I know, I know, I'll talk to you at the bottom...

Last night must have been the best night of my life. I giggled as I looked over my shoulder at Edward, who, despite needing no sleep, sure looked like he could use a nap. He was haggard and a tad bit out of it, but oh well, he'd recover.

I let out another chuckle at the memory of my antics last night. I'd started off with complaining that I was so hot, with the obvious solution being that he should get under the covers with me.

"You'd get too cold. I'll just lie on top of the sheets like I always do." I scooted up in bed, the better to give him an eyeful of my new 'pajamas'.

"No," I said as he stared at me with a glazed look in his eye, "I'm really just hot enough that our body would keep me at the perfect temperature all night." I pouted, trying my best to look sexy and innocent at the same time. It resulted in Edward heaving a sigh and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Bella, love, it really wouldn't be prudent for me to do that right now. Are you sure you need me to go under the covers?" He looked at me hopefully, the yearning for an answer of 'no' apparent in his eyes. I also knew that I had my puppy-dog face on, and sure enough, he let out another sigh and climbed in under the covers with me.

Her smile was blinding, even in the dark of her room. When I got under the sheets she pulled me a little closer and turned so I was spooning her. Sweet heaven and also the deepest pit of hell.

I couldn't help putting my arm over her waist, and I relished the shiver I got from her. Good to know I wasn't the only one affected.

Bella's breathing got slower and more even, until I was sure she was asleep. I sighed in relief, glad for a respite from temptation. At least when she was unconscious she couldn't tease me.

"Edward…" I'm sorry; did I say she couldn't tease me anymore? How very naïve of me. She had turned over and come to rest with an arm and a leg each sprawled over me

And then she started to wriggle. And shake. And move. And every move was accompanied with something along the lines of "Come on Edward, do it harder."

My mind and body were at war as to what to do. Jump out of the bed and into a cold lake? Or lay back and find out what 'dream Edward' was going to do next?

Bella's next emphatic phrase of "That feels so good." was the deciding factor. Against all of my better judgment, I stayed right where I was.

Bella's dream continued for the next half hour, all the while with the scent of her blood still hanging in the air. I was beginning to question my own sanity, because no man in his right mind would have stayed for a tortuous night like that. Fortunately, it didn't continue long. With one particularly loud moan Bella quieted and settled down.

I thought it might be safe to look down at her then, something I hadn't wanted to do until now in case I lost control. As it was, I still might have lost control, just from her sheer sexiness. She had a sheen of sweat on her face, and her hair was in a halo around her head. If my self-control hadn't been honed to the utmost, I think I might have jumped her right then and there. As it was, I simply took deep breaths and enjoyed her scent for a while.

And then the dreaming started again. It seemed to be less intense, but somehow more, at the same time. The closest thing to compare it to would be like switching the radio station from smooth jazz to rock, but turning down the volume at the same time. Bella didn't squirm or wiggle as much, but all of her gasps, moans, and sighs seemed to have even more feeling behind them.

Even having been through it once already, lying still with the knowledge that Bella was having a dream about me was almost as hard as resisting her blood. My resolve cracked a little and I leaned in to brush my lips across her neck once, twice. The third time Bella shuddered and woke up, her eyes heavy-lidded and glossed over with sleep.

"Edward? What is it? Is something wrong?" I could feel her tense up and practically see her shake the fuzziness from her mind as she went on full alert, prepared for anything I might tell her.

"No, love, everything is fine. I just got a little, erm, carried away." My embarrassment was almost palpable as I rose from the bed to go sit in the rocking chair. I ran my hands through my hair, a habit I had picked up while trying to act human over the years.

"Oh, ok then. Well, while I'm up, I might as well get ready to go shopping in Port Angeles today with Alice. She told me to be ready by 9." I gave her a crooked smile and continued to watch her as she walked, and occasionally tripped, across the room.

When she was all ready we piled into the car and left for my house. Any other day this drive would have routine, but today, in the car with Bella and the recycled air from the AC intensifying the scent of her blood, the atmosphere reeked of tension. At least, to me it did. Bella stared out the window and looked back to smile at me every so often as if she didn't notice the bloodlust in my eyes. I was sure they were black with the desire I was bottling in.

When we pulled up to the house Alice pulled Bella from the car, obviously excited to go shopping.

"Come on Bella, you're already late and the stores opened an hour ago, we gotta get a move on!" Bella laughed and let Alice pull her over to the Porsche.

"See you later Edward!" I waved at them as they pulled out of the driveway, somewhat guilty that I was glad to see Bella go. As much as I loved her, I couldn't stand to breathe around her anymore. With a sigh I walked into the house and stood for a second, just staring around at the living room. My pride hadn't just cracked, it had broken to pieces. I was going to go ask Carlisle for help figuring out what was up with Bella, as much as I hated asking what should have been a simple enough thing for me to figure out, I needed to in order to do anything about it.

"Carlisle?" I knocked softly at the door to his office and smiled back at him when he gave me one of his own.

"What is it Edward?" He finished the paperwork he was filling out at vampiric speed and looked up, concerned for me. Undoubtedly my face was an open book.

"Well, there's been something going on with Bella lately, and I can't seem to figure out what it is…" Carlisle's smile widened slightly and he nodded, indicating that I should go on.

"She, uh, has been bleeding for days now but I can't figure out where the scent is coming from. I don't know if she's actually hurt herself or if her blood has increased in is attractiveness to me, or what! It's been driving me out of my mind!" By the end of my tirade I was nearly yelling. All of my frustration came out in just that short time and I now knew that I wasn't going to be able to stand it if I didn't get some answers soon.

Carlisle's uproarious laughter at my frustration only served to aggravate me even more. "Edward," He said through his laughter, "You really haven't grown out of being a teenage boy have you?" More laughter ensued.

"What are you talking about Carlisle?" My irritation grew as he continued to laugh at me. When he had calmed down long enough to talk again, he sat up in his chair and grinned at me.

"Edward," Says the wise doctor to Captain Oblivious, "Bella's on her period."

Alice and I laughed hysterically the entire way to Port Angeles. My recount of the previous night had my eyes tearing up from the force of the memory.

"And then, after my fake dream, I'm pretty sure I had a real dream just before he woke up! You should have seen the look on his face!" And we collapsed into a fit of giggles once more.

"You really shook him up Bella. You're due to stop bleeding in one or two days right? Just keep up what you're doing now and soon he'll be able to resist you nothing." She chuckled again, "Absolutely nothing"

The shopping trip itself was, well, a shopping trip. Alice did the usual: find me outfits that were way out of my price range, make me try them on, and then act all surprised that I didn't have the money for it and buy it for me, even though it was a size too small.

We got me some new PJ's and about 10 different matching bra and underwear sets. "So you can be ready for your impending vampirism" Alice told me. I only grinned in response. I couldn't wait to get home and set all of my new wardrobe on Edward. Even after my period was over, I'd bet I would still enjoy watching him squirm. I was still fantasizing about my sure victory over my stubborn vampire boyfriend when we pulled up to the Cullen house and got out of the car.

We gathered up the bags and strolled up to the house, fully not expecting to have an angry Edward confront us before we reached the door.

"Bella, we need to talk."

They say that epiphanies are like mental orgasms. The feeling of having all you scattered thoughts come to fruition is like none other, I'm told.

For me? Not so much. I felt like such a retard. Wasn't I supposed to be the wise, sophisticated, experienced vampire? How is it that my mind did not immediately jump to that conclusion? It made so much sense it was ridiculous.

But I wasn't really dwelling on the fact that I had failed to connect those dots. What I was stewing over was that Bella had not only connected the dots as to what had me so out of control, but that she had exploited that in an effort to –

To what, exactly? That was one thing Carlisle hadn't been able to figure out either. Why had Bella gotten clingy to the extreme so suddenly? I was sure it wasn't hormones, although Carlisle seemed to think that maybe Bella was suffering from a rush of estrogen. No, Bella was much too smart to let this opportunity pass her by. The only thing was, I didn't know what she saw it as an opportunity for.

I knew that her ultimate goal in life since meeting me was to become a vampire so that we could spend all eternity together. While I didn't mind the idea of eternity with Bella, I absolutely detested the idea of stealing her soul away forever just to satisfy my own selfish desires. And Bella knew my take on this. I would never, ever turn her… so what was her angle?

I didn't spend too much time brooding over it though, because I knew that Bella and I would be having a little heart-to-heart as soon as she stepped foot back in the door. Just to be on the safe side, I didn't officially decide to confront her until I could hear them walking up the front walk. I didn't want Alice to see and warn Bella to come up with another game plan before we could talk.

As it was, I had to open the door before they were even halfway to the house because I heard Alice planning how best to get Bella away, and quick. So I stormed out of the door, unable to keep the scowl off of my face, and picked her up before Alice and I could get into a tug-of-war. I sprinted into my room at top speed and set her down on the couch.

Her face was a mix of disappointment and shame. Well good, I thought. At least now I know she doesn't have some kind of backup plan ready for a situation like this.

After a few minutes of silence, Bella looked up at me, eyes shiny, and said "I'm sorry Edward."

Well, damned if that didn't just ruin the five minute long tirade I had planned on going on. I heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose, already wanting this to be over and done with.

"Bella, I know what you did, but now I want to know why. In what world did you think this would be a safe thing to do, for you or me? I can't even begin to tell you how out of my mind I've been these past few days. How close I've come to –"

I swallowed and looked away as I imagined just what I'd come close to doing in the short time this had been going on. It was too awful to imagine. When I turned back to Bella, I saw the tears coming down her face, and I couldn't resist kissing them away.

"Just promise me you'll never do this again. As it is, I'll have to go hunting for a week every month…" I trailed off, muttering to myself. I didn't notice the anger in Bella's eyes until she tried to hit me. I caught her arm, astonished. She knew she could have broken her hand doing that!

The fury in her eyes was evident as she hissed each word, "I refuse to let this go on any longer Edward! Look at what you've done! This week was the first time you've ever been around me like this, and look at what happened!"

Shocked, I stared at her and said "What are you talking about?"

"That's exactly it! Nothing happened. You didn't kill me, you didn't go crazy with bloodlust, and if I hadn't known exactly what was bothering you, I wouldn't have been able to tell that anything was wrong at all." She got up from the couch to pace the room.

"Why do you keep doing things like this to yourself? To us? Don't you want us to be happy and together, forever?" The tears started to flow then, and call me a sucker, but I broke down.

"Bella, love, you know I want nothing more than to be able to spend eternity with you, but I just can't." I spun her around to look at me. "I can't."

She didn't respond, just ran downstairs into Alice's arms. The pixie shot me an evil glare and pulled Bella towards the garage. "You can take my car sweetie, just go home and rest." She said as she shoved the car keys into Bella's hand.

Bella nodded and ran out to the Porsche. I could hear it screech down the driveway and I winced at the harsh sound.

Alice rounded on me, fire in her golden eyes. "I'm calling a family meeting tonight, and if you try to run away I will drag you back by that beautiful hair Bella likes so much." Apparently she could see that I would stick around, because she whirled away from me and stalked off.

And I retreated to my room, awaiting the meeting and the hell I was sure to get from at least three of my family members.

When ten rolled around, I dragged myself off of my couch and down to the living room. Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper were already seated at their usual places around the room. Alice walked in a minute or so after I did, her nose in the air as she swept past my spot on the arm of the couch to go sit next to jasper.

Carlisle broke the tension, starting the conversation. "Well, Alice? What did you call the meeting for? Obviously something important…" Alice narrowed her eyes at me.

"As a matter of fact Carlisle, yes, it is very important, and it concerns Bella and the entire family. She's on her period right now, and I know that we've all been feeling the strain of smelling it all the time, but none more than Edward and Jasper. Jasper not only gets the Physical cravings for her blood that we all fell, but he also gets all of her mood swings, too. And it doesn't seem like he can control the emotions. What were to happen if Bella had ever been hungry around him, I wonder? And Edward, he is going through his own personal hell on earth. Bella is his singer, and he risks her life every day he is around her during the bleeding." The last sentence was said with a smirk when she looked over and saw me cringe.

"So what do you propose doing about it Alice? We can't all just up and leave for a week every month, just for Bella's sake." Carlisle has a curious look on his face, wondering what on earth Alice had in mind. So was I, but she was reciting the Fibonacci Sequence, which takes a lot of concentration, oddly enough.

"That's exactly my point Carlisle. Bella refuses to be separated from Edward, and Edward and the rest of us go through hell sometimes for that, not that I would ever try to spilt them up. So the only solution I see happening is if some drastic measures are taken…" A collective thought of realization ran through the room as everyone saw what Alice was getting at.

"Alice, are you saying that you've seen what will happen in the event we do or do not turn Bella into a vampire?" All of us stared at Alice, waiting for her to speak. She at least had the decency to hesitate before saying, "Yes."

The silence in the room was deafening, even to vampire ears. "What?" I stuttered disbelievingly at her, "What did you see Alice? Tell us right now!" She held her ground as I advanced on her, desperate for the truth.

"I see bad things happening if Bella remains human, Edward. If the Volturi don't kill her, Victoria does, and if she doesn't kill her… Well, if neither of them kill her Edward, you do." Shocked, I plunked back down onto the couch and waited to hear the rest of the news.

"But it doesn't have to be that way Edward." She kneeled down in front of me and took my hands in hers, "All of my visions where Bella is turned show us, all of us, safe and sound and happy for many years to come – don't you want that for the woman you love?"

This was the moment of truth. I'd know this decision would have to be made eventually, but I wasn't sure I wanted to make it now. On the other hand, if I didn't, Bella would die a gruesome death, and I would be left an empty shell. The vision of Bella and I, not afraid to be alone with each other, not afraid of me hurting her, was as great a pull as the fresh scent of her blood. What did I want? What was best for Bella? Did those things coincide, or not?

After what seemed like an eternity, I made my decision. For better or worse (probably worse), this was the way it would be.

"Bella? Our devious, brilliant, incredibly convoluted, mastermind plan worked like a charm! They fell for it, they all fell for it!" Alice's giggles sounded through my phone and I shushed her, not wanting anyone to accidentally overhear our conversation.

From the first, Alice had known what needed to be done to make it possible for me to be turned. We'd purposely teased Edward to make him think it was too much for him, and then let it slip to Carlisle that I was on my period, so that when Edward broke down and asked the only one who wouldn't make fun of him, he would get the correct information. The 'fight' I had with Edward followed so perfectly to our script that I couldn't even say the last few things I was supposed to say to him for fear of bursting into laughter.

Alice's role was to tell a teeny white lie to make everyone believe I would die eventually, then make it sound like I might as well be turned if that was going to happen.

And they took the bait. It pained me a little to know that Edward was beating himself up over it, but I took comfort in the fact that even though he was almost 100 years old, he was still a 17 year old guy on the inside, and he didn't really know what he wanted.

I tuned back in to Alice just in time to hear her say that I was scheduled be turned the week after school ended. I was so excited; I figured I could wait the couple months. And as for Edward, well, he'd have to stay away for a day or so until my scent went back to normal, and then we'd' be back together, forever, as it was meant to be.

Well, guys, i really have nothing to say for myself after such a long break from this story. I was having some MAJOR writer's block and schoolwork just doesnt seem to leave me with much time to write anymore... But, all's well that ends well, right? hope you liked the story,

SinDit2010