The house was nearly empty when I got home, but Alice was in the front room waiting for me. We'd planned to go hunting together; my last time to fill up and calm down before I spent the day with Bella and her still-enticing scent.

How's Bella? Alice asked as we started running through the forest.

"Good," I said, immediately deciding to skip over the whole thing in the car. "Though tired. Hopefully she'll get some real rest today."

Not been sleeping?

"She's been having trouble. And she usually takes a nap after school, but we've been doing homework together instead."

She must like you. There was a teasing edge to Alice's thought.

"She doesn't want to fail," I said, but I smiled. I knew she liked me. And she trusted me, too. What a marvel that was.

So... you're going to bring her over on Sunday?

I gave Alice a glance. "Do you know something I don't?"

She smirked at me. Had a vision. It could change, but if it doesn't we'll see her on Sunday.

Excitement welled up in my chest. "We'll see what happens tomorrow, then. I hope I can bring her over."

I'll warn Rose to be on her best behavior.

We split up eventually, each of us after our own deer. I went at top speed, happy to feel the wind in my hair and on my face, and took two deer before meeting up with Alice again. I was completely sated. I would be safe - as safe as possible - around Bella tomorrow.

We headed back at a slower pace, chatting in a half-spoken half-thought conversation about things I'd missed in the family while I was with Bella: Emmett had finally beaten Jasper in a wrestling match (Jasper suspected he'd cheated somehow); Alice had managed, with Esme's help, to talk Rosalie out of destroying any of my possessions; Esme herself was overcome with happiness and just as eager as Alice to meet Bella; and Emmett was getting curious about her as well. They'd all been speculating as to what Bella could shapeshift into. I smiled, but didn't say anything.

As we neared the house, I told Alice more about Bella.

How hard she worked at school. Her genuine affection for Charlie, even though he was kind of a glorified babysitter. Her creativity that I'd caught glimpses of when she doodled in class. And, as we slowed to a walk and approached the house, how much I liked her.

"For a while, I thought all I was interested in was her closed mind," I said. "The mystery. And her scent. It didn't cross my mind that there could be more than that.

"But that was me selling her short. I do enjoy reading her mind when I can, but that's secondary. And her scent has changed, or I've changed, as I've gotten to know her; I can always pick up on the spiciness, but the sweetness that's dangerous has faded into the background. What I really like is just her. I like when she smiles at me. I like that she lets down her guard and chats with me. I like how her eyes light up when she sees me at the door to pick her up for school. I like her."

Alice shot me a smile. I can tell.

I spent the night as I had spent so many others these past few weeks: listening to music in my room while my thoughts were full of Bella. I could hardly wait until morning to see her again. I could barely keep still when I thought about what we'd be sharing, together in the sunlight. I forgot to breathe for up to minutes at a time as I focused on memories of her dark eyes, her blushes, her head on my shoulder, her hand in mine, her smile as she'd brought our clasped hands to her knee - almost the very first time she'd initiated contact between us. I thought I was going to burst before the night was up.

But finally, finally, dawn approached. I showered and spent time trying to choose the perfect outfit, wondering what she'd like to see me in. I eventually settled on a sleeveless button up - after all, part of the plans for the day were for me to show her my skin in the sunlight - covered with a tan sweater for when there was a possibility I could be seen by others.

I probably still had time but I headed out to my car anyway. She'd only said that I couldn't be there while Chief Swan was still home, so I'd wait until he wasn't - but wait close by, so I could see her as soon as possible. Alice threw me a cheeky good luck as I passed the living room. Esme intercepted me for a hug. And then I was on my way.

I parked at one end of the street - a habit now, formed while picking Bella up for school this past week. After a moment of looking I found Chief Swan's mind. He was dressed, eating breakfast, and intending to leave soon. I only had to wait a small while, though even that felt like torture. There was no sign of Bella, and I heard Chief Swan's concern that he might wake her when he accidentally dropped his plate hard in the sink.

I searched for her mind after the plate dropped but couldn't find it. Either she was awake and blocking, or she was asleep and her thoughts were too vague for me to pinpoint at this distance. I'd have to wait until I could actually see her.

Finally, Chief Swan loaded up his car and drove away. As with all the other mornings this week, I had my car pulling to stop in front of the house by the time he turned the corner. I barely managed to keep myself to human speed as I exited my car and headed up to the front door. I held my breath, knocked, and waited.

It was close to a minute before I heard even faint stirring in the house. So, Bella had still been asleep. I had to wait another three minutes before footsteps approached the door, but I couldn't find it in me to feel bad at waking her. I'd waited more than half a day since I'd last seen her. I didn't want to wait any longer.

The door opened a crack, Bella's face visible in the narrow opening. "Hey you," she said, her voice still thick with sleep. She took a couple of steps back, swinging the door wide while still behind it, letting me inside without revealing herself.

I smiled at her, stepping inside. I turned as she closed the door behind me. When I saw her, all of her, my eyes went wide and I lost my breath. She was wearing nothing but an oversized sweater, the neckline loose enough to reveal one shoulder, the hem skimming her thighs. I swallowed hard.

She turned to face me, and immediately her brows pulled together. "Is something wrong?" she asked sleepily.

"No," I said, but my voice came out strangled.

She tilted her head to the side. "Sounds like something's wrong."

I tore my eyes away from her, staring at the wall instead. "I - I thought you'd get dressed before you answered the door."

There was a moment of silence. I pictured to myself how red Bella's cheeks were likely getting - but then, to my surprise, she chuckled. I took the risk of looking back at her, only to see her smiling. "Something about how I'm dressed is bothering you?"

I went for honesty. "Well, you see, you're hardly dressed at all."

Bella looked down, considering her outfit. "I'm dressed enough, right? All the important bits are covered." She looked back at me, her eyes opened wide in exaggerated innocence. "I don't always remember all the human rules."

"Then I'm telling you," I said, a little more forcefully than necessary. "It's time for you to put on more clothes."

"Okay..." Bella trailed off into a yawn, one hand covering her mouth, the other stretched over her head. The hem of her sweater rose a couple of inches. If i'd had a working heart, I surely would have had a heart attack then and there.

"Bella," I said in a choked voice, "you're driving me crazy."

"Oops," she said in an entirely unrepentant voice, a sleepy smile on her face. "I guess I'll go change, then." She turned and headed up the stairs. I turned away from her, not trusting myself to watch her, and headed into the kitchen.

What had gotten into her? She had been aware enough to keep herself behind the door, but not aware enough to know she was showing me rather more than I had expected? No, she'd had to know. She must have been teasing me on purpose. She had been getting more comfortable with me, but I hadn't thought this comfortable. Was it because she'd still been half asleep?

Several minutes later I heard Bella coming down the stairs. I waited in the kitchen, wondering what I'd see - and not sure what I wanted to see.

Bella entered the kitchen a little hesitantly, her eyes unable to meet mine. She was still wearing the sweater, but with jeans and a tank top underneath. Disappointment and relief warred in my chest. "Sorry about that," Bella muttered.

"Sorry about what?"

"I'm... not always myself, when I'm sleepy."

That explained it. And she had also behaved a little out of character last time I'd seen her this sleepy, Thursday afternoon. I let out a breath, carefully stowing away that information. "It's fine."

She moved past me and started rummaging in the fridge. "I should have told you to wait. I still have to eat before we go."

"I don't mind waiting." It was much better to wait with her than away from her.

Bella prepped food and ate quickly. I was a little surprised at her aptitude as a cook - I'd been bracing myself for the same clumsiness I'd seen plaguing her PE classes. We talked little as she ate and washed her dishes, then headed out to my car.

I could tell as I drove that Bella was nervous. Her hands, clasped tightly together, were trembling, and her face was pale. To try to help her, I made sure we talked, discussing the plot, characters, and themes of the book I was helping her read for English class.

But it wasn't very successful. Bella got more and more quiet as we neared the end of the ride, falling entirely silent by the time I parked the car.

She got out of the car when I did, but as I came around the car to join her I could see she hadn't moved beyond that; she was leaning against the car, her head down and her eyes closed. Even worse, now her whole body was shaking.

I stopped in front of her, wanting to pull her into my arms but unsure if she'd want that. So instead I spoke. "Bella."

"Yeah?" Her voice was a whisper.

"I promise nothing bad will happen."

Her eyes opened a little, regarding me with suspicion. "You can't promise that."

"Sure I can." I stepped closer, trying to maintain eye contact, but she looked away. "Tell me, what bad things could happen?"

She wrapped her arms around herself, holding on tightly. "You might be afraid of me."

I snorted. "Not likely."

"You might think I'm ugly."

"I doubt it."

"You might... want to eat me?"

I laughed. "Impossible."

For a moment a small smile bloomed on Bella's lips, but it soon slipped away. She took a deep breath, her nails digging into her sweater as she spoke. "Jacob and the others are going to find out that I told you everything and that I shifted in front of you and that I kept it from them that you're a vampire and they're going to take me away and kill you and your family and..." she trailed off as she ran out of breath, hunching in on herself and panting.

So that was the real issue, and it wasn't something I could brush off. She was right. If other shifters found out about us, it could have very negative consequences. But just because that was a possibility didn't mean it had to paralyze us. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Bella looked up at me again, this time holding my gaze, her distressed eyes staring into my calm ones. "You can't just..."

"I can, though." I held out my hand. Bella stared at me another moment, then carefully relaxed one arm, placing her hand in mine. I squeezed her hand, giving her a gentle smile. "If the worst happens, we'll get through it together."

Bella breathed out slowly, controlled. "I don't know how you can be so calm about it."

"I don't need to worry about what hasn't happened yet."

Bella didn't quite smile, but she did nod. I took that to mean that she was ready. I turned and led her to the forest.

I couldn't keep holding her hand as we forged through the trees, but I still got to touch her quite a bit. The terrain was fairly rough, and poor Bella stumbled or tripped a fair amount. I was always there to catch her. Still, she had to concentrate to keep her feet under her, and we hardly spoke. I spent the silence looking forward to what we were so close to - what this afternoon would bring.

After a couple of hours of steady hiking, I caught sight of the sunlight streaming into my meadow. I walked toward it eagerly, pulling ahead of Bella, before stopping at the edge and turning back to her. I was excited, but now I'd gained a little of Bella's apprehension. I'd been so concerned with soothing her that I hadn't thought - what would she think of me?

Bella caught up to me, looking toward me but unable to hold my eyes. "You first," she said quietly.

"Okay." I took a deep breath, stripped off my sweater, and walked into the sunshine.