003 I Love You

"You look gorgeous," Esme's voice was once again almost a whisper as Angela ran her hands down the slightly worn fabric of the dress, the second she had picked out to try on and had saved for last, "you look like... you just look wonderful."

Rose was smiling in what Angela was sure was a mixture of both delight at the dress and pride at having found it in the first place, and Bella was smiling with her eyebrows raised in approval, an image that harked back to the days of the dance and dress shopping with both Jessica and Bella herself in Port Angeles. So much had undoubtedly changed since then.

"It's gorgeous," Angela smiled as she fingered the off white lace gracing the front of the dress, remembering old photographs of her mother's wedding and the dress she had worn styled after some old movie she had loved growing up, "I'd need some help with it though."

"Hair, make-up and shoes can all be taken care of," Rose smiled from her place on the white satin settee, one hand propping up her head against the backing and one curled over her crossed legs, "I'd say hair up and light make up for the moment."

Angela turned back to the mirror and took in her reflection once more, gazing at the dress and trying to imagine the full effect. The dress itself was however enough. Off white lace covered both her arms and her back, meeting the bodice of the dress which in a slightly brighter off white hugged her to the waist and then fell to her toes. A small lace cuff was tied to the waist, leaving a triangular gap as its draped effect led into the fall of the skirt. It was in short very beautiful, and Angela could tell it had seen a wedding much more publicised than hers.

"It kind of makes everything real, doesn't it?" Esme spoke gently as her hand rested on Angela's shoulder and adjusted the lace that sat around her collarbone, eyes meeting in the mirror and gazes being held, "the dress and the ring. You will make a beautiful bride, and an absolutely loving wife."

Angela nodded and smiled, hand resting on her soon to be mother-in-laws for the split second before the spell was broken. With a decision made, Esme and Bella went to pay for the dress, leaving Rose to wait for Angela and meet them in the car.

"You really will look beautiful," Rose was talking through the white curtain that separated them, and Angela took her time to change back into her black top and jeans, button sleeved cardigan following suit, "the dress is gorgeous, and the rest we have a few weeks to bring together. You should start thinking about what you want, and then I can have an idea of what we'll need to get and where we can go. Nearby Forks if you like."

"Yeah," Angela turned to face the mirror, taking in the circles under her eyes for a minute as she tried to remember how many hours of sleep she had gotten before she had been woken up for their trip. Rose's discussion of what she wanted had just pulled her into her own little world again for a moment. There was so much to do, and so little time to decide if she was right or if she was ready. The happiness she as feeling of late was something she didn't want to lose, yet she knew that she wouldn't be able to put off decisions forever.

"Rose?" with a tug at the curtain Angela stepped out to watch rose refold yet another veil into its original place, "I need to talk to you about something."

The blonde stalled her hands minutely and then turned to face her friend, the only human she had ever really had any connection with since her change. A split second of worry overcame her system and then her head tilted slowly to the side, as if to take in every inch of the girl standing before her, "sure. What is it?"

"I don't know what to do," Angela drew her voice back to a whisper and closed her eyes, swallowing against all the things she had been trying not to think about since this proposal had started, "I need you to help me."

The blonde dropped the veil in her hand without properly fixing it, turning completely to face Angela as she stood rooted to her spot in front of the changing room, her bag still next to the mirror on the floor a few paces behind her.

"I need you to help me understand something," the girl continued as Rose hesitated to move towards her, "I know your own feelings on the subject, but I want you to just explain to me as best you can, without any bias, what I'm about to ask you."

Rose nodded and Angela opened her eyes to look at her, ringing her hands together as if she was cold, even though the humidity of the shop was almost stifling to her at this very moment in time, "What will it feel like... for me to be what you are?"

Rose blinked and then turned to look back at the veil she had been replacing, picking it up in her hands and running her finger over the patterned lace that constituted the material. It reminded her of her own, once upon a time. The first one she had ever owned, the one she had picked whilst there was pink in her cheeks and breath in her lungs, a sea of colour in her eyes. She remembered.

"Ange, I'm not the one you should be talking to about this," she gave a glance towards her friend and watched her lower her head a little, gaze dropping to her feet on the ground, "its not that I can't tell you or anything, because you can talk to me about anything it's just..."

"No, it's okay Rose, you really don't have to," the girl smiled and moved forwards, bag on her shoulder and ready to go, ready to pretend it didn't matter to her, "t doesn't matter. I –"

"No, it does matter," Rose gripped at her arm for a moment and looked back at the veil, knowing that it could very well have been hers, "it's just, I was already in such pain before it happened that... well it was just like a fresh wave wasn't it?"

Rose smiled and moved her hand away from the fabric, letting her grip on Angela's arm loosen before turning to reach for her own bag that was resting near the boxes she had been looking at on the table, each containing different veils and accessories, "but when I woke up, it's like I'd never felt it. There were no scars there on the outside, just little reminiscent waves of fire underneath. For a little while, I'd thought I'd gone crazy. But it went away eventually."

Angela nodded and continued to watch as Rosalie smiled down at the mess of fabric and buttons and jewels below them, "but it's different for everybody I guess," she turned to face her now, looking her in the eyes and noticing the tears that were hanging back there, "you should talk to Jasper about it. Partners make decisions together."

Angela found herself nodding again as Rose shook her head a little, brushing some hair back behind her ear and turning back to the girl who had won over the family faster than any of the others had, "anyway, we have gotten you a dress, which you look amazing in, so I think we should head out to the car and the airport, give you a few minutes to call the groom and then fly back home to celebrate properly."

"Sounds like a plan," Angela smiled and then relaxed back into a small frown as Rose pulled her from the store, letting her get into the car at human pace as watched Esme and Bella whisper a plan to one another from their seats.

It felt like only a matter of seconds was taken to get them to the airport and with a thank you to the driver for his work and his congratulations, she let the others move inside to check them in and pulled the cell phone Jasper had given her out from her bag.

"Darlin'?" Angela smiled a little as his southern drawl greeted her across the phone and realised he must have been having a good time at home with his brothers.

"Hi, yes it's me," she turned to look through the glass doors at the others as they waited patiently at the counter, every so often glancing in her direction to make sure nothing was wrong, "I'm at the airport, we'll be flying back home within the hour."

She watched a man hop quickly out of the front passenger door of a taxi, running the two steps around to open the passenger door of the back. A young girl not much older than herself stepped out, patterned skirt and plain shirt with long blonde hair, happily smiling at him and he wrapped her up in his arms. The engagement ring sparkled in the sunlight.

"Ange," she snapped her attention quickly back to her phone and muttered an apology, telling him she was lost in the sight of something and refusing to acknowledge it to herself as a lie, "I said that I'll bring a car and pick you up, the girls will probably need extra room for all the things they bought anyway."

"Okay," Angela gave a small sound to indicate her amusement at his joke and then turned back to the couple from the taxi. They had it so easy without even realising, yet she still wouldn't change the love of her life, "I'll have Rose send you an estimated time of arrival. I'll see you when we get there."

"One last thing," Jasper had lowered his voice and from the wind crackling over the line she knew he had run from hearing distance of the house, "if there was something wrong you'd tell me right?"

She smiled and turned away from the couple, looking through the glass doors at the three women sitting politely at a table outside one of the busy airport lounge restaurants, smiling between themselves and chatting quietly, "of course."

"I'll see you when you get back then," his voice had changed again over the line and she figured he had run back to the house, "be careful on the flight home. And be careful around Rose, Emmett wants me to remind you that she's dangerous."

Angela laughed in earnest and moved towards the doors again, this time passing through and offering her final greeting through limited service, "he'll be in trouble when we get back. I love you."

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"I love you too," Jasper said into his phone as he scanned the trees on the very border of the Cullen property, well aware that Angela's call had cut off after her last word and that he was stalling the inevitable.

With a click he snapped his cell phone shut and moved to place it in his pocket, crouching a little in defence and monitoring the sounds he could hear coming from the trees. The bright snapping noise to his left made him jump quickly into a turn, and a rustle up ahead made him tense. Without much second thought he dove into the wood and lunged forwards through the trees, well aware he had something in his sights now as it ricocheted off a tree and back onto the forest floor.

A snarl escaped him unbidden and then from behind a weight hit him and pinned him down, tying him to a tree with strong arms as he struggled to turn his head and look at his attacker.

"Shhh," the sound made him cease the snarls ripping from his chest but the animal instinct to escape was not to be culled, and his limbs writhed minutely against the stone that trapped him, "Jasper it's me, be quiet."

Emmett relaxed his grip as Jasper ceased his struggling, and both brothers stood facing the wood in similar states of cunning and poise, waiting to see if anything was headed back towards the house.

"It's gone," Edward sounded suddenly from the tree limb above their heads as he jumped to the ground and stood facing the direction they had moments ago been racing towards, "I can't hear anything, and that was definitely not a wild animal."

"What the hell was it then?" Emmett furrowed his brow and kicked at the base of the tree, shuddering it down into a sharp angle and then righting it with a low grunt of frustration, "the last thing we need is more crazy-ass predators running around here."

"I have a feeling we're about to have a problem," Jasper muttered with slight disgust as he drew on the tense feelings of both his brothers standing with him in the clearing, "we need to talk to Carlisle."