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A/N: This story is rated M for "My hope is that the angst was worth it." Nothing too shocking in this chapter but, if you're not over 18, please don't read. Thanks!

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Chapter 24: Plant Your Love And Let It Grow

Edward didn't need to read Bella's thoughts to know how much she was dreading the conversation they were about to have. He wasn't excited about it himself but as much as their kind resisted change, it was inevitable. Aro knew how true that was. And Edward was sure that Carlisle did as well. Still, being the source of that change, having their happiness be the cause of his parents' distress, didn't sit well with either of them.

Once they were back in the house Esme and Carlisle were easy to locate. Esme's tearless sobs would have been audible to any human let alone to Edward and Bella's heightened hearing. Edward glanced at Bella and saw as she closed her eyes in remorse. He squeezed her hand once again, willing his resolve to flow into her. As much as he loved his parents, he loved his mate more. This was the way of the world: children grew up, left their homes and began new lives. And Edward refused to sacrifice another second of happiness with Bella.

They found his parents in the attic, the nursery that Esme had converted to a workspace. Despite the fact that she had completely reworked the room, Edward knew she still felt its original purpose keenly and wasn't surprised that this was where she would go to find refuge. Carlisle was stroking her hair gently as they sat by the large bay window. Edward could hear in his father's mind at least, the acceptance he so needed. Carlisle understood the bond that Edward and Bella shared. He was even happy that Rosalie had found her true path, even if he disagreed with where it would lead her. He would happily release his children, content to see them fulfill the promise of their lives. But any joy he might have taken in his children's happiness was destroyed by the anguish it caused Esme.

Esme's thoughts were not so generous. She wasn't unkind, just desperately worried about her children and not entirely convinced of the purity of Bella and Emmett's motives. She worried that her children were being led astray; used for playthings only to be cruelly abandoned later. Her human experiences made her incapable of sanctioning violence in any way. And her own slips as a newborn gave her ample knowledge of how horrifying it could be to look into a mirror, longing to see amber eyes and being confronted with burgundy instead.

Carlisle noticed immediately as Edward and Bella came to a stop at the doorway, letting his eyes and thoughts convey his acknowledgement of their presence, but Esme was too wrapped up in worry and grief to realize she and Carlisle were no longer alone.

"My heart is breaking, Carlisle," she moaned. "I want to be happy for them. Edward has longed for Isabella for decades. And I know Rosalie has never felt comfortable in this life. But I can't help what I fear." She looked into her mate's eyes fiercely. "And if they are ever hurt, I would not be able to tolerate it."

Bella breathed in sharply, affected by Esme's tone as much as her words. Still reflexively shielded, Edward was unable to read her thoughts and for a moment he worried that she was offended by the implication of what his mother had just said.

"Esme," she called out strongly as she swiftly strode toward the vampire in Carlisle's arms. As Esme whipped around in surprise, Bella crouched next to her, her pose and demeanor showing no threat, only a desire to be understood.

"I wish there was some way I could show you the depths of my heart. I wish I could let down my shield and let you see how deep my love for Edward runs, how I would never willingly hurt him." She reached over to take one of Esme's hands from Carlisle and place it on her chest. "If my heart could beat at all, it would only be for Edward. He is my life."

Esme's eyes began to fill with hope and Bella's mouth widened into the beginnings of a smile in response. "I will guard his heart as ferociously as you would, Esme. I give you my word." Carlisle looked up to Edward, his gratitude plain on his face.

She is magnificent, Edward. It is a credit to you that you have chosen so wisely, even before you knew her secrets. She will make an excellent mate… and an excellent leader for your new coven.

Edward came to stand behind Bella, resting his hands on her shoulders. "It's true, Esme. As grateful as I am for the love you have given me over the years, as much as you've been my mother in every way possible since I joined this family, Bella owns my heart. It's always been hers and I trust her with it. Completely."

Bella turned to look up at Edward, her eyes filled with emotion and she dropped her shield briefly, letting him see just how deeply his words had affected her. As it happened every time when she bared herself to him, he was both humbled and elated by the connection. He spent his entire life forced to hear the thoughts of others, but when she willingly gave hers to him, it touched him beyond measure.

I love you.

"I love you too, Isabella," he murmured back then returned his attention to his parents. "Please understand that we want your blessing. Carlisle? Esme? Will you give us that?"

Esme sniffled lightly and Edward could hear the warring emotions in her head. One part of her wanted to deny it, tell them that if they would tear her family apart they would get no blessing from her. But the better part of her, the larger part of her, knew she would never be happy with that, no matter what the result was. She loved Edward so dearly; she had watched him long for his lost love for decades. She had to trust him to know his own worth. She had to trust Bella as she appeared now, not as Esme had feared she might be.

Edward let out a small breath as Esme came to her mental conclusion. She nodded, ever so slightly to her mate and Carlisle spoke for them both.

"Of course we give you our blessing, Edward." He paused to look directly at Bella who still knelt beside them, despite the fact that Esme had pulled back her hand shyly. "And you, Bella, have our blessing as well. We believe you love Edward and when true love is involved, anything is possible." As he finished he looked at his wife, the woman he had adored for almost a century, and tiny starbursts of the softest blue twinkled and faded around them in a halo of love. Edward had never been able to fully appreciate the depth of love those images represented for them. Now he knew, for now he was equally blessed.

Bella rose and twined her fingers with Edward's. She gave his hand a firm squeeze then squared her shoulders, determined to get through all of the things that needed to be said. "What of Emmett and Rosalie?"

Carlisle sighed but this time did not wait for Esme to speak. "We are disappointed." He stood to look the pair before him directly in the eye. "How could we not be? We had no idea that Rosalie had gone so long in this state, feeling so helpless and at odds with our lifestyle. While I disagree that she will find the power she seeks in the hunt and while I fear she may come to regret the lives she takes, I will not stand in the path of her doing whatever is necessary for her to make the life she never asked for tolerable. If she finds the peace she seeks in her new life with Emmett, then perhaps she will one day forgive me for changing her."

Bella who hadn't known how resentful Rosalie was of her life as a vampire, how much she detested that which she had become, looked at Edward in horrified surprise. With a nod he let her know it was true.

"Carlisle, Rosalie might not have chosen this life, but she was made for Emmett." Edward spoke the words with conviction. "I have seen them together." With a wry smile he added, "More than I could ever want to have seen." While Carlisle looked somewhat chagrined by that thought, it didn't escape Edward's notice that Esme and Bella wore identical restrained smirks. All women love a love story, he mused lightly.

"What I mean to say," he continued finally, "is that if you are still torturing yourself over what might have been, whether you should have left her to that violent death or not, then I would ask you to think about Emmett. For Rosalie is his true love as well. He may be Isabella's protector, but that bond would only fulfill him so much. Rosalie is what he was meant for. They are each other's destiny."

Bella's hand came to rest on Carlisle arm. "And for that, Carlisle, you will always have my thanks." Carlisle placed his hand over Bella's with a pat.

"Dear Bella, if your Emmett can bring our Rosalie some measure of happiness, then it is I who will be in your debt." He smiled tightly, but genuinely. Edward could see his thoughts were still worried over what might be, but Carlisle pushed them away for the moment.

Edward and Bella left shortly after that, giving his parents some time to accept all the changes that had come to them in such a short time. As they left the house, Bella's phone began to vibrate and a jarring rendition of "Who Let the Dogs Out?" began to blare out of it. Before the first line could finish, she'd whipped it from the back pocket of her jeans and silenced it. Edward looked at her curiously as her grimace turned into a smile.

"What is that all about?" he asked softly.

"Emmett is a fool. That's what that ring is about." With a flurry of fingers Edward saw her reset it to the mute setting that would merely cause it to vibrate when she got a text. Then she looked up at him. "The text was from Aro. Our new loft is ready."

Edward's mind took a millisecond to take in how quickly Aro had accomplished that. "How?"

"It's just my things of course, but he wanted it to be ready for us right away." She smiled down at her feet sheepishly. "I have a feeling that he set things in motion before he made the offer. You know, cleared the place out?" She looked up at Edward and her nose wrinkled. "Are you ok with that?"

Normally Edward would have bristled at the presumption, especially as his possessiveness of Bella had only grown since they reunited. But having seen Aro's love for Bella, both through her eyes and Aro's own thoughts since he had come to Chicago, Edward couldn't help but smile back.

"His love for you knows no bounds does it?"

She gave a short, musical laugh. "I guess not."

"Well between him and Emmett, I guess I'm in good company. I rather like that they see things my way." His lips quirked up as he pulled her into his arms and leaned in to skim the line of her jaw with his lips. Bella's head fell back as her skin tingled from the electricity of their touch. He nipped her ear and pulled back from her, causing Bella to open her eyes in dazed surprise.

"I didn't think you'd be up for another bout of al fresco love today, my fair maiden." His self-satisfied smirk belied his confidence in the fact that she'd want him wherever, whenever. He knew he felt the same.

"Do you have a better idea, my champion?" Her eyes were challenge and lust and black thirst, and for a moment Edward wondered if there was another hunger he should be attending to.

"I do, but you haven't fed in some time, Isabella. I should take you out…" his voice trailed off as he saw the stubborn look in her eye.

"I told you my favorite meal was always going to be copper-haired American boy." She pressed her body against his and he knew this was one battle he wasn't about to fight. They would be together and nowhere near humans. She would be safe.

"It just so happens I know exactly where you can find such a dish," he purred into her ear as his hands reached down to pull her more fully against him.

"I was hoping you might be able to help me out." Bella arms were about his neck, pulling him back down toward her when she realized they had some place they could go and be alone. She leaned back suddenly and the kiss Edward had been about to place on her lips fell awkwardly on her neck. Not one to be deterred, he simply adjusted his angle and began to run his tongue along the soft skin of her throat.

"Edward," her voice came out as a moan. "I want something."

"I'm trying to give it to you," he smiled into her flesh, not willing to stop worshipping her.

"Something else," she giggled back and Edward straightened up, willing to play along with anything that might please her. She looked up at him earnestly. "Take me home, my champion." Understanding dawned and he instantly swept her up in his arms.

"Where's home, fair maiden?" he asked softly. She gave him the address that Aro had texted her and he flew off into the night. In a few short minutes they were there, entering the third floor suite with the key Aro had left for them hidden along the trim above their door. Edward was sure the building was beautiful and historic but he had no time to take any of that in. Bella wanted to be alone with him in their new home; nothing was more important.

He stilled when they entered large bedroom, complete with a new bed, covered in brand new, navy silk sheets. Atop the matching, fluffy, unnecessary comforter stood a small, cream piece of paper, crisply folded in half. Edward saw that it was addressed to Bella and he handed it to her. Confused and curious, she opened the note then her face blanked as she read, finally ending with grateful smile.

"It's from Emmett. He pulled some strings at the department store where he used to work and had a new bed delivered for us in the middle of the night." Bella looked up at Edward with concern. "He thought you might have an aversion to my old one and wanted to make sure we started off with everything fresh between us."

Rather than upset by the reference to Bella and Emmett's former relationship, Edward was touched. Bella's protector clearly cared as much for him as he did for her. It was humbling and Edward felt strangely honored to have stumbled into such a deep friendship with the man he had thought to kill only days before. Now, when he thought of Emmett, it was as a brother and it warmed Edward to think that their new coven was already forming those bonds that held a family together.

Not wanting the tension Bella was obviously feeling to ruin the mood, Edward tossed her lightly onto the bed, watching with pleasure as she squealed and then scrambled back up amidst her laughter.

"You're going to pay for that," she leaned forward menacingly.

"Oh, I'm counting on that, Isabella," he replied as he sauntered to the bed, swiftly unbuttoning his shirt.

Words became unnecessary as they playfully disrobed one another, giggling and growling, falling together and apart as their clothes scattered around them like rice at a wedding. When Edward at last removed Bella's sheer lace bra, he pushed her back into the soft bedding, cupping her breasts in his hands and rolling his thumbs over her nipples. She arched up into him, letting her head fall back and her beautiful dark hair spill out behind her.

Edward lowered his mouth reverently, letting his tongue swirl in teasing circles around her breast ever closer but never quite where she longed for his touch. When he finally sucked her flesh into his mouth she gasped then moaned in pleasure. Slowly he tortured her, teased her, made her squirm with agony and delight. When she could take no more she flipped him over, landing agilely astride him with an arrogant little smile.

"My turn, Mr. Cullen." She bent her head down and began to rain kisses down his chest, slowly following the trail of hair that led over his taut stomach and down toward her true destination. As her mouth slipped lower, Edward groaned and grabbed at her shoulders to stop her, but Bella slapped his hands away.

"You want me to be yours right?" She looked up at him in all seriousness. When he nodded she continued, "Then you are mine. In every way." Her smile turned wicked as she resumed her journey over his flesh. She hummed greedily as her hand came up to stroke him and now it was Edward's turn to drop his head back in abandon. When her mouth closed over him, pulling him deeper and deeper down her throat, he had to consciously beat back his orgasm. It wasn't easy, but he was able to hold back as her hot mouth engulfed him, steadily driving him crazy.

When he couldn't restrain himself any longer, he groaned her name desperately. Bella sat back to smile at him like a vixen. She crawled back up his body, hovering above him to prolong the exquisite torture until he grasped her hips and plunged himself up inside her. With a growl she snatched his hands from her sides and pinned him to the bed as she worked her body over his.

"Oh, Edward," she moaned as she got closer and closer with each stroke. He reached down between them, rubbing her flesh with his thumb until she trembled with need.

"Please, Edward, I'm so close."

Unable to hold back any longer he grasped her hips once more and pulled her down against him as he pumped the last few times into her, sending them both over the edge into a sea of bliss. When Bella came down enough to take in their surroundings, she was surprised to find their previously blue comforter covered in feathery white down.

"What on earth happened here, Edward?" she asked on a laugh. When he refused to open his eyes and merely hummed his responding query, she plucked a tiny feather from his bronze hair and ran it down his nose and over his lips.

"We're covered in feathers! We look ridiculous." She continued to look at him expectantly until he opened his eyes.

"I needed to channel the excesses, Isabella."

Bella looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "What are you talking about? I'm not some fragile, little human you need to worry about protecting. Remember? I made you." She said the last part rather smugly, and Edward could tell that she continued to look on him with love and pride.

He grimaced, not wanting to answer but knowing that the longer he stalled the more ludicrous it was going to sound. "Isabella…I didn't want to come in your mouth. It's not seemly. You're not that kind of a girl. And so I had to bite a pillow." He closed his eyes as if he could blot out the embarrassment of the moment but he couldn't shut his ears to Bella's laughter.

When her giggles subsided she pushed him affectionately on the shoulder. "Just so you know, Edward…for future reference…I am that kind of a girl." She gave him a saucy wink before snuggling back into him, sending a fluff of feathers into the air about them. Edward processed her remark silently, musing on how there were so many things he still had to learn about his mate.

They lay there for awhile, each lost in their own thoughts. Occasionally Bella would drop her shield and let a particularly sweet thought or emotion show through, but for the most part they enjoyed the comfortable silence. Then Bella sat up, as if she had remembered something important.

"What is it?" Edward asked, slightly anxious. They had been through a lot in the past week and part of him worried that they might never be able to settle into a quiet normalcy. Bella shook her head and bounced from the bed with a child-like grin on her face. Whatever she had remembered couldn't be that bad if she was that happy, Edward decided and he settled back to wait for her. She only went as far as her vanity on the other side of the room, and after a quick search clutched whatever it was she was looking for in her hand. Flitting back to his side, she sat next to him, humming lightly as his hand drifted up and down her leg soothingly.

"There's something I want to give you, Edward," she began shyly. "No. That's not right, because I don't want you to keep it. I want you to give it back." Then she looked up at him chagrined as if she had said the wrong thing. "Gah! I'm mucking this all up."

Edward folded his hands over hers, bemused. "Isabella, there's nothing I wouldn't give you. May I?" She nodded and he gently unfolded her hands to find a small golden ring nestled in the palm of her left hand. His mother's ring. The ring he had given her the last time he had looked at her with human eyes. He swallowed audibly. He looked up into her worried eyes and had a moment of clarity so powerful it made him suck in a deep breath.

She was his past, she was his present and by everything he held dear she would be his future. Wanting to erase the pain and misunderstanding of all the years that had separated them, he repeated the words he had said so long ago.

"Isabella, my one and only love." She sighed at his words knowing exactly what would come next and clearly welcoming it.

"From the moment I first saw you, from the moment we first spoke, you have owned my heart. It will belong to you for eternity, as will I if you'll have me." He placed her palm over his heart, where she had felt it beat for her almost a century ago, where it would forever remain hers in silent tribute to their love.

"Isabella Swan? I promise to love you for forever – every single day of forever." He smiled knowing how long that would be and looking forward to every second of it. "Will you marry me?"

Isabella's eyes watched him intently as he spoke. This time her response was strong and clear, her shield down so he could feel all the love in her heart.

"Yes."

Edward slid the ring onto her finger, taking his time to enjoy the triumph of the moment. He was no longer the same boy who had proposed to her in the meadow, but he loved her every bit as much and then some. And he knew she felt the same. They kissed, passionately but tenderly for a moment before he pulled back.

"So, do you want a big wedding?" His face wrinkled in consternation at the thought of an enormous white wedding and how surreal that would be. Bella laughed at his expression.

"No!" He smiled when he realized she felt the same and pulled her into his arms again, resting his chin upon the top of her head.

"So…how do vampires get married, my love? Do you want to go to Vegas?" He had a vivid mental image of Emmett, dressed as Elvis, performing the ceremony in a little white chapel.

"Actually," Bella said hesitantly. "I'd always hoped that my father would be the one to join us for eternity." Aro. He was still in town and suddenly Edward was filled with urgency, wanting to claim Bella as his in every conceivable way, and as quickly as possible.

"When can he be ready?" he asked in rushed excitement.

Bella smiled up at him with love and gratitude. "Let's call him. I bet he'll be as anxious to perform the ceremony as we are."