AN: Same disclaimer as always... I own no piece of Twilight.

Chapter 13

Bella POV

I woke up Wednesday of Spring Break with another smile on my face. The week had been perfect so far. I had seen Edward every day either during the day or after work. Most days he came over to the house or we took walks in town, but tonight, we were heading back to Port Angeles to a coffee house that had live music.

The plan was that he would pick me up at 7 for the show to start at 8, which meant Alice planned to be here at 5 to "prep" me. I tried to get out of time with Alice, explaining to her that I had my outfit ready to go since it was just a casual night, but she pouted and did this thing with her eyes. It was impossible to say no to her when she did that.

That left me the morning to head down to La Push and see Leah. She called earlier in the week and asked me to come visit. So I got out of bed, showered, ate a small breakfast, and drove down to the reservation.

I knocked on the door to the Clearwater's house and Sue opened the door. "Hi Bella! Leah's in her room. Go ahead up. I'm heading to the store and then to Billy's house to see if I can 'encourage' him to let me clean that house."

I laughed. "Good luck with that! See you later, Sue." I ran up the stairs and knocked on Leah's door before walking in.

"Hey, Bells. Good to see you." She gave me a quick hug and sat back on her bed, brushing her hair. "How's things?"

"Great. Busy, but great!"

"Oh yeah. You still spending time with Edward Cullen?"

The last thing I wanted was another lecture on the supposed evils of the Cullens, but I wouldn't lie. "Yes, he and I are seeing each other. Leah, I know you have some issues with the Cullens, but I really like Edward. I don't want it to be a thing with us."

"Bella, I owe you an apology. I should have held my tongue about Edward. I'm sure he is great for you." There was a pause in the conversation—not necessarily awkward but stilted.

I was anxious to start the day. "So, where are we off to?"

"I thought we would head down to the beach. Jacob and a bunch of his friends are playing football down at the beach and then having lunch. I thought we could join them and ogle. Wait 'til you see them. Mm mm mm!" She fanned herself and laughed, which I happily returned.

As we sat on the beach, I realized that her description of the boys didn't do them justice. Each one was more built then the last. They were playing football on the beach. They all were in matching shorts and nothing else. I have to admit there was some drooling on my part. But after the initial shock of seeing these Adonises, my mind drifted to Edward. They may be beautiful, but my guy was everything.

Lunch was fun with all the guys play fighting and woofing down the food. Jacob came toward Leah and I and threw himself onto the sand. "Hey there, beautiful. Hey, Bells!"

"Hi, Jake," I replied watching him kiss Leah before grabbing her sandwich.

"Watcha been up to?"

"She and I have been watching the game and chatting about boys," Leah offered.

"Oh really? Telling tales about me?"

"You and Bella's boyfriend, Edward."

I couldn't read the look on Jacob's face as he turned to me, but he quickly gave a smile and asked "Yeah? How's that going? Edward treating you well?"

I didn't sense any ill feelings this time so I answered, "Things are great. Edward and his family are wonderful. You should get to know them."

"I actually have and I owe you an apology. Actually, why don't you ask Edward to come down on Friday night for a bonfire here? We'd love to have you both join us."

"I'm sure he would love that. I'll see if he's free."

I hadn't noticed another couple join us on the sand until the guy spoke up. "Who's joining us and for what, Jacob."

"Sam, this is Bella Swan—Chief's daughter. I just thought she and her boyfriend, Edward Cullen, would like to join us on Friday for the bonfire."

"Yeah? That's a great idea. Please tell him I said I hope he can come."

Sam POV

Inviting Edward Cullen to the bonfire was something Jacob and I had arranged a while ago. Yes, we wanted to be sure that the antidote was working and that there were no repercussions of the serum, but we also wanted to put the past behind us. The Cullens were the best source of intelligence we had about the vampire world and we needed to form a friendly alliance with the family. Of course we couldn't invite any of the bloodsuckers here, so we decided to start with ones who were already human.

I had witnessed the three changes so far. Edward went first followed a few weeks later by Rosalie and Emmett. I'm certain that the peaceful nature of the change they underwent back to human was just another bit of evidence that the vampire life was completely unnatural. It was a cure that I was happy to play a part in, no matter how small.

Rosalie and Emmett's changes were the same as Edward only less clinical. They laid down in their bed as Esme pulled the covers over them. I felt like I was watching a mother tuck her children in at night.

The bond of the Cullen family was one I had not anticipated when I first decided to help them. Now that they are human again, I hope the bond stays strong. Their bond is similar to the bond between Jared, Paul, me, and our imprints. There is no doubt that we would move heaven and hell to help one of the pack members and they would do the same. The Denali clan that I met last Friday was the same way. I was curious if the bond was the same for all vampires or just the ones that didn't drink human blood, but I didn't feel the need to chase down the answer to that question. Somehow, I knew that we would discover the answer to that question in our own time.

The other question I had no answer to was whether more of the young men from our tribe would change. Billy was sure that Jacob would be one of the next called if it became necessary. I hoped that with the Cold Ones turning human again, we could prevent any others from changing. I could only hope that no one else was forced to live this way—perhaps once Dr. Cullen talked others into becoming human again, there would be no more need for our shape shifters.

I thought of a life without the need to turn into a large, furry wolf made me smile as I walked through the forest toward my house. I could smell the muffins that Emily had in the oven. Jared, Kim, and Paul would be over later along with Jacob and Leah to join us for dinner and to discuss our futures. We had plans to start a construction company underway as a way to earn money while still being our own bosses. It would certainly make life easier if we didn't have to plan patrols into our schedules.

I walked in the door to my beautiful Emily, wrapped my arms around her waist as she stood at the counter moving muffins to a cooling rack. She turned to kiss me as I stole a muffin from behind her back. She looked up and smiled at me.

"Well, that's a nice greeting. How was the game?"

"Good. My team one!"

"Good, serves Paul right for teasing the younger kids all week. What time is everyone coming over?"

"They should be here around 6. Jacob and Leah are joining us also."

"Why, they're still in school. Aren't they too young to start a business with us?"

"We need Jacob's mechanical skills to keep up our trucks and other equipment and Leah wants to help in the office. I thought you would be okay with having your cousin involved."

"Of course. I'm thrilled to have her on board. I can use help in the office and she's brilliant with computers. Why don't you go jump in the shower and wash the sand off and let me fix dinner?" I started to turn around. "Oh, and Sam?"

"Yeah," I said, hanging my head. I already knew what she was going to say.

"Please put the muffin back. They're for dinner. You just had an enormous lunch on the beach and you haven't phased in about a week so I you don't have that for an excuse."

"Yes, dear." I swear she has eyes in the back of her head. I walked to the shower thinking of how she would be the same with our children. I really need to get a ring on that girl's finger and start a family with her soon.

Edward POV

I walked up to Bella's front door and rang the bell. Less than a minute later, Chief Swan opened the door and glared at me.

"Who are you?"

"Good evening, Chief Swan. My name is Edward Cullen. I'm her to pick Bella up."

"Cullen. Come in then and have a seat. I'll let Bella know you're here."

I walked into the house and sat at the table where Chief Swan pointed. Lying on the table was a shotgun and two handguns. The shotgun was broken apart in the process of being cleaned but the handguns were intact. One had a large magazine of bullets sitting next to it and the other looked like a fully loaded pistol. I suddenly realized that the bullets in theses guns could kill me—I was no longer bullet proof.

I took a big breath and swallowed too loudly. The chief looked my way from the bottom of the stairs and smirked.

"Bella. There's a boy here to see you."

"Be right there," she shouted down the stairs.

He came over to the table and sat at the chair nearest the shotgun. He picked it up and started shining the barrel. "So, Edwin. What grade are you in?"

"I'm a junior. Same as Bella, Chief."

"Are you a football player?"

"No, sir. I haven't gotten involved in school activities yet."

"You're not a stoner, are you?

"Dad!" Bella came flying down the stairs to my rescue. "Edward is at the top of the class in school and is into music. We're heading to Port Angeles to a coffee shop that has live music. We'll be home by midnight."

"Home by 11."

"I'll have her home by 11, Chief Swan."

"Home means in the house, not in the driveway."

"We got it, Dad. Have a good night!" She pulled me out of the door as I was trying to shake his hand. His grip was firm—too firm. I tried to match his grip but found that my strength wasn't what it once was. I had to remember that I was human. Despite my loss of superhuman strength, Chief Swan seemed to approve. He nodded and wished us a good evening.

I opened the door for Bella and walked around to my side climbing in the door. "I hope you enjoy tonight. I have a surprise lined up for you."

"I'm sure whatever you have lined up is perfect, but really, you don't need to surprise me with anything to make the night perfect. I just enjoy spending time with you, Edward."

I must have done something right in my life to deserve a girl like this. I reached out, grabbed her hand, and held on for the rest of our ride to Port Angeles.

AN: Date night is up next (hopefully tonight) and maybe a little from Rose and Emmett if I can fit them in.

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