Sleep came easy for Bella these days. Most of her troubles were canceled of by the knowledge of Edward's love for her. Besides that, the presence of him in her bedroom made sleeping easier too. His arms around her head was the softest pillow and his voice was the sweetest bird singing.

She looked up to him.

"You're not sleeping yet?" he noticed her stare.

"I'm not really that sleepy." She smile wantonly.

"Am I disturbing you? Should I go?" he frowned.

"Of course not! I want you to stay."

"So…Charlie approved of me dating you but definitely not lying on the bed with you."

She giggled. "If we speak really softly, he might not hear us."

He grinned. "Maybe we should let him know about this."

"Don't you dare, Edward!" she chuckled.

There was a moment of silence as both of them absorbed the feeling of being in each other's arm. Even though his skin was naturally cold, Bella felt unusually warm in them.

"It's Saturday." He broke the silence.

Bella glanced at the alarm clock: 12:00.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" he ask.

As dark as it was, Bella could feel his eyes on her lips. She reached to him and press her lips on his. "Anything with you."

"Except watching me feed of course."

"I'm sure you could control yourself." She plead.

"I don't want to take any risk with you. It's too dangerous." He was serious again. "What about seeing my parents?"

"Oh. They're alright with me?" she asked nervously.

"I'm sure they'll love you."

"What if they don't?"

"You know, you're the only girl I've ever known that is afraid of meeting her boyfriend's parents not because they're vampires but because they might not like her. God, I love you." And he bent down to nuzzle her neck.

"Edward, you haven't answered me yet."

"What?" he whispered, still nuzzling her.

"What if they don't like me?"

He stopped and looked at her. "Bella, have I ever lied to you?"

"No."

"So if I say that my parents will love you, am I lying?"

"No."

"Then just trust me." He gave a low laughter.

"Wait, what about your brothers and sisters?"

"Well…"

"Well what?"

"I'm quite sure the rest will but I'm not sure of Rosalie."

"The blonde one?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Rosalie is…well, she's complicated. She's jealous of you."

"What?! She's jealous of me? She much prettier than me and slimmer too. Why should she envy me?"

"You have something she always wanted."

Bella looked at him and asked softly. "She loves you too?"

Edward laughed now. "Silly you! I told you before she loves Emmett. What I meant was you're a human."

"And…she wants to be a human?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

There was another moment of silence between them.

"Tell me what are you thinking of."

But Bella just kept quiet.

"Bella? Did I frighten you with Rosalie?"

She didn't respond. Edward turned a bit to see her face. She was already asleep. Edward glanced at the clock. 1:36. Good, he thought, she should be sleeping a long time ago anyway. He made himself comfy and waited for her to wake up.

Bella was awoke not by the kisses of Edward but of the calling of her name by her father.

"Bella! Wake up!"

Bella opened her eyes in a flash, still thinking that Edward was by her side and hoping Charlie wasn't going to come up. Realizing that he was gone, she felt disappointment instead of relief.

"Yeah, I'm awake!" she shouted back.

"Then come down when you're ready!"

She wondered what was so urgent. And what about her visit to the Cullens as Edward suggested. And where was he anyway? She got out of bed and head towards the bathroom when Charlie called her.

"What is it?"

"Come down now!"

Bella felt nervous now. Charlie never shouted at her since she moved in. Did he found out about Edward being in her room and that's why he wasn't there when she awoke, she thought while trying to keep calm. She reached downstairs to find her him all dressed up in his uniform and having a quick bite at his toast as he reached for his keys.

"What's up?"

"The animal strikes again." He said as he finished his coffee in one gulp.

"Uh?" clearly she wasn't in trouble.

"A beggar was found all torn up behind the hypermarket assumedly by the same animal that killed Old Bill."

"God…" she gasped.

"I need to be there as usual. Don't expect to come back early." He went to her and kissed her forehead.

"Right, dad. Err…Edward wants me to meet his parents today."

"Fine. But be careful, 'kay."

"Yeah, sure."

Charlie walked out the door, started the cruiser and disappeared around the corner. Bella ran back into her room and found Edward sitting on her bed while the radio was playing something classical.

"I thought you were gone."

"I'm always here." He wasn't smiling.

"What's wrong?"

"The vampires."

"You heard."

He got up and walked towards the window as peered around the neighborhood. "I'm scared for you, Bella."

"I know I'm safe with you."

"But what if somehow I can't be there for you? What if I can't reached you in time when you're in trouble? What if –

"Calm down!" she was slowly stroking his back. "You think too much. Tell me how much you love me."

He turned to her and brought her into his embrace and held her tightly. "I love you so much, Bella. I can't lose you now that I found you. I just can't."

Bella wasn't sure if he was crying or not. His voice was so raw and full with emotion that she thought he must have been. But when he let go of her, his eyes were dry like the desert.

"Am I still meeting your family?"

"I hope so." He smiled. "But first, breakfast."

She grinned, went down to the kitchen and toast some bread. Edward sat on a chair at the table and was very quiet. Bella stole a glanced at him and noticed he was just staring at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just like to see you move."

She suddenly felt very conscious about her body and movement. She tried to walk more gracefully, more ladylike. She spread the butter on her toast more gentle instead of her usual style which was just dapping the butter around the bread with a certain roughness.

Edward chuckled. "I love a girl name Bella for your information and not a geisha name Sayuri."

She felt a bit embarrass. "Well…I can't help being that way if I knew you were staring at me."

He got up, put his arms around her waist and kiss her hair. "Just be yourself. Just be Bella. That's who I love."

Bella felt secured and spread the butter her usual way and heard Edward laughed.

"That's much better."

She finished her breakfast in a jiffy and changed into a green turtleneck and jeans. She wanted to put on a red one but she didn't wanted the family to take one look at her and think of blood.

Edward was in the car already when she locked up the house. She hopped inside and they head to Edward's house.

Leah woke up to a greet a Saturday morning. Her stomach churned the minute she thought of breakfast. She hurriedly washed up and ran to the kitchen with excitement. She always run to the kitchen with excitement. She turned on the radio that was sitting on the microwave. The little room was filled with music from the likes of Johnny Cash, Betty Davis, Frank Sinatra and The Papas and Mamas. Even though at heart she was an oldie, Leah was always opened to new stuff. The new generation also made good music. She loved deep songs like Desecration Smile, Slow Cheetah and She Looks to Me by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, White House by Vanessa Carlton, Fallen by Sarah McLachlan and a bit of Nelly Furtado. However, she absolutely abhor Britney Spears even though she was very proud that she was healthy again. And who said Paris Hilton can sing? And Madonna should really retired or at least try to cover up more on stage.

By the time the kitchen sizzling with bacon and eggs, she was singing along with Johnny Cash's Walk the Line. In her mind, she was playing with the keys to the song. While waiting for the bacon to be cooked, she went to the refrigerator and took out a glass of raspberry smoothie she made herself and sipped it. Then she noticed she ran out of honey. Drats! Honey goes well with the banana pancakes she planned to make for tomorrow's breakfast. She shifted her attention back to the frying pan. The bacon and eggs looked and smelled heavenly. She served it in a china and chewed the bacon with passion. Food should be enjoyed slowly and without haste. One should feel the texture and everything that the food could offer. That's the only way to feel fully satisfied with food. After 15 minutes, she finished her breakfast and smoothie. She checked again her refrigerator to check what she needed and made a list before she goes to the hypermarket. She washed the dishes, turned off the radio and put on her coat she loved very much. It was lemon color and kept her very warm when the weather was intolerable. It was early in the morning and the sun was not risen completely but hanging lazily at the horizon. The fog wasn't gone yet.

When she reached the hypermarket, Leah realized it was closed and the place was teeming with police and an ambulance. There was the infamous red tape surrounding the alley behind the hypermarket. As she walked neared to the red tape, a policeman stopped her.

"You can't come inside here, honey."

"What happen?"

"Some poor woman was attacked by an animal." He said with a hint of annoyance.

"Oh, dear…"

The policeman walked away when someone called her name. Leah turned.

"Oh, hello, Doctor!"

"Hi! What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to get some groceries but well…as you can see." She said, pointing at the alley filled with policemen walking around like they own the place.

"Ah…sad bussiness." Dr. Cullen replied.

"Indeed. Poor woman." She sighed. "I guess I just better head home then."

"You walked here? I could give you a ride home when I finish my job here. It won't take very long. 5 minutes max."

Leah considered. She could make home at 10 minutes but Dr. Cullen looked so friendly and she missed having someone to talk to ever since she promised not to get too close with the people. She fought a battle inside for a while when she finally made her decision.

"Yes, then. That will be very kind of you." She smiled politely back at him.

"Alright. I'll finish this up as soon as I can." And he head towards the alley.

It took Leah 5 seconds to start scolding herself. Why can't she just hold temptation back like she normally would. She was always good at this kind of things. Now it's too late to refused Dr. Cullen's ride. She breath in and out for a few seconds to calm herself. She decided to enter the car and don't say a word. If he start the conversation first then she could comfort herself by saying 'at least I tried.' She was about to slap herself when Dr. Cullen called out to her.

"Leah! I'm done here."

"Oh! I'm coming." And she hurried towards the car she saw him striding for. It was a nice car. A really nice car. Sleek and black. She approached the car with sudden fear. Which seat should she go for? The front passenger seat or the back passenger seat? The only reason she sat beside Edward that day was because she just want to see his reaction when he noticed he could smell her. But now she just want to get home quickly and try to avoid a conversation with Dr. Cullen.

"Leah? Is anything wrong?" he asked, noticing she was a foot away from the car, with the look of frustration of her face.

"Nothing, Dr." and she immediately enter the back passenger seat.

Dr. Cullen entered the car and strap on his seat belts.

"You do your groceries earlier than any housewives I've known." He said friendly.

Leah fought to shut her mouth up. "Well, I like to get things going as fast as I can. Then, I'll be able to do other tasks for the rest of the day."

"That's wise. As for me, I couldn't help myself getting up this early. As long as Chief Swan calls, then I'm responsible to get up." He chuckled to himself and Leah smiled.

"Ghastly bussiness, isn't it? I didn't know that the beast could attack in the middle on the town."

"Yes, and it attacked around 7 pm last night. Quite early too."

Leah watched his body language carefully, his eyes were twitching furiously every time he mention about the animal. She fully agreed the animal would be too cautious to attack its victim so early in the evening. And something tells Leah that the doctor knew that it wasn't an animal. That was where she pounced on him.

"I don't think it was an animal." She said almost too casually.

Carlisle glanced at her through the rear mirror. She was looking out at the window. "Really? Why do you say that?"

"Well…an animal wouldn't come out too early. And from your tone, I think you agree with me doctor."

"What makes you think that I agree with you?"

"Because somehow, you look suddenly tensed when I said that I don't think it was a beast. And your eyes just kept twitching the moment we brought up this topic. I don't remember your eyes twitch when I was at your house the other time."

"You're…you're very observant." And that was all he could managed to say.

"You're much too flattering, Dr. Cullen." Leah smiled. It wasn't an animal. "So what do you think that killed Old Bill and the old lady?"

"Did I say that I think it wasn't an animal?"

"But you didn't deny what I said, did you?"

Carlisle regretted letting her have a ride. This girl is more than she appears to be. Carlisle glanced at the mirror again. She was looking down at her hands. He didn't know how to reply her. But he didn't have to.

"I think I should show you the direction to my house."

Carlisle looked around and realize he was heading towards the route to his home. "Sorry." He curtly replied.

Leah said the direction and the rest of the journey was all about the weather and the backgrounds of Carlisle's family. Finally they reached her house. Carlisle was surprised. It looked very cozy and warm, like the cottages you'd find in the country side of Scotland, where people made bread themselves and were farmers. The wall was white and with black ledges. The front lawn was very well kept with red rose bushes underneath each windows. There was also a chimney with smoke puffing out.

"You have a chimney. Very traditional." Carlisle commented, clearly in awed with the small house.

"Yes. I like to make my own bread the old-fashion way." Leah said as she got out of the Mercedes. "Would you like to come in?" she could tell that he'd love to.

"I dunno…" he said, peering at the windows.

"Doctor, I'm sure we all agree that you'd like to have a look inside." She smiled.

Carlisle grinned in embarassment. This girl knows a lot by reading people's body language.

"Alright then. You were right." He died down the engine and got out of the car. The porch was neat and swept. There was a bicycle leaning against the side wall. Leah unlocked the door and ushered Carlisle in.

"Here, let me have your coat."

He took it off and hand it to her while his eyes were darting around. The walls were cream brown and there were many pictures of birds and flowers and also portraits of landscapes hanging on them. The drapes were red color. Blood red. Carlisle gulped. However, the knots on the drapes were yellow. The sofas were brown and Carlisle noticed that there wasn't a TV set but a lot of book shelves. Even though he's a vampire, the house smelled of freshly bake bread. It was thoroughly a very pleasant living room.

"I see that you don't have a TV set." He said.

"I don't plan on watching TV during my stay in Forks. Just make yourself comfortable, I'm going to get some refreshment." And she walked away before Carlisle could stop her.

He looked at the range of books she had. There were a lot of poems and literatures, biography of famous leaders like Gandhi, Winston Churchill and Julius Caesar. There were also books about the works of painters he heard of like Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Vincent Van Gogh and painters he haven't heard of like Paul Cezanne, Eugene Delacroix and John Constable. There wasn't anything about Rembrandt.

"You like my collection of books, doctor?"

Her voice startled him and he dropped 'John Constable: A Kingdom of His Own'.

"Sorry. I'm really clumsy."

She rushed forward to pick up the book before he could. "Oh, you can't possibly be, doctor. Accidents happen. After all, we are creatures who breath on earth, are we not?" she smiled and looked at the book. "Ah, John Constable, one of the greatest British landscape artist. See that picture there," she pointed at one of them, hanging above the fireplace. "It's a replica of one of his pictures, 'The Hay Wain'. I love his works." She continued dreamily.

"Well, I must admit, I've never seen a teenager who is also an art enthusiast." He glanced at a tray of tea and muffins. "I was about to tell you that refreshments were not required."

"Oh. Actually, it's for me." And they both laughed and then there was a moment of awkward.

"Hey…when you meant 'we are creatures who breath on earth', you actually mean 'humans who breath on earth, right?" he asked curiously.

She looked at him with a mysterious smile. "Of course I meant what I said. I'm not the type of person who simply chooses words. I think before I choose my words."

Carlisle was extremely uncomfortable by now. "I…I think I should take my leave. I promised my wife to be back soon."

"Of course." And she led him to the door. She gave back his coat from the closet and opened the door for him. "It's nice meeting you again, doctor."

"The same here, Leah."

They waved and he hurriedly enter his car and sped away with a strange relief.