Hey guys! Sorry for taking a little bit longer than usual to update, but classes started so my focus is split. Still going along with the Holiday theme which will last for a couple more chapters while they are in Hong Kong. A lot of exciting things are coming up I can't wait to get them uploaded on FF :D

Hope you like it!

Edward

"Great idea" Emmett complained in a hushed whisper so quiet no human could hear.

"He's going to be so confused." Alice laughed silently.

It was around 1 am on Christmas morning and we'd just gotten around to preparing Nathan's present from Esme and Carlisle. We had to wait until he fell asleep before we set it up, it was quite obvious this wasn't for any of us. Alice, Emmett, Jasper, and I were trying to put together the thousands of pieces to a queen-sized bed. Putting the bed together wasn't difficult, but assembling all the pieces without making even the slightest sound took some improvisation. I watched while Alice pushed a series of nail into the wood with her thumb; trying carefully not to bend the metal.

We would have finished this in mere minutes had we been able to put the bed together somewhere else and just transport it into my room. Unfortunately, even super-human strength couldn't help us fit a bed this size in a doorway as small as mine.

"What if you just bring it in through the window?" Jasper asked.

"The draft is more likely to wake him up than us making too much noise."

"Probably right." He sighed.

A bed may seem like an insignificant idea to most people, but I knew it was much more charged than that. I'm not sure who thought of it – Carlisle or Esme - but it was a brilliant idea. I silently conjured the image of Nathan once he realized the bed was in the room. Always surprised, but never scared. I've given up on the idea that we were too terrifying for him, that someday… he would run away at the horrific sight of something. In fact he seemed to take most of our…differences in stride.

We had the entire skeleton set up in about 20 minutes. I was confident that we would be quiet enough as to not disturb him; but our silence wouldn't save us from him waking up abruptly. Nathan was prone to having…violent dreams. The only time that I could look into his thoughts freely without censure was when he was asleep. A lot of his dreams were focused on me. Nearly all of them actually, with the exception of one specific difference.

In that nightmare it was the same older man I'd seen in Nathan's thoughts in the meadow. The dreams were eerily similar to the memory I'd seen. They were close enough that these dreams were so reminiscent of the memory that I'd seen I was willing to bet they were indeed memories. Nathan always remained in a deep sleep, on the surface he appeared tranquil and angelic as always – but he would wake up in a huff but once he noticed my body next to his he quickly fell back asleep. He always thought the same thing the moment before he fell back into his coma…safe.

I wanted so badly to make him feel safe…

The first time I realized that these reoccurring nightmares were actually memories I nearly lost myself. Alice's warning was the only thing that stopped me from taking the next flight to Hong Kong and killing that perverted rapist. No, he was even worse than that. He was a rapist, murderer, launderer, and the list continues. Every time Nathan had one of these dreams it took an extreme amount of effort to avoid breaching the topic. I wanted to know more about this man, for Nathan to shed light on all of the awful things he's done. Maybe then I could justify killing him…

Jasper and I went to each side of my futon and began to lift it with care. I didn't need Jasper's help because the futon was too heavy – but we needed to keep the sofa perfectly level so Nathan wouldn't awake. We held it carefully so the daybed didn't shift an inch, and were half-way across the room when an inaudible grunt escaped from Nathan's lips.

If he woke up right now hiding the evidence was impossible even for us. Not only was he currently mid air but something would have to be done about the bed – and no solution came to mind other than throwing a sheet over it and hoping it was too dark for him to notice. None of us moved an inch – my siblings mirrored my actions and stopped breathing out of force of habit.

Nathan shifted his weight and turned… no…plopped onto his other side. It was an unfamiliar movement for someone who was seemingly asleep. He actually tucked his hands under him and threw himself side-ways in some bizarre sideways flip. The four of us exchanged bewildered glances before sighing in relief as his breathing steadied once he fell back into unconsciousness.

Once Jasper and I were safely out of the way Alice and Emmett set the bed in the back-left corner of my room. A perfect fit.

I gave them non-verbal 'thank you' and watched them leave the room without another word.

I stood there for an undetermined amount of time watching him sleep. I'm not sure what was so amusing about it, but seeing his angelic features range from furrowing his brow to an unaware smile mesmerized me. This was just like when we first met. The times when everything was uncertain – when I wasn't confident that he would even survive the night. I'd put him at great risk slipping into his room while he slept…

The scent assaulted me – even more potent than it had been in the classroom. The smell of him coated everything in the room…of course it would be more difficult in his own environment. But I fought it valiantly and continued to watch his every feature change. That was where my obsession first began to grow…I would have to leave Forks until he disappeared for university.

Then something happened – something I would have never suspected. I hadn't understood the dialogue in his dreams, they were in entirely Chinese, only the occasional spoken word in a language I knew.

My face appeared. I was in his dream. And it wasn't the monstrous face that I'd shown him the first time we'd met, but something beautiful and pure.

After that night I continued this ritual day after day – taking in every unconscious thought that he couldn't hide from me. The act was perverted, but I couldn't stop myself. My entire family thought I was crazy – no one would have expected what Nathan and mine's relationship would turn into…except for Alice, and even I was resistant to her theory at the time.

I forced the memories to another place and went to lift onto the bed that was now embellished with sheets, pillows, and a down comforter. My hands scooped him up like a child and very carefully began to move him from one place to another. I'd put a blanket on my arms so that the coolness of my skin wouldn't disturb him. But even with the protective layer of fabric the heat of his bare skin against my chest made me question my control.

I'd seen Nathan shirtless many times – but we were always very sure to keep it brief. Well, by we I mean I was sure it was brief, seeing him like that made parts of my body churn with desire. Nathan never worked out but his body had the faint echo of a gym rat while still maintaining a very boyish figure. Everything about him physically played with my every desire. The spectral color of his skin allowed me to see fresh veins trailing down several venues. The touch, smell, and even the salty taste of his skin drew me in like a moth to a light.

I pushed the covers back with one hand before resting him on the bed, where he instantly curled up against the warm comforter and pillows. It took effort to force myself away from him so I could dispose of the futon and bring the cabinet in too.

Carlisle and Esme didn't only get the bed – they also bought a small cabinet that would fit some clothes of his, which I had generously packed without any of his knowledge. He had so many that he would never notice if some had gone missing anyway.

Even with all of these different tasks to accomplish they'd take maybe 30 minutes at best. The rest would be waiting for Nathan to wake up – a habit that I'd grown to enjoy. Most of my family didn't understand my fascination with watching him sleep, they ignored it for the most part but their thoughts usually rang with an undercurrent of weird.. This hobby of mine was one of the many things that I'd like to keep secret…but I lived in a family that keeping secrets was nearly impossible. Admittedly, I was half of the problem.

The rest of the night passed relatively slowy; exactly how I wanted it. Regrettably, about thirty minutes were spent away from Nathan doing tedious necessities. The rest was spent with Nathan and I in embrace. I gawked at his every motion mindlessly, however this gave me time to explore topics I wouldn't have thought about otherwise.

It took some time – but with much effort I limited my adolescent curiosity revolving around Nathan's present to a dull roar. Everyone in my family enjoyed giving things – so we'd always relished Christmas to exercise that vice. But I couldn't quite remember the last time that I was eager for a gift. I'd actually spent an unhealthy portion of time considering all of the options – maybe even scanning Alice's thoughts for any hints. Of course she was a veteran at hiding what her true agenda was, so I had no such luck.

Nathan was zealous in his attempt to deter me from finding out about my gift. He swore he wouldn't let me hear his thoughts until Christmas – although I didn't actually expect him to hold up to his bluff. He definitely did; the silence was beginning to get to me. His thoughts were a comfortable and surprisingly pure place. For someone with his talent I'd expected something much more critical of others. In fact…everything about Nathan was comfortable.

Nathan had his arms wrapped around me the moment I was on the bed. He moved around for a more comfortable position in his slumber until finally settling, his arms tightly wrapping around my torso and his head using my chest as a pillow. I watched while his expression turned to one of contentment. I rested my cheek on the top of his head and closed my eyes to fully focus on the tantalizing heat emitting from his body.

Nathan shifted quietly to look up – I was so absorbed by his presence my other senses seemed to be distracted. He smiled and gazed at me with his peculiar eyes and whispered in a drowsy voice "Happy Christmas."

I laughed cheerfully at him – my entire mood rising with just a quirky glance and two words. "Merry Christmas" and pulled him closer to me and kissed him on the forehead.

Nathan stretched both his arms and legs and unleashed a powerful yawn in slow motion. His legs covered mine, taking up most of the bed in the process. And then he gave me a quizzical look which incited an amused grin – causing his suspicions to grow even further.

"Huh?" He said and began to look around the room that was growing brighter because of the sunrise.. Traces of the sun rising danced across the walls of my room while he began to examine the bed. Nathan's hands rubbed the fabric before looking back at me "What's this?" he asked inquisitively.

"A bed"

I couldn't keep the amusement off my face when he rolled his eyes and looked at me expectantly.

"You don't sleep."

It was my turn to roll my eyes.

"No, but you do."

"Wait. This is for me?" Nathan asked incredulously. His voice was soft and filled with surprise. He looked at me apprehensively – his multicolored eyes carrying something that I couldn't quite understand.

I nodded. "Its from Carlisle and Esme…they figured you spend so much time here – you deserve to sleep on a bed, not my stiff futon."

Nathan's eyes lit up with unabashed enthusiasm after my explanation. His excitement was temporary though, his expression became stern and suddenly serious when he asked me "Are you okay with this though? I totally understand if you want your space…" leaving his apology open ended.

Was Nathan clueless? Have I done anything to merit even the slightest bit of doubt? I thought I'd made it clear that my love for him was so potent it is literally indescribable. Every decision I've made since we met has been made extremely cautiously with his best interest always in mind. Even if, or when, Nathan grows tired of me I will never forget him. Love changes so much to my kind…why didn't he realize this?

"I hated watching you struggle to sleep on my futon but didn't have the strength to tell you to sleep in your bed…I like you around too much. Its also a gift for me…we have that much more room for the two of us." I let my tone become seductive toward the end, I watched him shudder under the power of my voice. An unnatural heat manifested itself in my eyes because of the intensity of emotion that I was having such difficulty describing.

Nathan crossed his legs and sat there in disbelief – allowing me to watch amused.

"This is amazing. Wow."

"There's more."

"More? This is too much!" Nathan complained, getting up and fumbling in his backpack for a t shirt and a pair of pants.

"Hey. Where are my clothes?"

I ignored his question and took advantage that he didn't have a shirt on yet, and brought my hand to his lower back to usher him in the direction of his new cabinet. He shivered excitedly at my touch. Nathan stopped and looked at me with the same expression after he noticed the bed. "That's new."

"Look inside." I smiled. It felt I'd swallowed the sun – the emotion flowed through me as if my heart was pumping blood through my body. Just watching Nathan forget any sort of worry and be truly and genuinely happy affected me so strongly.

All of us congregated in the living room after Nathan stalked both Esme and Carlisle to thank them for their present. I had been confident that he would like it – otherwise I would have shot down the idea once they asked me. Carlisle and Esme pretended like they had no idea of his reaction; but I had no doubt that they had been listening.

"This is great, Rose." Jasper said while examining a watch she'd given to him.

At this point all of this gifts had been exchanged with the exception of Nathan and I. I'd have to give my present to Nathan in private – I knew he would be embarrassed by people watching…was he extending a similar courtesy to me?

Maybe not. I listened while Nathan's heart rate began to speed up when he opened his mouth to speak "We're all on the same flight, and it leaves at 2:30 so…" He paused for a second "I'm sure you guys will have plenty of time to pack your things" which made everyone chuckle except for me. He said we. Nathan hadn't mentioned anything about a trip to Hong Kong.

It was then that he gently brushed his hand against mine so that I'd look at him, and he opened himself up to me for the first time in over a month. There were so many things on the surface of his mind at that moment; the presents, preparing for the flight, and then his…mother?

I hope its something that you want….But we're going to Hong Kong so you can meet my mom. Its entirely up to you how much we tell her, and also what we do for the rest of the trip. As far as I'm concerned…I'm satisfied with sitting in a hotel for the entire four days.

For the first time in nearly a century I felt the stirring of nerves. Since I'd met Nathan I discovered that I had countless insecurities that I thought were long forgotten. Would she accept our relationship? And was telling her what I truly was an option? After all she was as immortal as we were, it seemed so wrong. It was against the one and only true law fo the Volturi…perhaps. It clearly stated that humans are to never know of our presence – would the Volturi consider Nathan's mother uman? Did they even know Sidhe existed? Regardless, I was genuinely surprised and very pleased. I must have been smiling because Nathan returned it – eagerly awaiting a response.

"Its perfect." I whispered, and went in to kiss him.

I don't think I'll ever get used to that… Emmett thought but I ignored him. The rest of my family's thoughts weren't nearly as critical.

I watched Nathan's thoughts and could feel him working to control his compulsions similar to me…only on a much smaller scale. He pulled back from the kiss and thought, I'm nervous, but a little excited for you to meet her..

"Me too…" I said enthusiastically. I was very eager to meet his mother – for more than one reason.

Edward

Christmas morning passed far too quickly. The rest of the morning was filled with packing and joking between the entire family. Christmas was usually just another day for my us – once we'd exchanged our gifts we continued nonchalantly with our public life. This year seemed to be an exception – there was an infectious happiness radiating through all of us that made the most mundane tasks enjoyable, making time pass with ease.

I was still waiting for the ideal moment to give Nathan his gift. A downside to our elated state was that we were all so absorbed in each other's activities that Nathan and I didn't have a moment alone. He didn't seem to mind – although he'd occasionally tease me, asking if I'd even gotten him a present even though he was confident I had. Carlisle and Esme were a little depressed that their entire family was leaving them. But Nathan chose such a short trip in preparation of this.

Now that the 'cat was out of the bag' so to speak, the rest of my family was being much more nonchalant about their thoughts. So I was able to freely watch Esme's memory of Nathan drilling her – to be certain that four days away was okay with them as if he was asking the mother of a true 17 year old. I knew he wasn't exactly asking permission, but he didn't like the idea of dividing our family.

The group of us chose to take a Charter flight from Port Angeles to Seattle. We all fought Nathan on this – we could easily drive to Seattle in the time that the normal human would have made it to Port Angeles; probably sooner. Nathan was persistent in his mission to avoid this at all costs. He hated the way we drove, calling it 'reckless' and 'suicidal' on more than one occasion. Nathan eventually won – guilting us with the troubling truth that he'd bought nonrefundable tickets.

As per usual in Washington – there was no need to worry about the sun. It was snowing as we walked toward the Seattle-Tacoma International wing when we were all confronted with a surprise. Rose was grateful enough that she didn't ask if we were flying coach or first class – but I could feel that she dreaded the idea of sitting in coach for the fifteen hour flight. Further contemplation forced me to ask him. I wasn't confident that Jasper would be able to stand sitting in an enclosed space with humans for an extended period of time.

There was no need to worry. We weren't riding in coach or first class. My siblings were mystified by the private jet that Nathan had managed to commandeer for our trip to Hong Kong. They'd all asked him – even excitedly – but he ignored their questions even though his thoughts betrayed him. Donnatella rang through his mind once they'd asked. I quickly scanned through the (albeit few) Donnatellas that I was aware of. Knowing his mother's career the most likely choice was Dontella Versace – the clothing designer.

The interior of the plane was just as luxurious as the idea of riding in a private jet – something that even my family rarely did. After we were all seated and buckled in at Nathan's insistence did he begin to explain to everyone 'the schedule' as it were.

"Okay. Its going to be evening when we get in so you won't need to worry about the sun. A car will take everyone to their places…Its like a 2.5 hour drive from Hong Kong" He said while looking at Emmett and Jasper guiltily.

"It's a private car, so if you need to stop to hunt…or something, they will just stay in the car and not pry. The temperature is always warmer there – and the villa is the only building within like 20 or so miles, with an excess of animals." He said dryly. When initially explaining their gift he'd told them that the area had a lot of exotic animals that would be fun. Even Jasper and Emmett found it funny at his creativity, although it seemed to be effective because both of them were excited.

Looking at Alice and Rose now "You guys are right in town, so the ride is really short."

"Is there anywhere…. to hunt?" Rose asked in a neutral tone. She was still uncomfortable speaking of topics like hunting with Nathan. I didn't blame her – it wasn't a conversation I typically relished having.

"About an hour drive away south there's a forest. There might be some fishermen there so just be…wary." Alice rolled her eyes at his warning.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." She soothed him.

Organizing all of this – paying a great attention to detail to be certain that we would remain inconspicuous, but have taken an intense amount of work. I actually wouldn't have guessed he was even capable of such an undertaking; maybe he understood us better than I thought.

Nathan rested his head in hopes of falling asleep – but I listened as his mind rambled through the countless tasks he needed to finish. He must have only gotten a couple of hours of sleep…and trying to cater to my family's…dysfunctions was obviously taking its toll on him. The stress must have been dehabilitating but he never let it escape the crevices of his mind.

When we were taking our seats on the plane I noticed there was a second cabin that seemed to be reserved for more official purposes. Once we got to Hong Kong I would have very little control of what we were doing and our surroundings, so now was probably the best opportunity for some privacy. I didn't need to lean much – but went to his ear and whispered "Can we go somewhere alone…I have something to show you." Nathan nodded sleepily and took me by the hand to the other section of the plane.

Nathan pulled me to a leather sofa in the corner of the room and sat down looking at me expectantly. Even though I knew he was exhausted he showed no symptoms of it. Humans usually get dark rings under their eyes with even the slightest lack of sleep – but his complexion was unwaveringly perfect. His lips curled into a small smile.

Its probably my gift he reminded himself.

I pulled a rectangular box from my jacket's pocket at a speed so fast that it would seem like it just appeared infront of him. The shape of the box was reminiscent of jewelry – so he'd probably put it together relatively easily.

Nathan asked for permission with a glance and opened the box delicately. Inside was a necklace. The chain glistened pristinely like most jewelry from Tiffany & Co. I'd initially thought Platinum would be perfect for him…gold was so…antiqued. And it just seemed like this would fit Nathan's tastes. The chain was secondary though – it was merely a vessel.

I began to explain while Nathan held up the chain and examined the aged dog-tag that hung from it

"It was my father's. He served in World War I…We weren't as close as my mother and I, but I remember him being important to me…He was the reason that I was so eager to rush off into war... Most families never even received anything substantial, I think we were one of the lucky few. After two years without word or him coming back…this came in the post." I touched the tag instinctively.

"My memories from my human life really have faded…I can't remember what he was like anymore. But this…relic if you will, has served as a reminder of something incredibly important to me…and I think its only appropriate for the person who is the most important thing in my life to wear it..." Ending my monologue to watch his reaction.

Small crystals began to develop from his eyes while he fought back the urge to cry. He hadn't looked at me since he first saw the necklace.

"This is so important…When you're wearing it there is my past…" Touching my father's dated dog-tag. "The present." Looking at the Tiffany chain.

"And my future…" I said, brushing my fingers against his velvety soft skin before out lips connected in a passionate kiss.