Title: You Found Me

Full Summary: Edward Masen has lived the life of a nomadic vampire, travelling with James and Victoria since he awoke as an immortal. His ability to read minds has had the unusual side effect of making him a vampire with a conscience. Despite the ridicule from his coven mates, he's confident he's making the best of his existence and doing what's morally right... until he stumbles upon a brown-eyed girl reading in a meadow in Forks. As he attempts to befriend her and learns more about the sleepy town of Forks, Edward finds there's a lot more to being a vampire than he ever thought possible.

Pairings: Canon

Rating: M, for language and sexing.

Chapter: Thirty-nine; Liberated

POV: Edward

AN: Several of you seemed very concerned about Edward's leg, so without further ado…

xx

"Torch the place?" Bella repeated, dumbfounded. "Is that necessary?"

"Yes," Alice said flatly. "Humans were killed here. We can't risk authorities finding it in tact. There's also the issue of disposing of James and Victoria. It's two for the price of one."

Bella nodded. "Okay," she said shakily, her fingers gripping my neck tighter. The way she was looking at me, I got the impression she was more concerned that I was losing my home than anything else.

"It's okay," I reassured her, kissing the top her head. "The sooner this house is erased from memory, the better. I have no intention of returning."

"But it's your parents' house," she protested. "You grew up here."

"Bella, I spent a miserable month in this place, in pain, missing you, witnessing awful things. I'm never going to be able to think of this house without those things clouding my mind. It's better this way."

Bella combed her fingers through my hair, her eyes glassy. "Okay. I guess we should get out then. Are you alright now? Your leg… does it still hurt?"

"I'll be fine once it's reattached." I nodded to the suitcase that Alice had brought with her. She set about unbuckling the straps and releasing the zippers that held it closed.

Bella watched in horror as the mound of clothes within it writhed like pail of worms. I bent over, with her still in my lap, retrieving the leg buried underneath the pile of quivering cloth.

"Is that your leg?" Bella's bewildered tone might have been humourous if the situation wasn't so grotesque.

I rolled up the pair of jeans I was wearing and replaced my leg. I spit into my hand, using the venom to reseal the wound. I sighed in relief as the fluid worked to heal the detached flesh. Bella buried her face into my neck, unable to watch. Gradually the pain dissipated.

"That has got to be one of the grossest things I've ever seen in my life," Bella observed, wrinkling her nose in the most adorable way. "I'm so glad you've got your leg back, though. When the woman at the casino said… I thought they burned it. I thought that was the only way to destroy vampire skin."

"Destroy it, yes. Remove it, no," Alice explained. "Vampire nails and teeth do that job just fine. Broken limbs are fixable, so long as the removed part isn't burned. They heal fastest with venom, though it would heal itself without, just a little slower."

"James and Victoria wouldn't have taken that risk," I explained. "I was a hassle to them without my leg. They fully expected that one day I'd see sense – their skewed version of it – and they could give it back without any concern that I might try to run."

"We've kind of got to get out of here, guys," Alice interrupted. Acrid purplish smoke was already creeping into the basement from upstairs, indisputable evidence that vampire flesh was burning somewhere.

I stood, Bella still in my arms. I had made her a promise that I fully intended to keep whether the house was on fire or not.

"Edward!" Alice called after me as I sped up the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Bella wondered, her arms winding around my neck to steady herself, though she had to know I would never let her fall.

I wasn't planning on letting her go for a very long while. After more than four weeks apart, I needed the comfort of her in my arms. It wasn't until I felt her skin against mine again that I realized just how much it had ached to be away from my mate for such an extended period of time. If anyone tried to separate her from me now, I would not be held responsible for any negative consequences.

"I have some things that I want to show you," I told her, kissing the confused pucker on her forehead. She was just as soft and warm as I remembered. Better, even. No matter how sharp, memories would never be able to do the feeling justice.

"Okay," she agreed. We were up the second flight of stairs and in my childhood room before the second syllable was out of her mouth.

"This was your room?" she questioned, taking in our new surroundings. She made no move that indicated she wanted me to release her for which I was glad. I wasn't ready to let her go yet.

"It's very you," she noted, taking in the hunter green walls and contrasting oak furniture.

The room had escaped the desecration that befallen the rest of the house in the last ten minutes. Most of the damage had been limited to the main floor, though there was a gaping hole in the hardwood on the other side of my bed that looked suspiciously shaped like Emmett. Smoke was pouring liberally through it, so I knew we had to hurry.

"Alice did a pretty good job of replicating it in Forks," she noted. "She skipped the bad eighties band posters, though. That might have been for the best. Did you really like Def Leppard that much?"

I smiled, enjoying the levity of the situation. It was nice to smile after what had seemed like a lifetime of unpleasantness.

"They were cool," I defended. "Love Bites. It's fitting, don't you think?"

She giggled. I laughed too. It was the most beautiful sound in the world. Like with everything else concerning Bella, I hadn't realized exactly how much I had missed her laughter until it was returned.

"That wasn't why I brought you up here. I promised to show you some things."

I grabbed a shoe box from inside my closet that contained all my most important keepsakes. There was nothing else in this house I cared to preserve but the items in that box were sacred to me.

I snatched the bedspread off of my bed, wrapping Bella in it. It was an awkward task given that I refused to let her stand on her own feet but I didn't care. Awkward was a small price to pay for having her in my arms again after more than a month of absence.

It was freezing outside and she was wearing only an oversized jacket that seemed to have belonged to Jacob at one point if the odor was any indication. The part of me that wanted to tear him limb from limb for putting his clothes on her was overruled, very slightly, by gratitude that he had the insight to keep her warm.

I was exceedingly aware that the smoke was growing thick in the room. I didn't bother me but it couldn't be good for Bella. I encouraged her to cover her face with the blanket.

Giving Bella the shoebox to hold, I kicked out the lone window in the room. I jumped through the gap I'd created, landing softly in the snow two stories below.

Alice was at my side in an instant. She shoved my shoulder.

"I swear! You and Bella are made for one another. You're equally reckless and have absolutely no regard for your own safety. I thought you'd be more careful with Bella's life on the line. You know humans can die from smoke inhalation, don't you?"

"I got her a blanket," I said defensively. "We were only up there for a couple minutes."

"I'm fine, Alice," Bella added, shooting Alice a scowl. It seemed she was feeling just as protective of me as I was of her. "Edward just wanted to get some stuff from his room." She held up the box I'd given her to hold.

Jacob grinned at us from behind Alice. He was so much taller than she was that he peered at us right over her head.

His thoughts were filled with relief, and surprisingly, a sense of camaraderie. Fighting alongside the Cullens had made him realize that perhaps not all vampires were monsters.

"You just couldn't help yourself, could you?" he asked Bella, shaking his head. "It wasn't enough to mess about with two nutso vampires. You saw a fire and had to see how close you could come to getting yourself killed…"

"Thank god I've got the ability to see whether or not the two of you are actually going to end up killing yourselves with all the stupid things you do," Alice snapped.

"Well, I thought it was a cool way to make an entrance," Emmett chimed in, beaming ear-to-ear. "Very John McClane of you."

He swept an arm in front of him as if envisioning a scene in a movie. "I mean, think about it, a man is kept as a prisoner in a basement for weeks. He escapes just as the house is about to burn to the ground… what better way to make a statement about how tough he is than to bust out of a second story window?"

Alice turned her aggression on Emmett, hitting him. "Don't encourage him."

"It would have been even better if your shirt had been on fire," Emmett added, ignoring Alice, a massive grin creeping onto his face. His thoughts confirmed he was enjoying being the subject of her wrath.

"Can't you be a normal person and just tell Edward you'd missed him?" she suggested.

Emmett frowned, thinking about how he didn't need to because I could read his thoughts so I already knew. Memories of the last month flashed by in quick succession, a blanket of somberness shrouding them all. I was touched he cared so much.

"But that wouldn't annoy you." He erupted into a grin when she rolled her eyes.

The others gathered in a circle around us, having tied up all the loose ends in the house. I studied each of the faces that surrounded me. There was Alice and Emmett. Jacob. Carlisle and Esme. Jasper. All of them had come because they wanted to help me.

Even Rosalie. She was standing slightly behind the others, her arms crossed protectively. I knew it wasn't because she was cold. She glanced up at Emmett often, her thoughts full of admiration for the way he'd stepped in to help Jacob tear apart James with absolutely no hesitation. She liked that he was willing to protect family at any cost. I was startled to find she now considered me a part of her family.

They all took turns coming up to examine me, unnecessary though it was. Now that my leg was where it belonged, I was as fine as I'd ever been. Esme was particularly adamant. She gave me a tight hug and insisted upon checking that I'd sealed the wound properly.

Each of them had something to say about how happy they were that I was okay or how strange it had been in Forks without my presence. I was touched by the genuine comments from all of them.

Even Jacob was friendly. I had expected condescension and attitude – he'd made it clear in the past that he thought I was an unsuitable choice for Bella. I wasn't sure that his opinion on that had changed but he wasn't outright disparaging, even though he must have noticed my red eyes. Maybe he appreciated there were worse things one could be than a vampire after his experiences with James and Victoria.

"I'm just glad I got to take a bite out of that fucker James," he had commented. He was extremely proud of that particular accomplishment. "I've been wanting to do that since the pack caught the two of them on the rez. And I got to be the first one in," he boasted. "Jasper thought it would help us take them down if I went in first to take advantage of the element of surprise."

"We've got to get going," Carlisle declared once everyone had had a chance to speak.

Sirens began to wail in the distance. One of the neighbours must have called to report the fire.

"We're all booked at the Hilton!" Carlisle yelled over the noise, offering a meeting point as everyone scrambled in different directions. Bella and I made up the sole pairing of two.

It wouldn't do to have a group as large as ours wandering down the street in such close proximity to the fiery house. Our footprints were all over because of the snow. There was no way we could deny involvement. We'd have to throw anyone searching for us off of the trail instead. It would be easier to do if we each led the investigators in a different direction.

"So, you ready to tell me how you ended up in Chicago?" I asked Bella as I sprinted down the street with her still tucked in my arms. "You said something about a woman in a casino?"

Her sheepish smile made me laugh. I wasn't sure I'd like her story but at least I had the benefit of knowing it came with a happy ending.

xx

"…It appears no one was home at the time of the fire. Arson is the suspected source of ignition. Neighbours saw several suspicious figures loitering outside the home earlier in the evening. No suspects have been apprehended as of yet. Chicago Police are optimistic a resolution will be reached, however. Chief Investigator Paul Blair tells us there are many leads yet to be followed and that the public will be kept up to date on any new developments. In the meantime, if you have any information, please call–"

I clicked off the hotel room's television, having heard everything that I needed to know. James and Victoria were gone forever. They would never threaten me or Bella again. I was surprisingly ambivalent to the news. There was no joy nor was there any grief. Just numbness tinged with relief.

Bella turned in my lap so she was facing me. She kissed the side of my face several times, offering her silent support. I soaked in her warmth, physical and emotional.

I still refused to let her leave my side. It was irrational and overprotective but I couldn't help it. Right now, having her near was as necessary to me as breathing was to her. She didn't complain, understanding how I felt without explanation.

"You okay?" she asked me, her hand lingering on my cheek.

I offered her a weak smile. "I'm fine. It's just been a rough few weeks. It's difficult to accept that it's really over… that they're gone… that I won't be separated from you again."

"They are. They can't hurt you any more." She paused to kiss me again. "And I'm not going anywhere. Ever."

"I know." I kissed her more deeply.

I stroked several strands of dark hair behind her ear. It was insane how much I had missed her. Now that she was here with me, my heart threatened to burst with the outpouring of love and longing that had accumulated.

Her fingers trailed softly under my eyes. "Did they make you drink human blood?"

Her tone was the furthest thing from judgmental but I froze anyway. I had hoped she wouldn't notice. The colour was starting to fade to black but it was apparent in certain light.

Her fingers pressed under my chin when my head dipped involuntarily. I wasn't trying to hide from her but I wasn't proud of my moment of weakness. I didn't especially want to talk about it. I lifted my head so my eyes met hers, hating that she would see the crimson hue that represented nothing but horror.

"Did you think I would be mad?"

I shook my head, knowing that was the answer she wanted, even though she had every right to be upset. I was a monster subsisting on the life of another person. I'd violated her trust by taking the life of another human, someone who could just as easily have been her. How could she stand to look at my eyes when they were tainted with blood?

"I'm not," she confirmed, her fingers trailing the edge of my jaw, though her eyes remained steadfast on mine. "I know you wouldn't have, if you'd had a choice. Remember when we met?"

She had to know I'd meticulously cataloged every single moment since the one I'd first laid eyes on her.

She continued before I could say a word. "Your eyes looked just like this. I thought they were gorgeous then. I don't know what I was thinking. Your eyes were meant to be gold. This… this will go away. You are not a bad person because of the things they did to you. I would never think any less of you because they forced you to do horrible things. You didn't have a choice."

Affection for her swelled. She knew exactly what to say; the things I hadn't known I needed to hear. She kissed me again. I reveled in the soft touch of her lips against mine. It was hard to believe I'd survived a month without her.

Her hand dragged through my hair as she deepened the kiss, pushing her body flush against mine. As much as I wanted her, as much as I was desperate to reconnect with her physically as we had emotionally, I didn't want it to be like this. Not when we both smelled of smoke and death, wearing the same clothes we'd been wearing during the lowest moments of my existence.

"Bella…"

She pulled away concerned, glancing down at my leg. "Am I hurting you? I thought you said everything was okay?"

I smiled, amused that she thought she had the strength to hurt me. "Not that. Could we take a shower?"

Perhaps it wasn't possible to wash away the memories but I could rid myself of all the physical reminders.

Bella's eyes lit in understanding. She took my hand and slid off my lap onto the bed next to me. She jumped back immediately, looking down at the spot she had nearly sat on. She lifted the not quite crushed the shoe box that we had abandoned on the bed.

She held it out to me. "I almost forgot about this. You said there was something in it that you wanted to show me?"

"Remember how I told you my mother had two pictures of me?" I gestured to the box. "Well, they're both in there. Along with a few other keepsakes."

Bella's eyes lit with excitement. The lid was off the box before I could even begin to explain.

"Photography wasn't particularly accessible when I was born, but my parents were well off enough to afford a few luxuries. The pictures in there among them. It was a little more commonplace by the time I was a teenager but I wasn't fond of cameras."

Bella lifted the aged photos from the box as though they were delicate treasures. They were yellowed and faded but she didn't seem to mind. She stared at the photo on top – one dated 1903 in my mother's elegant script – for several seconds, fascinated. It was nothing special – just a black and white print of me, aged two, sitting in a chair. I was so small my legs didn't extend past the seat of the chair.

Bella regarded me with watery eyes. "Thank you for sharing this with me. You were ridiculously beautiful, even as a baby. Look at that blond hair… and those huge eyes. How many times did you get hit with the pretty stick when you were born, exactly?"

She flipped to the second photo, which skipped forward more than a decade. In it, I was sixteen, attending prom with one of the girls that lived in my neighbourhood… I didn't remember much about it. It had to have been her prom because I knew I had never attended my own.

The two of us were standing stiffly side by side, forced smiles for the camera on our faces. My mother's caption of the photo simply read 'Edward and Joanna, prom.' If it hadn't been for that caption, I wouldn't have known the girl's name.

Bella stared at the photo for longer than the first one. "You haven't changed too much," she said quietly. "Your cheeks were a little rounder and your eyes were different, but you still look like my Edward."

She continued to gaze at the photo so I knew she had more to say. "Joanna is pretty," she commented eventually, her tone far too breezy to be taken at face value.

I kissed her forehead, understanding her silence now. I almost cracked a smile, enjoying that she was just as irrationally jealous and possessive of me as I was of her.

"Not as pretty as someone else I know."

Bella's cheeks darkened and she shrugged noncommittally. She was quick to change the subject. "Did you like her?"

"She was just a neighbourhood girl who asked me to accompany her to her school prom. I don't remember anything about the evening to be perfectly honest. It couldn't have been too memorable."

Bella leaned her head on my shoulder, reassured. I wrapped my arm around her as she continued to riffle through the contents of the box, unearthing various items from my past.

My parents' wedding photograph. She examined it closely, pointing out that I had my mother's colouring and my father's features.

Ticket stubs from White Sox games I had attended with my father. The last was dated only a few months before the influenza had blown through the city, taking his life with it.

A scrap of blue silk that had once been a part of my mother's favourite Sunday dress. Moths had gotten to the dress long ago but I couldn't bear to throw it out entirely.

A badge I'd earned in grade school for perfect attendance. At age eight, it had been my proudest accomplishment. My mother had been so pleased when I'd brought it home. The memory of her wide smile was cloudy but most certainly present.

A neatly folded handkerchief that my grandmother had embroidered with my name. I'd carried with me all through high school, proud to share my father's name.

An ancient well-worn teddy bear who starred in my oldest human memories. He was missing an eye and his fur was scuffed and matted in places but fondness he stirred in me was untarnished.

A recipe for sugar cookies my mother had made every Christmas when I was a child. I had wholeheartedly believed they were the best ever made until I couldn't eat them any longer.

Several sheets of music with notes scrawled and scratched out again in my messy teenaged handwriting. Relics of the few songs I'd composed on my parents' piano.

I explained the significance of every item in the keepsake box. Bella listened patiently, ever hungry for more knowledge. She absorbed information like a sponge, even if it was about something as dull as my life as a human.

Once the box was emptied, Bella held up the last item in it, examining it carefully.

"A necklace?" she observed, holding the glittering diamond up to the light. It sparkled proudly.

"It was my father's engagement gift to my mother," I explained, fingering the heart-shaped gem. "They got married in 1899, before it was common to for a man to give his betrothed a diamond ring. From the moment he placed it around her neck until she took her last breaths, she never took it off. I always thought that someday I'd give it to my mate as a symbol of my devotion to her."

Bella looked at me with wide eyes, understanding my intention. "Edward, it was your mother's," she protested, trying to hand it to me. "I couldn't take it."

I shushed her, refusing to accept the bauble. "Nothing is going to change how I feel about you. Someday it will be yours. You're my mate for now and the rest of eternity, whether you like it or not."

"I like it. A lot," she admitted. "But that doesn't mean you need to give me things. Knowing that you chose me… that you love me, that's all that I need."

I kissed her neck, trailing my fingers down her arms. She shivered.

"I want to give you more than simply what you need. I want to give you everything you've ever dreamed of and perhaps a few things you haven't. It's just a necklace. My mother would have wanted you to have it."

She shot me a dirty look. "That's low, playing the 'my dead mother would have wanted it' card."

I shrugged, not caring as long as she let me give her the necklace. I wanted her to have a symbol of my love to carry with her, always.

"It's the truth. My mother was a hopeless romantic. You already know what kind of books she read. She had the exact same taste in literature as you. She would have adored you almost as much as I do."

"You make it really hard for a girl to say no, you know," she told me, allowing me to clasp the charm around her neck. Her fingers felt at the base of her throat for the stone once it was settled. "How does it look?"

"Gorgeous," I said, tenderly pressing my lips first to her collarbone, then her lips.

She pulled away to meet my eyes after several long moments, her fingers curled in my hair. "Are you ready for that shower, now?" she asked breathlessly.

My stomach flipped at the unintentionally erotic whisper. "Yes."

"We don't have to worry about my cast this time," she told me with a secret smile, holding up her naked arm. "Dr. Cullen removed it a week ago."

We were in the bathroom in a flash, our clothing discarded just as quickly.

Bella turned the knobs on the shower. As steam began to fill the room she tugged my hand – I still refused to let go of her completely – pulling me into the wet heat.

We stood under the spray, holding one another's naked forms, letting the water wash away the stresses of the day. After a couple minutes Bella was nearly boneless against me. I was supporting most of her weight, not that I minded.

"Are you tired, love?"

Her head bobbed against my chest, her eyes closed restfully. "I haven't been sleeping well. I couldn't sleep, not knowing where you were."

I lathered her body leisurely, not wanting to jolt her from her relaxed state. As much as I wanted to make love to her, I would be content holding her tonight.

The shampoo the hotel supplied made her hair soft and shiny though it didn't smell right. Still, it was infinitely better than the horrid smoky smell that preceded it.

Despite my protests that I didn't want her to soap up her scraped hands, Bella insisted on washing me, too. She was extremely through. I squirmed under her soft touches, continually reminding myself that tonight was for chaste thoughts only.

Bella seemed not to notice my struggle to keep my amorous thoughts under control. Her fingers found my most sensitive spots with ease. When her fingers curled sensuously into the curve at the base of my neck, a spot she knew was one of my most erogenous areas, I realized she was doing it on purpose.

"I thought you were tired," I reminded her, willing her to stop torturing me if we couldn't follow through. If she wound me up any further, I wouldn't be able to help myself.

"I am," she agreed. "But I've missed you. It's been a month, Edward. I don't care how tired I am. I need you."

I groaned aloud. "Thank god," I muttered. "I need you so badly it hurts. I–" The end to that thought flew out the window as her soft, soapy hand gripped me tightly, stroking with practiced movements. "Bella…"

"Yeah?"

"Come here."

I gripped her hips, gently lifting her and encouraging her to wrap her legs around my waist. I leaned back against the wall, not trusting myself to press her against it. My desire for her was coiled so tightly, I could easily hurt her with an errant thrust.

Together we guided our bodies into position. We hummed in shared pleasure as she sunk on to me. I stilled, allowing my body the chance to acclimate. After more than a month away from her, I felt inexperienced all over again. I knew that would dissipate as soon as we began to move. We'd always joined together with ease, even from the very beginning.

"Oh," she moaned, when I felt composed enough to rock her body against mine.

I kept my movements gentle, hoping to stave off orgasm. We were so desperate, it didn't seem either of us would last long.

"I can't believe it's been more than a month," she hummed, meeting my rhythmic movements with her own. "Never again."

"Never," I agreed, holding her hips more tightly, increasing the friction between our bodies as we both drew closer to the edge of bliss.

We were strung so tightly it didn't take long for either of us to topple into climax. The simple stimulation of our bodies moving together was enough to push us over the edge within minutes.

Bella tucked her damp face into the crook of my neck, trailing kisses along my neck. "That was perfect," she purred, her satisfaction written all over her languid movements.

I stroked her wet hair. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

xx

Bella sighed, arching into me lethargically. I tucked my head against the top of hers, enjoying resting with her while she slept. Her soft sleeping breaths against my bare chest warmed me from the inside out.

The deep breaths that marked her restful state were fading, so I knew she was awakening. I stroked her soft, riotous hair.

"What time is it?" she asked, eventually, her eyes blinking into the morning sunlight streaming through the crack between the curtains.

"Eleven," I told her, kissing the top of her head. "You were out for twelve hours."

She shot up in bed, pulling the blankets with her. "Geez, you could have woken me up, you know," she grumbled.

"You needed your sleep. You told me yourself that you hadn't been sleeping very well," I reasoned. "Besides, it's not like our presence was missed. The others have all been enjoying their own alone time." I arched an eyebrow. "It's to be expected. Conflict has that effect on vampires. It tends to make us… amorous. Well, except Jacob. Though to be fair, he did chat up a pretty blonde waitress over his continental breakfast."

Bella's eyes widened with recognition. "Wait… Rosalie and Emmett, too?"

I cracked a huge grin. "It seems Rosalie couldn't resist him any longer. Yesterday she was really impressed with his devotion to her family. And his muscles," I snickered, recalling her lustful scrutiny of his biceps as they flexed with the force of tearing apart James. "They spent a couple hours last night talking and came to an understanding. Emmett apologized properly, finally. They're going to try to make it work."

"They're going to make it," Bella insisted. "He loves her in his crazy Emmett way. And I'm pretty sure she loves him, too. So does this mean they're bonded now?"

I shook my head. "Not yet, from what I can tell. They don't regard one another in quite the same way that Alice and Jasper or Esme and Carlisle do, yet. Alice sees it happening in the near future, though."

Bella hugged me, her massive grin warming my heart. "That's so awesome. I can't believe it took them this long."

"I know," I agreed. "It was long overdue."

I climbed out of bed, retrieving the neat stacks of clothing Alice had dropped off in the sitting room of the suite earlier in the morning while Bella was still asleep.

"The others are planning to head back to Washington this afternoon. They've booked their flights out already," I told her, sitting on the edge of the bed, offering her the trendy pair of jeans and cardigan that Alice had picked out for her. "Alice thought that you might want to visit your mother for Christmas, so we're on our own. She said it's going to be cloudy in Florida this week, so it would be a good opportunity if you wanted to go. If we leave soon, we can make it there before the end of the day."

Bella grinned, her smile growing to the point it seemed poised to split her head in two. "You want to meet my mother?" Her tone grew doubtful. "I mean, even after all the sex talk and stuff?"

I kissed the top of her head and shrugged. I still didn't understand why she was so bothered by her mother's concern for her; Renee merely wanted her to be happy. "I would be honoured to meet the woman who brought you into this world."

"Okay," she agreed, hugging me, her beaming smile turning grateful. "Let's go spend Christmas with my mom."

xx

The next chapter shouldn't be too far off. This chapter was originally supposed to cover their trip to visit Renee but for some inexplicable reason I started writing it in BPOV, even though the rest of the chapter is EPOV. That's what happens when you take an unexpected hiatus in the middle of a chapter. The good news is it means the next chapter is half done.