A/N: Love and thanks to my lovely beta, Ms Kathy. Special thanks once again to Team Shalloward for the generous donation that made these four chapters come to life.

There will be one more chapter and (maybe) a epilogue (or epiclounge, as Algie calls them) after this one. I realize these chapters don't cover all the details of Bella and Edward's year together, but hopefully they cover the important highlights.

Thank you for your reviews – they are always appreciated.

##

"You want to go where?" Edward asked.

"To a play," Bella repeated. "At the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre."

"Romeo and Juliet?" he asked hopefully. He'd seen the movie versions of that one so he wouldn't have to stay awake.

"No," she replied. "Macbeth." She smiled at his sour expression. "Don't make a face. It's not like I chose one of the historical plays. Even I can't keep those sorted out."

"But Shakespeare is boring," Edward protested. He knew it was his turn to meet in the middle, but why did it have to be some ancient play written by a dead guy in a version of English no one spoke anymore?

"Yes, it can be boring," agreed Bella. "Especially if you're reading it from a book in a stuffy classroom. You'd be surprised how much more interesting it is performed live." Edward looked skeptical. "It's got witchcraft. Lots of sword fighting and murder. And a tough battleaxe of a leading lady." She waggled her eyebrows at him, making him laugh. "C'mon, we'll have fun."

"I guess," he said doubtfully.

##

Chicago was coming to the end of a beautiful summer marked by sunny weather and less humidity than the city normally sweltered under. For Edward, it had been one of the happiest seasons of his life. Couldn't have been a better summer, he thought. A bit further south, his penis disagreed. You shut up.

He and Bella had continued to find their middle ground. They discovered that they were both Cubs fans, and went to a few games together over the summer. Saw several big summer blockbusters. Sampled a hot new restaurant with Simon when he came into town on a weekend visit. Spent long, sweet evenings at Bella's house doing whatever they wanted – watching TV, talking, reading the newspaper together.

Visited the Lincoln Park Zoo – with Frankie.

"I thought you told my mom you didn't want to introduce her to any men," Edward had hedged when Bella first asked him to come along to the zoo.

"I told her I didn't want to introduce her to any new men," Bella had replied archly. "You're not new – she's known you for ages."

And so Edward had ended up going to the zoo for the first time in years, seeing everything again through new eyes as Frankie dashed from exhibit to exhibit. She seemed to readily accept that 'her' waiter from the diner had somehow become part of her mother's life.

He held her as she rode the carrousel, looked at gorillas, lions and penguins with her. It had been an oddly exhilarating day for Edward, a glimpse into what life could be like for the three of them together as a family. Scary and wonderful, rolled up into one sticky, sleepy little girl package dozing on his shoulder as they walked back to the car.

That said, Edward's cock was right – there was still no sex. There had been plenty of stolen kisses and the occasional grope, but they remained true to the rules of the year. Edward was getting calluses somewhere he'd never had them before.

Strangely, as the year passed, he began to better understand why Bella had asked for them to get to know one another before becoming physically involved. He had never been this connected to a woman before, not even the ones he'd been physically intimate with in every possible way. It made him feel things he didn't always understand and sometimes found very frightening.

Bella didn't go out clubbing with him again after their first time at the Sound Bar, but she occasionally joined him for a drink before he headed out on the town. She had no objections to him spending the night out with friends, although Edward found that a couple of times a month was fine for him these days.

He knew his parents were pleasantly surprised by his tame summer. He also knew they were curious where he spending his spare time outside of work. But Edward had managed to duck out of most of their questions and, frankly, they were pleased enough with him to turn a blind eye to a great deal. All it usually took was a casual mention of the Illinois Institute of Art, and everyone's attention was diverted.

Edward had been accepted into the fall session of the interactive media design program.

It had been yet another source of happiness for him this summer, knowing that he had something waiting for him in September. Poppy was sad to see her best server leaving her full-time employ, but she had persuaded Edward to take some weekend shifts during the school year.

A summer of changes, compromises and meeting in the middle … which is how Edward found himself spending Friday night at a performance of Macbeth, instead of out partying with his friends.

"I cheated on my senior year English exam," he hissed at Bella as they took their seats before the performance.

"How about I make it worth your while?" she whispered as the house lights went down. Bella's hand ran up his thigh, her fingers drawing patterns on the denim just below his crotch. Abruptly, Edward moved her hand up, pressing it firmly against his lengthening cock. Bella caught her breath, and Edward stifled a moan of relief at feeling her hand touching him. Her fingers moved under his, tracing the outline of his erection. He wondered if she could get him off right here through his jeans; it probably wouldn't take more than a minute in the state he was in.

Someone sitting a few seats down cleared their throat loudly, and they jerked their hands back. Edward let out a sound of agonized frustration.

"No one ever died of blue balls," breathed Bella in his ear.

"I might be the first," he whispered back. Then the curtain opened, the witches appeared, and Edward had to use all his limited concentration abilities to keep up with the story. But when he found himself getting a bit lost, Bella would instinctively be at his ear, murmuring a few quick words to keep him on track. Each brief explanation would end with a nuzzle or a kiss against his neck, making him long for more. When the play ended and the cast came out for their bows, Edward was surprised to find himself sorry that it was over.

"Was that so bad?" asked Bella as they walked out into the warm night. He had to admit that it was not.

"But I don't think I'll ever be a fan of Shakespeare, although you're right that it's better when you see it performed live," Edward added, taking her arm as they crossed the road. "I'm a lot more likely to become a fan of being close to you in dark places. Maybe we can pick a spot with less people next time."

##

Bella dropped Edward off around 11 outside his house. He took his time kissing her good night, and she made no objection. Then he headed into the house, adjusting himself along the way. Unlocking the front door, he walked into the living room and tossed his keys onto the table in the hall.

"Where have you been?"

Edward jumped at the sound of his father's voice; he hadn't seen Carlisle sitting there.

"Jesus, Dad … " Edward stopped, confused. "Wait, you want to know where I've been tonight? Aren't I a little old to have to answer that question?" Carlisle didn't respond. He just looked at his son, a strange expression on his face. "I'm 24, Dad. Go ask Emmett and Alice what they're up to, not me."

"You might be 24, but you still live under my roof," said Carlisle. "And you've never been shy in the past about your relationships. Who just dropped you off? Where were you this evening?" He eyed his son's clothing suspiciously. "Especially dressed like that."

Edward looked down at his clean dark jeans, black shoes, white button-down shirt and dark blazer. He had taken special pains to dress nicely for his theater date with Bella. He'd even considered wearing a tie. What the fuck is going on here? Impulse and emotion took over.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing? For Christ's sake, I was at a play!" Edward sneered. "Fucking Macbeth! Should I have worn a tux?"

Carlisle stared at him like he was from another planet.

"You went to a Shakespearean play. On a Friday night in August." His father rubbed his forehead, looking very uncertain. "Edward …" His voice trailed off and he took a deep breath. "You're not dating Isabella Swan, are you?"

Edward froze, not sure of what to say or do next. This was something he and Bella had never discussed, never planned for. He was on his own. Panic started to set in, until he remembered the advice Bella had given him once for dealing with stressful situations like this.

Don't react right away. Take a deep breath. Give yourself a moment to collect your thoughts. If you have to, buy yourself some extra time – go to the washroom, get a glass of water, light a cigarette. When you're ready, you'll be more in control.

"Give me a minute, Dad," said Edward. He went to the bathroom, washed his hands. Breathed deeply. Poured a glass of soda before joining his father in the living room. He felt a little better. But only a little.

"So her name is Bella DiPalma," Edward said once he was settled. "And we're friends."

"Did she take you to the theater tonight?"

"Yeah." Edward took a sip of his drink. "We do lots of things together. We take turns trying stuff that the other person likes, and the rest of the time we do things that we both like."

"And you're not romantically involved with this woman?" Edward didn't answer right away, and his father gave him the hairy eyeball.

"I didn't say that," said Edward. "We're friends right now. I … well, both of us, I think … want something more. But Bella didn't think it would be right for us to be together that way. This year is our way of finding out if we really belong together."

Carlisle looked away, clearly unhappy. "She's old enough to be your mother, for God's sake. She should know better than to go around sleeping with children."

Edward felt his face flush with anger, and took a gulp of soda to keep from sounding off.

"Dad, I'm not a little kid." Carlisle didn't say anything. "And even though this is none of your business, Bella and I are not having sex." His father looked at him disbelievingly. "It was something we agreed to at the beginning."

"You're not dating. You're not having sexual relations. You've obviously agreed to curb your reckless behavior for this woman. What are you getting out of this relationship?" A horrified look dawned on his face. "There's no money involved, is there?" Edward drained his soda and walked into the kitchen for a refill to stop himself from punching his father in the face.

"No, there's no money involved," he said through clenched teeth when he returned. "The benefit is that we get to spend time together. I have the chance to get to know her. I get to be with her. Can you understand that? Being with her is what I want most of all. Just to be close to her."

Carlisle sat back in his chair. His face softened a little. "You're in love with her?"

Edward felt a rush of butterflies in his stomach at his father's words. Falling in love was not a topic he felt like discussing with anyone, certainly not his father.

"Don't put words in my mouth," he snapped. "I have very strong feelings for her. I like who I am when I'm with her." He wrestled with the odd, frightening feelings inside him as his father watched.

"Okay then," said Carlisle at length. "Well." There was an awkward silence. "This is very unexpected," he said. "Your mother has suspected for some time that the two of you were involved in some way. But neither of us imagined that your relationship was … like this."

"Like what?" asked Edward peevishly.

"We thought something less meaningful," said his father thoughtfully. "But after talking to you, I think we were wrong." Hope must have flared on Edward's face because his father held up a cautionary hand. "I'm not saying I'm comfortable with you dating a woman so much older than you - and a minor celebrity at that. But I am pleased that both of you recognize the challenges of a potential relationship and are approaching it maturely."

Edward fiddled with his glass. "You gonna tell Mom about this?" Carlisle sighed heavily and nodded. There was another awkward silence, and all Edward wanted was to get out of the room."So … uh, thanks, Dad. Thanks for listening and understanding my point of view." Edward rose and started sidling out of the room. He was almost to the stairs when his father spoke again.

"If we had had this conversation six months, a year ago, you might have smashed up the living room … or my face." Edward stopped with his hand on the railing, startled by his father's words. "Did you change for her?"

"A little. But a lot of it was for me, too." Edward looked up the dark staircase, glad that he didn't have to talk about this out in the open. "She made me want to be a better person." There was a long silence from the living room.

"I'm glad," his father finally said. "I'll talk to your mother. Goodnight, Son."

Edward was upstairs and in his room before he realized he had handled the difficult conversation entirely on his own.

##

"That sounds …" Bella threw the peppers Edward had chopped up into the salad she was making and paused, looking for the right word.

"Awkward?" he suggested. He had just finished telling her about his conversation with Carlisle from the previous week. It was Thursday; he and Bella had quiet evening planned.

"Mmmm," she agreed. The timer dinged, and Bella opened the oven to produce a fresh baked pie. Edward gazed at it longingly.

"Is that for dessert?" he asked.

"No," she said. "It's for tomorrow. My agent is in town, so I'm having her and a few of my writer colleagues over for a barbeque."

"Oh," said Edward. Several minutes passed as he pondered what Bella had just told him.

"Edward?" Bella asked, startling him out of his thoughts. "Dinner's on the table." He took his seat and poked at his salad. "You seem to have something on your mind," she said.

"Yeah," he said after a moment. "You've never introduced me to any of your friends. How come?"

Bella's eyebrows vanished into her hairline. She took a sip of her wine before saying anything. "You're right; I've not introduced you to my friends. Is that something you'd like?

"Yeah, maybe."

Bella thought for a moment. "Okay," she said. "Do you want to come tomorrow then? Or are you working?" Edward looked startled by the invitation.

"It's your agent … is that like a work thing? I don't want to butt into that …"

"Perhaps you haven't noticed that I don't have much of a social life?" Bella asked. "Most of my close friends live far away, Edward. The people I socialize with here are mostly other writers. And Alex has been my agent for so long that she's almost family. We have these get-togethers every now and then, and the host frequently has her significant other or children as part of the gathering. You wouldn't be butting in at all." Concern crossed Bella's face. "Some of these women are very outspoken. They might be rough on you."

Edward smiled brilliantly. "That's okay. I'm good with women."

##

And indeed, by early evening, Edward had the five women at Bella's house eating out of his hand. He was at his most charming. More than once, he caught Bella rolling her eyes at him, but she seemed to be enjoying it as much as everyone else.

"Will you be our chef tonight, Edward?" asked Bella, handing him a tray of food for the barbeque. He gave her a killer smile and went out on to the deck to fire up the grill. He could see that the kitchen window was slightly open despite the day's heat, as if Bella wanted him to have the chance to eavesdrop while he cooked.

Edward heard the clinking of glass as Bella refilled their wine. Then one of the women spoke.

"Your Edward seems wonderful, Bella." That was Angela, the quietest of Bella's writer friends. She had a gentle way about her that he liked.

"Yes, Bella," said someone else. Edward thought this was Vicky, the bold redhead. She was older than Bella, with a potty mouth and a carefully preserved face. When she smiled, he noticed that her forehead didn't move. "Edward's prime. You had us all fooled; it's always the quiet ones, isn't it girls?" There was laughter around the table. Edward grinned and began arranging chicken breasts on the grill.

"He's a very nice young man," said Alex, Bella's agent. Edward wasn't sure how he felt about Alex. Her eyes had widened noticeably when they had been introduced, and her cool gaze had followed him around the kitchen all afternoon.

"Emphasis on 'young,'" said the younger blonde woman, Kate, in a knowing voice. Edward didn't like her tone. It was the same one people used when they speculated whether Bella paid Edward for his company.

"God, you are so lucky, Bella!" moaned Vicky. "He must be a stallion in bed!" The other women shushed her and clicked their tongues disapprovingly, but Edward figured they were also leaning forward, eager for details.

"I wouldn't know, Vicky," Bella said. Edward could hear amusement in her voice. "I've never had sex with him." If she said anything else, it was drowned out in the hooting of the women at the table.

"Are you crazy?" asked Kate. "What are you waiting for? Wait, he's not gay, is he?"

"No, he's not gay," replied Bella. "We just didn't want to rush into anything."

"What's to rush into?" asked Vicky carelessly. "Unless it's his pants. It's not like you want to have anything long term with a kid like that."

That's not cool, thought Edward.

"I think you misunderstand the nature of our relationship," said Bella in a delicate tone. "Edward and I have been friends for almost two years now, and we're very close. We're taking this year to figure out if we want to have a relationship together."

There was a strange silence in the room that Edward didn't understand. Then Vicky spoke.

"Oh honey," she said in a voice that sounded … sympathetic? "Oh no, no, no. Edward is beautiful, he's hot, smoking hot! You should fuck him. But you don't actually date him."

"Oh?" Edward recognized Bella's tone; she only used it when she was restraining her anger. "Why shouldn't I date him?"

"C'mon Bella," Vicky said. "You can't date stupid. You can't love stupid."

"He's very young," added Angela tentatively. "He's not your intellectual equal. Do you really think you could be happy with Edward on a long-term basis?" There was a long pause. "I'm sorry … we've upset you. Please …"

"'Can't love stupid'?" said Bella in a choked voice. "Vicky, if Frankie had been born with less than average intelligence, would I not still love her?"

"My God, Bella," replied Vicky in horror. "Frankie's your child. That's not what I meant at all."

"Edward isn't stupid," Bella said fiercely. "True, he may not be my intellectual equal on paper, but he has grown and changed in the last year in ways you can't imagine. He has a capacity to learn that most of us could only dream of. And he is most definitely worthy of my love and then some." She let out a tiny, shuddering sob.

Edward had been frozen on the deck through this, but that little sound of unhappiness moved him into action. Putting his shame and anger aside, he piled the chicken breasts on to a clean platter, switched off the grill and yanked open the door.

The women looked up, suddenly aware that the object of their uncomfortable conversation was in the room. With ferocious effort, he schooled his features so that his rampaging emotions didn't show (he hoped, anyway). He ignored the other women, and sought out Bella's face.

Her cheeks were red and her eyes a bit glassy, but otherwise, she was holding her composure. She had to know he had overheard that entire exchange. Edward wanted to whisk her out of this room, away from these awful bitches and soothe all her hurt away. But everything in her eyes told him that she didn't want them to know that he had heard.

But they hurt you.

I'm okay. Just worried for you.

There were no word exchanged and barely a second had passed. Still, Edward had his answer. With a wide, charming smile, he turned with a flourish.

"Ladies," he said. "Your dinner awaits." He put the platter of freshly grilled chicken breasts onto the middle of the table. Bella had put out a spread of seeded rolls, two kinds of salads, a plate of lettuce, onions and tomato slices, condiments … everything her guests might want. Edward saw Vicky reaching for a chicken breast.

"Be careful now," he warned with a humorless grin. "Those are smoking hot."

##

A couple of hours later, the last of Bella's guests were departing. Angela gave Bella a warm hug and a promise to get together soon. Alex was friendly but also told Bella that they'd need to have a business meeting in the very near future. Edward felt a little skewered by the sharp look the agent gave him on the way out the door. Vicky and Kate were long gone.

The door closed with a click, and Bella turned the lock. She didn't move from there, so Edward came up behind her and pulled her close against him. Bella didn't say anything; she just leaned against back him with a small sigh.

"I'm sorry," they said at the same time.

"You have nothing to apologize for," Bella said. "I'm sorry that you heard that. Sorry that you had to experience that kind of … whatever that was." Edward moved Bella's hair away from her neck and laid a slow trail of kisses down her warm skin. He nuzzled softly against her ear.

"You didn't do anything wrong either," he whispered. "I was the one who insisted on coming here today. You told me that they might be harsh, and they were. But you defended me…" Edward had to stop talking because his throat was getting painfully tight with emotion. Bella tipped her head back against his shoulder and looked up at him with her heart in her eyes.

"Of course I did," she said softly. "Vicky was wrong. They all were, to varying degrees. You're not stupid, not at all."

Edward looked down at her, overwhelmed by emotion. He swallowed two or three times and cleared his throat, trying not to tear up. "I feel … so much when I'm with you." Edward bent his head down and kissed Bella's upturned mouth. "I love you," he breathed against her lips. "I've never said that to a girl before and meant it."

"It's hard to mean it when you don't love yourself," Bella answered. "You've changed so much since the first day I laid eyes on you." She stretched up a bit and kissed him tenderly. "And I love you too." Edward wanted to keep kissing her, wanted to kiss every inch of her, but was keenly aware of his erection growing bigger against the small of her back. He didn't think this was the right time to try for second base or better, so he released her waist and put a little space between them.

"Hard to believe it's been just over a year and a half since we first saw each other," he said.

"Oh, it's been longer than that," said Bella with a tired smile.

"No," replied Edward, confused. "It was January of last year."

"That's the first time you really saw me," she replied. "The first time was in the fall of the previous year." Edward's eyes widened in surprise. "Marcus and I were making one last effort to save the marriage, but we were failing miserably." Edward took Bella by the hand and led her upstairs to the living room, where they settled on the couch. Bella snuggled into his embrace and continued talking.

"I should never have let him talk me into it. We'd been separated for a while, I had the divorce papers all ready to go, but Marcus wanted to try one more time for Frankie's sake. It was a difficult time for me already – I tend to get depressed in the fall and I was struggling with the second edit of my book. The thought of going back to him, living with him again … it was like being pulled back into a prison cell after a few months of freedom." She sighed harshly. "I started having trouble figuring why I should get out of bed in the morning. I had always thought being Frankie's mom would be enough to keep me going, no matter how bad things got. But this time, it just wasn't.

"One Sunday morning, Frankie wanted to go out for breakfast, and Marcus suggested Poppy's. I sat there in the booth with him, watching Frankie color and thinking the blackest thoughts. Then I looked up, and there you were."

"I never knew this," said Edward, feeling horribly guilty. "I … I don't remember."

"You were … well, you were a reasonably competent server who was easily distracted. It was obvious that your mind was all over the place. How you even managed to bring us our orders was a marvel." Bella's voice became very soft. "You were beautiful. And so very lost. Just like me."

"Was that the only time you saw me before we … you know … really met?"

"No. I came back a few times that fall. To watch you, I admit. Yes, I know that's gross and stalkerish." Edward grinned and started stroking her hair softly.

"I don't know what you saw in me," he said, as she relaxed under his hand. "I was a little git back then. I was probably stoned half the time I was at work."

"Occasionally, you seemed a bit out of touch, yes," said Bella, amusement in her voice. "And try as I might, I couldn't get you to notice me. Even when I wore make up and flashed you some cleave. Eventually, I decided that the only way I could get you to see me was to leave you an outrageous tip."

"Oh God," Edward moaned. "I am so fucking sorry. I was such a stupid, blind idiot." He laid his head back on the couch. "Why on earth did you keep coming back? Why didn't you just walk away?"

"I could see something in you," answered Bella softly. "Something bright. But it was buried so deep inside that even you didn't know it was there. I wanted to bring that light out in you." She nestled deep into his arms, her words slowing. "You gave me a reason to keep going when things were at their worst. And you were the most beautiful creature I had ever seen in my life…" There was a long silence as Bella's breathing became more even and she relaxed completely in Edward's arms. He stayed put, touching her hair, rubbing her shoulder. After a long while, he stood up, boosting her up into his arms and carrying her up the stairs to her bed.

"Edward?" she asked sleepily as he put her down on the covers. Bella had a huge king sized, four poster bed with a million of those little pillows. He chucked them on the floor and hunted around until he found a soft tank top and shorts that appeared to Bella's sleeping clothes.

"I'm here, baby," he said. "Time to put your jammies on, okay?" Instead of getting out of bed and going into the bathroom to change, Bella simply sat up and lifted her arms up over her head, looking remarkably like Frankie as she did so. "Oh boy," he muttered under his breath, praying he could hold it together. He slipped her top off, unable to take his eyes off her body. She reached behind her and undid her bra. In the semi-darkness, Edward could see her full breasts appear, their wide brown nipples stiffening in the cool evening air. Unable to help himself, he reached out to touch, but she sleepily slapped his hand away.

"Sorry," he said, reddening and handing her the tank top. "But they look so good." She mumbled something that he couldn't understand, then clumsily pushed off her pants and threw them carelessly to the floor. A moment later, she had the shorts on and was climbing under the fresh sheets.

Edward leaned forward and kissed her forehead, then got up off the edge of the bed.

"Don't go," Bella mumbled from under the covers.

"I won't," he promised. "I'll sleep in the other room."

"No," she said. "I … I need you with me tonight. Stay with me here, in my bed. Can you do that without …?"

"Yeah," Edward whispered. "I can do that." He stripped down to his boxers and t-shirt, used the guest bathroom and brushed his teeth, then got into bed. Bella immediately slid over into his open arms and lay her head on his chest.

"Love you," she murmured. And then she was sound asleep.

Edward didn't reply; he just smiled in the darkness. He spent some time thinking of his first memories of Bella, trying to dredge up an image from the time before they knew each other. But the memories eluded him, and he drifted off holding the woman he loved in bed for the first time.

##

A/N: Heartfelt thanks to everyone on Team Shalloward, including cherieblossum, emmy, heatherjeanhd, Jessypt, Katie, laylak500, scarrok/scarrtx, sogoodtoo, Fergie, jjjuliebee, athenajean, Haileywood, janob63, treasurecoast, TwilightMundi, amymorgan, spanglemaker9, arfalcon and of course, hookashewz