Disclaimer: the great SM owns all except plot. Enjoy!

Hey everyone, next chappie! And before 20 reviews too. Plus I've been really sick for the past few days; it would've been up sooner otherwise. It's a bit shorter than usual, but the next chap should be up pretty soon. Anyway read and don't forget to review!

Ps like I mentioned in a review of this story (I couldn't be bothered putting up another whole chap for it) anyone who checks out my story comp, and enters or nominates a story, will receive the WHOLE next chap before it is posted here publicly. To be the first to find out what happens in the next chap of 'what if things were different?', get to my story comp and enter/nominate a story!

Pps soz bout this but check out the poll on my profile too, it's about whether or not the rest of the Cullens (Emmett, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper) should be vamps in this story. If you think only some, vote for whoever you want. If you want all human, let me know. Vote and let me know. The outcome will be based upon the votes. Wow that was a long a/n, sorry!

Enjoy the chap!

Xxx

Kate

BPOV

I arrived at the hospital and asked one of the nurses at the front desk if they knew where to find him. They told me he was doing morning rounds and directed me in his general vicinity. When I found him I was a bit unsure of what to say. How should I phrase our acceptance of his offer? Well, I may as well get it over with, I thought to myself. It was going to be awkward whatever way I went around it.

So I squared my shoulders and started towards him. 'Dr Cullen,' I asked. He turned towards me with a hopeful expression on his face. 'Bella, have you and Edward considered Edward and my offer?'

'Yes, Dr Cullen. We were discussing the matter all night long. It is a very generous offer and Edward and I want to stress how grateful we are. We'd love to accept your offer.' His eyes lit up like a little boy's on Christmas morning. He threw his arms around me. 'Bella, thank you soooo much! I'm so happy and esme is going to be just delighted. We have to tell her straight away!'

With that he ran to the nearest phone and dialled what I could only assume was his house number. I told him that I would talk to him later and left to continue my day.

At the end of the day, we agreed that Edward and I would go to his house this evening to discuss our living situation, etc. He gave me the address and I left. I arrived home and told Edward that we had to leave.

We arrived at Esme and Carlisle's house and I gasped in surprise. It was completely beautiful and much bigger than our own. Edward took my hand and dragged me to the front door. This shook me out of my reverie. We rang the doorbell and a millisecond later it was opened by a beaming Esme. 'Come in, come in', she motioned. We followed her into the living room. I was awed at the pure beauty and elegance of their home. Carlisle entered the room and grinned when he saw us sitting there.

He seated himself beside esme. They looked like an advertisement for the perfect couple/parents at that exact moment. It was slightly disconcerting, to be quite honest. The air in the room had a slightly awkward edge to it and the silence continued for a few seconds. Then Carlisle finally took the proverbial plunge. 'So, we all know why we're here. You and Edward have decided to accept our offer to join our family of sorts. You may never know how much this pleases us. As we are vampires, we cannot have children, of course. And I hope that we are not overstepping our boundaries by thinking of you as our adoptive children.' This really should have bothered me somewhat, regardless of what Edward said about their thoughts, we barely knew these people. And they were telling us that they already thought of us as family? Was that not at least slightly strange?

However, against all reasonable thought or concept, I could not bring myself to see these people in anything but good light. In the way they moved, talked, in anything they did, seemed to be nothing except good intentions. They seemed to give off a vibe of positive feeling. One could not help but feel comfortable and secure in their presence. Which was why it did not bother me that they already thought of Edward and I as family. To be honest, I was starting to feel a slight family love for the two of them too.

The thought of the fact that these two people, who were so obviously made to be parents, were unable to bear children was slightly heart-wrenching. I had never really thought about my inability to reproduce before, and now that I did, I felt a bit sad. If I had remained mortal I could've had a little girl or boy of my own. There was no chance of that now. But then I wouldn't have met Edward, I wouldn't have saved him. Over the years he had become my family. Before that it had been Sarah and Jack. I'd never really had a chance to become lonely. I guess that it was a somewhat fair exchange, but I could still ask myself, 'What if things were different?'

As I had been mulling everything over in my head, everyone else had been conversing with each other. I began to tune into what was being said and Edward turned to me with his signature crooked grin. 'So, you're back with us, then?' he asked. I simply looked at him quizzically. He chuckled and turned to Esme and Carlisle who were smiling good-naturedly. 'I told you she was off in her own world. I'm almost certain that she heard nothing we were saying.' He looked questioningly to my confused face. 'See, completely oblivious.' Esme and Carlisle began to laugh, but it was obviously not in spite. So I joined in with their laughter.

We spent the whole night talking and laughing together. Getting to know one another and figuring out the situation regarding living conditions. We decided in the end that Edward and I would stay in our house until I finished medical school, then we would definitely have to move. Edward and I had been here so long already, we were undoubtedly starting to seriously raise suspicions. With all the talking we'd done, you'd have thought that we would have gotten the chance to set them straight on the

fact that Edward and I were not mates, but oddly enough, we didn't.

The next year went by extremely quickly, what is a mere year to an immortal, as I finished medical school. Before we knew it, Edward and I were packing up our belongings and saying goodbye to our cosy, little house. I would miss it terribly. Esme and Carlisle told us that they knew of another vegetarian coven in Alaska. We agreed that it was the perfect place to go. It was rainy with very little sunshine, so we wouldn't have to stay inside too often. It was also quite out of the way, so we would be able to stay there longer than most places. A nice break from constantly pretending to be something we weren't, and a chance to just….be. Although I would of course miss the chance to help people every day. Perhaps there was a hospital nearby that I could volunteer at on occasion, I mused.

We arrived in Alaska and headed first to the house in which we would be living. It was slightly smaller than the last one Esme and Carlisle had owned, but none less grand. Edward and I each had our own rooms, with many to spare. We unpacked at vampire speed and decided to leave to visit the Denali coven.

We reached their home quickly. Esme and Carlisle greeted their friends and began to introduce us to them. There was Irina, Kate, Eleazer, Tanya, Carmen and Garrett. Irina was a vampire with chin length silvery blonde hair and golden eyes. Kate was 5'4'', had blonde, straight hair and golden eyes. She had the ability to generate an electrical current on her skin. She was also Garrett's mate. Garrett was a tall, rangy vampire with eager golden eyes and long sandy hair tied back in a ponytail, with a leather thong. (An: I know they only became mates in breaking dawn but I'm changing some things to fit in with my story. Just to clear that up. Thanks!)

Eleazer was a tall, dark-haired man with "a hint of an olive tone in his chalky complexion". His gift was to identify vampire's abilities. He was also Carmen's mate. Carmen was black-haired with a hint of an olive tone to her chalky complexion. Tanya was a strawberry blond curly haired girl about 17 or 18. I didn't exactly care for the way she was looking at Edward. As far as she knew, he was my mate!

Edward seemed extremely uncomfortable under her gaze; I could only imagine what she was thinking. I cleared my throat and introduced myself and Edward. 'Hello, everyone,' I said, 'Thank you for being so welcoming. My name is Bella Swan and this is Edward Masen. Edward can read minds,' I looked at Tanya pointedly as I said this. She didn't even have the grace to look embarrassed. Maybe she wasn't intelligent enough to understand the implications of that fact. Or maybe she was so vain that she thought Edward would be flattered by her crude thoughts. 'And I possess a mental shield that stops mental powers from affecting me.' A few gasped at this, apparently it was quite rare.

'So,' Tanya said slyly. 'Edward, are you and Bella mates then?' The little minx! The nerve of her! The audacity! I had known this woman for less than five minutes, hadn't had an actual conversation with her, and I already knew that I disliked her.

I was about to answer her when Edward interrupted me.

'Well', he began….

Cliffy! I know, I'm cruel! Old news people. Will Edward say yes? Will he say no? Only one way to find out! Let me know what you want him to say in a review! L. Can't even tell you how glad I am that you can't kill me over the internet! I'm sure I'll get many volturi threats in reviews, ah well! Anyway, check out my comp, enter/nominate and you'll get the chap! Or. 20 reviews and you'll get the chap!

Thanks!

Kate

Xxxxx