A/N: *cues the Elvis-mood music: dun dun dunnn* thank you, thank you verrry much. Your reviews really put a smile on my face, and it makes me excited to see your reaction to this chapter! Some of you had some great theories (Erik's Dark Angel, dreamngo4it9). Were you right? You won't find out unless you read on!!

Disclaimer: Although I asked Santa to give me the rights to Twilight for Christmas, I don't think I was a good enough girl, because I didin't get it. But I know for a fact he is giving me Twilight merchandise. I guess that's okay. *sigh* so, yeah, Steph still owns it, not me.

[Chapter Three]

"Surprise!" came the shouts of the familiar voices I had loved and missed so much.

I fought back tears as I felt a warm hand take mine. I looked and saw Alice next to me, a huge grin on her face.

Across the room, standing in a group in front of me, stood my dad, Charlie, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rosalie, all smiling. I couldn't believe they were all here in my house! I looked in front of Carlisle and saw Edward in his chair, Carlisle's hand resting proudly on his son's shoulder. Edward was staring at me, his mouth slightly hung open.

Emmett was the first to run up to me, of course, pulling me in for one of his infamous bear hugs. "Happy Birthday, Bells!" His body shook mine with his laughter.

"Not so tight, Emmett, you'll wrinkle her top." I knew that voice anywhere, and smiled as Emmett released me and Rosalie immediately threw her arms around me. "You look so hot, Bella. Edward doesn't even know what to do with himself!" she whispered in my ear, a small chuckle following her words.

Next was my dad. He smiled. "Bella, you look great. Happy Birthday, honey."

I smiled, the shock still on my face. "Thanks, Dad."

Esme then threw her arms around me. "Bella, dear, we've missed you so much."

Carlisle gave me a heartwarming smile and a hug as well. "It's so good to see you again."

"It's not even Christmas yet!" Emmett boomed. I heard a smack which I could only assume came from Rosalie, followed by a small "ouch" which I assumed came from Emmett.

The one person I wanted to hear from the most still had yet to speak. I saw Emmett give Edward's chair a nudge, sending him slightly forward, bringing him out of his trance. He wheeled over to me, taking my hands gently in his and kissing the tops. "Bella, you look…breathtaking."

"Thank you," I said breathlessly, looking him over. He, too, had dressed up for the occasion, wearing a slate grey button down shirt and black dress pants and dress shoes. "You don't look so bad yourself."

I looked back over at the rest of our family. "How did you—what happened? I mean…" I couldn't form a coherent sentence, still in shock.

"What? You didn't think we'd let Alice and Jasper have all the fun on your birthday, did you, Bells? I couldn't leave Edward with Mr. Civil War all day!" Emmett looked mighty proud of himself.

Esme shook her head. "You'll have to forgive him, I'm pretty sure he was attacked by a bear when he was a baby." We all laughed at that.

"I invited them for dinner, Bella, I hope that's okay. I know you said you wanted to have dinner at my parent's house, and this isn't exactly it…" he trailed off, nervous I would be disappointed.

"Oh, Edward, this is perfect! I don't even care if we have dinner here!" I gushed at him.

"Well, dear, that wasn't the plan," Esme started.

I raised an eyebrow at Edward. "Then what is the plan?"

I saw Edward take a deep breath. I knew he was giving me a lot by even letting his family come over. "Well, Bella, we're going out."

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I couldn't believe what I had just heard. Wait, had I heard that right?

"O-o-out?" I stammered.

Carlisle nodded, confirming. "That's right. We've got reservations at 6. So we better get moving."

I looked at Edward. "You're okay with this?"

He nodded. "You deserve this. It's the least I can do for all you've done for me."

"Oh, Edward, thank you!" I said as I threw myself down to hug him. His arms wrapped around me warmly, giving me a glimpse at the old Edward we all used to know.

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Carlisle had made reservations at a small Italian place, which was quite alright by me. The less crowded it was, the more comfortable I was sure that Edward would be. Emmett insisted on riding with Edward and me, and Rosalie joined us, too. Alice and Jasper rode with Carlisle and Esme. Of course, Emmett hadn't changed, and would always be Emmett.

"So, who's excited to take Edward out on the town tonight to show off his new ride?" He joked, trying to relieve the awkward silence. I hadn't realized I was holding my breath, waiting for something like that to come out of his mouth.

Rosalie swatted him on the shoulder. "Emmett, really? You are lucky I already married you, because if I hadn't, I might be having second thoughts right about now. Stop being so ridiculous."

Edward chuckled softly. "It's nice to know some things haven't changed. It's fine, Rose. I kind of missed Emmett's silly comments."

Emmett puffed up his chest. "See, Rose? Edward likes it."

I looked in the rearview mirror in time to see her roll her eyes. "Edward, don't encourage him. Dinner's going to be a long event if you do."

I smiled warmly at Rose, who caught me staring and returned the smile. "Oh, Bella, you should have seen your face when you walked into the living room! It was priceless! You were so surprised!"

"Well, I really wasn't expecting anything. When Alice was dressing me up, I thought she just missed her Barbie. But I should have known she had other motives." I looked over at Edward and smiled.

"No, it wasn't her that had other plans, it was me," he announced triumphantly. "And it was worth spending all afternoon with Emmett just to see the smile on your face."

Emmett made a gagging noise, to which Rose slapped him on the back of the head and told him to "knock it off."

We pulled up to the restaurant, and it was a good thing Emmett rode with us, because he helped Edward out of the car and back into his chair. The others were already waiting at our table, and we settled in around them. The waiter brought around water and champagne, and Charlie lifted his glass. "To Bella, Happy Birthday, sweetheart. We're so glad that we could spend this special day with you. A round of "to Bella!" was heard as was the clinking of glasses. A moment of silence followed as everyone sipped.

Emmett, not to be outdone by my father, lifted his glass. "To Edward, for letting us enjoy a family celebration other than Christmas." I felt Edward slightly stiffen next to me, but raised his glass, being the good sport that he was.

The rest of dinner went fine, with only a few comments from Emmett, as was to be expected. But at least he made it more entertaining that way.

After coming back to the house, everyone showered me with presents. Charlie gave me a cookbook and some new cookware he knew I had been eyeing. Carlisle and Esme gave me a gift card for a local bookstore. Alice and Jasper gave me gift cards to some stores in the mall and a few tops, all of which I am sure Alice picked out by herself. Emmett and Rosalie gave me a day trip to the local spa, of which Rosalie informed me she had gotten one for her, Alice, and Esme, too, so we could have a girls day.

I smiled and hugged them all. "I can't thank you enough, really," I said as tears formed in my eyes. I tried to blink them away.

"Well, what did Eddie give you?" Emmett asked.

I smiled. "He gave me all of you. It was the best present I could ask for."

I saw Esme tear up as well, smiling to hold them back. "Yes, thank you Edward. It was such a beautiful gift for all of us." I could tell she missed her son greatly.

Edward nodded, staying quiet most of the night. "Well, what Bella wants Bella gets…."

"So, what you're saying is, Bella wants you to stay in that wheelchair?" Emmett leaned forward in his chair, his hands on his knees, and began the argument I had hoped would not have come.

"Emmett," Rosalie hissed at him.

Edward raised his hand up. "No, Rose, let him speak."

Emmett leaned more towards Edward. "I mean, I can't believe Bella would want you to give up on your therapy. If you give her everything she wants, shouldn't you be over this obstacle by now?"

I could feel the anger beginning to pulsate off Edward, but he remained calm.

"Emmett, it's not a big deal," I started, hoping to diffuse the argument.

"What you fail to understand, Emmett, is that this," he gestured at himself in his chair, "is not as simple as it looks. It's not easy, and it takes time."

Emmett coughed, speaking into his hand so no one could hear. "Whatever."

"Emmett, that is enough," came Carlisle's stern voice. Emmett cowered and mumbled an apology to Edward.

"Well, I'm sure Edward and Bella are very tired. We should probably be going." There was Esme, ever the peacekeeper. God bless you.

Everyone hugged me goodbye, wishing me more birthday wishes. Jasper and Edward talked about getting together soon as Alice kissed my cheek. Emmett lingered around looking like a dog with his tail between his legs.

"Edward, brother, I'm sorry about earlier. I just," he sighed, rubbing his neck. "It's hard to see you like this when I know you could be your old self again."

Edward just nodded. "It's okay."

Emmett patted him on the shoulder. "I understand that you want to keep everyone out of all this so you don't feel sorry for yourself or whatever, but promise me you won't leave mom out. Even if you leave the rest of us out, she really misses you."

I saw Edward's eyes harden. "Thank you, Emmett."

Everyone left soon after and it was just Edward and I. I closed the front door and walked back into the living room, where he was staring out the glass door into the back yard.

"Edward, I can't thank you enough for tonight, really; I had no idea…"

He turned around and smiled at me. "Bella, I know I've been a royal pain in the ass for a long time now. It was the least I could do for you. And for them…" he trailed off.

I leaned down and kissed his forehead. "You're a good man, Edward Cullen."

He smiled at me. "You must be exhausted, what with shopping with Alice all day and then partying with the Cullens all night. Why don't you sit down on the couch and put your feet up?"

I nodded and plopped on the couch. Edward came up next to me, placing my feet in his lap, removing my shoes and slowly rubbing my feet. I closed my eyes as a relaxing feeling came over me. But I began feeling guilty about what Emmett had said earlier in the night. "Edward, about what Emmett said earlier…"

He shook his head. "You know, for someone who says the dumbest things all the time, once in a while he really hits the nail on the head."

I stared at him. "What do you mean?"

He continued rubbing my feet for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "I know you'd never push me to do anything I wasn't comfortable with, even if that included my rehabilitation. And I know that you love me too much to leave me by myself, even though I am quite capable of taking care of my own self. But Emmett was right: you can't possibly want me to be like this the rest of my life. I'm only half the man I was before; if I even behave like that at all."

"Edward, really, it's okay…"

"No, Bella, it's not. And you don't see that. You can sit here and tell me that it's okay if I am this way forever, but I know deep down you can't mean it—I can see it in your eyes. The delight you get when you see me actually trying in therapy. Or how your face lights up when you think I've made even a little progress. It's not fair of me to give up because it's something you want. And I always want to give you whatever you want. If you just say the word, I'll do whatever it takes, you know that."

I looked down at my hands which were resting in my lap. Was Edward right? Of course I always wanted him to try to be better, but not because I wanted him all back—but because I knew it would make him feel whole again. I only wanted Edward to try so that he could be happy. Okay, part of me was selfish and wanted him back, but that was only because I missed the way we used to be. I wanted the old Edward back—the one who was happy and full of life.

"Bella, please, I can't tell what you're thinking and it's frustrating me. Please, tell me what you want. Anything."

I paused for a second. "Edward, you already gave me my birthday wish, and even then some after that. I couldn't ask for anything more."

"Please, let me give you one more gift. Just tell me what you want, anything."

I took a deep breath. I was about to go in way over my head, and I wasn't sure how he would react. "Edward…" I started.

He looked at me anxiously. "Yes, Bella?"

Here goes nothing, I thought. "I want you to walk again."

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A/N: Yeah, sorry if this one was a little shorter. But come on, you know I like the cliff hangers. And I promise I'll try not to leave you hanging very long. But you have to admit, the suspense is killing you :}
After I finish this story, I'm going to write another. I met a man last night who has been in a wheelchair for 8 years now, and we had some pleasant conversation. He also did some cool maneuvers. If only Edward would lighten up and let me have some fun hehe. Well, it's 2:37pm on Christmas Eve my time, so I told you I'd post before Christmas! Consider this your present from me Looking forward to hearing your theories :}

xoxo, LMW