As always: Everything and anything related to the Twilight saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer. This is a work of fiction based on her writings. No harm is meant by it.

Special thanks and much adoration to my beta Kelly

Chapter Twenty-Nine: All I Wanted; The Only Exception

Bella's head popped out of the water faster than she saw coming, the buoyancy of the water pushing her upward. She threw her head back, feeling the thick, wet locks smack the top of her back as they fell back down and listened to the sounds of the water that escaped them, plinking against the water.

She gasped for air as her lungs tried to readjust to the sensation of air filling them. She brushed water and her hair away from her eyes desperately as she tried to adjust her vision to see where she had landed. She was thankful that she had pinched her nose before crashing into the water. Her sinuses would be killing her now if she hadn't. All the water would have rushed up her nostrils upon impact; she had learned from the last time.

For a few brief moments, Bella forgot where she and who was with her as she tried to get herself reacquainted with the area above the water. As she continued to try to breathe normally and failing miserably, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and turned her around.

She was met with the intense awed gaze of Edward, whose hair was slicked back because of the water, and much like her own clothing, his t-shirt clung to his body.

His hands released her waist under the water and the two remained floating there in silence before his hands found their way to her face. He cupped her cheeks before speaking.

"Say it again," he gasped through deep breaths as he let his eyes travel between her eyes and her lips. Bella smiled at him and bit at the corner of her lip as she watched their chests rising and falling in unison causing tiny ripples in the water to form in front of them.

"Please Bella? Please say it again? I want to believe that I wasn't hearing things," he pleaded as he brushed away the water drops that fell from the roots of her hair and onto her cheeks.

"You weren't hearing things," Bella mumbled and Edward's eyes widened at the confession. Using the fluidity of the water, he moved his body even closer to Bella's, intertwining their legs together.

"So?" he asked desperately and Bella smiled.

"I love you, Edward Cullen," she affirmed, sincerely and Edward lunged at her, pulling her face towards his and kissing her passionately. His lips molded against hers in perfect synchronization. It was slow and loving and yet completely unabashed as they floated in the center of the water. When his lips moved down to suck on her bottom lip, hers moved up to take his top lip. His hands sank into her wet hair and hers in to his.

"Again," he whispered and she complied immediately.

"I love you."

His lips met hers again. Their teeth clinked for a instant before they slowed down to savor the motions.

"Again!" he mumbled against her mouth and Bella giggled as she acquiesced once more.

"I love you. I love you. I LOVE YOU!" she shouted and Edward beamed at her. She was too far gone; her heart filled and burst each time she said it. She shifted her eyes to really look at him and was received with the purest, sincere emotion.

"I love you so much," he whispered as he pulled her back toward him. He ran his fingers up her spine over her wet clothes and gripped her neck softly before pulling them down.

"What are you doing?" Bella asked as her chin grazed the top of the water.

"Do you trust me?" Edward replied seriously.

"With my life."

"Then trust me right now," he replied, leaning forward to kiss her. His lips met hers tightly and he pulled them down slowly into the water. Bella was sure that if their legs weren't entwined, she would have already been floating back to the surface. However, they remained there, wrapped around each other and submerged under the water. They were just pressing their lips against each other.

It was a surreal kiss.

All Bella could feel was Edward. All she could see when she opened her eyes was Edward. It didn't matter that the water stung her eyes. All she could hear was the emptiness of the water. The kiss didn't last very long before Edward pulled them both back up to the surface.

Edward just held Bella and looked at her and Bella, though the staring was odd, couldn't help but be enthralled and enchanted by it.

"Did you get it?" he asked.

"Get what?"

"What I just showed you?" he replied and she shook her head no.

"When I'm with you, it's like the world disappears. All I see is you, Bella. All I smell, all I hear, feel, is you. Being around you makes me feel….it's…it's a peaceful tranquility that I can't quite understand. It just feels so damn right to me," he described and Bella smiled at him.

"What?" he asked confused at her expression.

Bella pulled Edward closer to her and kissed him. As they kissed, Bella wrapped her legs around Edward's waist and he half-swam and half-walked them towards the edge of the land around the river.

"Edward," Bella moaned as Edward's lip trailed kisses down the nape of her neck. He placed her down gently on the ground and held himself on his elbows above her. There were tiny pebbles in the ground, but Bella didn't care; she didn't feel them digging into her back, all she felt was Edward.

"I love you, Bella," he told her as he looked down at her.

"I love you, too," she replied before he placed his lips back on hers and kissed her tenderly, moving their lips in a slow dance. Bella was trying to savor it, kissing him back with exactly the same amount of passion.

Edward began to litter kisses along Bella's neck and blew cool air on the trails of water that continued to trail down it. He reveled in the way her body shivered under his and the way he could feel goose bumps forming on her arms. He held her necklace between his fingers before placing back down on her chest, kissing the diamond encrusted heart.

Bella sighed contently as his hands began to pull up her wet t-shirt, struggling slightly to help him peel it off her skin. The two struggled to pull the wet cotton over her head, and it snagged slightly around her face before Edward threw it onto the ground beside them. Edward laid her back down gently and again, Bella didn't care about the pebbles that now dug into her bare back.

"Maybe it wasn't so smart to jump into the water fully clothed?" Edward laughed as he frustratingly tugged at his own shirt, fighting with the material before, it too, joined Bella's on the ground.

Bella giggled in agreement before letting her hands roam the cool skin of Edward's chest. She created tiny paths of warmth with the friction of her hands. Edward groaned before stopping her and pulling her wrists above her head. He held her wrists with both of his hands before separating them to interlock his fingers with hers.

They lay there staring at each other for a few brief silent seconds before a sudden wave of water slid under Bella and made her jump causing Edward to flip off of her and start laughing.

"Don't laugh," Bella pouted as she smacked him square in the chest. "It was really cold."

"I'm sorry, but that's what you get for laying on the ground by where the tides of the river break."

"You put me down there," she argued and turned over to lean on an elbow to face Edward, and he mimicked her actions.

"You didn't say anything," he contested as he brushed sand and those tiny pebbles that lay between it, off of his back as he sat up.

"I was lost in the moment," she timidly replied and watched as Edward smiled and reached his hand to touch the heat searing her cheeks.

"Me too."

"I'm always lost in the moment with you," Bella continued, feeling ridiculous at how sappy their conversation had shifted.

"Bella Swan," Edward chuckled. "Who knew you were so sentimentalist?"

"Shut up!" she yelped as Edward pulled her on top of him, his hands firmly placed on her hips.

"I'm only teasing," he defended.

Edward said nothing else as he pulled Bella down by her neck and connected his mouth with hers. Bella let herself be lost in the feeling of his lips; she knew that she would never get tired of them or him.

"Edward," she groaned as she pulled away.

"You have no idea how much I want you right now," he groaned. He lavished her chest with kisses, pulling the cups of her bra up to kiss the underside of each breast before he grew annoyed of the red lace and pulled it over her head, not bothering to unhook it beforehand.

His hands massaged her breasts as he kissed down her stomach, alternating between pecks and nibbles making Bella squirm under him. She panted heavily as his thumbs simultaneously rounded each of her nipples and watched as they hardened under his fingers.

"Edward," she moaned while he kissed along her belly button, still not moving his hands from her breasts.

"Bella," he echoed as his hands finally moved away from her breasts and caressed down her waist until he gripped her hips tightly and pulled his hips down against hers. Both of them moaned at the sensation before Edward groaned.

"What?" Bella asked and Edward stood up quickly, pulling Bella up afterward.

"What are you doing?" she asked as he picked Bella up, the pebbles indented into her skin fell back down to the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist. His wet jeans made it near impossible to actually walk with any semblance of grace.

"I didn't want to do this with pebbles digging into your back," he explained as he placed her on the hood of her car. There was still a tiny hint of heat from the motor present.

Bella smiled in thanks up at him as she leaned down to kiss him before he pulled away and started to unbuckle his jeans. His urgency made Bella laugh.

"Don't laugh at me," he grunted as he struggled to pull the tight, wet denim off his legs. Bella smiled at the situation. Rosalie had once told her that the best sex was the kind when you could laugh before, through, and after it because it meant the ultimate level of security between a couple.

"There's no rush Edward," she purred and Edward stopped his motions to raise an eyebrow up at her. A sly smirk spread across his face.

"Did you just purr?" he asked as he yanked at the jeans collected at his right leg. He tugged hard on the material, nearly falling as he succeeded.

"Maybe you should've taken off your shoes," Bella teased and slipped hers off as she too proceeded to struggle with the removal of her own pants.

"Shush you!" he jested and successfully managed to remove his pants and shoes. He stood in only his boxer briefs and socks. Bella sat on the hood of her car in only her underwear. She smile at Edward and coaxed him over with her finger.

"Feeling frisky are we?" Edward smugly inquired as he stood in front of Bella.

"Maybe? But I'm not the only one, seeing as you practically ripped your pants off," she retorted playfully and Edward moaned when her hands found their way to the deep V of his hips. She ran the tip of her index fingers along the muscular cuts.

"Wet jeans and inner thighs aren't pleasant. Chafing is not fun," he declared and Bella yelped as laughter ripped through her.

"Stop laughing," he jokingly pouted and pulled her close to him.

"I can't help it," she defended. "You always manage to make me laugh."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he whispered and bent down to kiss her, pulling her hips against his.

"I don't think we should do this on the car," Bella reprimanded as he began to pull his boxers off.

"Why not?" he grumbled against her collarbone as he peppered it with kisses.

"Someone might see us," she moaned her argument and Edward scoffed at her ill attempt at stopping him.

"You wanted to do it on the ground!"

"You put me on the ground."

"Yeah, but you still wanted to do this on the ground."

"I know, but I don't feel right doing this here," she glowered and Edward hung his head forward.

"Okay," he meekly replied pulling his wet underwear back up and pulling away from Bella. He was doing his best to make it known that he was upset, over exaggeratingly pouting and kicking the dirt with his socks. It wasn't the smartest thing; it just made the dirt stick to the wet material even more.

"I can't handle that, Edward," Bella groaned as she followed him around the area to pick up their pants and Edward had gone out to pick up Bella's shirt and bra.

"Well, you're gonna have to," he whined playfully and winked at her, letting her know that it was all an act.

"That's just mean!" she huffed as she met up with him at the trunk of her car to dump their wet clothes back there.

"Wait!" she called out and pulled out some plastic bags out from the trunk to place the wet clothes in.

"Smart," Edward commented while he pulled off his underwear and socks and threw them into the bag along with his and Bella's clothing.

"Edward!" Bella cried when she watched him walk around to the driver's seat and turn the car on.

"What?" he called out to her, innocently, as if he wasn't nude in the front of the car.

"You're not driving my car, to my dad's house, in the nude. What if he's on duty and stops our car? How the hell would we explain that?"

"Well," he began to explain all whiling stepping out of the car. He had no qualms about being nude out where they were. "We would first have to explain what led to it, you know, years of repressed feelings, our game, your ploy to have sex out here and then chickening out-" he began to elaborate, but Bella interrupted him.

"Be quiet and put some clothes on," she exclaimed as she threw a pair of underwear, some sweats and a t-shirt for Edward.

"You packed clothes for me?" he asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Of course, I did. I wouldn't only pack for myself. I'm not that mean."

"How long have you've been planning this?" he posed the question, getting dressed in the process. Bella even handed him over a pair of socks and a pair of dry sneakers.

"Since the letter S," she replied honestly and Edward pulled her into a hug. He kissed the top of her head and she sighed in content. She loved being held by Edward; there was no greater feeling than his strong arms around her. She felt loved and protected.

"Thank you," he whispered and Bella tore herself away from the warmth to look up at him.

"For what?" she asked and Edward brushed the pieces of hair that had managed to stick to her forehead away.

"For creating a new memory here. It won't replace the old one, but it will now always be the first thing that comes to mind when I think about this place."

"You're welcome," she meekly squeaked as she ducked her head down.

"How did I get so lucky?" Edward quietly pondered out loud, and Bella again stared at him puzzled.

"What are you talking about?"

"You," he retorted. "I'm talking about you. I'm the luckiest bastard alive, if you ask me. I have you in my life; any man would kill to be in my position right now."

"Edward-"

"Don't!" he interrupted Bella. "You know that's the truth. You're amazing, Bella Swan, and you always have been. I fell in love with you when we were four years old and was too stupid to realize it until now. I'm so lucky that I still have the opportunity to have you this way in my life."

"Edward," Bella called him as she lunged back into his awaiting arms. She held him tightly and he did the same to her. Bella smiled brightly against Edward's chest. His words had touched her. No one had ever proclaimed themselves to her in such a manner.

No man had ever told her that he was in love with her and that she was perfect. No man had managed to make her feel beautiful. No man had ever managed to make her laugh when she was crying or make her smile when she was mad.

Except for Edward.

He was the only exception.

Edward made her smile. He made her laugh. He made her feel beautiful.

He made her feel like she meant something.

"I was so afraid that this game… that night when you came home from New York…" Bella began, her thoughts broken. "I was afraid we were going to fuck everything up."

"But we didn't, so there's nothing to be afraid of anymore," he reassured her though there was a distant look in his eyes. He was hiding something from her and he had been for the last couple of weeks. Whatever he was hiding was something big, and for some reason he didn't want to tell her.

"Now, where to?" Edward asked as he walked Bella toward the passenger side of the car.

"Hey!" she griped. "Who said you were driving?"

"I did. So where to?"

"My dad's house."

"To the Chief's we go then," he saluted as he stepped into the car beside Bella.

=x=

The drive to Bella's old home wasn't very long and before she knew it, Edward was parking on the empty drive way, which meant Charlie was out on duty.

"Guess your dad's working," Edward commented as he and Bella stepped up the familiar porch steps and used the extra key in the mailbox to open the door.

"Whoa," Edward gasped as Bella closed the door.

"What?"

"It's been a while since we've been here."

"I know; that's kind of why I wanted to come. My dad always comes to visit us, we never come to see him.

"Us?" Edward scoffed. "I'm pretty sure the Chief comes to see you, not me."

"You know my dad thinks of you like a son."

"I'm pretty sure his whole outlook on me would change if he knew that I had you begging for me to take you on the couch he gave us," Edward smirked as he backed Bella up against the wall beside the staircase.

"Crap, Edward," Bella griped. "What's with you?"

"I'm all worked up because of you," he chuckled as he stepped back.

"What the hell did I do?" Bella scolded as she started walking up the stairs toward her bedroom.

"What did you do?" Edward argued. "Nothing. That's the problem. It's what you didn't do," he jested, making both of them laugh.

"Tough love, hon," Bella claimed as she opened her bedroom door. Edward followed her into the familiar bedroom.

"God, your dad hasn't removed a single thing from in here, has he?" Edward commented as his hands ran along the familiar items in Bella's room. His fingers swayed the little dangling jewels on her desk lamp, and padded along the keyboard on the ancient Compaq Desktop still sitting on her wooden desk.

"I know. I haven't even really removed anything from here either. I like it like this though."

"Why?" Edward quipped as he reached Bella's wall of photos, smiling as his eyes passed over them.

"It holds good memories," she answered as she stood beside him, looking at a picture of them when they were fourteen, playing in the rain. They were covered from head to toe in mud in Edward's backyard. They looked so at peace and so happy in the picture. They were wearing bright, wide smiles as the rain fell around them.

"Do you remember how sick we got after this?" he chuckled as he pointed at the picture Bella had just been staring at.

"Oh my God," she scoffed. "It was all your fault. You just had to persuade me to go out there."

"Of course, I did. I had ulterior motives," he smirked, catching Bella's attention.

"What?" she asked curiously and Edward pointed to the soaked white tank top she was wearing in the picture.

"I wanted to see your bra," he honestly answered and Bella smacked his arm lightly.

"Perv," she accused and Edward pulled her close to him.

"Your pervert. Besides, I was fourteen, every guy I knew at that age would have done the same," he smiled as he tapped the tip of her nose. "But that wasn't the only reason why."

"Oh really?" Bella replied disbelieving.

"Don't you remember why you were over at my house?" he asked as he turned to hold her close to his chest. He watched as she shook her head before continuing.

"You had just found out that the guy at the ice cream shop, Ted, Tod, Tom, or whatever his name was, didn't like you."

"Wow," Bella gasped. "I completely forgot about that. I was so devastated, and I rode my bike all the way to your house from the ice cream parlor."

"Yeah, and you were crying, and I could barely understand what you were saying through the sobbing and the snot running down your face," he chuckled and Bella glared at him while laughing with him anyway.

"I must have looked fantastic," she joked and Edward began to sway them.

"You looked so sad. I hated seeing you that way; I still do. So, when I saw the rain start to come down, I asked you to come outside. You look so happy out there," he pointed to the picture again.

"Well, you succeeded. I forgot about that disaster until today."

"That was the point."

The two remained silent until Bella decided to sit on the bed. She spread out on it like she would have when she was a teenager.

"Damn," Edward commented as he squeezed in beside her. "It's still the same stiff as a board mattress."

"I love this mattress. I wish I could take it back to the apartment, but it's too small for my bed."

"What time is it?" Edward asked and Bella reached over to the nightstand that still held the same alarm clock she had back in high school.

"It's either one, two, or three, depending on if my dad ever changed the clock for daily savings time in the last four years."

"It's two then," Edward corrected. "In the car, when we left for the cliffs it was almost one."

"We were there that long?"

Edward nodded his head as he pulled Bella on top of him and centered himself on the small, twin bed.

"Edward," Bella chastised as she tried to move off him, but failing miserably. All she had managed to do was rub herself against the growing arousal in Edward's pants.

"Bella," he moaned as she continued to fight him to hop off, but regardless of the pleasure he was experiencing, his grip on her hips never waned.

"My dad could come home at any minute," she protested as Edward began to rub her back under her shirt.

"It's two, Bella. We both know that the chief works until six on Saturdays. Always has."

Bella chuckled as she remembered how Edward knew exactly that her father was on duty until six on Saturdays.

The two of them had been hanging out in her bedroom, giving Emmett and his new girlfriend time alone on the couch downstairs. Bella had let them use the living room because they couldn't find anywhere to go without a car since Emmett had messed up his brakes. Bella had forgotten to warn them that her father came home at six before it was too late. At six fifteen on the dot, the Chief walked into his house, to find Emmett being serviced by his girlfriend while sitting on Charlie's favorite recliner.

"Remember Emmett's girly scream when Charlie found them?" Edward interrupted her thoughts and she nodded.

"That was terrible."

"Well, we know when he's coming home, so until then," Edward growled and yanked at Bella's shirt for her to remove it; she complied readily.

"Not going to lie, Bella, but I love when you don't wear a bra," he groaned as his hands reached out to massage her breasts. Bella threw her head back in bliss as she placed her hands over Edward's and gyrated her hips down against his, eliciting more sounds of pleasure from both of them.

"This can be another memory to add to the list. We never so much as kissed in your room before," Edward moaned as Bella stood up on the bed above him. She towered over him and Bella couldn't help but smirk as she watched the lust that clouded his eyes in awe. She shimmied out of her sweats and tossed them onto the computer chair in the corner before removing her underwear in the same process. Even with all her clothing gone, she remained standing.

"Bella," Edward grunted as he sat up on the bed and crawled to stand on his knees under Bella. He had to keep his head bent a bit. If he so much as tilted his head upward, his mouth would find haven on that swollen bundle of nerves that he could see between the slick folds of her vagina.

"You know, Bella?" Edward asked and the teasing tone wasn't lost. "The shades are open, so I'm pretty damn sure that you're flashing the kids playing stick ball outside."

"Oh my God," Bella gasped as she tried to fall back down onto the bed, but Edward grabbed her and placed her on him.

"Yes," he moaned and immediately placed the nipple of Bella's right breast into his mouth. He sucked and nipped at. He circled the tip of his tongue on the sensitive flesh and ran his tongue on the sensitive areola before repeating the process with her other nipple.

Bella moaned and pulled at his hair and all the while, she ground her hips into his.

"Edward, stop teasing me," she moaned as Edward snaked a hand down to her clit. He rubbed at it slowly, moving the nerves clockwise with his forefinger. He massaged her clit for only a brief second before he flipped them over on the small bed. He nearly fell off in the process.

"Damn this tiny bed," he complained as he pulled his pants and boxer briefs down together. He let them fall off the foot of the bed. Bella chuckled as Edward grabbed a hold of her hips and teased her entrance with the head of erection.

"It feels like it's been forever," he groaned and slowly pushed up. He swallowed his moan as the searing warmth and silky smoothness enveloped him. It really felt like an eternity since he had been able to feel Bella this way.

Bella panted loudly as he slowly kept pushing into her. It was an agonizingly slow pace. He was thrusting himself in, inch-by-fucking inch, but as much as she hated how slow he was taking it, she couldn't help but be thrilled and satisfied as the sensations felt so much more heightened.

"Edward," Bella moaned as he slid out and slipped back in. He bent down and brought his mouth to her earlobe, nipping at his and her favorite spot, eliciting the moan of ecstasy Edward dreamed about.

Edward kept the pace slow, thrusting in and out of Bella with measured, deliberate movements. Each thrust in was harder than the previous, but still slow.

It was pure erotic torture to Bella.

She couldn't handle the way her muscles held him and molded around him. She couldn't deal with the way each slow movement caused him to rub right against her clit. Everything was such a haze to her. All her senses felt like they were working in overtime. Her body felt like it was on fire. Sweat escaped from every pore of her body as she tried to find any semblance of a deep breath as Edward slowly thrust.

It had never felt this intense.

"Bella," Edward grunted. "Are you okay?"

"Fuck Edward," she sobbed. The overwhelming sensations of what felt like tiny electrical shocks ran up and down her body, starting in her stomach and branching out towards her limbs and to her fingertips and so forth.

"I can't," she breathed out incoherently. She tried to meet each of his thrust downward with one of her own upward, but the sensations were paralyzing. She could do nothing, but toss her head from side to side, as her moans shifted to sobs and pleas. Her body felt like it was about to rupture with the pleasure coursing through it. It was too much for her to handle.

"Bella," Edward growled. He grabbed a hold of the metal frame of the twin bed and began to push into her faster. Bella screamed out at the new pace. Her body was raked with confusion at the sensations. The bed rocked against the wall and it felt like her body was swaying with it.

"Stop, I can't," Bella cried out as the fire within here began to crest. She could feel her impending climax trying to break free of her body.

Edward was breathing heavily above as he drove into her with force. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to hold off his own orgasm. She felt so good and her body was reacting in ways he couldn't describe. She was tightening around him in the most glorious way, holding him inside her with a vice grip.

"Edward!" Bella cried out in a scream as she came her body shaking, almost convulsing under Edward. Her torso rose from the bed as the pleasure traveled up and down her body. Her toes curled against Edward's back as she fell back down on the bed.

Edward watched with such pride as he continued to push into her before he followed suit and joined an exhausted Bella on the bed. He had to squeeze in beside her.

"You alright?" he breathlessly asked and Bella made a squeaking sound.

"Is that a yes?" he chuckled and Bella nodded against his chest.

"How about we go shower?" he suggested and Bella nodded again.

"Can you even speak?" he smugly asked and Bella punched him softly in the stomach.

"Barely," she whispered and Edward growled as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Come on. Let's go get clean before your dad gets home."

"Give me a minute," Bella groaned as she sat up. "I don't know if I can walk."

"My ego is thanking you right now," Edward guffawed and Bella rolled her eyes.

"Because that needs to be inflated," she mocked and Edward scoffed as he stood up and picked Bella up in his arms.

"Put me down," Bella complained by Edward shook his head and walked out of her bedroom and into the only bathroom in the small house.

"When's the last time we've been here?" Edward asked as Bella tried to adjust the temperature of the shower to a desirable one.

"Sometime in January. Why?"

"I think you're dad might be seeing someone," he commented offhandedly.

"He hasn't said anything," Bella said as she joined Edward by the bathroom sink. He pointed out all the makeup and the feminine perfume sitting on the counter; none of it was hers.

"Why wouldn't he tell me?" Bella asked as Edward stepped into the shower, holding his hand out for her.

"Maybe he's cross dressing," Edward teased as he lathered the soap in his hand and brought it across his chest.

"Very funny. I wonder why though."

"Maybe it's something new and he hasn't had the time to tell you. Ask him when he comes home," Edward brushed the topic aside and began to rub shampoo in Bella's hair.

"That's nice," she sighed and Edward leaned down to kiss her.

Their shower lasted longer than they expected. Most of it was spent kissing languidly and just standing under the warm water.

They still had an hour until Charlie arrived and decided to just sit in the living room and watch some television. Before that, Bella remade the bed in her room and even placed their wet clothes in the laundry room to wash and dry later on.

At six fifteen on the dot, Charlie walked through the door.

"Bella?" he called as he spotted just the top of her head on the couch.

"Dad!" she exclaimed as she leapt out of her seat in Edward's arms and hugged her dad.

"What are you doing here, Bells?"

"Wanted to see you," she answered as Edward stood up to greet Charlie.

"Hey Chief."

"Edward. How are you?"

"Good, good. How have you been?" he replied knowingly and Charlie turned to Bella to explain his teasing tone.

"I have something to ask you."

"What is it?" he asked concerned as all three of them walked into the kitchen so Charlie could grab a beer and sit at the table.

"Are you pregnant, Bella?"

"No, Dad. Promise!" she replied, crossing her heart like she and Charlie used to when she was young girl.

"Are you seeing someone?" Bella asked and Charlie nearly spit the mouthful of beer he had just chugged.

"What do you mean?" he replied coyly and Edward had to stifle his laugh at Charlie's flustered expression.

"Well, I was in the bathroom and there were all this makeup…" she answered, letting her reasoning hang in the air. The conversation was making her uncomfortable. Her and Charlie had never had too close of a relationship, but they had had their moments.

"Yes," Charlie answered seriously, nodding his head in the process.

"Who?" Edward asked happily and watched as Charlie blushed. The emotion took him by surprise; he had always figured that Bella got that nervousness from her mother.

"Dad, who is it?" Bella inquired excitedly. "Just tell me."

"Sue Clearwater," he replied quietly.

"Dad, that's great. I'm so happy for you and Sue is such a sweetheart," Bella said as she got up and bent down to hug him.

"Really? You're not upset?"

"Dad, why would I be upset? You deserve to be happy, and if Sue makes you happy then that's fantastic."

"I'm glad to hear that, Bells. I've been meaning to tell you. I just didn't know how you would react knowing your old man was seeing someone after all this time."

"Dad," Bella huffed as she sat back down in her chair. "I can't believe that you thought I would be upset. If this would've happened when I was ten, I'd probably be running up to my room to slam the door a couple of times."

"Of course," Charlie chuckled. "And then you would have called Edward to make it better."

"Very true," Edward replied. "I'm happy for you, Chief. I hear Sue makes an awesome fish dinner."

"That she does. Maybe you guys can come up one day to have some. You won't know what hit you after one bite."

"Yeah, whenever, Dad. Just give me a call beforehand."

"We have something to tell you as well" Edward announced suddenly, and Bella looked up at him in bewilderment as he stood up.

"We do?" she asked, shocked.

"Of course we do," he affirmed. "Chief Swan, Charlie," Edward began and stopped as Charlie furrowed his brow. "Bella and I, we-" he continued but Charlie stopped him midsentence.

"Hold on, are you here to tell me that you and Bella are dating now?" Charlie bluntly asked causing Bella to step back in her seat.

"Yes?" Edward timidly answered and Charlie laughed.

"Really?" he goaded and Edward and Bella both nodded silently.

"It's about damn time," Charlie chuckled as he held his hand out to Edward.

"What?" Both Bella and Edward asked even as he shook Charlie's hand; it was the weakest hand shake Edward had ever given.

"You two have been in love with each other since you were kids. I've been waiting for this day for years. The day you told me that you were moving in with Edward, I thought you were going to tell me then that your were dating. This doesn't really shock me at all."

"Really? And you're not worried about this?" Bella asked.

"There is no one in this world Bella that I have faith in more than you, but Edward comes a pretty damn close second. You and Edward are meant to be, Bells. I saw that when you were kids, and let's get serious, I'm pretty blind when it comes to matters of the heart, but that…that love you two showed each other growing up was hard to miss, even for me."

"Dad," Bella whispered happily.

"I'm happy that you two have finally decided to see what everyone has seen for the last twenty years," he concluded and Bella again jumped out of her chair to hug him.

"Thank you, Dad. That really means a lot to me."

"Don't thank me," he scoffed playfully. "There are no two people better suited for each other than you two."

"I couldn't have said it better, Chief," Edward commented as he grabbed Bella's hand when she sat back down beside him.

"Yeah, I trust you, Edward, and I always have, but if you hurt her, I will hunt you down and I know people," Charlie jested and Edward laughed tightly.

"I wouldn't put it passed you, Chief."

"Now are you two staying for dinner or going back home to Seattle?"

"We'll stay," Bella answered for her and Edward and he nodded in agreement. Bella sat there with the biggest smile on her face as she held Edward's hand.

"What's with the smile?" Edward teased nudging her with his shoulder.

"Just happy," she said.

"Me too," he replied.

For the time being, life couldn't get any better; she had everything she wanted.

=x=

Dinner with Charlie had gone much like Bella remembered it going when she was younger, which meant Charlie ordered a pie from the pizzeria and they all shared it in the living room while watching the start of the Mariner's game, but by the fifth inning Bella started to doze off and Edward suggested that they head on home.

"It was nice seeing your dad," Edward tried to comment as they drove out of Forks, but Bella had a different idea. Ten minutes into the trek home, she fell asleep with her head against the window.

Eventually he reached the apartment complex and the parking structure and parked Bella's car beside his.

"Wake up, Bella," he shook her lightly to wake her up. "We're home."

"Are we really?" she asked groggily as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Yeah, now come on, let's get you into bed," he chuckled. He hopped out of the car and walked around to help Bella out.

"Wait!" Bella shouted as they neared the elevator. "I need to get the clothes in the back."

"You can get them tomorrow," Edward groaned as he pulled her by the arm into the awaiting elevator.

"Let's get some sleep."

"Yeah, sleep sounds good," she chucked lightly. Bella stood nestled in the crook of Edward's arm as the elevator ascended; she was already starting to fall back to sleep.

Edward jostled her to get her to wake up, long enough to walk into their apartment.

"Where are you going?" Edward asked playfully as he leaned against the doorjamb of his bedroom door, watching Bella walk toward her bedroom.

"I'm going to bed," she called out.

"Our bed is in here," he announced proudly and Bella smiled widely as she walked back toward him. He pulled her in close to him and reveled in how she felt in his arms.

"I like the sound of that," Bella mumbled against his chest.

"Good. Now let's get some sleep; it's been a long day,"

Edward walked them over to his bed and two sat down on opposite sides, removing their shoes, and nothing else. They were both too tired to change for the night.

"Goodnight Edward," Bella grumbled as she slipped under the covers.

"Goodnight Bella," he replied as she fell right back to sleep, Edward following suit soon after.