I own: my Boxer puppy, Lyric and a ton of new dog toys.

I don't own : Twilight (any of it) or the music I make reference to (well, I do have it on iTunes and some on CDs, but I don't think that's what they're talking about…)

EPOV (Edward)

Her scent lingered on me, and not just my clothes. I breathed in the aroma before stepping into the shower. I couldn't allow the bet to be lost over such a simple, yet important, thing.

Truly I didn't care about the bet, but having Bella to myself, alone on Isle Esme, definitely had its benefits. Honestly it was a glorious list that only seemed to get longer the more I thought about it…

I heard the family's approach as I pulled on my fresh clothing. All their thoughts were centered on Bella and me… and what a mess it had become, because of them. Alice's thoughts, in particular, had become quite self-loathing. Guilt was the overpowering emotion for her… very fitting considering I almost lost Bella forever because of her.

I stashed my "Bella clothes" in my bathroom and then went to my couch to "sulk." The irony was not lost on me, but it did seem like it was coming full circle.

I heard Jasper's thoughts as Alice approached my door. "Have mercy on her, Edward. She feels awful; she almost didn't come back from the hunt…" I felt bad for a split second before I realized that she would get a reprieve; eventually.

"Edward?" She spoke aloud before thinking the rest of her statement to me. "Can I please talk to you before we go to school?"

"If you must." Jasper felt my defiance and assumed that I was still furious with her because Bella had turned me away.

Alice walked in slowly before shutting the door and leaning her tiny, pixie body against it. "You know I'm sorry." She whispered. When I didn't respond she continued on. "You also know that I didn't mean for it to turn out like this. I thought everything would go back to how it used to be, except with Renesmee added to the family." I continued to ignore her, hoping that she would continue to feel the guilt for her manipulation. "Edward, please speak to me! I just wanted you two to be happy, like you both should be… together. She loves you, I'm sure of it." She said fiercely, as if she was convincing herself as well as me.

I looked up from my stoic pose, showing nothing but sadness. I hoped I was convincing enough. "Alice. Thank you." Alice smiled, but it was short-lived as she saw what I was about to say. "But it doesn't change a thing. You caused Bella to make up her mind about us. And you caused her to give up on me. She thinks I betrayed her, and now…" I swallowed, unnecessarily, before I uttered the next words. "… Now she doesn't want me. And that is thanks to you. I'm going to need time before I can forgive you for that, Alice."

I rose to my feet and walked towards her. She moved out of my way, seeing that I was headed to school. "You all can ride in Emmett's truck today. I think it would be best." If only for my emotional sanity.

***

The morning passed at an exceedingly slow pace. I honestly wasn't sure if I was coming or going during the day. I counted the minutes, hell the seconds, till biology with Bella.

Having no classes in the morning with the rest of the family besides Renesmee was a plus in this situation, considering I didn't need to hide my feelings or conceal the dopey look in my eyes.

Renesmee had avoided me until the end of class. Clearly she was still upset with the fact that I had scolded her. Actually it was more of a yelling guilt-trip, but she seemed to favor the first classification.

After Mr. Haschal dismissed class, Renesmee approached me. "Dad?" She mumbled. I looked at her and gave her a heartbroken smile. "Daddy, I'm so sorry." She felt horrible, that much I could sense from her thoughts.

I pushed her hair behind her ear. To anyone else, it might look romantic, but here was my daughter feeling horrible and even though this was the idea, I wanted to comfort her. "I know you're sorry, Nes. But… what's done is done. Learn from this… I am." I pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and left the room. "I'll talk to you soon, baby."

***

Biology.

Praise the lord that gave me my beautiful Bella and daughter; biology was finally here.

Last week our seats had been changed and now Bella sat with her lab partner, Jeremy, next to me with my lab partner, Kaitlin.

Originally I had been jealous of Jeremy, and in all honesty, I had sincerely considered scaring him into ditching on more than one occasion when he looked at specific parts of Bella's body for longer than I liked. But once Kaitlin had moved to Englewood, he was smitten. And my hatred for him lessened, but only minimally.

Bella came to sit by myself and Jeremy. She smiled, passing me a note.

I'm writing this while Renesmee and I are in gym. I know we can't talk. If this doesn't work, I'm sorry and I'll explain some other time. If it does, keep the reaction low key.

It was simple and could possibly be taken in several different ways. No doubt she was hoping that Alice wouldn't see the note because she had been with Renesmee when she wrote it, but was covering her bases just in case.

I looked to Bella and nodded slightly. The corner of her beautiful mouth turned up before she scurried to write notes concerning mitosis; the topic we were studying. After a moment, she held her pen still over the half page of notes and her eyes closed slightly.

To anyone else, she appeared to be paying attention to the lecture, but I knew better.

After a few moments, I began to wonder what she had planned and if she was even trying to surprise me anymore.

And then it happened.

"Edward?" I jolted back in my seat and she hid her giggle before the other students noticed. "I take it you can hear me…"

I whispered a 'yes' so low no one else would hear.

She smiled before continuing in concentration. "I didn't know if it would work, but I have been practicing with the shield, but without a test dummy I wasn't sure if I was actually making any progress."

Well this is definitely progress!

"I'm pretty positive that Alice cannot see us having a silent conversation so please do not talk back." I nodded slightly to show I understood; however if she stopped, I may not follow those instructions.

After another smile, she continued. "I miss you already, Edward. I'm sorry this is hard on us. I almost lost it this morning with Renesmee, but apparently I am a good actress after all because she was none the wiser." I sighed at her teasing, knowing it was all in a joking manner. "I do believe we will be staying locally when this is all said and done." She couldn't contain the laugh, but covered it up with a cough within a second.

"I love you for coming to see me last night. I take it they didn't suspect anything…" I didn't need to ask who she meant as I could see them all in her mind. I shook my head briefly, allowing no one else to notice our signals.

"That's good, no need to let Alice and Renesmee off so easy. You know it brought back memories when you came through my window." She showed me the fuzzy memories from her human time with me. The memories where I spent the night holding her and comforting her when she was sad, sick, or having nightmares. "They're wonderful memories, Edward. Thank you."

After that she showed me more memories from our past; several that I had ingrained within my own memory for safe-keeping. Times that I used to reflect upon as my happiest moments in my long existence. It was fantastic knowing these were her favorite moments as well.

With ten minutes left in our class period, Bella paused. I looked to her fully, forgetting our current "relationship status." "Edward, Alice." I turned quickly, resuming our former positions.

"Edward, I need to tell you something… something that I lied about… something important… and I need to tell you before we go any further. I don't want you turning away from me because of it and if you do… I won't be able to take it." I nearly grasped her in my arms and whispered how that would never happen.

Instead, I whispered a 'go ahead.'

Bella took an unnecessary breath. "When I told you about how I was transformed, I didn't tell you everything. I had pulled two syringes of venom out before Angela came over. When I went into labor, I told her to bring both over, but I didn't tell her what they were or what they were for." She showed me the memory, although it was hard to decipher because of her pain and anxiety as human. "I tried to justify it to myself. That I didn't know how much venom was needed to change or that if one didn't work I'd have a back-up. The truth was I just couldn't decide which to use."

"Alice seemed like the right decision. She helped me through the toughest of times without even knowing it. She was, is, my best friend. It seemed fitting. But…" I held my breath, expecting what was coming, but fearful still. "But I couldn't put yours back. I couldn't let you go."

She loved me then, even when I didn't give her a reason to, even when she was going through hell because of me. Even then, she loved me… Incredible…

"When Angela brought the venom over, I passed out. I don't think she knew what she was doing; she probably just hoped it would help in some way." She sighed and continued to think about that painful time. "I woke when she plunged one of the syringes into my leg. Once she took Renesmee away, I plunged the other into my heart and then began the… change."

She hesitated, unable to put into words the answer to the question we both recognized. I longed to stroke her hand and if we had been alone, I may not have been able to resist; Alice be damned.

"Edward," she began. "It was yours. It was your venom that went into my heart; that flows through my heart. You're a part of me; emotionally, physically, and in every other way."

I couldn't breathe. It might not have been her intent, but she had a part of me pulsing through her for eternity. I began to think of all the other things we shared; a family, a daughter, and, hopefully, a long life.

As if she was reading my reading my thoughts, she continued. "I used to think it was just a coincidence; an accident that ended up linking you and me together forever, whether I wanted it or not." She paused and twirled her pen absentmindedly. "But now I know, it was meant to be that way, always. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

I couldn't even pretend to breathe. I couldn't function with the new information and I certainly lacked the ability to control what I was doing and what I wanted to do.

"Edward?"

A/N: Drama, drama, drama.

It will be at least a week or two till the next chapter… I just happened to get on a roll with this chapter and it was all I could think about while walking Lyric.

I hope you like it and that it doesn't get too sappy. I think I'm done with sappy after this, it's almost too much for me.

Thanks so much for those who review. I still try to comment on each one, but I have been in a hurry more than once and deleted them before replying… Either way, nearly 1600 reviews is just inconceivable to me and way more (like 1500 more) than I expected :)

Read, Review and Comment – You know I love it!

-kmwhyte