So sorry for the delay. My household has been in the grips of a strange stomach aliment, and then my daughters and I attended a two night camp with the Girl Guides. I still haven't caught up on my sleep.

As I was writing this chapter, I realized that there are only one or two chapters left. Please let me know what you think of the story and my writing. I have other ideas floating around but I'm unsure if I should start on them or not.

SM owns it all, I just play with it.

Out of the Shadows

Chapter 17: Soul Meets Body

BPOV

The only light I could see, when I opened my eyes, was what peeked out from under the door. I stretched, rolled over and tried to find my clock to check the time. The only thing that I found was Edward. I gave a little squeal when I realized where I was, but quickly put my hand over my mouth. I didn't want to wake him up. I lied there staring at the ceiling remembering.

My heart was so much lighter now that my dad was out of his coma. When we left the hospital earlier, he was starting to get the color back in his cheeks, and if I'm not mistaken he was trying to flirt with the nurse. It gave me hope that he would fully recover from this accident. I wasn't sure I wanted him to because that would mean that he would go back to work. I came too close to losing him this time to want a repeat performance, but right now I wasn't going to dwell on my dad when Edward was lying next to me.

I turned my head to look at him, on his back with his one arm draped above his head. His hair was even more chaotic than normal but he was still beautiful. I know that beautiful isn't a word used to generally describe guys but Edward was, in a Greek God kind of way.

I was grinning like a fool as I stared at him. Never in my imagination did I ever picture this, Edward Cullen in the same bed as me. Mind you, nothing happened, and we were fully clothed, except for the best sleep that I'd ever had. Whether it was the worry over my dad fading or the incredible man next to me, I didn't care where I was. The memory of his strong arms around me as I fell asleep was one that I would keep with me for a long time. I had no idea where all of this was going but I intended to enjoy every minute of it.

I decided to get out of bed and see what was going on in the house. I didn't know what time it was but I could smell something wonderful. I quietly slipped out of the bed, took one last look at my sleeping Adonis, and made my way out of the room. When I stepped onto the landing, I got the full on smell of lasagna, and my stomach gave a very audible growl.

As a descended the stairs, I could hear Alice, Jasper and Esme in conversation. "I sure hope that this is the start of something. They both deserve to be happy." I heard Esme say, I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and gave a little cough so they would know that I was there.

"Bella, how was your nap?" Esme rose from the couch and came towards me. "I saved some lasagna for you. I'm sure that you haven't had a home cooked meal in awhile." She put her arm around my waist and led me towards the kitchen. Alice was already there, dishing out the meal. We talked for a while about my dad as I ate. Esme let me know that my dad was doing good, had even had some dinner and that's when I noticed the time. It was past 9:30, and I had no way of getting to the hospital or home.

Just as I was finishing up, I heard his velvet voice from behind me, "I hope you saved some of that for me." He gave my shoulder a quick squeeze as he walked past me to give his mom a big hug.

"Don't worry, Edward. I've got almost a whole lasagna waiting for you," Esme said as she reached into the oven. After a hug and small talk with Alice, he sat down across from me.

"How did you sleep?" A smile was playing on his lips.

"Great. Now that dad's going to be okay, I think I'm a little less stressed. Thanks for letting me crash for a bit." I realized then that his family didn't know that we shared his bed for our naps. I looked down as I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks.

"I know it's late, and I really should get going. I would like to see my dad again today. Could I get a ride back to the hospital?" I put the question out into the room for anyone to answer, but Esme and Alice just looked at Edward.

"Of course, I'll give you a ride back. Just let me finish this great lasagna," he gave a big smile to his mom, "and then I'll take you over. Okay?"

"That would be great." I stayed at the table as Edward ate. Esme, Alice and Jasper joined us, and we talked about the filming that just finished. It was great to hear some of the stories, knowing the crew and cast, and it also made me feel sad for having missed out on the experiences.

Edward helped me on with my coat, as we got ready to leave. I was nervous about being with him again. I knew that we had so much to talk about but I just didn't know where to start. I was so nervous to bring anything up so I let the silence settle between us. I stood there waiting, staring out the window when I left a gently tug at my right hand. I looked down to see Edward's hand slip into mine.

"Ready to go?" I looked up at his incredible smile, and could see that there was more to this simple question. He was waiting for an answer to all of his letters and drawings. He was waiting for an answer to a question that neither one of us were brave enough to ask in high school.

My heart rate increased so much that I'm sure he could hear every beat. He held my eyes within the depths of his. A smile slowly came to my mouth. "I've been ready for awhile."

The drive to the hospital was quiet. Edward held my hand the entire time, as I stared at him in awe. I tried my best to hide my looks but I knew that he saw me by the smile that played on his perfect lips. By the time we arrived at the hospital, I had memorized every aspect of his lips, which were all I could like about right now. He let go of my hand to park the car, and I took the opportunity to remind myself of where we were. I took a deep breath as he opened the car for me.

I took hold of his outstretched hand, and we walked into the hospital. We stopped just outside of my dad's room. Katherine, the night nurse, was at her station and gave me quite the raised eyebrow when she saw Edward with me.

"Is it okay to check on him? I would have been here earlier but I took a nap and lost track of time." My eyes were pleading with her to say yes.

"It should be okay but only for a short time. He's had a full day so please don't stay long." She gave me a quick smile as she returned to her charts.

"Bella, I'll stay out here. Do you want me to wait for you?"

"Please, Edward. I won't be long." I gave his hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. My dad was asleep when I walked into his room. He was looking much better, especially now that most of the machines had been removed from him. I sat in the chair next to him and took hold of his hand.

"Hey, Dad. Sorry to wake you up but I wanted to stop by to say good night. I would have been by earlier except I fell asleep. How you feeling?"

"Not bad. Pretty tired but much better. So you and Edward, eh?"

"Dad, I don't know what you're talking about. He's just a friend now." I knew that shocking amount of red on my cheeks was giving me away but I still tried to fain innocence.

"Bella, you can't lie to me. You never could. Sometimes you forget that I was young and in love once. I just hope that he is what you want and treats you with all the respect and love you deserve."

"Thanks, Dad. I'm not sure what's going on myself. It's still too early." We talked about what the doctors had said, how long he was going to be there and who visited during the day. It was obvious that he was exhausted so I kissed him good night with promises to visit the next day.

Edward was leaning on the nurses' station talking with Katherine when I came out of the room. "I'll drop one off tomorrow, I promise", he said as he walked away from her.

"Drop what off?" I asked him, as I put my coat back on.

"Oh, her niece is a big fan so I promised to drop off a signed photo tomorrow." He casually took hold of my hand again. "How's your dad doing?"

"He looks much better. Thanks again for bringing me back here tonight." We walked in silence for a bit. "Would you like to go get some coffee? I know that I'm not ready for sleep yet, after that great nap this afternoon."

"It was a pretty good nap, wasn't it?" Edward looked down at me with a devilish smile on his gorgeous lips. "Why don't we go and grab something at the diner?"

The bell above the door rang gently as we entered. It was past 10:30 so there were many people there. We found a booth near the back, away from the windows, and Edward kept his back to the door. It was funny how he automatically adjusted himself to not be noticed, even in our small town. We ordered coffee, and Edward wanted a slice of pie as well. The waitress recognized him immediately, but after a short conversation about his work she left us alone.

After our coffees arrived, we sat in silence once again, neither one of us wanting to talk about the pink elephant in the room. "So when do you have to get back to L.A.?" I decided to start the conversation in neutral territory.

"I have to be back by this Thursday. I have some commitments on Friday and through the weekend. I'm sure my publicity is ready to pull her hair out. Alice is smoothing everything out for me. I had this amazing assistant but I was an ass and screwed it up." His eyes were sparkling with amusement as he waited for me to take the bait, which I did.

"Amazing assistant, eh? Have you figured out how to get her back?" Looking down quickly, I stirred my coffee again.

"Well, I'm not sure I want her back as my assistant anymore. I was hoping to try and get her back in a more personal capacity." His arm was stretched across the back of the booth, and his eyes never left mine as I raised them.

"Personal capacity. Hmm, that could mean a lot of things. Have you told her what position you are looking to fill." My mouth hung open as I realized what I just said. Edward let out an enormous laugh and didn't stop. "Oh my god, I can't believe I just said that!"

"Bella, I didn't know you had it in you to talk like that. But now that you've mentioned it, there's lots of position that I would like her to fill." He leaned over and took hold of my hands. "The primary role would be the love of my life."

I was at a loss for words. Did he just call me the love of his life? He stood up and came over to my side of the table. My heart was racing. My mind was a whirl with thoughts, but my eyes would not leave Edward's. The warmth in my heart was incredible. I was envisioning the corny scene from the Grinch, where his heart grew three times, and that was exactly how I felt. It was like I was waiting for permission to truly feel the love I have for Edward.

I knew that high school was a horrible time for me, and much of it I blamed on Edward, but I couldn't hold that against him anymore. Yeah, he had said some horrible things in the past but so did I. I held him responsible for my happiness in high school when in fact it was my own fault that I didn't fit in. It's easier to place the guilt on others than to take control of your life, good or bad.

We sat there staring at each other. He was waiting for an answer while I examined my life for the past 8 years. "Bella," was all he said as the worry started to etch itself across his face.

"Edward, I don't know what to say except that I will do my best to be whatever you need from me."

He moved his hand to cup my face, smiling tenderly at me. We leaned towards each other. I closed my eyes and waited for the moment that his perfect lips were touching mine. As our lips met, the spark that flowed between us took my breath away. The feel of him against me was incredible. Our lips moved together slow and tender at first. My hand moved its way through his hair. The moan that escaped his mouth was impossible not to respond to so I tugged on his hair as my teeth caught his lip. Edward pulled away slightly, rested his forehead on mine, as we caught our breath.

"Uh, Bella, I think we should get out of here."

"Sounds good to me."

I'm going to try my first attempt at lemons next chapter.