(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)

BPOV

Alice promised not to say anything about our flight home, I wanted it to be a surprise and I hated it when they would make a fuss. We pulled up to the driveway of the new house and I was surprised to see a bright candy red GTO in the garage. Edward turned the engine off and we slipped into the house as quietly as possible. Alice came to greet us, but I put my finger to my lips and I ran to a room I just knew was his. I turned the knob and there was Tristan playing his guitar. In life we had gone over a year without so much as speaking to each other and remained close, but these last two months seemed different. The second I made eye contact with Tristan I felt like one of those magnetic Hallmark bears. We were drawn together by a force and the anxiety I had been feeling while away from him was gone.

He crossed the room at full speed and gave me a huge hug. I could sense Edward walk in right after me and Tristan greeted him in the same fashion, which did look a little awkward.

"So how was the honeymoon?" He said wagging his eyebrows.

"Shut up." I said and punched his arm playfully.

"Violence is not the answer little one." He said restraining me and pulling me to his chest for another hug. "Edward, you need to learn how to control your woman."

"Yeah, I have noticed that she is a bit of a handful." Edward agreed with him sharing in his smile.

"I am ignoring the fact that you two think you can gang up on me." I said and turned to face Tristan, "So what have you been doing with yourself? Are you playing nice with the other kids?"

"Yes, we are all great friends now, isn't that right Alice?" He had his grin set on his face and I looked to Alice who just shook her head.

"Bella, I really hope you don't give me as many headaches as this one has. It's like he's allergic to following directions or something."

"So then, nothing has changed, right?" I asked him.

"Her nostrils flare when you get her angry. True fact." He said and picked up his guitar.

"They do not! Bella you are in charge of keeping him in line, somehow he keeps getting around me. His eyes are still red I can't have him scaring the neighbors!"

I held back the giggles I felt in my cheeks as I thought about how difficult he could be when he puts his mind to it.

"What has he been doing?" I asked instead. Alice was about to give me a full report, but we were interrupted by a familiar guitar riff.

"Riding along in my automobile

My baby beside me at the wheel

I stole a kiss at the turn of a mile

my curiosity running wild

crusin' and playin' the radio

with no particular place to go."

Tristan sang along to his version of Chuck Berry and I saw Emmett and Jasper dissolve into giggles as Alice's nostrils flared and she stormed off in a huff. Tristan's room became crowded as the rest of the family filed in while Jasper brought Alice back. They were eager to hear about my reactions to the island and I was eager to hear about what they've been up to while we were gone.

"… It is really cool, like that scene from the matrix. You can actually see the paintballs coming at you in time to contort away from them." Tristan said filling us in about his guerrilla paintball outing.

"By the end of the day we had our one game going on over three courses." Jasper added.

"It was a fun day for me; I had not played paintball before then." Carlisle added with a childlike smile on his face.

Each of them had a story about Tristan, about some personal time they spent with him and they seemed to really like him. Esme had her hand on his back and she looked like a mother with a new cub.

EPOV

It was late and the rest of the family had gone their own ways, which left me alone with Bella and Tristan. Their laughter and general aura was almost intoxicating, but I wanted to spend some time with Bella. We had not even seen our bedroom yet. Alice tried to show us earlier in the night, but Bella was reluctant to leave. Tristan shot a quick glance at me and his expression was so odd, I had to slip into his head to find out what was going on. He was trying to think of topics to keep me entertained. He didn't want me to take Bella away. He was worried that since we were now married that we would leave as the rest of the family did at some point in the night. Tristan found it to be the loneliest point of each day, and if Bella abandoned him, it would feel that much lonelier.

"Hey, c'mon I don't rummage around in your head!" He said breaking his conversation with Bella. She shot me a pointed look and I was immediately embarrassed.

"Sorry, I should let you two finish catching up. I am going to see what Alice has done with our room." I announced right away and Bella hesitated, but gave me a sweet kiss and promised to come find me later. Tristan inclined his head as a 'thank you' and I returned the gesture. Anyone could feel how much they missed each other and Bella's whole demeanor was more relaxed now that he was in closer proximity.

I knew that I would be sharing Bella when we came home, but after having her all to myself for two months, I was feeling a little territorial and I had to work on that. Tristan's current situation was much more difficult than mine had been and I needed to sympathize and help this transition along. I passed by the living room and saw Carlisle seated in front of the television.

"Anything good on?"

"Is there ever anything good on?" He answered.

"I suppose not. How is everything?"

"Things have been entertaining while you were gone. Tristan is very exuberant and a bit mischievous."

"I honestly was not sure how he would fit in, especially with the boys, but they seem to love him."

"He has taken the time to develop relationships with each of us and I think that helped with the transition. I am not sure how happy he really is though. The time away from Bella really took a toll on him. How is Bella?"

"She was just fine, she was having problems concentrating, but I think it was the distraction of the island and her new senses."

"I see her eyes have not diluted at all. Has she been able to keep to the diet?"

"She drinks what I drink. I think we should give it a few more months before making an issue out of it."

"Fair enough, So, how was the rest of your honeymoon?" He asked without looking away from the television.

"I made sure that the new furniture was delivered and assembled before we left." I said grinning and Carlisle laughed.

BPOV

(Re-cap for new readers, Bella and Tristan are able to communicate through touch. Instead of writing these conversations with normal punctuation [I/e ""] I usually use a mix of bold and italics, but some say it is too distracting so I am just using [~] for Bella and [–] for Tristan.)

~So, how has it really been?

- I need a girlfriend or something; I am so bored at night. When you hear vampire you think that the nightlife will at least be interesting, but not at the Cullen house. They all couple up and I end up just locking myself away in my soundproof room until sunrise.

~Is that why you have been sneaking out at night?

- Partly, you know how I am. I can't just sit around. Have you been having trouble concentrating?

~Yes, it is like a really bad case of A.D.D. I asked Edward about it and he thinks it was because my sight was new and the island is so distracting.

- That is possible, but when we were 'new' we didn't have that problem

~Do you think it had to do with the distance from each other?

- I have been working with Carlisle to document some of our unique attributes. He thinks that our proximity has a lot to do with it.

~ Have you discovered anything new?

- It is hard to distinguish what's mine and what's ours. I did manage to overhear him talking to himself one day and I think that Aro had been keeping a detailed journal about Janus and Tiber in his library.

~ I wonder if Marcus has found it yet.

- I was hoping you would come with me to find out. When you are settled in and everything of course. We have been invited back to Volterra.

~ Already? When?

Tristan stood and quietly made his way to the closet. He bent down and removed a floorboard. When he turned around I saw he had two identical antique boxes in his hands. He handed one to me and I opened it slowly and carefully. The lid's shadow lifted and revealed a beautiful chain, I pulled the chain from the box and sitting on the end of it was a huge diamond. I stared at it, thinking that it was impossibly huge for a diamond. I peered into the box and at the bottom sat a heavy ivory colored envelope. I pulled it from the box and the other side was held shut by a grand wax seal. I looked at Tristan and he was holding the other box. In his box was a masculine ring with precious stones. He placed the ring on his finger and fisted his hand holding it out to show me. I opened the letter carefully so as not to rip the expensive looking envelope.

Dearest Isabella,

I was very pleased to hear of your nuptials. I know that our alliance was fickle, but I assure you that I will continue to gain your trust and allegiance. I anticipate your next visit. Perhaps, I may come to visit you. Please accept this gift with my warmest wishes.

Very Truly Yours,

Marcus

The words written were friendly enough, but his request that I visit sent a chill down my spine. It did not feel like a request, it felt more like an ultimatum. Either you come here or I will find you. The self proclaimed 'King' of all vampires was our ally for now, but who knows if the power that came with the thrown would corrupt him further. A set of twins would be a very valuable asset. Tristan sat next to me and I rested my head against his shoulder.

~ Did you tell them about the boxes?

- No, I didn't want to worry them. We've put them through enough already.

~ Thanks, it must have been difficult to keep from them.

- Surprisingly, no it wasn't. Alice has been working hard to keep me inside and I have Rose helping me break out. They are so obsessed with the game that they don't realize it is a distraction.

~ I am constantly grateful that you are on my side. You are too devious for your own good.

Tristan laughed out loud then answered me

- I know, you would think with all their life experience they would know when they were being distracted. It is almost too easy.

~ Where have you been going anyway?

- Usually I just drive around, but if I am feeling too isolated I will slip into a bar and people watch.

~ Do you talk to anyone?

- Not much, it is like they know not to approach me. It could be the whole dark sunglasses at night thing though. It does look a little douche-y.

~ It is kind of funny that after all your rants and bar fights with those frat boys wearing sunglasses at night, that you are forced to wear them.

- Heh, yeah, ironic. I really hope the color fades quickly; did I tell you that I caught Jasper following me one night?

~ Why? What happened?

- It was the second or third week and Alice was starting to get angry with me. So I thought she sent Jasper to follow me, but it turns out that he thought my eyes were too crimson for a two month old newborn. He followed me to a concert and thought I was hunting. I am not sure that Jasper has ever seen a mosh pit.

~ Oh my god, tell me you got him out of there before some idiot grabbed a pit trophy.

- Thankfully the set was pretty tame and there were barely any injuries. I actually ended up teaching him to wield some of my self control and it got him off my back. He told me about all those scars on his body. I think his past really screwed up his trust and control. His mentality is so negative when it comes to blood.

I thought about that as I realized I was still absentmindedly playing with the necklace. I held the diamond up to the light and watched as tiny prisms leapt from its surface. I wondered if I told Edward, would he be able to handle it? I am less fragile now, body and mind.

- You know they will stress out if we say anything about it now.

~ I know, it is just weird, protecting them, instead of them protecting us.

We placed the gifts back in their boxes and Tristan hid them away under the loose floorboard. The night was starting to brighten and Tristan surprised me.

"You should go find your husband. I'll see you later on in the day."

"We haven't even caught up on everything."

"Trust me Bella, we have time. That is all I seem to have now." He said as he grabbed his guitar and played a few notes.

"Fine, I will see you later." I kissed his forehead and left the room.

-Hey do me a favor. Keep Edward out of my head for a few hours. I would like to get out of here tomorrow night for a few hours and I don't need him helping Alice catch me.

~ You got it.

As soon as I closed the door I was no longer able to hear his guitar, but I was sure he had not stopped. I decided to take a short tour of the house and I found Carlisle and Edward in the living room watching a movie.

I walked up next to the couch and sat on the arm. Edward smiled at me and pulled me into his lap. I kissed him gently before scooting over to sit between him and Carlisle.

"What are we watching?" I asked turning to look at each of them.

"I am going to go to my study; you two enjoy the rest of your evening." Carlisle said instead of answering my question and Edward pulled me closer to him.

"It's good to be home." I said softly before kissing Edward's neck.

Edward sighed into my hair in agreement and we cuddled until the sun came up.

TPOV

I felt Bella's shield on me and I went to my closet and grabbed my box from under the floorboard again. I opened my letter and wondered how I was going to get Bella and myself to Volterra without the Cullens knowing.

Salutations Tristan,

I have been thinking about our very brief introduction and have decided to extend an invitation to you and your other half. I think we have much to offer one another. Please accept this as a token of my gratitude for the role you played in attaining my throne. The stone is from the same diamond I have enclosed for Isabella. I thought that it was fitting since you share everything as it stands.

Warmest wishes,

Marcus

I had read this letter many times, but something about holding the paper in my hand helped me concentrate on the words. Marcus had no intention of forcing us into his service, he was just being strategic. Our alliance had rid the Vampire world of its corrupt leadership and that came with a lot of responsibility. I knew he meant to offer us a place of power at his side, but power did not appeal to either of us.

Bella was just happy to be living her life. She is in love and has a functional family. I am happier than I have been in years. My social life is non-existent; but I have the family I had been searching for in my adolescence. Demanding respect through fear and intimidation was not something we needed; or wanted to do.

My phone buzzed and a restricted number popped up.

"Hello?" I answered; I heard an unsure voice on the other end take a deep breath before speaking.

"Hey Tristan, I didn't think you would be awake. I was going to leave you a message."

"Um, who is this?"

"Charlotte, from the bar last weekend." She said sounding scared.

"Oh hey, I didn't think your friends would let you call me."

"I'm a big girl; I can make my own decisions."

"So in this message you were about to leave me, what were you going to say?"

"It would have sounded something like, Hey Tristan its Chuck from O'Malley's I was wondering if you wanted to grab a bite tomorrow night."

I laughed at her choice of words and remembered the very brief conversation we had while she drunkenly hit on me last weekend. I was so starved for any female interaction that I broke my own rule and gave her my cell number. Her friends were so worried about her that I figured they would take my number from her as soon as she left the bar.

"Thanks for the offer, but I am not much of a dinner guy. I would be happy to meet you for a movie or drink if you like."

"Commitment-phob?" She asked me bluntly and I laughed at her accusation.

"Maybe… but that is not the reason for skipping dinner with a beautiful girl. I am on a special diet and I don't eat dinner. In my experience most people don't like to be the only one eating at a table."

"Oh-"She said, she was definitely not expecting that to be my answer.

"So, do you still want to go out?" I asked half hoping she would give up. I hadn't really given much thought to dating yet.

"Yeah, how about a movie and then we can go to O'Malley's again afterwards?"

"Perfect, I still have your number, so I will call you later on to get your info."

"Talk to you then." She said sounding proud of herself for calling. She hung up and I smiled.

This was turning out to be a good day; Bella was back and I had a date lined up. I stepped out of my room to see what the traffic in the house was like, but I heard Bella and Edward watching TV in the living room and decided to let them enjoy the last hour or so of alone time.

(A/N: Hope you enjoyed the reunion, the timeline will move faster now that all the players are back in town. Just a reminder we are only a few months after their 're-birth' not 25 years in the future where Tristan meets his Tua Cantante, patience. Big thanks to Nici91 for her help on this chapter. )