"Have you fallen asleep?"

The vibration of Christopher's quiet voice tickled my ear as I lay against his chest. His fingers danced lightly up and down the length of my spine.

"No." I picked my head up, my eyes locking on his as I dropped a kiss against his ribcage. "Keep talking."

Christopher had obliged my request to tell me more about his life, spending the entire night telling me stories and answering my endless questions. He explained that he was musically trained from childhood and how after the early years of immortality, he made money traveling from town to town, entertaining at local taverns. He recounted story after story for hours, only halting when I distracted him to the point that keeping up a steady stream of conversation became too difficult.

"Tell me," I said as I slid one leg over both of his, shifting my body to sit on top of him. "Did you ever practice law again?"

Christopher opened his mouth to answer as I positioned myself to take him into me. I balanced over him with my hands pressed against his firm abdomen. His hands rested against my thighs, fingers pressing harder into my skin the longer I held myself still.

"I'm sorry, love," he said, his voice slightly strained. He arched his hips upward just enough that the tip of his stiff cock grazed my clit. "Can you repeat the question?"

Spreading my legs further, I lowered over him, my head falling backward as he pushed past my entrance. Every touch, every sensation was so new. Yet when we were together, it was as if our bodies had already memorized the other. Each movement — no matter how subtle or urgent — set off a new chain reaction between us. As my body stretched to take him in, I leaned over him, reaching to pull his face closer so I could kiss him as I rocked back and forth.

"I said," I gasped between frantic kisses, "Did you ever practice law again?" Every word of my question was punctuated by pants and moans as he thrust himself further into me.

"Occasionally," Christopher growled, kissing me harder and sitting up, wrapping his arms around me and locking me tightly against his body. His lips forced mine apart, his tongue probing deep into my mouth as the pace of his thrusts remained unyielding. My nails raked across his back as his fingers locked around my shoulders, holding me still as he drove into me over and over until we were both gasping for air. He slipped one hand between us, thumbing my clit with a few firm strokes until I threw my head back, crying out. His pace quickened, and I could feel his fingertips bruising my skin as he exploded, moaning my name. He grabbed the sides of my face, kissing me frantically and pulling us back down against the pillows. Our lips moved together for a long time, our kisses slowly becoming less hurried until they were almost chaste.

"Christopher," I said, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over us like a blanket. I stared straight ahead at his shoulder. "I have to go back to Boston." I could feel him tense, but I raised my head to see his face before he could say anything. "Will you come with me?"

Christopher reached for my face, stroking my cheek with his hand. "In case I haven't made myself clear, Els, I will go anywhere as long as it's with you." His fingers tangled in my hair as he rolled us both over, his face hovering inches above mine.

"You lead; I'll follow."

I could feel the sun on my face as I rolled over, stretching my arms over my head before opening my eyes. As I let my arms fall back down, something cool crinkled under my hand as it came to rest against the mangled sheets. Turning my head and blinking, I squinted as my fingers, weak from sleep, fumbled with what turned out to be a small rectangular piece of paper. The page had three perfectly sharp edges, and one long jagged fringe like it had been torn from a bound journal.

Running a few errands before we leave. Didn't want to wake you. I will be back soon. I love you, Christopher.

Tracing his elegant script with my finger, I smiled, pressing my teeth into my bottom lip when I read the words 'I love you' on the page. We'd said it aloud, of course, but it was still strangely thrilling to see it in writing. I dragged myself from the bed, set the note on the table, placed my ring on top, and walked to the bathroom to shower. As I stood beneath the steaming stream of water, my mind turned to the future. It was true that I needed to return to Boston; I'd been absent too long. I was grateful that my supervisor there had accepted my story that the weather in the west had made travel too difficult. Still, I knew time was running thin on my excuses.

Christopher and I had made our plan to travel across the country; he had arrived at the Cullens several weeks prior by car, and we would spend the next few days driving east. But we still needed to decide what to do after reaching Boston. Balancing my demanding job while figuring out my new life in a mated relationship gave me pause. Did I really want to do both? Plus, as hard as I tried not to think of it, Alice's vision still hung over our heads, as it would until that particular future came to pass. It had been decades since I'd taken a break from practicing medicine. I was starting to wonder if now was the time.

My mind was still turning over the possibilities as I made my way down the stairs. Christopher's note was folded up and tucked safely in the pocket of my jeans. It was silly, but it made me feel like he was around even while he was gone running his mystery errands. The house was quiet; I followed my nose to the kitchen, where a fresh pot of coffee had just finished brewing. I poured a cup, holding the warm mug between my hands for a moment before raising it to my lips. As I sipped, a little voice piped up from behind me.

"See? I told you she would like some."

I whirled around, barely remembering not to spill the hot liquid.

"Oh!" Sitting at the kitchen table, Renesmee turned in her chair and grinned at me. Rosalie was seated across from her, a chessboard between them.

"Good morning," Renesmee said brightly."

"Good morning," I replied. My eyes flicked over to Rosalie, and I held up my cup. "Thank you."

"Nessie insisted," she said indifferently. I walked around the kitchen counter, Rosalie's nose wrinkling as she watched me take another sip. "It smells like hot mud to me, to be honest."

I laughed as I walked over to the table, placing my hand on an empty chair beside Nessie. "Can I sit?"

Rosalie nodded, returning her attention to the chessboard; Renesmee beamed in my direction.

"Thanks for the coffee, Nessie," I said. She leaned over and sniffed the steam as it rose from the mug.

"Smells like mud to me too."

I shrugged. "You know, human kids don't like coffee either. You might change your mind one day."

Rosalie snickered, reaching for her knight. "Carlisle keeps trying to get this child to eat or drink anything that isn't blood." Placing her piece back onto the board, she smirked at Renesmee. "But alas, she is thoroughly spoiled. Checkmate."

The copper-haired girl stuck her tongue out at her aunt. "Rematch, please."

Shaking her head, Rosalie pushed her chair back from the table. "Later. I have to go look at Christopher's car."

"You do?" I set my mug on the table.

"He said you were leaving tonight; I offered to ensure everything was okay." Rosalie shrugged as she stood. "Wouldn't want to have to drive halfway across the country to rescue you if you two got into an accident."

I laughed and leaned over the table to help Renesmee pick up the chess pieces. "Thanks — I think." When everything was organized, I stood up as well. "Do you need any help?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing me speculatively — but there was no longer any outright disdain in her expression. "Are you any good with cars?"

"Honestly, no. But I can hand you tools."

Rosalie gestured for me to follow her toward the garage, glancing over her shoulder. "Let's go put that OR experience to good use then."

Renesmee ran off to find Jacob, and Rosalie and I busied ourselves in the garage. I wasn't kidding when I said I didn't know anything about cars, so she gave me a thirty-second run down on what she might need and when, and I listened attentively as she set to work checking everything over. Periodically, a hand would appear from under the vehicle, with a one-word request signaling what I should pass to her; sometimes taking away an instrument she no longer required. It really was a little like being in surgery.

When she didn't need to exchange her tools, Rosalie mostly tinkered without speaking. The gentle tap of metal against metal was quietly soothing. So much so that when she piped up in a conversational tone, I jumped. I had to ask her to repeat her question.

"Are you looking forward to getting back to work?"

"Actually," I said slowly, extending each syllable a beat longer than necessary. "I was kind of thinking about…not."

"Oh." She slid from under the car, standing and brushing her hands off. She jerked her head back toward the vehicle. "It will run fine. Better than fine, actually." As she started to wipe off her tools to put them away, her hair fell like a curtain, so I couldn't see her face. "I think that's a good idea."

I was surprised again when she spoke. "You do?"

"Yeah, I do. You should enjoy being together. Before things get...complicated." Careful not to touch so much a strand with her dirty hands, she flipped her hair back over her shoulder. "Everyone should be so lucky to have the chance at happiness."

"That's a little like what Carlisle said to me yesterday."

She wrinkled her nose, stowing the last of her equipment in a drawer. "Don't tell Carlisle I said that." We laughed at that, but the sound of car tires turning onto the Cullen's winding drive caught both of our ears. "That's Edward's car." Her lips twitched to the side, making me think she knew more than she'd let on. "Christopher's back."