Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

A/N: Great feedback from the last chapter – thanks for all the support! I hope you are enjoying the fresh start that the New Year provides. Here's to making the most of the next 365 day! Enjoy…


Best Definition of Good Intentions

28 – A Hero No One Else Could Save

"Feeling any older?" Bella asked as she stepped inside Edward's room and closed the door behind her. She took a minute to look around the room, trying to locate Edward. Closest to her, the piano sat with its cover hiding the ivory keys. The piano bench was covered with papers. On closer inspection she saw it was sheet music, some with black notes drawn on staffs, sharps and flats carefully denoted. She moved towards the piano, picking up the top sheet of music from a small stack on the right.

"I couldn't sleep until I got the music out of my head," Edward said, stepping out of his closet.

Bella turned around, taken by surprise.

"Sorry," Edward apologized. "It wasn't my intention to startle you."

"Don't worry about it," Bella dismissed. She put down the paper in her hands and picked up another from a different stack. "What songs are these?"

"It's written on the back. But the other stack, on the right, those aren't titled." He stayed where he was with the lower half of his body hidden by the closet.

"Why not?" Bella asked, switching back to the other stack. This time, she picked up the entire stack and leafed her way through, front to back. She noticed that instead of the smooth black ink that decorated the other pages, these were riddled with gray smudges. The notes were faded and entire lines were crossed out. Awaiting her answer she looked up to Edward.

"That's mine," he said with a smirk. "I haven't finished it yet."

"You wrote this?" Bella asked, her surprise evident. She flipped again through the pages in her hands.

"I'm trying to. It's taking me awhile though – the next part is proving to be difficult."

"How so?"

"I can't get it to come out right. I know how I want it to sound, but the notes are wrong. That's why I had all those songs out." He motioned to the other, larger stack. "When I was playing downstairs, I remembered the piano accompaniment to a song I was playing. In my head, it sounded right. I thought maybe if I looked at it, I could make sense of the mess I was trying to write."

Bella was still staring in wonder at the notes of the ten pages in her hands. The music danced across the paper and although she couldn't hear the sounds it stood for, she could imagine the melody that such beauty would evoke. While she was lost in the world of the song, Edward moved back into his closet. He pulled out a few more articles of clothing, a pair of jeans and t-shirts, and walked out, turning the light off behind him. He placed the clothes on his bed, which was already covered with other items of his wardrobe.

"Did it work?" Bella asked suddenly, looking up expectantly. She was met with a blank look from Edward so she held up the pages in her hand.

"Oh, not really. The song I was thinking of is written in a different key than the one I'm working on. I couldn't get the notes I wanted to translate over. Thought maybe if I distracted myself, the answer would come to me."

"The music just comes to you?" Bella asked. Setting down the music carefully in its rightful place on the bench, she walked to the first empty seat in the room – the black leather couch. Bella blushed furiously, realizing the couch was not empty. Camouflaged by the matching shades, Edward's underwear had been invisible to Bella's eye from across the room.

Edward watched her hesitant and remembered he'd thrown clothes on the couch. "Please, Bella, move whatever you need to."

At the thought of touching the black boxer-briefs that belonged on Edward's body, Bella blushed even more. She hid her face and mumbled, "It's alright. I'll sit over here."

She moved around to opposite side of Edward's bed. In the few feet of room that existed between the bed and the floor-to-ceiling window, Bella sat, leaning against the nightstand and stared out the window. She stretched her legs out in front of her, pushing a black notebook out of her way. Feeling discomfort when she rested her head against the furniture, she reached behind her to release her hair from its ponytail. Her long, brown locks flooded her shoulders in a sudden movement. Before leaning back again, she pushed the hair back from her forehead and ran her fingers through the soft strands, root to tip. She gathered her hair at the base of her neck and pulling it forward into a twist over her right shoulder.

Quickly, Edward gathered the clothes he'd strewn about the room and put them in the suitcase at his feet. He zipped up the luggage and placed it by the door before he joined Bella on the other side of the bed. He sat down, leaning against the bed, where Bella's feet ended. His tall stature did not fit in the small space so he bent his knees towards his chest, letting his feet press against the cool glass of the window. Edward could barely see his reflection; the light in the room around them was dim. The dark room only helped make the stars outside shine brighter.

"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish might, have this wish I wish tonight," she spoke quietly to the heavens above them. She was quiet for a moment, making her wish, before she turned to Edward with a smirk.

"That's not the first star you saw tonight," Edward pointed out.

"But it's the first that held my attention. That should count for something."

"So what'd you wish for?"

"You know I can't say. It won't come true then."

"We wouldn't want that now. Forgive me," he requested. Bella smiled with a small laugh and Edward continued. "Do I get to make a wish now?"

"If you want. Pick a star," Bella instructed.

"Any star?"

"Why not?"

"I was under the impression that the wish is to be directed the first star you see of the night."

"Does it matter?" Bella looked away from the sky, asking Edward with her eyes for an honest answer. He couldn't give her any answer and she continued. "It's up to you anyway whether it comes true or not."

"What do you mean?" Edward was aware that their conversation had just taken a new turn but he wasn't sure where it was leading. Like usual, he was surprised by the words that came out of Bella's mouth. She always seemed to have such insight into unknown quantities, such perception that she continued to share with him.

She answered his question with her own. "Do you expect the wish to come true because you asked a star?"

Edward was at a loss for words. With her wording, Bella was calling him out, questioning his beliefs. He was offended at her insinuation, but doubted that she really understood how he'd taken her words. He tried to remain calm, saying "Well, when you put it like that."

"How would you put it?" Bella asked quickly, never missing a beat. She didn't miss how Edward's expression had changed with her first question. She was asking earnestly now, hoping to understand his thoughts.

Instead of giving a straight answer, Edward asked another question as his answer. "Do you remember when you asked me what I saw when I look at the stars?"

"You said hope," Bella recalled.

"Right, and you told me you couldn't make sense of what the stars were showing you. I couldn't see it at the time, but now that I know, I realize that I couldn't make sense of it either then."

"So what do you see now?" Bella asked, curious.

"You actually said it best that night - we view our heavens as being among the clouds and stars," he remembered her words perfectly. He'd recalled them many times over the past week. It was strange, he thought, that the one topic he'd spent his week making sense of was the first thing he and Bella discussed. Answering her original question, he explained, "I'm not simply wishing on a star, I'm praying to a higher power."

"And you expect it to be granted?"

"Not necessarily." Edward took a moment to think his words through. "It's not as though I'm requesting a car for Christmas from Santa Claus. I'm praying to God, by means of the stars. I'm asking Him to grant me the strength and ability, so I can grant the wish myself."

"And if you can't?"

"Then it wasn't meant to be. Then God has something else in store for me." Edward answered, brushing the insinuation off. The answer, no matter how long it had taken him to be comfortable with it, was obvious to him now.

Bella took a moment to think, pouring over Edward's words. It was obvious that he truly believed what he was saying and she didn't want to offend him by questioning his beliefs, but she was curious. "Can I ask another question?"

"Of course. You're welcome to ask all you'd like."

"I just don't want to sound rude. If I am, tell me – I'll stop."

"Bella, really, don't worry. What would you like to ask?" Edward pressed.

"It couldn't mean that you failed? You wouldn't see it as your fault when whatever you were asking for didn't come true?"

Edward was confused by her words. He turned to look her in the eye and asked, "Are you asking why I wouldn't believe God was punishing me?"

"No, no. Not at all," Bella said quickly. "The way you explain it, you're saying you rely on your god to grant the wish – maybe not directly, but it's up to him whether or not it comes true. Right?"

"That's right."

"What I'm asking is…Say you were granted the strength and ability, but still the wish didn't come true. Then it's your fault, your failure."

"He wouldn't grant me the strength and ability and not allow it come to pass." Edward's words were strong; he clung to this belief. It was the crux of everything that he'd thought through the past week. "May I ask you a question now, Bella?"

"Sure," she shrugged, not sure what Edward could be curious about.

"Do you not believe in God?"

The words caught Bella off guard. This was not what she was expecting. Edward had been very open and honest with her and she wanted to show him the same respect but she wasn't sure how. "Honestly," she began her answer. "I don't know what I believe. I want to believe that there's a higher power out there – something that's responsible for me. But I find it hard to take stock in a being that could allow so much bad to happen all around us."

Edward nodded, understanding her view point. After all, it wasn't that long ago he'd questioned his faith for the same reason.

"I don't know how you can so wholeheartedly give yourself over to something. To live and die by someone else's hands. I don't mean to sound insensitive, and if I'm crossing the line, you don't have to answer." Bella's words were coming fast now, falling from her lips in a rush. "But how do you explain your parents' deaths? Are you okay with it because it was God's will?"

"Bella…"

"I'm sorry, Edward. I didn't mean to upset you. Forget I said anything."

"No, Bella, it's alright – really." Edward reached out and grabbed Bella's shin. His cool hand on her warm leg caused her to look up and meet his gaze. "I'm just not sure what to tell you. I've spent my entire week thinking about this. Now, I know what I believe, but I'm not sure I'm able to put it into the correct terms. My reasoning may not make sense to you and it's probably flawed, but that's what faith is, right? It's taking that leap to explain what a person doesn't know and doesn't understand, and it's different for everyone."

Bella smiled weakly at Edward, skeptical.

"I'm so thankful for everything that the Cullen's have done for me, that everyone here in Forks has done for me. And I really appreciate the effort everyone has put in to make this trip happen. To know that you all want to make my eighteenth birthday a festive affair rather than allow me to wallow in my own self-pity, it means a lot. And if I hadn't taken this week to myself to make sense of things, could you guess how I'd be spending the weekend?" Edward paused but Bella remained silent. "I'd be bitter that it wasn't New York. I'd be mad that my parents weren't there. I would seem completely ungrateful, which is the exact opposite of how I feel, but I wouldn't be able to get past my hatred for the situation.

"It's been over a month since my parents died and I've spent the majority of that time pretending I was fine, pretending I'd gotten over it. I was in denial, Bella. I was acting as though nothing had happened." Edward looked away from Bella and was quiet for a few minutes while he eyes searched the sky. "I'm not okay with my parents' deaths, even if it was God's will. But I have to believe that something will come out of this. I believe they died for something greater. And it's okay that I don't know what that is now, or that I may never know. It's just important that I believe."

"Because then there's nothing you could have done to change it. The situation was out of your hands," Bella finished for him.

"Exactly." Edward turned back to Bella, smiling his signature lopsided grin.

"Can't say I agree, but I do understand. It makes perfect sense," she admitted. Bella pulled her leg out from Edward's touch and crossed her legs beneath her. She moved away from the nightstand she'd been leaning against and closer to Edward. "My family was never big on church. We only ever went sporadically when I was younger. Since I've been friends with Alice, I've gone more frequently. Attending service whenever possible was always important to Carlisle and Esme. And, in theory, it's always made sense to me. But I've never personally been able to subscribe to it. How can you rely entirely on something else? How can you have that much trust in something?"

The questions were rhetorical but Bella never took her eyes off the boy, now man, in front of her.

"Curious as to my theory about wishing on stars?" she asked.

"Of course."

"I don't believe my wish is going to be granted just because I asked a star. I can't rely on the star, but I can rely on myself to make it come true. It's a promise to myself to do whatever I need to make it happen. It's like I'm my own personal wishing star," Bella said, laughing at her own silliness. The serious mood between the two was officially broken and they relaxed into silence.

Bella turned her body, scooting closer to Edward while she leaned against the bed and mirrored his posture. Her petite frame looked even smaller in comparison to him; her legs barely reached the window when fully extended. As she was adjusting her position, her hand brushed against a piece of paper just hidden by the edge of the bed.

"What's this?" she asked, removing the paper. The edges were crumbled and as she flattened the page out against her leg she saw that it was another page of sheet music, although there were scribbles across the page. None of the notes were legible but through the thin material she could see something was written on the back. Bella turned the paper over and began studying the designs that marked the white.

"Pointless sketches," Edward answered. "I was doodling earlier. I must have dropped the paper."

"What does this mean?" Bella asked of the design that was repeated countless times. Some of the drawings were larger, others smaller, but all of the same basic design. There was a top and a bottom, or two sides, depending on how one looked at it, with a line of symmetry through the middle. The two halves were exactly symmetrical, though they looked very similar. One was more rounded whereas the other was all right angles and sharp points. It was the difference between cursive and print handwriting.

"It's…" Edward started to answer before stopping himself. "You're spending Saturday with me, right?" Bella nodded. "Good. I'll explain then."

"Alright," Bella responded interested, but knowing she was barely 36 hours from the answer. Her eyes scanned over the page before landing on something she'd missed before. "Oh my gosh! Edward, is that suppose to be a star?" She pointed to a pointy object in the lower right corner of the page, laughing hysterically at the maimed design.

"So I'm not very good at drawing stars," Edward huffed, annoyed at his short coming. "I doubt you could do any better," he challenged.

"Of course, I could do better! That's awful!"

Edward reached over Bella and grabbed the pencil off the nightstand, handing it to Bella. "And no cheating, either," he clarified as she poised the lead over a blank space on the page. "You can't erase the lines from the middle."

"Fine." It was Bella's turn to get huffy. She pressed the point down and thought for a moment before dragging it up along the page. Next she changed directions, completing the first point of the star. She drew a horizontal line next, then reversed direction and completed the second point. The third she continued in the same fashion but once finished, it didn't look as though it matched the others. She decided to draw the fourth in comparison to the third and then completed the inner circle by drawing the turned V, connecting the first to the fourth. She raised the pencil and immediately started laughing. "Okay, so it's not much better."

Edward joined in with his own laughter. It was several minutes before the charming, musical sound of his laughter subsided and he said breathlessly, "Bella, that's worse than mine."

"Hey! Be nice!" Bella complained, still laughing and swatted at Edward's arm.

Lazily, Edward caught Bella's hand before it made contact his skin. He held it tightly looking at her. Bella's laughter quieted as she looked into Edward's eyes. The sparkling green was as captivating as ever, but for once Bella was not overwhelmed by the sadness and loss they held. Tonight, they seemed to take on a life of their own. She couldn't be sure whether it was the renewed energy Edward had or the fact that it had been almost a full week since she'd stared into the tiny green planets, but, either way, she was glad for the opportunity.

Edward stared back, watching the giddiness wash from Bella's face as the muscles relaxed. He reached up brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. His mind cleared as he kept his cool palm resting against Bella's warm cheek and jaw. He watched as the brilliant flush made its way to Bella's cheeks. Edward's eyes flickered to Bella's lips and he marveled at the thought of kissing her again. Subconsciously, he licked his lips in anticipation.

Bella saw the reflection of her own face in Edward's eyes as his gaze turned from her own eyes to her lips and then she followed suit. When she saw his tongue dart out and dampen his lips, she began to do the same. She was only mildly aware of the feel of his hand on her face but she caught herself in the middle of the motion and cleared her throat. It took another minute though before she could break the eye contact.

"I should go," she said quietly, eyes to the ground. "Big day tomorrow."

Quickly, she stood and made her way to the door. Before she closed the door behind her, she turned around to speak. The words were just loud enough for him to hear. "Goodnight, Edward. Happy birthday."

"Goonight, Bella," he said as the door shut.

A/N: By the time I got the end of this, I realized how much I like these conversations between Edward and Bella to stand by themselves. So sorry to drag out the trip more, but hopefully you won't mind in the end. The chapter title comes from the song "Little" by Something Corporate. Happy New Year, again! I'd love to hear your resolutions, and let's hope we can keep them going for awhile!