A/N: Happy Saturday all! Sending my thanks, again, to everyone who has read, reviewed, fav'ed and/or followed my story!

Twilight is not mine. Surviving is!

BPOV

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Alice sings as she jumps up and down on the end of my bed. I groan and roll over.

"Bella! My very best friend in the WHOLE world." I hear a throat clear. "Sorry! One of my very best friends in the whole world, GET UP! It's Thanksgiving and the parade is going to start soon!"

I open my eyes and sit up. "Good morning Alice." I see Rose sitting on the desk chair. "Rose! I thought you weren't coming over until later."

"Esme invited everyone over to watch the parade and have breakfast together this year." She shrugs and stands up. "I kept this one downstairs as long as possible. Fair warning, she's already had four cups of coffee." She laughs as Alice hits her with a pillow.

"It was only three!" she sticks her tongue out at Rose. "Did you meet my grandma and grandpa yet?" She asks turning back to me. "They were still in their room when I got here. I can't wait to see them!"

"Not yet. Their flight was delayed. Edward didn't get back with them until after midnight."

"Uncle C's parents got in about an hour ago." Alice says as she hops off the bed and skips over to my dresser.

I chew on my nails, my stomach in knots. "Don't worry Bella, they are going to love you." She tosses my best pair of jeans and dark blue top onto the bed. "Get dressed and we'll see you downstairs." Rose gives me a quick hug as she passes and walks out the door, Alice trailing behind her.

Ten minutes later I step out of my bedroom and hear laughter coming from downstairs. I take a deep breath and make my way down. As I hit the second floor one of the guest rooms open and an older gentleman steps out.

"Oh! Hello dear. You must be Bella. I'm Eleazar, Esme and Victoria's dad." He throws his arm around me, reminding me a lot of Edward. "Let's go get us some breakfast. I'm starving!"

"Moving in on my girlfriend grandpa?" Edward asks as we step into the kitchen. He's sitting at the breakfast bar with Emmett and Jasper passing a notebook back and forth.

"As lovely as Bella is, I am a happily married man." He walks over to his wife a places a kiss on her head. "Bella let me introduce you to my beautiful wife, Carmen."

"What a charmer." She looks up adoringly at her husband. "It's wonderful to meet you Bella." She stands up and skips around the table to pull me into a hug. "Whenever Edward calls all we hear is 'Bella this and Bella that'" she laughs as she releases me and skips back to her seat.

"It's like looking into Alice's future, isn't it?" Rose whispers as she passes me. I smile and walk over to Edward.

He pulls me into his lap and I look down at the notebook. "What are you doing?"

"Football strategies. The guys and I are going to challenge the old folks to a game of tag football after the parade." He makes a note on the page and slides it to Jasper.

"Perfect!" Jasper smiles.

"Did I hear you call someone old?" Carlisle says as he steps into the kitchen, an older couple following behind him.

"Yeah. It's why we're playing tag instead of tackle. Don't want anyone to break a hip." Emmett laughs as he pops a whole cinnamon roll into his mouth.

Carlisle rolls his eyes and turns towards me. "Bella, these are my parents Makenna and Alistair." I stand up and shake their hands.

"It's so nice to finally meet you Bella. Edward has told us great things about you." Makenna pulls me into a hug. "Shame we'll only be here today. We won't get much of a chance to talk." She frowns, looking disappointed.

"Don't worry dear. I have a feeling Edward's not letting this one get very far. We'll have years to get to know her." He winks at me as I feel Edward's arms slide around my waist, pulling me back into him.

"You got that right. Will you be the ref today grandpa?"

"Someone's got to keep everyone honest." He laughs.

"THE PARADE IS STARTING!" Alice yells from the living room.

"Come on Bella. Lets grab some breakfast and then we can chat during the show." Makenna grabs my hand and leads me to the counter. "Go on now Edward. I won't tell her any embarrassing stories while you're gone." He smiles and nods at her. "I like to tell them while he's in the room. That way I get to see his face!" she whispers as he leaves.

A few hours later Alice, Rose, and I are sitting on a blanket in the backyard watching the boys play football. It's the dads' verses the sons. Twenty minutes in the score is currently dads: 3 sons: 2.

"What's wrong Emmett-boo? You mad cause your 'old man' is kicking your butt?" Emmett's dad taunts him from across the backyard.

"COME ON BABE! SHOW DADDY WHO'S BOSS!" Rose cheers. Emmett looks over and blows her a kiss.

"So how are things between you and Edward going?" Alice asks as she leans back and stretches her legs out.

I mirror her position. "Wonderful. He is the greatest person I've ever met." I smile as he easily catches the football and runs it in, tying the game.

She smiles. "He is quite the catch. So are things…Serious yet?"

"Serious how?" I look over.

"You know…um…" she looks at Rose for help.

"She wants to know if you two are fucking yet." Rose says casually, never taking her eyes off Emmett.

"I…we…I…" I stutter, my face on fire.

"That would be a no Alice." Rose laughs and looks at me. "Can I ask why not? Don't you want to?"

I look down and play with my fingers. "Yes." I whisper.

"You don't need to be shy Bella. I can guarantee Edward does too."

My head snaps up. "How do you know that?"

Alice laughs. "Well to start with he is a teenage boy. Second you two are in love so it's only natural to want to show it physically."

"I don't even know how to bring this stuff up. I've never…had sex before. The most I've done is kissing and that's all been with Edward. I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to this kind of stuff." I confess to them.

"Nobody does at first." Rose grabs my hand. "That's why you have friends you can talk to."

"Yeah Bella. He may be my cousin but you can always come to me with questions or just to talk about stuff." Alice says.

"Thanks. So how do you, um, start something like that?" I can feel my face heat up again.

"Well it depends on how much or little you want to do. Never feel like you HAVE to do anything." Rose stresses before she continues. "You can always start by moving your hands down his body. It's a sign that he can do the same to you."

"Why do you think Edward hasn't…tried anything yet?" I ask. Secretly I'm afraid he doesn't want me that way.

"He is probably waiting for you to make the first move." Alice chimes in. "He doesn't want to pressure you into doing anything you don't want to. He doesn't want to screw things up between you two."

"Bella!" I look over to Edward as he jogs towards us. "I'm heading in to grab drinks for the guys would you like anything? Alice? Rose?" he asks the girls.

"I'll help you." I stand up.

"I'll have some coco. It's getting a bit chilly out here. Is this halftime?" Rose questions.

"Kinda. It's first to ten. We just needed a drink break." I catch a glance of his toned stomach and chest as he wipes the sweat from his face using his shirt.

"What's the score?" Alice asks giving me an 'I saw you looking' smirk.

"Dads:6 Sons: 9" Edward states proudly. "This is just a stalling technique. They know it's over" he laughs.

"Edward…Water!" Emmett's father calls out as he dramatically drops to the ground, hamming it up for the group.

"Come on, let's grab the drinks before someone passes out" I take his hand and pull him towards the house.

EPOV

"So kids, how's school going?" Grandma Carmen asks as she takes a bite of her pumpkin pie.

"Great! I love my AP Biology and AP Chemistry classes. The teachers are really hands on." Alice bounces up and down in her seat. "They know my career goals and are always bringing in new collage brochures."

"That's great Alice! Do you have your tops picked out yet?"

"Harvard, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and Yale." Alice beams. "Although I'm still considering others."

"And what about you Jasper? Still planning on following my granddaughter to whatever state she chooses?" Grandma Carmen smiles at him.

"Yes ma'am." He pulls Alice's hand up to his mouth, giving it a kiss. "I can get my teaching degree anywhere. Each of those states have fine schools with great history programs."

"You two are as cute as can be!" my Grandma Makenna giggles. "Rose, Emmett what's in store for you after high school? Last year you weren't too sure."

"Rosie and I have decided to go to the University of Washington. I'm going to major in business and Rose in engineering. We are going to open our own shop one day, maybe even design and build our own cars." Emmett smiles.

"That's fantastic! Nobody is better with cars than you two. I still remember when you fixed my car when you were only what? Fourteen?" Grandpa Alistair says with pride.

I feel all eyes turn to me. "Well Edward…we're not getting any younger here!" Grandpa Eleazar announces. I laugh and rub the back of my neck.

As close as I am with my family, I really haven't discussed my collage plans with them. Hell I didn't know what I wanted to do until recently. I haven't even talked to Bella about it. I wanted to be sure before I made a commitment and got anyone's hopes up.

"I haven't chosen a school yet and no I don't have any top choices right now, but I've decided to follow in mom's footsteps and become an architect." I smile at her. "I love the way she sees the world. The way she wants to add to the beauty, not destroy it. I want to do the same."

"Oh Edward!" she gets up and comes around the table. I stand up and she pulls me into her arms. "I love you sweetheart!"

"Love you too mom." She pulls back and wipes the tears from her eyes.

"Well this calls for a toast!" Mr. Hale calls out. "To our kids and their futures! May it hold everything you could ever want or need!"A chorus of "Here, Here!" echoes around the table as glasses are raised.

I glance over at Bella and she smiles at me. He smile doesn't quite hit her eyes though so I grab her hand and pull her towards me.

"You are going to do more for this world than any of us could ever dare dream, Isabella Swan." She ducks her head and I pull her chin up; wanting to see her beautiful face. "Before you everything was a blur. You are my life now." I lean down and kiss her lips.

"Come give us a kiss goodbye Edward. We have to hit the road." Grandma Makenna calls me over. I help her with her coat and give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Happy Thanksgiving Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks for coming."

She smiles and grandpa pulls me into a hug. "You treat that girl right. No high school games. Don't go to bed without saying I love you, and remember she is always right!" he laughs. "We'll see you at Christmas."

"Love you and drive safe!" I call as my dad walks them out.

"Grandma and grandpa are coming to sleep at my place tonight." Alice grabs her coat. "I'm driving them" she wiggles her eyebrows.

I roll my eyes at her. "Don't give them heart attacks, okay Ali?"

"I'll try my best." She laughs and skips out the door.

"Don't worry Edward. If I can survive your grandma's driving skills, Alice will be like a breath of fresh air." He laughs as grandma punches his arm.

"Alice wants to go Black Friday shopping so I doubt we'll see you tomorrow. She invited Bella to tag along but she declined." She gives me a kiss and heads out the door.

"Tell Bella we said goodnight. See you Saturday." He pats me on the back and closes the door.

I walk to the kitchen to find Bella and my mom loading the last dish into the dish washer. "Well kids, I don't know about you but I'm exhausted!" My mom dries her hands and throws the towel onto the counter. "I'm heading to bed. Alice wants to be on the road at 3am. God help me for agreeing to this outing!" she laughs.

"Esme, dear are you ready for bed?" my dad asks as he steps into the kitchen. "I have an early shift at the hospital and you need your rest if you're heading out in a few hours."

"Goodnight kids." She kisses Bella and me and walks over to my dad. "Oh! Can you guys pull down the Christmas decorations for me tomorrow?" she stops and looks back.

"Of course mom. I'll put everything in the living room for you."

"Thank you sweetheart! Night!"

"What would you like to do Bella?" A yawn escapes me.

"You should get some rest Edward. You got in late from the airport and then got up early to help your family. Plus the turkey is catching up to you." She laughs.

"But I feel like I didn't get to see you all day." I wrap my arms around her and another yawn escapes me. "Sorry baby."

She bites her lip and looks up at me. I groan and pull her into a kiss. God this woman drives me insane! Does she realize how unbelievably sexy she is? After a few moments she pulls back flushed.

"How about you take a nap and I'll wake you up in a few hours." She nibbles on her lip and her eyes dart around, looking at everything but me. "We can do something after you've gotten some rest."

"Are you okay baby? Is anything the matter?" she shakes her head but still won't look at me.

"I'm good. Come on." She grabs my hand and we walk upstairs together. "Get some sleep and I'll wake you soon."

When we reach my door she drops my hand and turns towards hers. "Bella are you sure you're fine? Why won't you look at me?"

She finally meets my eyes and blushes. What in the world is going on in that mind of hers? What I wouldn't give to hear her thoughts at this very moment!

"Everything is fine, I promise! Now please try and get some rest baby."

"Alright sweetheart. Wake me in a few hours?" she nods and I open my door. "I love you Bella."

"I love you Edward" she steps into her room and closes the door.

I walk into my room and shut my door behind me. I throw myself down on the bed, my eyes drift closed, and I'm asleep before I know it.

"Edward?" I wake to the sound of Bella softly calling my name. I roll over and turn on my bedside lamp, blinking a few times to let my eyes adjust to the light. I sit up and my eyes seek out my girl. My mouth drops open and I'm speechless.

Bella is standing at the end of my bed in a tight tank top and curve hugging shorts.