My welcome home was…surprising to say the least. When I walked into the house, everyone shouted 'happy birthday!'. All of the guys were dressed in party hats and had blowers in their mouth. A banner that read 'Happy Birthday Bella!' was behind them decorated with numerous colors.

"Wow guys," I said breathless. They really did shock me.

"And that tops the year I surprised you in school with a tub of cupcakes," Jake boasted.

I laughed, that was a good memory. I remember sitting in school listening as the teacher announced my birthday. Getting up to pass out my treats, Jake came strutting in with a whole package more. It was one of the best surprises.

"It definitely does," I smiled, hugging him as he came walking over to me.

"Good to have you home Bells," he breathed hugging me close. "Good to be home," I said.

"And thank you for doing this," I told him, referring to the party. "Of course, I just don't know how I am going to out do myself next year."

I rolled my eyes. What a cocky man.

Everyone came over with a round of hugs for me. Charlie was one of the last ones, after Sam, giving me a big hug and kiss.

"So kiddo, how do you like it?" he questioned looking at our mini party.

"Awesome," I smiled in confirmation. It really was great. Out back, they had some steaks grilling on the grill, along with corn on the cob.

"Hey…where are everyone's imprints?" I questioned. Looking at Quil, he shrugged. "We didn't know if you would want them here."

"Of course I would!" I said. Quil smiled.

"Plus, if we are having a party, we might as well go big or go home, right Jakey?" I questioned. He hooted in confirmation. That was something I learned from him.

Making the guys go get their girls, I looked over to Paul.

"Go get your mom," I commanded.

He gave me a look of pain. "Bella, I don't want any-"

"Paul, it's the right thing to do. She needs to get out of the house. And its not like I have anything to hide anymore; nothing bad will happen. Just give her a chance."

He nodded, slowly getting up and thanking me. After he left, I cuddled with Sam. My dad and the rest of the boys went to check on the steaks with him.

"I missed you," he sighed kissing my forehead.

"I missed you too," I breathed.

"Am I allowed to call you mine yet?" he wondered. I laughed. He would feel possessive at a party.

"Will it make you feel better?" I questioned. He gave me a look like 'duh!'

Chuckling again. I nodded. "I guess I am yours."

He let out a hum of contentment hearing those words. Leaning down, he gave me a very possessive kiss.

"Let just…take it slow okay? I don't want any mistakes," I hesitantly said as we pulled away.

"Nothing we do will ever be a mistake. But okay," he said softly. Rubbing the side of my face against his, I felt my body melt. He seemed to be able to do that without even saying anything. I felt more relaxed than I ever have, and choosing to be his, couldn't have been the more right thing to do.

We went out back hand in hand. I laughed at Sam when told me some lame joke Brady told him when he was on patrol.

As we passed my dad, I gave him a quick kiss and looked over at the steaks. They weren't looking too burnt…yet. The laughter was cut short though when Paul came walking in with his mother. I could see the anxiety plastered on his face as he brought her in. Tugging Sam, we walked up to the two of them.

"Letty, would you like to get something to drink with me?" Sam questioned holding his arm out like a gentleman.

"Sure," she smiled. Taking his arm, she let go of Paul and gave us a smile. Sam squeezed my hand one last time before letting go.

'Want anything?' he mouthed as he walked away. I shook my head, giving him a loving smile, and then turned to Paul.

"Please stop worrying," I begged in the slightest. "I wanted you to bring her here so you didn't have to worry about her at home, not so you would have a freak attack here."

"I just don't want her to cause trouble," he said watching her.

"Paul," I said gently as he went stiff watching his mother pick her drink.

"Have a little faith. Sam would never let her take alcohol here. And hell, there isn't even alcohol being served. Please, relax a bit."

He let out a breath, letting his shoulders slump and his body to mellow out a bit.

"Your mom-…you have nothing to worry about." I corrected. "Everyone knows, there's nothing to hide, and I want you to have fun. You deserve it."

He nodded still watching the two.

"Paul," I said commanding his attention. He looked at me.

"She is a great woman-she just has a problem. Today, I promise you, we can handle it. She wont take a sip of alcohol and she will be in the best hands possible-all of ours."

He looked at me, dying to let in the hope.

"I promised I would help you through this, and that's what I am going to. But please, in order to do that, you need to trust me-and her," I said. "She wants to get better. I see it, and I know you do too. Let tonight just be tonight. Take the babysitting free card tonight okay? Your pack mates can handle it."

He suddenly pulled me into a hug, which I was a bit shocked about.

"Bella, what did I do to deserve your kindness? I just…I don't get it." He said pulling back.

"What do you mean?" I asked as we started walking into the party. "I have been a jackass all of my life. I use girls, I am pretty much mean all the time, I have a huge temper issue and I really don't care about anyone but myself. So why be nice to me? Its not like I have been overly nice to you," he said confused.

I laughed a bit. "Paul, just because you haven't shown me your Mr. Brightside doesn't mean you deserve to be treated like crap. I look at you like I look at anyone. You're no different from Jake, Seth, Sam, or anyone else in the pack. Yes you are a total jerk in the guy sense," I stumbled out, "but I don't know, I see a lot of me in you. Having an alcoholic as a mother isn't something you should think of as a punishment. Sometimes life just screws you over."

He looked at me surprised. "Why do you think I would think that my mom is a punishment towards me?"

"Oh please," I scoffed. "I used to be right in your shoes. The way you watch her like a hawk and make sure she isn't rude to others. You care; you just don't want to show it. And it makes you mad because people give you pity. You think that because you are such a screw up of a child that you deserve this. Am I wrong?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

He slowly and hesitantly shook his head 'no'.

"Exactly. I used to be in your shoes. Believe it or not, I used to be kind of a jerk at one point too. Whenever people would try to sympathize with me, I would brush them off or tell them they had no idea what they were talking about. And as people kept pushing, I pushed back harder. Sometimes I would yell at them saying it was none of their business or I would call them out on something else. Either way, I had a temper too."

"Please don't tell me you were a womanizer too…but in a guys sense of course," he groaned. I laughed, like loudly laughed.

"No, I didn't, thank God" I chuckled as I calmed down. "I actually mostly kept to myself. There were those one or two people that actually knew what was going on, but stayed out of my life for the most part-just how I liked it."

"So what happened?" he questioned as we got our own drinks. He offered to pour mine, which I accepted.

"I got my mom help and learned over time, she wasn't like this because of me. I wasn't the horrible daughter I thought I was. It was just her. She chose to get herself lost in the unraveling problems of her life. She wanted to feel numb and drink her everything away. And until she would have that life altering moment-the one where you see how everything has played out right in front of your face- I couldn't really do anything. All I could do was be there every step of the way to make sure she didn't hurt herself too much, and give her all the opportunities I could to make her see what she was doing to herself was hurting everyone."

"But then why did she end up killing herself? I mean, if she was a recovered alcoholic, then why take her own life?"

I thought about it for a few moments as we grabbed a seat across from each other. "I don't know. I'm not sure why she killed herself." I looked down in my drink. "All I know is that whether she was recovering or recovered, she still was battling the issue. It was an every day thing."

"So…one day she just lost the battle?" he asked a bit confused.

I shrugged. "Maybe. But I don't think so. I think she killed herself because she saw what life was really like."

I looked up at him. "See, something you have to know about my mom was that she was always a child. Everything we did together and every talk we had…was always childish. We never had those grown up talks or sat down and discussed our feelings. It was always the fun stuff. When she wanted to paint the house green with finger paint, that's what we would do. If she wanted to bake cookies and then eat them all before dinner, we did. And as I grew up, I saw that parents had rules. They may have fun with their children, but they kept it within reason- and Renee wasn't the type of person for reason. She was impulse-all the time."

I let out a dry laugh and stared back at my drink. "I remember when we were living out in Florida. We would go down to the beach almost every day. It didn't matter how much homework I had or how busy I was, she would always brush it off saying 'come on Bella, just for a few hours. You can get it done later,' and so I would follow her lead. We would put on our bathing suits and lay out in the sun staring at the everyone. Sometimes, she would even pick up a guy or two."

"Wow," Paul breathed leaning back.

"Yea," I breathed following his actions. "She was always the kid at heart kind of girl. And then one day I think she realized just how hard life could really get. Phil broke up with her, who was only older than me by maybe 8 or 9 years, her job got more stressful, and I was off at college. There was no more fun time or flirting with other guys; instead there were just bills and an empty house. An adult needed to be in the house and she just couldn't be one."

He gave me a sympathetic look as he took in my whole story.

"Renee had her own story- her own life, and so does your mom. Your mom was not like mine. She cared for you at one point. She was probably one of those moms who would read you bed time stories at night and tucked you in to bed. She would pack your lunch and drive you to school. My mom wouldn't do any of that. It required something she didn't have- motherly instincts and patients. I think that, if you give your mom a chance, you can help her. It will be worth it."

I stared at him for a while as he became fixated on his drink. I knew he was taking it all in.

"So where do we go from here?"

I smiled at him. "We enjoy the party. Clear the worries from your head for a bit."

"Is that even possible?" he asked. I glanced over at Sam, laughing as I saw him wrestling with the rest of the guys.

"Sometimes if you let go, it is."

Charlie called us for dinner, serving the (surprisingly) nice looking steaks. We all sat around a big round table, laughing in each other's company.

All in all, it was the start of a great night.

"So, I think its presents time," Jake said wrapping his arms around me from behind. I let out a laugh seeing how excited he was. "Sure."

Retracting his arms, he went to call everyone over. Kim and I laughed at his silly ways. He was a handful at times.

I found it nice to hang around Kim. She was pretty shy, but if you were to strike up a conversation with her, she could definitely hold one. I admired her openness and kind tone. She had nothing but nice things to say, especially when it came to Sam and me. The few times when I would strike up Jared, she would blush like a tomato and give him those dreamy eyes. It made me giggle.

"Alright, lets start out with…Brady and Collin," Jake said reading the tag to my gift.

Opening it, I found a bunch of DVDs and a gift certificate to the movies.

'This is awesome guys, thank you," I smiled. They both nodded proud of themselves. Next I opened Kim and Jared's and I found blank music sheets and a personalized binder to hold it all in.

"Guys, this is so sweet," I said. Running my hands over the cover, I smiled at my engraved name.

"My turn," Jake smiled coyly. I gave him a strange look. What was he giving me?

"Close your eyes," he said. I sat there hesitant. "Come on Bells, it will be worth it, I promise," he whined.

Nodding, I let out a sigh and hoped he wasn't lying. He held out my hands and put something light in my hands. It almost felt as if it was…a guitar?

Opening my eyes I found it was a guitar. Jake's guitar to be exact.

"Jake," I breathed as I ran my hands over it. I saw J&B carved out on the top in cursive.

"I know it was mine even though we called ours, but since I don't really know how to play anymore and you do, I thought it should be rightfully yours."

"But Jake I mean…you've hand this for a long time. It used to be your moms," I breathed.

"I know, but I want you to have it. I think she would too. It belongs to someone with talent; someone who can actually take the time and play it."

"Thank you," I said completely touched. I stood up, hugging him tight. He was the sweetest guy I would ever know.

"Way to show us up for the people who still have their gift unopened Jake," Seth grumbled. I let out a laugh and wiped away the emotional stray tear.

"I love anything you guys get me. It's the thought that counts, especially because you didn't have to get me anything. I haven't really been the most present thing in your lives."

"Just because you had your lover's spat with Sam doesn't mean we didn't like having you in and around the pack," Brady shrugged. I smiled at him. Maybe Jake was rubbing off on him.

"Thank you," I said softly.

Next was Charlie. He stepped forward giving me a nicely wrapped box. Taking off the top, I found a photo album.

"Your mom was going to start it when you were little. When she had the idea she immediately had to go out on the hunt and look for the perfect book. But…you know your mother," he said with a certain tone. "She never got around to it, so I thought I would give it a shot."

"Dad," I breathed as I picked up the book. I felt like it was so fragile. Renee was once touching this. She actually put some motherly thought into something for me.

"This is amazing Dad, thank you," I said tearing up again. "Gosh, what is with you people? I am practically bawling."

"Nah, you'll survive," Embry said hugging me.

"Alright big guy, where is your present?" I asked as he was smirking.

Walking over to the table, which held only a few small boxes left, he picked one up and threw it at me.

Catching it with ease, I unwrapped it and found a deck of cards. I gave him a confused look.

"Thought you might want to brush up on your game of rummy before versing me again," he smirked. My face broke out into a grin.

"Oh, I will. But just so you know, you might want to buy a pack of these for yourself. We all know you need some major help building card towers AND playing slap jack."

He rolled his eyes but chuckled nonetheless. "Oh, its on Swan."

"Bring it Call," I teased right back. With a wink my way, I blushed like a tomato. Laughs were all around and I looked to Sam.

"Your next bud."

He looked slightly nervous to be honest. I wasn't sure what he got me, but he didn't seem to sure of himself.

"Okay," he said catching the present Jake threw at him. He slid it in front of me, waiting for a reaction.

Slowly, I pulled away the bow and opened the box. Inside was an opened letter. It was from some music publishing company.

"I sent in some of your music. They said they liked your lyrics and would like to send them to some recording artists to meet with you. They want to use your songs."

I stared at him and then the paper. At the bottom of the box was a business card with a persons name and a number on the back.

"I told the guy it was a surprise so he said to have you give him a call when you could talk. They seemed really interested."

I looked back at Sam. He seemed antsy, waiting for a reaction. Thoughts couldn't come to my head. It was like…nothing.

"I…I love you," I laughed standing up and going over to hug him. He let out a breath and melted in my arms.

"Sam, this is…unbelievable. Thank you."

He nodded, kissing me softly. "I just hope you are not mad I had to dig through your drawers a bit."

I shook my head. "No, im not. You had a reason to, im not mad."

He broke out into a grin and kissed me again. "You know, you have been holding out on us. There were a few songs in there that I haven't heard."

I rolled my eyes. "Not every song I make requires you all to have a listening session."

"Oh, I think it does," Embry corrected. I rolled my eyes and teasingly shot him a dirty look.

"Okay, well I would like to get on with my present- I mean ours," Paul corrected as Seth shot him a look. Seth handed Paul the last box, which was shaped like a jewelry box (because it was long and skinny) and he handed it to me.

Unwrapping it slowly, I found a folded up note.

Dear Bella, It read in perfect cursive handwriting,

Sorry we couldn't be there to celebrate your special day, but we do have something for you. Your talent for music is a real gift. And with that, we would really like to give you a place to express it. Inside this note there should be a key. Please take it to our house and find your surprise.

All our love,

The Cullen Family

I glanced back up at the two wolves. "Did you go see the Cullens?"

"I think you should just follow the instructions on the note for right now," Paul said cryptically.

"But can you cross the border?"

Seth nodded, "Sam did some editing to the agreement.

I spun around to Sam with a raised eyebrow. "I couldn't tell you about it or else it would have given it away."

"Given what away?" I asked confused.

"Just…come on," Paul said guiding me by the shoulders. The pack and I walked through the woods as the grown ups and imprints hung back.

"Guys, what's going on?' I questioned as we got to the mansion. I opened the door and found a bunch of rose petals and candles lit around the house. Seth gave me a nudge and I followed them.

Upstairs on the main level of their home, I found a twisted staircase off to the side of the living room, which was definitely not there before. Peeking back at the Pack, I followed the clue and went up to the newly built room.

Inside I found myself standing in a mostly glass surrounded room. It faced out to the beautiful forest, almost as if I was standing in the middle of it. At first, I was totally confused. The room had red walls with pictures of musical artists who seemed to be my favorite. My lyrics I first wrote at the Cullen's were hanging up in a frame on the wall, along with some of my other work.

"What?" I asked looking all around. There was a piano off to the corner of the large place, along with a complete drum set made by TAMA.

"They can't be serious," I gasped as I saw the drums were the Superstar Hyper-Drive. From there, I saw a few guitars, electric guitars, and other musical instruments.

"Its all yours," Paul said.

I stared at him wide eyed. "Its all mine?"

"Of course Bella, why wouldn't it be?" A pixie like voice asked. I turned to Seth and found him holding up a laptop with Alice on the screen.

"Alice, Esme…Carlisle," I said beyond shocked. They were all there.

"Are you all crazy. This is- this is-"

"All for you Bella," Edward said with a smile.

"We want to hear some more songs from you Bella," Rose said nicely, "And we better get the exclusive Bella bean," Emmett joked. Rose slapped him on the back of the head and I laughed.

"We wanted to do something special for you Bella," Jasper said. "Oh you did it," I said amazed.

"Good," Esme smiled. "I just hope I bought the right drum set. The man at the store was not very helpful, and surprisingly, I do not know much about drums," she laughed. Carlisle gave her a kiss on the head.

"Esme, you did wonderful. I cant thank you all enough," I gushed.

"Oh don't thank just us," Carlisle said. "Seth and Paul built the place since we had to leave. They had most of the responsibility."

My head shot to the two. "Are you serious? You guys did this?"

"Wasn't as hard as it looks," Seth grinned. I gave both the two a huge hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," I said over and over.

"Thank you, " I spoke to the Cullens. They all smiled and laughed.

"Enjoy it Bella," Carlisle said before they closed off.

"This is unbelievable. I can't believe this place is mine. And you all did this," I said looking at the pack.

"What can we say? We are just amazing like that," Seth joked. I launched myself into his arms again and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

He blushed and I went back over to Paul. "And you say you haven't been overly nice to me," I murmured in his ear. He rolled his eyes and smiled at me.

Going over to Sam, I hugged him. "Thank you for letting them do this. And for letting me come back here. I cant believe it," I said ecstatic. He gave me a kiss to the head.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it."

"Plus, we can see you from over there," Jake said pointing out in the forest.

"The line?" I guessed looking up at Sam. He nodded, smiling a bit coyly.

"Okay," I laughed. "I'll take that."

We came back from the Cullens and I gushed about my present. I just couldn't believe it. Letty looked over at Paul, smiling and giving him a kiss to the cheek.

"I'm proud of you," she whispered. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, melting into her hug. I gave him a smile and leaned into Charlie a bit more.

Things were shaping up, just how I liked them.