Game On

Not my characters, just my story!

EPOV

Sitting in the little cove by the lake gazing out at the mountains gave me the opportunity to reflect quietly on the past week. It passed quickly as they normally do in my world, Bella had a great deal of class work to catch up on and she returned to work on Monday.

Sunday afternoon, we stopped by North Country to let John see for himself she was doing well. Roxanne called to let him know what happened with Derrick and that she would be unable to come to work for a few days. He was visibly shaken until Bella reassured him everything was fine and promised she was well enough to return on Monday.

His thoughts portrayed mild interest and shock that Bella and I were together. Of course, he remembered me and greeted my appearance by Bella's side with an odd familiarity and caution. He was still uncomfortable in my presence, but seemed pacified slightly considering that Bella was so at ease with me. His thoughts conveyed that he would be watching over her carefully now that I was in her life.

Once we left the store, Bella turned her beautiful chocolate colored eyes on me in fury. Somehow we had never returned to the conversation about all the things done to protect her. When she realized Alice was the one who suggested John feature the vampire themed books in the window, her anger settled some. In recalling her words, I smiled 'stupid telepathic vampire, we could have been together sooner if she hadn't interfered. Not to mention I wouldn't have had to decorate a window.'

I kept my promise to Roxanne though and never let it slip we had been consorting behind Bella's back. Based on her reaction to our intrusion on her work place, the recipe card and the jacket it seemed to be more than enough for her to be frustrated with my family and I. She tried unsuccessfully to be angry about the iPod but once I explained the songs loaded were picked with the purpose of subtly reminding her of my love, she calmed down.

My family was thrilled Bella and I were back together not to mention slightly confused by her decision to stay human for the time being. Carlisle and Esme were supportive of course, but Esme was still concerned how it would affect Bella and my future. Emmett was torn in his feelings, his obvious pleasure in her human traits provided him with entertainment but he was anxious to have her become his little sister. Jasper's feelings were also conflicted, he still felt uncomfortable about his encounter with her last year, but knew she had to reach the decision to become one of us in her own time. Rosalie was the most interesting of all; she was pleased and even made casual attempts to be civil around Bella. This remarkable change in heart made Bella uncomfortable, but being Bella she graciously accepted the transformation. Alice was Alice, being able to see the future she held no doubts for our course and made sure everyone understood Bella's decision was temporary.

All in all, I was extremely happy with how things were progressing. The time Bella and I had together was short due to her living arrangements, as well as her class and work schedule but I adapted to it graciously – knowing we had eternity. It was easy to accept once meeting her after class and seeing the glow on her face and excitement in her eyes as she told me what they had discussed in class. Bella was invigorated by her college courses; they brought her so many fulfillments it was easy to understand why she was hesitant to walk away from it. My insecurities were quickly abashed after witnessing her exhilaration first hand.

Bella provided me with most of the discussion she had with Ian. My gratitude and respect for him grew when she told me about his past. It was amazing he had been able to control himself at all the evening of her attack given what he had been through. I had only been to the house once when he was around; it was best to provide a little distance for the sake of everyone in Bella's home. Although he was true to his word and stepped aside for Bella's benefit, his discomfort with our presence was palpable. Bella had subtly made it clear until Ian was more comfortable with being only her friend she preferred we avoid the house as often as possible.

During the week when her schedule allowed we came to my family's house. To say she was impressed would be an understatement. Her eyes roamed the rooms in awe as she took in the vastness of the space. Emmett teased trying to get her to ride the horses, as I heard his thoughts I growled to dissuade him from his efforts. He only wanted to embarrass her hoping her attempt to ride would rescind the miserable attempt he had – Bella knew her boundaries in certain areas though. I was extremely appreciative of this fact; I didn't know how I would have managed watching her attempt to handle a horse. I made a promise that I would curb my over-protectiveness and any attempt she would have made to ride a horse would have wound up in an argument.

Alice and her wonderful visions; she was able to see the college administration and Derrick's mother would go to the house yesterday to remove his items. Due to her sight we were able to ensure Bella was nowhere in the vicinity, based on what we had been able to discover about his mother she was most likely the reason for Derrick's behavior. Bella was not equipped to handle such a harsh shrew; from what I was able to gather she was very vocal in blaming Bella for Derrick's current circumstances.

Alice was tempted to meddle in this particular situation, wanting nothing more than to make the nag know exactly what her family was opposing when confronting Bella. It took Jasper and I to assure her this would not be advisable considering our future plan.

This evening was Roxanne's party so Alice and Roxanne had taken Bella to get her costume, courtesy of my family. Roxanne still believed the costume shop in Burlington had the right attire for our needs. Emmett and Rosalie had accomplished the task of getting the costumes into the shop and ensured they were put on hold for our use this evening. Alice was a bit over the top with her plans; unfortunately Jasper was still being summoned to attend. I smiled as I thought of everything both he and I would sacrifice during our many years roaming this earth – between Bella and Alice we were sure to have many adventures.

Just then I heard Emmett and Jasper's thoughts as they approached my perch on the beach. 'Edward, are you ready to go?' Emmett asked excitedly. He was more than a little enthusiastic about this afternoon's activity.

Standing and taking one last glance at the mountains, I turned toward the opening in the cove just as Jasper came into view. His face showed his anticipation, 'This will be quite amusing, let's go before we miss the chance.'

I smiled at him and raised one eyebrow quickly, "Don't worry, we won't miss this opportunity. I've checked with Alice, it is timed properly and we'll take care of this – there will be no problems. Emmett can drive, I'd like the ability to get out the car before parking."

Clapping his hands together loudly, "Yeah man, let's go kick some ass!" I laughed putting my hand on his shoulder, I agreed with his sentiment thoroughly. My only concern was if Bella found out what I was about to do, she would most certainly disagree. I will gladly pay the consequences of my actions though, she may want me to change my behavior in certain areas – but there was no way I would set aside this opportunity.

The drive to the train station was uneventful, Emmett dropped Jasper and I curbside so we could plan accordingly before the action began. The station was crowded which was exactly what we needed, plenty of cover and commotion. Glancing at the boards to see which platform the train would depart from, we waited for Emmett to join us.

Emmett's job was to follow our quarry and make sure he was seen. His sheer size and bulk were enough to begin the intimidation process. Although our victim didn't know who Emmett was, his responsibility was to glare menacingly to ensure he knew he was being watched. Of course, he wouldn't know exactly why Emmett was giving him the evil threatening glares. Our desire was to have him nervous and worked up frightened beyond words. It was justified considering.

Jasper and I would be waiting by the platform. Jasper's responsibility was to ensure that no one else came close while I took care of our problem. Not knowing how our victim would react was an issue we would address when the time arose. He deserved to be as frightened and nervous as Bella had been, I wanted him to know even though the judicial system was providing him with an opportunity to correct his actions – I would not provide forgiveness or a second chance.

Emmett's thoughts resounded in my head, 'Edward, they're here. They're buying the tickets now. His escort is leaving now…pretty pathetic you think they'd stay until he was on the train at least. It's not like his mommy would stop him from bolting. I'm getting right behind them in line, I'll accidentally bump into his mom if you want.' He chuckled at his own dark humor. The thought was intriguing considering some of the remarks I'd heard she made when picking up his belongings. Emmett knew better though, he would stick to the plan.

Searching out the random thoughts within the station for his, I quickly found him. 'Stupid cops, okay I'll play along…I'll head back to New Jersey for now. Make sure everybody is happy and unaware and then I'm coming back. She won't be walking around with her smug attitude for long, she's mine and it's about time she learned what that means.'

A low guttural growl escaped, my fists were clenched, my jaw tightened, teeth snapping – several people around me backed away. Jasper glared at me, 'Edward calm down before we get thrown out before taking care of business.' I felt a wave of calm wash over me and shook it off.

"Jasper if you could hear the thoughts you too would be homicidal." I snapped at him. "Stop manipulating my emotions, I want to have my full faculties when I deal with him."

He glared at me, 'Believe me, I want nothing more to tear this scum apart limb from limb, but that would not bode well for our family or Bella. You need a dose of calm to ensure you don't overplay your hand. Calm down, he'll never get near her again.'

Sighing loudly I unclenched my fists slowly, finger by finger snapping them back into open palms. Then I clasped my hands together tightly wringing them slow and firmly. This boy would leave the station and never come back to Vermont, he would clearly understand what would happen if he even thought for a moment about Bella again. "Fine, just make sure you provide a distraction long enough for me to convey my intentions should he consider coming near her ever again."

'Edward they're heading towards the gate areas for the platform. He's noticed me now, he keeps looking over his shoulder – but his mommy keeps distracting him. She's yanking him by his arm, squawking in his ear the whole time. It's actually pretty funny to watch, people are giving them reproachful looks because she's so loud.' He was laughing; I just hoped his sense of humor wasn't portraying the wrong message to the little maggot.

Turning my head slightly to tune Emmett out and get a better frame of reference to him, 'What the hell is with that big guy? It looks like he's following us; maybe the cops put him on our tail. No, he doesn't look like any cop I've ever seen. He's too big and looks pretty thickheaded, it doesn't seem like he's got enough brains to be a cop – although the cops up here are pretty stupid. Jeez I wish mom would shut up, she keeps blabbing I can't concentrate with her harpy voice in my ear. I really want to reach out and backhand her so she'll just keep quiet. That would be sweet.'

The arrogance of this kid, I felt myself tensing up again…it couldn't be soon enough that he was within my reach. His thoughts today were enough to make me enraged, when I think about what he put Bella through my thoughts become murderous. I can see very clearly his cowering body beneath my crouch as I approach for the kill. A vision of Bella's angelic face came to mind just then, she wouldn't approve at all and Carlisle's disappointment would be the catalyst to a depression that I didn't even want to consider.

Inhaling deeply to gain some composure over my anger, I looked at Jasper – he was eyeing me warily. He would make sure I didn't go overboard in my dealings with the boy, but if I drew blood he would be sure to lose control. Of this I was absolutely certain, I needed to remain in control even if my desires didn't match what I'd be able to achieve.

I needed to focus on something to keep me from going over the edge and letting my anger carry me away. Closing my eyes, I pictured Bella in my mind. Her beautiful face, smiling at me happily; her head thrown back in laughter; deep in thought her face scrunched in concentration and lastly when she was sleeping soundly, I felt the tranquility easing the tension in me. Even Jasper's talent didn't soothe me as thoroughly as thoughts of Bella could. The benefit of picturing her face now gave me the incentive I needed to take care of what was to be dealt with but still maintain control of my anger.

My head snapped up as I heard Emmett's thoughts, 'Coming in your direction brother, game on.'

Making eye contact with Jasper, he quickly understood and walked towards the platform entrance and leaned against a support piling casually. Glancing back in my direction, he nodded towards a bench behind me indicating there were people in the vicinity, 'Careful in your actions, Edward.' I acknowledged his thoughts with a quick nod.

I saw Emmett before I saw the punk; he was following very close behind the boy and his mother. Derrick kept turning to see how much distance was between them nervously. Emmett was truly having fun, as his facial expression would change from a threatening glare to a questioning appraisal of the small rodent.

Just as they were passing Jasper, he jumped out yelling fire – which he had started with scraps of newspaper. People started running towards the entrance to get away from the healthy blaze that was burning.

Running quickly I reached Derrick's side and pulled him away from the entryway shoving him against the wall. Jasper waved his arms keeping people moving towards the exit including Derrick's mother as she shrieked his name. Emmett looking forward to the opportunity to avenge Bella's good name, shoved her pretty hard towards the doorway, nearly knocking her over. "Move along lady, don't you have any sense at all." He glared at her threateningly and the cry for her son's safety froze in her throat.

My hand was around Derrick's neck constricting any noise from coming out, I continued watching until the coast was clear. Then I leaned in baring my teeth and growled; he shook visibly in my hand. "So Derrick" I purred menacingly, "it's very nice to make your acquaintance. I've heard so much about you and have looked forward to this moment for several days. In fact, my brothers and I," stepping back letting him drop to his knees I joined the sides of Jasper and Emmett, "were counting down the days until this moment."

"Who…who are you?" he whined. "Wh…what…do you want from me?" His voice was shrill and full of fear.

"Oh, that's right…where are my manners, we haven't been introduced. My name is Edward Cullen and this" I gestured with my left hand "is Jasper" extending my right arm "and Emmett. You don't know us but we know you."

Jasper had his hands on his hips with one leg extended forward ready to jump in case he moved a muscle. Emmett had his arms folded across his broad chest clearly showing the size of his enormous biceps.

"Bbbbut, what do you want from me?" he asked as he looked at both Jasper and sized up Emmett.

"I was getting to that, you see my brothers and I are from Forks Washington. Does that town sound familiar to you?" I paused waiting to see if recognition would register. "No, oh well that doesn't surprise me. You don't have the capacity to retain any information if it doesn't directly impact you and what you want. That happens to be the town where Bella Swan comes from. Ring any bells now?" My eyebrow raised, I crossed my arms across my chest as his expression changed from fear to surprise.

Emmett laughed, "I think he's following along now Edward."

"Yes, but does he realize what it means yet. He seems a bit dense to me." Jasper added. He smiled at me and winked, within moments I sensed a dose of fear being directed towards Derrick. He had no idea it was emanating from Jasper and quaked as it enveloped him.

"Derrick sorry to remove you from your mother's protection but we needed a moment of your time and she, well she's a bit difficult to manage. We won't take too much of your time I just had a few things I wanted to make sure you were clear on before heading back to the safety of New Jersey." I knelt down close to his face being careful not to get too close to the puddle that was forming around him.

He wrapped his arms around his head, "Ppplease just leave me alone. I pppromise I won't come anywhere near her."

As my face got right next to his, I removed his one arm from cradling his head. "You see, that promise isn't good enough."

My head snapped up, there were people coming towards the door, I spoke quickly to Jasper – "You need to get to the door quickly I'm not done yet, take care of the problem." He rushed to the entryway to keep everyone at bay while Emmett came behind me with his back towards me offering a protective cover.

Derrick was weeping now, "Wwhat are you gggoing to do to me?"

I grabbed his wrist and squeezed not using enough strength to cause any real harm other than a nice bruise for him to see for the next couple of days. "Here's what I want from you, you will write a letter to the authorities admitting your guilt. Then you will find someone to give you the help you need because that's all Bella really wants for you – me I'd rather see you locked up for life, but she's a forgiving person."

Grabbing him by his hair, I pulled him to his feet and shoved him against the wall again; I wanted him to see my face for the last statement. "The last thing is the most important Derrick." I spit his name and put my face very close to his – "You will never, ever, raise a hand to another woman. In regard to Bella, you will by no means come near her – that's not all though, you won't even have a thought about her after making your apologies. If you do, I'll know. Bella is a very special person to me and I'll be by her side every moment from now until eternity. So if you even have a whisper of a thought, I'll know it. If that happens, you'll die – please understand this is not a threat; it's a guarantee. The only reason you aren't dead right now is I made a promise to Bella, but all bets are off if I even smell your scent anywhere near her." My voice was low and threatening, but barely a whisper.

He was whimpering uncontrollably now, moving my nose towards his chin I inhaled deeply. "Just getting the scent imbedded into my memory properly. Although I do hope you clean yourself up and will not always have the smell of feces, it is very offensive." I dropped him again and clapped my hands together as if cleaning any dirt that may have soiled them.

Touching Emmett's shoulder lightly, "Let's go Emmett, I think he's clear on what we wanted now."

Emmett turned towards him and leaned down, "Jeez dude, you really need to learn how to control your bladder." He chuckled lightly and clapped me on the back as we moved towards the doorway.

Walking out of the platform area Jasper yelled, "It's over now, the fire's been put out." His tone and demeanor had people mistakenly believing he worked for the railways. He used his talent to control emotions, which afforded us the ability to keep anyone from entering while we dealt with Derrick. He had kept them so confused they barely knew why they were even at the train station.

My anger was still raging; I wanted so desperately to remove that boy from walking the earth. But as Emmett and Jasper walked beside me the anger began subsiding. Emmett's joy was contagious and Jasper was telling us both how Derrick's mom was panicking looking for her boy – shrilly yelling at anyone in proximity that she thought he might have been hurt in the fire. If only!

Driving back to the house my mood lightened significantly, I had taken care of what I could with Derrick without jeopardizing my family or Bella. Emmett and Jasper were reliving the moments in excruciating detail as we laughed at Derrick's reactions. I'd bet any amount of money he was looking at the bruise on his wrist right now still trembling. He may not have known we were vampires, but he most certainly knew there was something inhuman about the three of us.

When we drove up to the garage, I noticed Alice and Bella sitting out on the deck. Smiling to myself, I couldn't wait to hold her in my arms once again. Unfortunately, before we went to the party this evening I was going to have to hunt. Jasper and I would need to head out into the surrounding forest if we were to attend the party without having any difficulty – Jasper needed it due to all the humans and I needed it because of all the energy I dispelled dealing with Derrick.

As we approached the house Alice yelled, "Edward, tell Bella she has to dress up for the party! She's being difficult, once she saw her costume she refused to cooperate."

I laughed lightly; this was typical. Knowing both Alice and Bella this discussion must have been taking place since they left the costume shop. "Alice, give it a rest; Bella will wear her costume. There's no way she'll disappoint her friend Roxanne." I jumped up on the deck in time to see Bella rolling her eyes and Alice sticking her tongue out at Bella. Eternity was going to be a long time with these two.

"Thanks for your support Edward." Bella said sarcastically. "Wait till you see your costume…you may change your mind." She said smiling brilliantly thinking she had me on this point.

"Love, I already know what Odysseus wears – actually I'm looking forward to carrying his bow." I winked at her slyly. Pulling her into my arms I inhaled deeply and whispered seductively in her ear, "I can't wait to see you in Penelope's garb."

She pushed away from me playfully, "Edward, it's nothing more than a sheet with a belt. I can't wear that."

"Bella, if I can be Athena and Jasper can be Telemachus then you and Edward can go as Odysseus and Penelope. We're all basically wearing the same thing, the only difference is I get to wear a crown." She giggled lightly as she stepped lithely into the house.

"She can be so annoying at times." Bella said pouting.

Reaching over and pulling her chin up I kissed her lightly, "Yes, but you love her and know you'll wear the costume. You just want to give her a hard time, I don't know why you bother though – it's not like she hasn't seen this evening already." Wrapping my arm around her and gently leading her back to the chair, I pulled her into my lap. Looking out at the beautiful view with Bella on my lap I couldn't be more content.

"So what did you three do today?" she asked as she cuddled closer into my arms. I felt a slight shiver as she adjusted her body to form around mine.

"Hold that thought for just one moment, I'll be right back." My intent was to retrieve a blanket for her, but I also needed a moment's delay while I thought of what I would tell her.

When I came back out, Bella was standing against the railing with her arms wrapped around herself. Throwing the blanket over her shoulders I repositioned us back on the chair, "Now what were you asking?"

Shifting her position so she could look into my eyes, "I asked what you three did today? But let me just warn you, I know most of your delay tactics Edward and you just bought yourself some time, so what's up?"

Grinning shyly hoping I would dazzle her, "What makes you think I was delaying anything?" I asked her innocently.

"Edward, the time it takes a normal person to retrieve a blanket is one thing, but for you it's usually less than a second. So please, just tell me. Will I be embarrassed this evening?" she questioned sternly, she wasn't going to let this go.

"No, love I wouldn't embarrass you in front of your new friends – I swear!"

"Then what aren't you telling me?" she continued to question.

She was entirely too perceptive for her own good, "Okay, I'll tell you. We took a trip to the train station." I responded quietly knowing she would understand.

"Oh!" she whispered. "What happened, or don't I want to know?" she asked hesitantly. She had tucked her head back under my chin and curled tightly into me.

"Nothing too bad. I just let him know in no uncertain terms what would happen if he even thought about coming near you again." I replied playing with a strand of her hair. I was unsure whether or not she would be upset. At this point she just seemed curious, not angry. "You aren't angry?" I asked, curious myself now.

"No, knowing you as well as I do – it was actually expected. In fact I'm surprised it took a week, I half expected you to break into the jail to confront him. It was probably better you did it today, I can only imagine the scene if you had done it while he was locked up." A shudder ran through her and I held her tighter wrapping her further in the blanket. "So how did it go? I mean did he seem…well was he sorry?"

Kissing her head I sighed heavily, "Bella, when will you learn. You expect too much from people at times. He wasn't contrite; he was insolent when he first arrived. But not to worry, he's changed his tune – he understands the consequences should he decide to return to Vermont." I rubbed her back lightly and twisted my fingers around hers, as I stared out at the mountains.

At first she was completely silent, processing what I just told her. Trying in her own way to understand how someone could be so callous; it was against her character, so comprehending someone so dark in nature was a struggle.

"It's just so odd he seemed so normal during dinner." She whispered.

"Hearing his thoughts, knowing what I now know Bella, perhaps that was the charade. Prior to revealing myself to you, I heard his thoughts – they were stray errant clips that would come to me, but they were dark. I'd rather not discuss exactly where his thoughts took him, but you should understand that he was always sick." Curling a finger under her chin and lifting her face slightly so I could look into her eyes I asked, "Do you believe me Bella? I am not reacting out of an imagined threat."

She looked at me sadly, "Yes, I believe you. I'm sorry it's not that I doubted you; it's just so peculiar. If you could have seen his behavior at dinner and then it was like a switch was thrown and he was…"

Looking into her eyes and seeing the sadness there had an effect on me, I grabbed her face and kissed her passionately. My mouth moved with hers as I tried to kiss away her pain – helping her to heal. This wasn't the solution and I knew this, but when looking into her deep brown eyes and seeing the depth of her compassion I couldn't help myself.

She pushed against my chest firmly breaking our kiss, smiling she looked at me, "Not that I mind, but what was that for?"

Hearing her heart beating rapidly I chuckled, "It pleases me to hear you don't mind, do I need a reason to kiss you? I was overcome by your beauty."

She rolled her eyes, "As much as I'm enjoying our quiet time together," she stood up taking my hands in hers pulling me to a standing position, "we need to begin getting ready for the party. Even though I won't be wearing much more than a sheet, it's going to take some getting used to walking around in one." She laughed lightly. "Besides, I can't wait to see you in your costume, it's quite interesting." She blushed and walked into the house.

Jasper and I had just returned from hunting but we needed to hurry to get dressed for the party. Alice had spent the time we were hunting preparing herself and Bella. Although the costumes were elaborate and my costume in particular required me to put on facial hair as well as the armor, it would only take me moments to get ready.

When I went to my room, my costume was laid out upon my bed. It consisted of guards that wrapped around my forearms, boots that came up to my knees. The shirt and armor were separate pieces; the shirt was protection from the armor that was fashioned in leather. It wrapped over the shoulders and joined at the abdominal area where it met the skirt area. The skirt fell mid-thigh and was sliced into many strips of leather. Smiling to myself, yes Bella would appreciate this, it was quite revealing.

I quickly put on the armament and went to my bathroom to apply the facial hair. It only needed to be a light covering as if days spent without shaving. Looking in the mirror briefly I was glad facial hair was not in style in 1918. I went back to the bed grabbed the cape that attached to the back of the shoulders, and attached it to the shoulder guards.

Even though, we had been out hunting and had returned late, Jasper and I were still ready before Bella and Alice. Standing as I heard them coming towards the stairs I walked to the opposite side of the room. I wanted to have the first view of Bella when she came down the stairs. Alice was first to come to the landing, she was dressed in all white, with gold trim around the edges of her dress, and her waist had a very wide gold belt that had a pattern of ivy on it. On her head she had a delicate crown of gold ivy leaves that matched the pattern on her crown. She did look like the Goddess Athena in many ways with her skin looking like porcelain.

Alice looked up the stairs and sighed exasperatedly, "Bella, come on…you look great. Stop being such a baby, get down here." 'Edward if she's not down here in 30 seconds you'll need to go up and get her.' She walked away from the steps and went to Jasper's side smiling grandly at him as she appraised his costume.

Jasper's costume was similar to mine in many ways, the difference between his and mine being some of the decorative patterns in the armor and an enormous bow slung over my shoulder. The bow of Odysseus, the bow that proved to Penelope I was the one suitor worthy of her.

"Bella will come when she's ready Alice. It's only a party, we'll get there when we get there, it's not like it won't start without us. There's barely a person attending that will care if we are there. I'd prefer Bella come to the party if she is comfortable, not because we pressure her into it." I winked at Alice knowing Bella was listening.

Alice nodded her head towards the stairs quickly and winked in return. As I looked up, she was coming down the stairs I'd never seen anything more beautiful. Alice had curled her hair into light spiraling curls, yet pulled back most of the hair into a loose clasp so that only slight wisps escaped lightly framing her face. She had a very long sheer chiffon veil in a pale blue draped over her head, the veil had tiny strands of gold weaved through it that shimmered in the light as she walked down the stairs. My breath caught as I gazed at her face, her natural beauty was never more evident.

As I watched her coming down the stairs carefully, she chuckled, "Edward, what's that on your face?"

I stepped over to her just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, stroking my chin lightly, "The Greeks were at war, there wasn't time to shave while at battle." She reached up lightly and touched the fake hair I had applied to my face smiling lightly.

"Well, since it's only a costume I guess I can get used to it for tonight. But you shave first thing in morning." She laughed easily as I smiled at her.

Putting my lips against her neck and lightly rubbing it, "Don't you like the way this feels?"

She giggled and pushed away, "It tickles, stop that," she said as she slapped my arm lightly.

I stood back and looked her over; she looked spectacular. Shades of blue varying from very light to midnight hugged her upper torso and draped lightly to the floor. Her neck and collarbone were left exposed, the only adornment was aquamarine and gold jewels holding up the light fabric that hugged her breasts, dipping low showing a bit of cleavage. The belt just below her breasts matched the jewels on her shoulders, the positioning of it enhancing her body and making her appear taller. Her left shoulder was covered with another layer of fabric draping to form a shawl over her left arm and fastened loosely at her right hip with another large aquamarine stone. There was a gold bracelet festooned on her right bicep nicely accenting her skin tone and delicate arm.

"Edward, you're staring. Alice, I told you I looked ridiculous." She said firmly and turned to start walking up the stairs again.

Grabbing her by the waist I pulled her into me before she could take another step, "No my love, ridiculous was the last word I would use to describe how you look. You take my breath away…Penelope never looked so good. No wonder Odysseus struggled for years to return to her." I whispered in her ear, my voice low with desire.

Pulling away slightly, I admired her beauty once again. Slowly looking into her eyes, my fingers went to her face lightly tracing a line from her cheek to her chin while continuing a trail down the side of her neck to her shoulder. My eyes watched the progress of my finger trailing slowly down her arm causing goose bumps to appear on her skin, she shuddered lightly as her heartbeat raced and breathing quickened.

"Jasper, we better get going before these two find somewhere else to be. Come on, my visions of tonight keep alternating from the party to Edward's room." She turned to Bella and I, "Although I also appreciate the way my husband looks, we need a party – we have a lot to celebrate." She grabbed Bella's hand and pulled her towards the door.

Bella looking longingly over her shoulder and smiled shyly blushing. "Edward would you mind grabbing the shroud. Even if it is a prop I'm most likely going to need it to cover myself up this evening," she said giggling.

The party had been a great success; everyone was light-hearted and enjoyed themselves after a stressful week. Alice was right; we weren't the only ones who had needed a break. The costumes were an assortment of characters throughout time; everyone had gone out of their way to join in the celebration and dress accordingly. Sonny and Cher, Romeo and Juliet, the wretched Jason from those slasher films, Frankenstein, there was even one person dressed as the Michellin man.

Roxanne was jubilant, thrilled that her party was a success. Her costume had been appropriate; she dressed as mother nature. Her hair had flowers weaved through it, the dress had leaves and sprigs of ferns attached – she even had the sun, moon and stars painted on her face.

Sam and Anne had come as a matched set of 1930's mobster and his girlfriend. He carried the look well considering his serious nature and Anne's lightheartedness worked well with her costume as a flapper.

Much to Roxanne's dismay, Drake hadn't wanted to match her costume so he came as a baseball player. She was slightly disappointed but the two of them were still going strong in their relationship and clearly worshipped each other.

The most ironic costume of the evening was Ian, when Bella and I saw him both of us were taken off guard momentarily. Then we looked at each other and nearly laughed as he approached, he had come as a vampire. Black flowing cape with the enormous collar and red satin lining, he didn't use the fake teeth but that was merely because they were too cumbersome to wear all night.

Bella enjoyed herself throughout the evening and even danced with Roxanne and Alice, much to my surprise. There were a few times the random thoughts of some of the boys made me uncomfortable and I would pull her possessively to my side. When that occurred Bella would just look at me lovingly understanding how these thoughts disturbed me.

Ian was slowly coming around; apparently he received a call from his previous girlfriend Teresa. She had heard from their mutual contacts in New York State that Ian had been through another experience similar to hers. She reached out to him and they've begun speaking again – he seems quite pleased with this turn in events. Bella and I were very pleased; there were now two good things that came from Derrick's attack.

Now that the party was over, Bella came back to our house with me. I tucked her into bed and held her while she slept. I was right in my assessment I would have to keep an eye on the amount of alcohol that Bella consumed. She didn't get drunk, but she was feeling slightly tipsy by the end of the evening. Any inhibitions she usually felt were dispelled from the affects of the alcohol.

When we were leaving the party she was particularly amorous and kept commenting on my attire and how much she appreciated the way the costume looked on me. It was all I could do to control myself as I felt the same way. She was able to charm me into pushing the boundaries this evening, our passion igniting as we both felt the pull of attraction in wanting to discover more of one another. It was necessary for me to restrain her somewhat and push my self-control even further; perhaps having her in my room alone was not the most appropriate of things to do, but I couldn't spend the evening without her in my arms.

Her costume only enhanced her beauty and my yearning; Bella quickly became overcome by our brief lack of control and I was forced to be firm with her against my own desires. She didn't understand the risks involved in going too far. We would need to discuss this important subject at length very soon, but tonight was not the night.

This evening had been perfect in many ways; our time together and commitment to one another was interminable. I had no doubt our discussions regarding the future would be mildly frustrating and interesting at the same time. There was no uncertainty in my mind that Bella would inevitably get her way; my resistance to her charms was tenuous at best.

Smiling down at my angel, I looked forward to our future and the peaks and valleys we would scale together. Touching her face lightly so as not to wake her, I whispered in her ear "Eternity my love, destiny will allow nothing else."

AN: Well, I'm hoping that you all liked it! It would be great to get some reviews from the people who followed the story all along but didn't write a review. Is everyone happy, I cleared up all the loose ends. There may be one more chapter in me that would be a glimpse of the future but I'm not sure. It very well may be the end, let me know what you think.