We were gathered in the oversized living room, as usual of an evening. I was at my piano, a little removed from the others, and Bella was wandering about the room as if restless, idly examining the furnishings and the paintings on the wall, and participating only slightly in the general discussion. She stopped near the piano and stood, watching me play. We exchanged a smile. I unthinkingly tuned in to Jasper's mind, simply because I wanted to know how she felt about the music I was playing. Suddenly my mind was full, overwhelmed by the emotions coming from Bella. My eyes widened as I took it in. I couldn't tell what her thoughts were, but her emotions were all directed at me. I felt a deep appreciation of beauty - of my beauty! - along with so many other feelings. Admiration and esteem, on the surface. Beneath that, affection that went beyond that of a sister, an ardent, devoted attachment. Finally, an intense yearning, both physical desire, and a burning need for my presence. And running through it all, a poignant aura of uncertainty and hope. All this, emanating from Bella, and directed at me.

It was breathtaking. I stopped playing the piano, stopped listening, stopped thinking. I stared at her, wide-eyed. When her eyes met mine, acknowledging everything, I felt myself sinking into her gaze. I felt as if I'd been teetering on the edge of a precipice for weeks, and only now made the decision to let myself fall. As I fell, everything changed. I felt the locks and chains that had restrained my heart and body for so many decades break - no, not break, simply melt away effortlessly. It was Bella, all along; she had the key! In an instant I was completely open to her, vulnerable and defenceless, entirely hers. The momentous event had taken place with no fanfare, no conscious decision. She was my life now.

I realized, without much caring, that we were staring, immobile, into one another's eyes; and that the family had fallen silent, aware of our mutual captivation. I didn't care. I could see our emotions reflected back at us as Jasper received them, and read his own satisfaction with it all; and the satisfaction of the rest of the family as they took in what was happening. I heard Alice whisper, "Finally!" and understood, distractedly, that this was the expected outcome of the unclear vision she'd had long ago, back in Alaska - the vision of me, finding my mate at last. I turned to Alice momentarily in surprise, saw her smiling, and turned back to Bella without even asking a question; I couldn't take my eyes off Bella long enough to confirm what I was hearing. It didn't even matter.

The family overlooked our rather rudely shutting them out. After a moment, they went on as before, talking and laughing and playing chess, pretending to ignore the two of us standing, enthralled, in the far corner of the room. I managed to work through my amazement and disbelief, my automatic sense of unworthiness, and to accept what was happening, in a remarkably short period of time; and I could see Bella absorb the fact that her love was returned, and exult along with me. We circled each other slowly, as if growing accustomed to a new planet's unfamiliar gravity. When we wandered aimlessly out the door together, still without a word, the family said nothing, only noted it with varying inward benedictions and best wishes.

We walked together for miles, at first silent, then expressing ourselves with outbursts that made little sense, consisting of speaking one another's name aloud, or uttering a word or two before trailing off helplessly. At last we were able to talk coherently, to convey our passion to one another. I doubted I had the words, the poetry, to explain my feelings properly, but Bella seemed more than satisfied. As for me, just the knowledge that Bella shared my devotion was enough; to hear her speak the words was pure joy.

Without any conscious decision, we walked in the direction of my meadow, once again racing and laughing as we ran up the hillside, but this time holding hands as we did. Even the touch of her hand in mine was a delight. We reached the meadow, took in the deep colours of the wildflowers in the vivid darkness. Unexpectedly, she lifted her face as if in invitation, and I realized that I could kiss her now - that I should kiss her, because she was mine, and I was hers. I had an epiphany: I wasn't a monster, not if I chose not to be. Bella, who loved me, was the same sweet human girl I'd cherished from afar, only made beautiful and swift and unbreakable so that she could be my mate. And if she was not a monster, then her beloved partner, myself, could not possibly be. In accepting her, I was able to accept myself.

I carefully pressed my lips to hers, and she inhaled sharply, embracing me and returning the kiss fervently. I had no sooner put my arms around her than she, seeming overcome by emotion, abruptly seized me and pulled me down, into her arms and on top of her on the soft grass. Her sudden passion shocked and captivated me, and without thinking I returned her embrace. We kissed, locked together in devastating bliss. I had fleeting thoughts: that I had no experience with this kind of thing, and neither did Bella, which made me happy - and seemed to hamper us not at all; that Tanya's supposedly mind-boggling charm had been weak and pitiful and irrelevant, compared to what I now felt for Bella; and finally, that I'd vastly and unjustly underestimated the power of sexual attraction, and owed my amorous family members an apology for sometimes mentally rolling my eyes at their obsession. But soon even these fragmented thoughts fled, leaving room in my mind only for Bella. She pulled back slightly and began to hastily unbutton my shirt, and I helped her, removing her clothing with a sense of urgency unclouded by any other considerations. For a split second, I wondered that I had not followed my ingrained sense of propriety and insisted on our being married first, but it seemed so immaterial now. One day, perhaps, Bella would agree to a wedding, but right now I knew delay was impossible. I might have, with considerable effort, been able to control my own all-encompassing lust; but Bella wanted me, and to refuse my mate when she pleaded for something within my power to give seemed inconceivable. If she had been human still, the fear of injuring her might well have kept me under control; but there was no such fear to inhibit me.

We finally paused after six hours. We lay entwined on a bed of flowers, gazing at one another. Bella was magnificent, completely adorable; and I was filled with incredulous joy to see the same feelings reflected on her face as she looked back at me. "How I wish I could see your thoughts!" I murmured. It was the one thing missing; and I was sure her mind would be as beautiful as the rest of her.

"It would be unfair," she replied calmly, "since I can't see yours."

"I hadn't thought of it that way." Being able to read her mind would have made us unequal, and on reflection, that was distasteful to me. We were perfectly matched, one another's friends and allies, comrades and protectors. Why would I want to hold such an advantage over her? Besides, her mind would be able to offer me one thing no one else could: the gift of silence. "I think you're right; it's better this way."

She smiled. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know, anyway."

"So will I," I assured her. That reminded me of another matter. "In fact, I have a confession to make." She raised an eyebrow, curious. "I never met you, or even saw you, when you were human," I began, then considered a moment. "If I had, I wonder…"

"I probably would have fallen in love with you at first sight."

I shook my head; it seemed unlikely. "I don't know. I'm afraid I might have reacted rather differently." I told her of my response to the traces of her blood. "Your actual, living blood would have been overpowering. You were meant to be in at least one of my high school classes. If you'd come into the classroom that first day, I'm not sure…" I shuddered at the thought.

Bella stared at me. "So…when that nomad attacked me, he actually saved me from death two days in the future, without knowing it!"

"Yes, I suppose he did. Saved you from death at my hands, which is painful to even contemplate."

She nodded soberly. "I'm so glad we didn't meet then. Even if you hadn't killed me on sight, imagine what we would have gone through before we could finally be…as we are now."

"So true. But there's more."

"More confessions? What else have you been up to?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"I didn't meet you when you were human, not in person; but I did get to know a little about you." I told her how I learned bits and pieces from her father, from the mourners at her funeral, even from her photographs and the overheard comments and thoughts of her family members. With some embarrassment, I described sneaking into her bedroom, studying her belongings, her books and music, and becoming strangely captivated by this absent stranger. I was relieved to find she was not offended by my bizarre stalking behaviour. "It was so odd," I mused. "My obsession seemed to awaken feelings that had died, or at least lain dormant, for decades. It was as if your ghost was preparing me to meet and fall in love with the real Bella at last."

She shook her head. "But when you met me for real, it wasn't like that, was it? You treated me like a sister."

I pondered this. "I saw you that way - and yet I didn't. I…" I grinned sheepishly. "Jasper has told me I tend to repress my emotions. In retrospect, I think that's what was going on. Once I realized that you felt the same about me…" I met her eyes, and was nearly distracted from what I was saying. "…everything was suddenly set free. It was like falling off a cliff. But I can understand now that I'd walked off the cliff some time ago." I laughed suddenly. "Just like that ridiculous coyote."

"Coyote?" she repeated, mystified.

"Yes, the cartoon coyote. He would walk off the edge of a cliff, straight across thin air; and only when he became aware of it did he finally fall." I looked at her, momentarily unsure whether I was merely ranting ludicrously; but she nodded recognition, grinning. "I was in love with you before I allowed myself to know it."

"It sounds as if you were waiting for my permission," she giggled.

"Perhaps. After all, you said not a word to me about how you felt."

"I was waiting for you. You seemed so…brotherly, I wasn't sure if I had any chance. Alice kept hinting…"

"Oh, yes; Alice. I do believe she's been seeing this future for some time, and hiding it. I'll have a word with her once we get back home."

"How soon is that likely to be?" she asked innocently, tightening her hold on me and pressing closer.

Another six hours passed. Far from becoming accustomed to the experience of lovemaking, it seemed to become more exciting, more intense, as time went on. Even the sensation of Bella's hand stroking my face, her lips grazing my ear, were electric, rapturous. It was as if she could do nothing wrong, could not touch me in any way that was not exquisite; and what's more, the same applied to me. Everything I did, every movement, every caress, seemed to make her euphoric, frenzied with passion; and the experience of pleasing her was bewitching to me, made me all the more hungry for her. Caught up in this endless, self-regenerating cycle of desire, how on earth could we ever bring ourselves to stop?

We paused once more in the late afternoon, spoke briefly of returning to the house, and almost immediately dismissed the idea and fell into each other's arms again. We made love through a second night, and when the sun rose, making Bella's lovely face shimmer like diamonds, we paused again, allowing the outside world to intrude on our consciousness. "Will they be worried about us?" she asked.

"Likely not. I think they have some idea what happened to us."

Bella grimaced. "It'll be kind of embarrassing, coming back home." She ran a hand through her dishevelled hair.

I chuckled. "A little, perhaps. But it's happened to all of them over the years, and I witnessed their homecomings in tolerant silence. They owe me."

She sighed and sat up. "Maybe we should go home." She looked over at me. "For a little while, anyway."

"At the very least," I pointed out as we got to our feet and began to dress, "we'll be able to retire to our room together at night, along with the other couples."

She stopped and looked at me. "It must have been sad for you sometimes, being the only one alone."

I started to brush off the question, not wanting her to feel badly, but I balked at being dishonest, treating her as if she weren't strong enough for the truth. I understood now that she was strong enough for anything. "Yes, sometimes it was. But having you now makes up for everything."

She adjusted her clothing and tried once more to smooth out her hair. "Which room is our room? Yours, or the one Alice fixed up for me?"

I laughed as we started back down the mountain path. "Whichever you prefer. Although I like the idea of taking my room, and exorcising the lonely bachelor spirits from it." She put an arm around me as we walked, rubbing her forehead soothingly against my shoulder, and any remaining trace of those lonely nights evaporated forever.

The family - apart from Carlisle, who was on duty at the hospital - were together when we arrived at the house, and had obviously been notified by Alice that we were on our way. They did not exactly greet us with applause, but the way they all stood, smiling at us as if celebrating a significant and happy event, came across as silent cheers of support. "I told you!" Alice exulted, bouncing with gleeful triumph.

"Actually, you carefully avoided telling me," I corrected her, "even in your thoughts. I knew there was a reason I kept getting a test pattern."

"I told you over two years ago that you would be meeting your mate at last!"

"Yes, and that's the last time you mentioned it. I'm sure you saw something more, especially after Bella came to Forks."

"I did, but I also saw the likely outcome if I told you about it."

Bella and I looked at each other. "Alice, what on earth could have gone wrong? I would have simply met Bella earlier than I did. Maybe saved her from months of being alone in the woods before Carlisle found her."

"More to it than that," she said grimly.

The others were gathered around, listening. "I suppose she's already filled you in?" I asked them all.

"Yes," Rosalie said, "and she certainly had her reasons."

"I'm sure she did," Bella put in unexpectedly. "Alice wouldn't withhold something like that unless there was a very good reason. Right, Alice?" Alice beamed at this loyal tribute. They really had become the best of friends.

"To begin with," Alice went on, "when Bella first arrived in Forks, she was human."

"For about 24 hours," Bella murmured.

"If you'd encountered Bella when she was still human, Edward, you'd probably have killed her at once." I gasped, recognizing the horrible truth of this. "You told Bella about her special blood?"

"I did. Yes, you're right about that."

"It looked like about 80% probability." At my grave look, she went on, "You might have been able to avoid attacking her - maybe 20% chance of that, not great. But one future had you deciding to leave the area immediately, and never getting together with Bella. You might even have controlled yourself, and stayed around long enough to fall in love. But that would lead to months, maybe years, of suffering for you, uncertainty for her; not to mention anguish over whether you had any right to transform a girl who wasn't near death. Not such a happy love story, for either of you. Plus, there was a possible, crazy future in which you decided to challenge those three nomads before one of them bit Bella, leading to…some very bad stuff. No outcome was ideal, and all of them were much too risky."

"Granted," I said, shaken by her vision. "But what about after she had been changed?"

"A lot of that was iffy, too. I saw you trying to protect her from the other vampires, and protect her from the werewolves. Significant chance you didn't make it out alive."

"But Bella fought them off successfully on her own!" I pointed out.

"Same thing I said," Emmett remarked. "Didn't seem to make sense, right?"

"I know," Alice said, "and I can't explain it all, because of course, I couldn't see what went on when those giant dogs were in the picture. But I pieced it together from other visions. Bella's fight was kind of a perfect storm. She was an über-strong newborn, arriving at just the right second, with just the right motivation, and, it seems, with the right set of werewolves."

"The right werewolves?" Bella repeated, mystified.

"At least one of them knew you from before - from when you were human, and recognized you. There was some hesitation about attacking you, just enough to let you get away safely. But," she went on firmly, "that probably wouldn't have happened if Bella had backup. Again, this part isn't as clear to me, but I did see Bella getting away safely, provided she was left to herself."

"All right," I conceded. "I can see why that had to be withheld. But once Bella had been changed, and had won the fight, and was wandering on her own - you couldn't have let me know she was there?"

Alice hesitated. "You won't like this," She warned. I waited. "You weren't ready."

"I wasn't? What are you talking about? Ready for what?"

"Ready to be with Bella. I don't know exactly what you were going through then - I'm not the mind reader, right? just the fortune teller - but if you'd met too early, you wouldn't be ready for a mate, and would have argued that Bella would be better off with Tanya's family, and 90-92% she would have gone back to Alaska instead of coming to live with us."

I stared at her. "I understand, but…all those months, alone and frightened, before we finally found her. She could have been spared that!"

"But it was worth it," Alice replied blithely. As I opened my mouth to disagree, she turned to Bella. "Wasn't it worth it, Bella?"

Bella smiled at her. "Absolutely. Well worth it."

That stopped me. "If you think so, then…then I suppose I have to agree that Alice was right." I glared at my sister a little anyway, for being so high-handed, but I had to admit that the final outcome was highly satisfactory.

"So," Alice said, with the air of getting on with more important matters, "when's the wedding?"

"Excuse me?" Bella exclaimed. "What wedding?"

"Alice," I growled, "couldn't you have waited until I'd proposed, at least?"

"Oops!"

Bella turned to me. "You want to have a wedding? Isn't that only for humans?"

"Not necessarily. Rosalie and Emmett have had several," Esme pointed out helpfully. "And Carlisle and I were married…a few years after I came to live here."

"A few years sounds good," Bella said.

"But I love planning weddings!" Alice complained. "And it's very important to Edward."

"Conventional early-20th century upbringing," Jasper offered in clarification, "combined with idealistic elements in his education."

"Thank you, Dr Freud," I retorted, but he only smiled, and I smiled back.

"If it's really that important to Edward," Bella conceded, "I guess I can see my way to it. But he's right, Alice; I think he wants to do the whole proposal thing in peace." I huffed a little at the dismissive proposal thing, but said nothing.

"Fine. Get back to me when it's in the works."

"Meanwhile," I said, "you'll be glad to know you and Esme can get your dressmaking and espionage space back. Bella will be sharing my room in future."

"Espionage?" Bella asked, intrigued.

"We'll get to that. Shall we do some furniture moving?" I rose and headed for the stairs, taking Bella's hand as I went.

"So," Emmett called out jovially after me, "goodbye to a century of virginity!"

"Thank God for that!" I called back as I ran up the stairs, Bella laughing as she ran beside me.

We tied up a few loose ends before making our move to our new location, a remote house, surrounded by wild area, in the most overcast region in Ohio. Unsure of whether Bella was quite ready for the experience of high school yet, we chose a different cover story, one in which Carlisle was still a doctor, but most of the 'foster kids' were students at nearby Ohio State University. Only Bella, newly documented as 18-year-old Marie Platte, had chosen a different path, and after high school worked out of her home, running a successful and lucrative online clothing store - which, in reality, was managed by her and Alice. Mostly by Alice.

Carlisle and I made a final visit to the Quileute land, one he saw as necessary, although it made me a little nervous. When the usual group of muscular men - and one young woman - met us at the boundary line, they were no friendlier than before. "Well?" snapped Sam.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you," Carlisle said mildly. "We wanted to let you know we're leaving the area."

"Good," muttered one of the younger ones.

"We'll be gone by the end of summer. However, we also wanted to inform you of a change in our family."

"What change?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"An eighth member." They seemed to tense. "She has never yet harmed a human, and we will do our best to make sure she never does. We'd like you to regard her as part of our family, and therefore covered by the same treaty."

"We're under no obligation to any new members," another clan member grumbled.

"Technically, no. But you did accept the other two that had joined us, given that they do not hunt humans. What's more, this new addition once helped you rid the area of predatory vampires." They looked confused. "As I understand it, she decapitated one of them, then threw him at you in order to escape."

They looked at each other, startled. "I remember," Sam said, "but Jacob told us…was that really Bella Swan?"

"Yes, that's right. She was bitten by one of those three, and finally found her way to us. Perhaps under the circumstances, and for Chief Swan's sake, you'll consider granting clemency to his daughter."

They looked sad and disturbed. "Yeah, we can do that," Sam answered at last. "If she doesn't hurt any people, like you said. Consider her covered by the treaty."

"Excellent. Please be so kind at to note that for future reference." At Sam's questioning look, Carlisle explained, "We will probably want to live here again at some point. When we return, which may be many years in the future, I hope you will recall that the treaty is with a family of eight."

Sam nodded. "Consider it done." When we didn't move, he asked, "Anything else?"

"Bella has a request - merely an informal, friendly request. She asks that you look after her father." Sam blinked in surprise. "She understands that she can have no further contact with him, but is still concerned for his welfare. We have arranged for him to receive a stipend, so his retirement will be comfortable."

Picking up some passing thoughts from the group, I added, "The money will also benefit Mrs Clearwater, who has been left with minimal means of support by her late husband's death, or so I understand. We have reason to believe that Charlie Swan's circumstances and income will eventually be hers as well." They looked surprised, but did not attempt to deny it. There was a sense of guilt for Harry Clearwater's death running through some of their thoughts, which made this news particularly welcome to them.

Carlisle continued, "Bella asks that you not blame Chief Swan for his daughter's situation."

"'Course we wouldn't!" exclaimed one of the young men. "It's not his fault!'

"No, certainly not. And I'm also sure you don't even need to be asked to see to his safety; but the reassurance would be much appreciated by Bella."

Sam nodded. "Tell her we'll do our best for him."

"Thank you."

As we walked away from the boundary line, I said, "What an amazing phenomenon they are - the wolf pack. It's too bad they're so hostile to us. It might have been an interesting experience to get to know them better."

Carlisle looked doubtful. "Perhaps. But as Alice might say, I suspect that could have lead to some iffy outcomes. I believe things are better with them out of the picture."

Tanya's family paid us a farewell visit, which had Emmett full of high hopes for an entertainingly awkward reunion between Tanya and myself, and perhaps even a bit of a spat between Tanya and Bella. "If there is," Jasper remarked coolly, "my money is on Bella."

"Seriously? She's so…calm! Even as a newborn, she never got real wild."

"That might be misleading." At Emmett's skeptical look, he added, "Bear in mind that she successfully fought off three vampires and a pack of werewolves, with no training."

"Yeah, there was that," Emmett agreed thoughtfully.

"She's unlikely to start a fight, I agree; but stand back if anyone ever threatens Edward. Or, probably, any of us."

"Good thing she's on our side, then," Emmett laughed. Jasper agreed, but in all seriousness.

I didn't care for this speculation, or for the prospect of a fight between Bella and Tanya, but tried to tell myself that the possibility was remote. I looked over at Alice for reassurance. "Not happening," she declared. "Everyone will be strictly civil and well-bred. Although I can't vouch for Tanya avoiding any catty thoughts."

"She has absolutely no reason to…"

"I know, I know. But she may be a little miffed, even so."

"Her pride is wounded, that's all," Jasper pronounced with authority. "You're her first failure in a very long time."

I looked at Bella, afraid she'd be upset. I'd never fully explained to her about Tanya, and she'd instead received Emmett's slightly ribald version of events. But Bella was grinning happily. "Tanya failed where I succeeded," she said, with great complacency. "That must be hard to take. But I can be gracious in victory."

"You know," Jasper said carefully, "you refused her for Bella's sake, in a sense."

I stared at him. "How could that be? I didn't even know Bella existed yet!"

"No, but…" He glanced at Bella, a question in his mind of whether I minded talking openly about this. I nodded for him to go on; I felt no need to protect Bella from the truth. "Whether you realized it or not - and it seems you did not - you were saving yourself for someone. Yes, preserving your chastity for your one true love, in keeping with your late Victorian world view. It felt important to you; it felt…hopeful."

"Hopeful?"

"It meant you were still waiting for someone; for your mate. If you'd given in to Tanya, it would mean you'd abandoned all hope, and you weren't quite ready to give up hope."

What he was telling me felt plausible, unaware as I'd been of my own feelings. Catching my eye, Jasper showed me his perception of my emotions from that time, in a kind of panorama. It was something he'd done before; it felt like having a mirror held up to me, one that showed me not my physical appearance, but my emotions. I could see myself, my inner self, during my visits with Tanya, but from Jasper's clearer, more objective viewpoint. "I think you must be right," I finally admitted, my eyes on Bella, the one who had finally fulfilled my increasingly faint hopes.

The visit was, as Alice had foretold, perfectly polite. I caught Tanya wondering how I could have been so cold toward her, yet fallen so hard for a girl with, as Tanya saw it, moderate beauty and no glamour or sex appeal to speak of. Following Bella's example of graciousness in victory, I happily and rather disdainfully allowed Tanya to see it that way, if it gave her comfort. Eleazar marvelled once again at Bella's impenetrable gift, and offered some suggestions for developing it further. After a pleasant few days' visit, the Denali wished us well, hoped we would once again live within easy reach of one another very soon, and returned to Alaska. "Tanya's nice," Bella commented after their departure.

"Yes," I agreed, "very nice."

Jasper caught Emmett's eye. "You must be disappointed," he smirked. "No cat fight. Not so much as a harsh word."

Esme smiled at them. "Bella's not much for conflict."

"That's true." Emmett sighed, resigned.

"It's a good thing their entire romance was so simple, then," Rosalie suggested. "No conflicts, no trouble, no danger to speak of. They just meet, and fall into each other's arms."

Bella laughed. "It wouldn't make much of a love story, to be honest. Too easy; not enough drama. I'd have stopped reading halfway through!"

"No," I agreed. "But absolutely ideal for real life; don't you think?"