nor Bee wanted to be the ones to have to put all the books back.
Edward was busy texting on his phone and Bee was stretching her tired arms after sitting in the same position for awhile. Once he put his phone in his pocket, Edward grabbed Bee in a close hug and kissed her soft lips: "Now my little Busy Bee, I think it's time for lunch, let's hit the cafeteria and see if the others are still there."
They heard the click of a camera and both spun around to see the reporter grinning his annoying head off: "Why didn't you kids tell me you were a couple, that makes for a much better story. Can I get a few details from you?"
"NO!" they both shouted before turning and running down the hall away from the reporter. When they got to the doors of the cafeteria they were laughing and panting.
Edward flung open the door and nudged Bee inside: "That was close, c'mon love let's eat."
She was suddenly accosted by streamers, balloons and the sound of party horns blasting. Emmett grabbed her up in a huge hug and twirled her around: "Happy Birthday my little Honey Bee. I've been waiting for ages, you guys were taking so long with the reporter I nearly came down there to get you."
Edward pulled her out of his arms: "Put her down Em, you'll break her."
"Nah, you're stronger than he thinks aren't you Bee," he said as he placed her gently back on her feet.
Bee turned bright purple and walked over to their usual table which Rose and Emmett had set up like a little kid's birthday table. Bee looked at it reverently, sitting down with her eyes bulging at all the party food on the table. There were cupcakes with the number 18 decorating each one, the large cake Emmett held was of course a Frozen themed cake with Elsa on it. On the table there were also chips, hot dogs and pizza.
Tears started to roll down her cheeks and Edward panicked: "Are you okay love, what's wrong?"
"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," she sobbed out dramatically.
Emmett laughed: "Oh, Honey Bee that's what you said to Mom this morning when she made you birthday waffles and put a candle in them."
She sobbed again: "That was beautiful too. It's all so beautiful."
Edward chuckled, loving that she was happy even if she was a blubbering mess.
"Let's eat," shouted Emmett.
"Okay," said Rose. "But after food you have to open my present; I can't wait to see your face when you open it."
The small group of friends laughed, shared funny stories and generally enjoyed each other's company. Rose picked at her food as usual but both she and Edward watched in awe as Bee matched Emmett bite for bite thoroughly enjoying the Birthday Feast as Bee called it.
Some other students stopped by briefly to say happy birthday and Bee offered them some of the birthday treats on the table, others just sent Bee a wave as they passed. She was completely overwhelmed by it all but loved every moment.
No one really celebrated her birthday with her before except her Nanna Swan. Occasionally her mother and James would put on a show for others about celebrating her birthday but she knew it didn't really mean anything, so she didn't think that counted.
"No Alice or Jasper again today?" Bee asked Rose.
"Nope. Those two idiots are in such a mess. They thought they had it all figured out but the Brandons and my parents have joined forces to have the terms of Alice's inheritance reviewed by legal experts. I heard my parents talking in the kitchen this morning and apparently they've found a loophole which will mean that Alice won't be able to access the inheritance in the way she thought until she's twenty-one, despite being married and pregnant.
So Alice and Jasper may be pregnant and they may be getting married but I don't think they'll be going to New York anytime soon. They'll probably end up at the local Community College, since neither family will fund them moving too far away since they have a baby to look after. The 'rents are really pissed with them both for being so selfish. I know my parents have already lined Jasper up with a job after graduation with one of Daddy's friends who does construction. They say he needs to take responsibility for his actions and work towards supporting his new family. The Brandon's have already taken Alice's Porsche away and are going to replace it with a more family friendly car."
Emmett was shaking his head in disbelief before articulating everyone's thoughts in a way that only Emmett could: "Fucking morons."
Rose agreed: "Yes, they are fucking morons but they're our fucking morons and that baby will be my niece or nephew, so I'll stick by them and help out as much as I can."
"Yeah babe, I'm with you all the way, you know that. After all, your moronic brother will one day be my moronic brother-in-law, so I'll help out too," Emmett said as he nuzzled Rose's neck. She blushed and then pushed him away playfully.
Rose turned back to Bee, holding out a parcel wrapped beautifully in blue and silver paper with a lovely bow and curly ribbon flowing over it: "Enough about my brother and his accelerated rush towards parenthood, today is about Bee's adulthood status and I want to see her open my present."
She handed over the parcel which Bee accepted reverently. She looked it over for the longest time and tears started to flow down her cheeks again: "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Edward rolled his eyes and smiled at his precious girl who was clearly overwhelmed by all the attention, but he didn't care, he wanted her to enjoy being spoiled. As far as he was concerned there was no way they could spoil her enough. She was well overdue for some happiness and he was glad that his family and friends were so determined to make that happen.
"Open it love, I'm sure what's inside will be the most beautiful thing you've ever seen too," he chuckled.
She dug her elbow into his ribs: "Don't tease me. I don't want to ruin this beautiful wrapping."
She carefully pulled open the present without damaging the paper which she folded and set to the side with the ribbons she'd just as carefully removed. Emmett and Edward had already seen her do this multiple times that day but for Rose this was a fascinating new experience: "Why are folding the paper, Bee?"
"Oh, I want to reuse it later. It's so pretty and I don't want to waste it," Bee stated simply. She hated waste and she knew she'd find some use for all the lovely paper and ribbon she'd been given today.
She had already put the gift wrap and card from Edward's gift into her special lock box to keep it with her special memories. That morning as they lay in his bed together, he had given her a beautiful necklace and bracelet set. The necklace was a simple heart locket with a picture of them together on one side and on the other the words 'Edward's love'; the bracelet had the inscription 'dearest loveliest Isabella' which was a version of Mr Darcy's declaration to Miss Elizabeth Bennett.
Bee touched the locket and then the bracelet softly, remembering the searing kiss they'd shared once Edward had placed the gifts around her neck and wrist.
She sighed contentedly before returning to the gift box before her. Rose was giggling which was very unusual for Rose and she was almost as bouncy as Alice would've been if she'd been here.
Bee curiously wondered why Rose was so excited, so she tentatively removed the lid from the box half expecting something to jump out at her. She then gently folded back the paper lining the box which protected what looked like the most beautiful soft fabric inside. As she looked at the fabric a moment longer, realisation dawned as to where she'd seen the lovely item before. Her eyes widened and she folded the paper back quickly, blushing furiously and mumbling a quick thank you to Rose.
Edward was confused and wildly curious about the gift so he pulled the box along the table closer to him and opened the tissue paper to pull out the gift.
Trying not to gain any unwanted attention for her rather 'naughty' gift from Rose, Bee whisper yelled: "No, don't pull it out." Which of course is the exact wrong thing to say around teenagers so of course everyone within earshot turned to see exactly what Edward was 'pulling out'.
Edward meanwhile held up the lingerie hiding innocently within the gift box - it was a soft, sheer, royal blue teddy.
"Wow," was all he could manage to say. He was completely stunned and continued to stare at the lingerie, imagining what it would look like on Bee's lithe body. He broke from his stupor by the catcalls and sexual comments coming from the students around them and he quickly stuffed it back in the box, closing the lid on it like there was a wild animal inside about to break free. Edward and Bee sat blushing wildly, while Emmett guffawed and Rose giggled.
Rose put her hand over Bee's: "I saw you admire the teddy while we were in that store in Port Angeles and I knew you were too innocent to buy it yourself, so I thought I'd give you a little nudge along." She winked at Edward and patted Bee's hand affectionately.
Edward blushed and Bee blushed even more: "Thank you Rose, it really is very beautiful."
Edward leaned closer to kiss Bee's cheek and whispered in her ear:"It will look so beautiful on you, whenever you're ready, my little Busy Bee."
She gave him a shy smile. She loved him so much; she knew he was once again reassuring her that he was happy to wait until she was ready to take things to the next level. They had been getting more hot and heavy when making out and they both knew that sex was something they both wanted but so far neither of them had been ready to cross that line in the same moment.
She kissed his lips, chastely: "I love you, Mister Fancy Pants."
They headed off to class agreeing to meet up after school at Alice's house, as she'd begged them to come visit her so she could give Bee her birthday present since she was, in her words, 'grounded for life'.
When they arrived at the Brandon's they found Alice in her bedroom looking pale and tired. Apparently morning sickness had kicked in big time.
Bee was distraught at the change in Alice's complexion: "Alice, you look so tired. Are you getting any sleep at all?"
"Oh, I sleep all the time when I'm not throwing up like I'm possessed by a fucking demon, which I actually think I may be."
Rose laughed and patted Alice's back: "Sorry, sweetie but if this baby is anything like Jasper you'll be sick for awhile. My mom said she had all day sickness with him for the first five months of her pregnancy."
Alice groaned but put on a brave face: "Well, if this baby is like my Jasper then he'll be a sweet angel and all this will be worth it."
Bee smiled, glad to hear Alice use soft words about the baby at last.
Alice perked up and jumped off the bed to run over to her closet: "Oh, Bee I have the loveliest present for you. I made it myself, I really hope you like it."
Alice dashed into her huge walk in closet to retrieve the gift and came out presenting it to Bee with a happy 'ta da'.
"Here she goes again," laughed Emmett.
And sure enough, tears were streaming down Bee's face as she held the beautifully wrapped gift like it was the most precious thing in the world.
Edward hugged her: "You're right love, the present is very beautiful. Go ahead and cry."
He kissed her temple as Rose explained to a concerned and confused Alice that they were happy tears and that she'd done this with each gift she'd been given that day. It had started with the Kitchen Journal which Esme had given her that morning which had been filled with Bee's favourite recipes handwritten by Esme as well as others her adopted mother was sure she'd love. Carlisle had given her a copy of "History of Medicine from the Earliest Ages to the Commencement of the Nineteenth Century". She sobbed openly when Emmett presented her with a whole collection of Disney animated DVDs.
Finally Bee carefully unwrapped Alice's gift, folding the pretty butterfly decorated paper and handing it to Edward as she looked at the gift. It was a beautifully sewn cloth laptop satchel which would fit her new Apple laptop perfectly: "Oh, Alice this is wonderful thank you so much."
Alice came over and showed her all the hidden little pockets and special places to store things: "It will be perfect when you go to college, wherever you end up choosing. Have you two decided yet?"
They both shook their heads. Edward gave Bee's hand a gentle squeeze, answering for them both: "We've looked into all the schools we've been accepted to and they are all great but we've shortlisted it to Columbia or Dartmouth which both have excellent medical schools."
"Carlisle, Edward's Dad, went to Dartmouth and he's a great doctor so we'd like to go there but Columbia sounds great too." Bee didn't mention that she had an apartment in New York they could live in as she didn't want to rub salt into that wound for Alice who has proven she'd do just about anything to go to New York and this was off the table for now despite her drastic actions.
For the same unspoken reasons no one mentioned their upcoming trip to New York with Esme to visit her publisher, to see Bee's apartment and to visit Columbia to check it out. They would save that news for another day.
Mrs Brandon came up with some snacks for them all, as well as some ginger ale and crackers for Alice. Bee marvelled that Alice's parents though clearly disappointed and angry with their daughter were still loving and caring towards her. She still found these loving relationships so foreign but wonderful.
They chatted and caught Alice up on all the gossip from school, the highlight being the ongoing drama of Jessica and Mike who had gotten back together but then Jessica found out that he was seeing Lauren on the side. Tyler and Mike got into a fight over it and now Jessica and Mike were broken up again. So Jessica was going to Bee's birthday party with Tyler and Mike was going to the party with Lauren.
Alice grew a little glum at this point remembering she wouldn't be able to attend: "I'm sorry I'll miss your party Bee. For one thing, I'm grounded for the rest of my life and secondly, I'd probably be sick all over you."
Rose laughed: "Don't worry Alley, we'll send you pictures of the inevitable showdown between Jessica and Mike so you won't miss a thing."
At that point they said their goodbyes and headed home to get ready for the party.
When they arrived home, the marquee was already set up in the back yard and catering staff were putting the final touches to the decorations. Fairy lights were everywhere and Esme had set up a little archway covered in flowers and lights where a photographer would take photos of the guests as they arrived dressed in their formal wear.
Esme had decided it would be more of a formal event with fancy finger food followed by a formal banquet dinner with non-alcoholic champagne and mock-tails being served to the guests, which Bee thought may actually have included the entire town by the number of invitations which were sent out. The tables were beautifully decorated and there was even a dance floor with a band warming up.
Bee was terrified. Thank goodness Rose had come home with them to help her dress as she had no idea how to dress or do her hair for a formal gathering and no idea how to act or eat or drink in such a fancy setting. Edward had told her not to worry just to follow his lead but she grew increasingly anxious, so Rose took her upstairs to give her a 'fast guide to being fancy'.
"With pre-dinner drinks, you'll be fine. The waiters will come around with trays of food and drinks, just take one thing at a time. Remember there's always more if you want it, no need to store it up. I know you like to store things away for later, but at fancy shindigs just take one thing at a time, okay?"
Bee blushed a little, realising that Rose had noticed her tendency to store away food. Esme had noticed within a few days of her coming to live with the Cullens, that Bee would often take food to store in her room, almost as if she were worried where her next meal would come from.
Esme mentioned it to Bee's therapist Sue and they had discussed it at length. Bee came to understand that the Cullens would look after her and she would not go hungry again. Slowly she stopped storing food away but she still worried about it sometimes.
Rose had only noticed Bee's food storing habit because she herself had suffered from an eating disorder for years and knew the signs of dysfunctional eating behaviours. She had noticed that Bee despite eating with enthusiasm was very, very thin, and was initially concerned that perhaps the girl was bulimic. However, as Emmett had shared some of Bee's story with him Rose realised that the problem was long term undernourishment and fear of further deprivation.
"At dinner there'll be lots of cutlery but don't worry, it is the job of the catering staff to lay the cutlery in the correct order according to the menu, so you can you just work by the simple rule of working from the outside in. They will remove the used cutlery after each course and you just keep using the most outside tools for each course. If in doubt just follow Edward's or my lead. Otherwise it is the same as any other party. Just relax and enjoy it."
Bee nodded, although she was still nervous. She and Rose set about showering, dressing and drying their hair.
"I can do your hair for you if you like," Rose offered. Bee smiled and handed her the brush.
"You have such lovely hair Bee, let's put it up with little curls falling down here and there. Edward will love that."
Bee agreed enthusiastically and watched earnestly as Rose set about putting Bee's hair in an up-style; she was fascinated and wondered where Rose had learned to do all this.
Rose put a light amount of makeup on Bee: "You don't need much makeup, you have great skin, we'll just give you a smoky look to your eyes to drive Edward crazy shall we?"
"Why do you want me to tease Edward, Rose?" she laughed.
"Because it is good to see him out of control for once. He's always been so serious, it is good to see him happy and crazy off his head in love. You are good for him Bee."
Bee was glad to hear of Rose's sisterly affection for Edward: "He's good for me too, you know."
"Yeah, I can see that. Well that's it, I think we both look gorgeous. Let's go torture our boyfriends with our hotness shall we?"
Bee looked in the mirror and though she'd never be as beautiful as Rose, she honestly thought she looked quite nice. She nodded at Rose, took her arm and the two friends headed downstairs to find their boys.
Edward and Emmett had been run ragged by their mother doing last minute chores to set up for the party before they were finally released to go shower and dress. Despite the time taken doing chores they were still washed and dressed in their suits before their girls were ready, so they stood by the stairs waiting for the girls to descend.
As Rose and Bee chatted and giggled walking down the stairs in their fancy clothes and shoes, the boys turned to watch them transfixed by the sight of their stunning girls.
"Wow," Emmett shouted. "You both look hot!"
Rose nudged Bee, "See, I told you they'd love our hotness."
Edward said nothing, completely lost for words as he watched his beautiful Bee walk down the stairs in a dress of beautiful ivory lace overlaying a pale blue silk slip. It was soft, it was feminine, it was old fashioned and it was Edward's best wet dream come to life.
Emmett laughed: "Don't blow in your pants man."
Bee blushed and Edward punched his brother's arm before turning to his sweet Bee and kissing her cheek: "You like divine, love."
He pulled her close and moved away from his teasing brother to whisper in her ear: "The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars as daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing, and think it were not night."
Bella turned his arms, reaching her hands around his neck she pulled him gently down to kiss him. He deepened the kiss and his hands brought her body close to his.
She leaned up to whisper in his ear: "I'm ready Edward."
He pulled back from her to see her face, he found love and conviction in her look. His smile became a smirk as he kissed her forehead: "I am too, love."
Esme and Carlisle were in the corner of the room watching the young ones cuddle and whisper sweet nothings to each other. They couldn't hear their words but they could definitely read their body language.
"Please tell me you gave him condoms, Car?"
"Yes, Es, I put a whole box in his room."
"Thank goodness for small mercies, because your son is about one kiss away from throwing that girl over his shoulder and dragging her off to his cave!"
Carlisle laughed: "Like father like son, I guess." He placed a gentle kiss on his wife's temple, "And why is suddenly only MY son ."
A/N: Party time! I hope you liked the chapter. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading. *mwah*
Quote reference: Mr Darcy to Miss Elizabeth Bennett in 'Pride & Prejudice' by Jane Austen.
Book reference: History of Medicine from the Earliest Ages to the Commencement of the Nineteenth Century. By (author) Robley Dunglison; Publication date 31 Jan 2009; Published by: Bibliolife; ISBN 10 1103108719.
2nd Quote reference: "The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars as daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing, and think it were not night." William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet