A/N:

Katchelle87: Thank you so much!

Vampire's Love: Mountain Dew is good. You're so strange. Haha. I'm hyper too, haha. Even without Mountain Dew. Boyfriends are silly.

Midnight Walker: Haha I know, my infamous, short chapters. Sorrrrryyyyyyy. Cliff hangers are fun too... evil laughter What about a cyber kitten shaped cookie? Or... a cookie shaped kitten! Or both!

TotalVampire-holic: She calls her babe because I thought it was a very Alice-y thing to say. Alice is spunky & adorable & very sisterly to Bella, so I thought it appropriate. Yeah, & eddie-teddie bear might hunt you down if he hears you calling him that... hehe. Thanks for the review!

Smileon: Yeah man, I love Carlisle. Maybe he should adopt me... yeah. What is Ep?

Love me some Edward: Haha thanks so much! I'm updating as fast as I can! I'm so ahead of myself, I'm up to like Chapter 7 on my next story haha.

Twilight311: Thanks soooo much!!

Twilightgirl1918: Thank you so much, I'm updating now!

Pheobesapphira: Haha don't worry, I love your reviews but don't fret over missing a chapter! Haha!

BOOKLOVER892: TANKZ DA NEX CHAP GOING 2 B UP NOW.

Twilightfan21: I wish I were a vampire too. Hmph.

Welchers: Yeah, it was kind of a filler, but oh well! Haha.

Chapter 16

After hunting, Bella & Alice sat down on the sofa & talked for a while. It was nice hanging out with Alice, it really was, but Bella desperately wanted to go back.

It's safe enough to go back now, Bella thought at Alice, who seemed to concentrate hard on the thought. She was battling the thoughts placed in her head, & her visions which were organic. Bella felt bad about cheating, but she wanted so badly to see Edward.

"What do you say about going home tomorrow?" Bella smiled, & nodded her head excitedly. They spent most of the night talking about everything & anything.

Bella was happy that she felt so comfortable around Alice. She had never had many girlfriends, but she reveled in being able to be so open about everything. Luckily for Bella, Alice was just about as eager to get home as she was. She really missed Jasper. They left earlier than planned, at about 5 A.M. Alice called Carlisle to let him know, & he seemed excited as well. They were home before 4 A.M. the next day. They opened the door to the house, & Edward, having read Alice's thoughts, was at the door waiting for them. Without thinking, Bella flung herself into Edward's arms. He held her there, stroking her hair, breathing in her wonderful scent. She still smelled amazing as a vampire, just not tempting as she was before. Well, still tempting, but it wasn't her blood that he fought to resist,

"I've missed you Bella," he whispered into her hair. Bella smiled, although he couldn't see. She had suspected that he had missed her as she missed him, but hearing the words from him made her ecstatic, & slightly embarrassed. She was grateful that she couldn't blush. Edward's guilt, still present, rose up through him & caught in his throat. He pried himself away from her, & she was tempted to use her power to persuade him to hold on longer, but remembering what Alice had said, she refrained.

"Why don't you go say hello to everyone else?" he suggested. So Bella went into the garage, where Rosalie sat watching Emmet shine up his Jeep, which had been muddy last time she saw it. She was happy to find that she got a smile from Rose, & a giant bear hug from her sometimes-husband. She found Carlisle in his study, Jasper lying on his couch, Alice in his arms, & Esme in a room that Bella hadn't yet seen.

It was simple & open, art supplies everywhere, & Esme sat on a sofa, painting a skillful portrayal of the forestry exposed by a wall length window, the sun just beginning to peek out of the mountains in the distance, shooting streaks of pink & orange through the dense clouds.

"Esme, wow," she gasped.

"Hello dear! How nice it is to see you!" She cleared off some painting from the seat beside her & gestured for Bella to sit. Bella obeyed. "So tell me about your trip, was it enjoyable?" She pushed her painting from her lap, giving her full attention.

"Yes, it was. Except that Alice made me shop." Esme laughed. It sounded more like a chorus of angels.

"Did you buy some nice things?" she asked. Bella sighed. As much as she hated the process, she was glad to have clothes of her own, & very pleased with the size of her new wardrobe.

"Yes, their lovely. None of my clothes fit me anymore. Alice laughed at me when my shorts fell down."

"I might have had to laugh as well," Esme teased. Her smile then turned concerned. "You miss your parents, don't you?" she asked.

"I do. They're wonderful people. My mom especially. She's amazing." Esme wrapped her arms around Bella's shoulders.

"I know that I could never replace your mother, Bella, but know that I'll always think of you as a daughter. I'm always here if you need anything." Those words comforted Bella greatly, & she shifted so the was lying down, her head of Esme's lap. Esme ran her fingers through Bella's hair delicately, the was Renee used to.

"Thank you so much, Esme. That means so much to me, honestly. I think of you as a mother as well."

"You can feel free to refer to me as you would a mother if you like, though I wouldn't be offended if you didn't."

"I would like that." Bella smiled up at her. "Thank you... Mother." Esme smiled back.

"Don't mention it, dear, you're a lovely addition to our family." Bella turned & sat upright again.

"May I watch you paint?" Esme smiled & nodded. Bella watched her skillful hand dip the paintbrush in water, then the palate of paint, then dance across the paper. Water, palate, paint. Water, palate, paint. Bella didn't move an inch. It was mesmerizing, & it became trance like, watching her like that. Her hand flowing smoothly across the paper could easily be compared to watching a ballet. She wasn't sure how long the two of them had been sitting there, but by the time Edward appeared in the doorway, the paper had been transformed into a scenery more beautiful than the actual one before them

"May I steal Bella away from you, Mother?" Edward asked. Esme smiled & nodded once, & Bella rose & followed him.

"Let's take a walk, shall we?"

The went through the front door & started walking away from the house, into the woods, parallel with the paved road about half a mile in the distance. Edward has no idea what he was getting himself into, what he was even doing. He wanted so badly to be alone with her, & that's how he knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help himself. He decided to make chit-chat to keep his mind off of the inevitable.

"Alice said the two of you went shopping. How did that go? Being around the humans I mean. We didn't have a lot of time to work on your self control before you left." Bella thought for a moment.

"It was harder than I thought, but Alice held my hand the whole time, keeping me in check. I was stronger than I thought though. After a few hours, I barely noticed the smell & I was able to focus on shopping, which, come to think of it, was worse torture than resisting blood..." Bella realized she was rambling. Edward just smiled.

"Don't worry - everyone in the family has been subjected to shopping with Alice on more than one occasion. It's worse when Rose & Esme are there too." Just then, Bella noticed a cord dangling from one of his ears - he had his iPod on. She took the other earpiece & placed it in her own ear. She was surprised to hear country, but she knew that Edward listened to every type of music, as a true musician would. She listened closely, trusting Edward's taste.

"I can feel the magic floating in the air. Being with you gets me that way. I watch the sunlight dance across your face & I've never been this swept away." Bella noticed the streaks of sunlight that pushed their way through the dense canopy of leaves above them, making his skin shimmer faintly. Without thinking, the both moved in closer to each other simultaneously. Edward's right hand grasped her waist firmly, & his left hand held her right, & they began to slow dance, in the middle of the forest. "All my thoughts just seem to settle on the breeze, as I'm her just wrapped up in your arms. The whole world just fades away, the only thing I hear is the whisper of your breath." Bella felt graceful & alive. She didn't worry about where to put her feet, the dancing just came natural. She leaned her head against her chest, feeling the rise & fall of his breathing, like the pulling of the tides. "I can feel you breathe. It's washing over me. & suddenly I'm melting into you. There's nothing left to prove. Baby, all we need is just to be caught up in the touch, slow a steady rush. Baby, isn't that the way that love's supposed to be? I can feel you breathe..."

Much too soon, Edward pulled away.

"This isn't right," he sighed.

"Why not?" Bella asked quietly, unable to pull her eyes away from Edward's. "Does it feel wrong?"

"No, it feels..." he sharply exhaled. "It feels beyond incredible. That's the problem, Bella. I'm all wrong for you. I'm a monster."

"Edward, look at me. I forgive you. There's nothing wrong with you. Just do what you feel like doing."

"What I feel like doing," he echoed. & he did exactly what he felt like doing.

He pressed his lips to hers & kissed her - with reckless abandonment, with passion, with adoration, & mostly importantly - with a love, unconditional, uncomparable, & irrevocable.