A/N: Welcome to Christmas Dinner at the Cullen House. Please leave your gifts under the tree, and put any liquor in my room. I could use it.

Just for the record, everyone seems to love Christmas and their own birthday most of all. My husband is Jewish, so we celebrate Chrismakkuah (O.C. Reference) and I tried to make him celebrate Christmas for eight days, but he wouldn't go for it. I bet Edward would.

Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys the chapter. I loved writing Esme in this chappie! Oh, and I have a fic rec… I just started reading "Mr. Horrible" by algonquinrt, and it is hilarious. Very OOC, but funny as hell in my opinion.

BPOV

The next day wasn't as awkward as I expected. Edward left the house just after my father did, after assuring me his car was not parked out front, where my dad could see it. We chatted via text all day as he helped out at home with some last minute preparations for Christmas. I was both excited and nervous to head over to his family's place the next day, so while I was at home all day, I let my mind wander about all the different possibilities. Would Emmett reveal us to his family? Would Alice or anyone else be able to notice the connection between Edward and me even though we had agreed to keep our distance as much as possible? I had no idea what to expect.

I spent part of the afternoon sorting through my luggage for something appropriate to wear before I gave up and called Alice. "Hey Girl, what's up?" she asked inquisitively as she answered the phone.

"I'm stumped Ali. What should I wear to dinner tomorrow? I didn't bring anything even remotely fancy." I listened anxiously as she laughed at me for a moment.

"You're not going to tea with the Queen Bella. You can wear jeans and a sweater. We're like any other family on Christmas." I let out a sigh of relief as Alice kept talking about random stuff. My interest was piqued when she spoke of Edward though. "So, I think my brother's have some big news to share. I bet Edward or Emmett is engaged or something." I coughed loudly, almost choking from her assumptions.

"What makes you think that Ali?" I asked, playing the supportive friend role, even though I was lying to her.

"They're just being very secretive. Always whispering about something and they both seem so happy, I can't imagine what else it could be." Alice didn't seem happy about this change of events; even though I knew it wasn't true. I offered some moral support and a few random ideas for their possible attitude change, but I wasn't supposed to know her brothers, so I tried to give general information as opposed to anything specific.

"Just wait and see what happens. You shouldn't jump to conclusions, because you'll spend most of your time stressing yourself out." Alice agreed with me thankfully, and we talked a little more about what Christmas at the Cullen's entailed, before she had to go help her mother make stuffing. Edward wasn't able to get free that night, but I hadn't expected him to since it was Christmas Eve. Charlie and I had a casual evening together, I made chicken with vegetables and rice for dinner, and he seemed pleased to enjoy home cooking for once. When we finally settled into the living room together, he started with all the questions.

"Billy was disappointed we never made it out the other night," said Charlie with a reluctant sigh.

"Dad, you know I don't want to talk about this. You and Billy are great friends, Jacob and I are not. Nor will we ever be. I'm over what he did to me, but I don't need a constant reminder from my own father," I replied in frustration as I picked up my book from the table and started to flip through it.

"I know Bells, I'm sorry. We just always thought you and Jake were meant for each other. Most people in town did." I know my father had the best of intentions, but I was getting really tired of each one of our conversations revolving around Jacob.

"Well, apparently Jacob had everyone snowed, not just me. He cheated on me dad, in my own apartment, on my couch. I am not just going to overlook that." Charlie nodded his head in agreement at me and seemed to put the topic to rest. "At dinner tomorrow night, I don't want to discuss him. The Cullens' already know what happened, but I don't want to even mention it again. It's in the past."

I was relieved when Charlie just nodded again and we stopped discussing it. He kept his eyes trained on the Discovery Channel as I read my book and answered the random texts that Edward sent me. He was bored at home; he missed me and hated being apart. I hadn't even noticed I was smiling as happily as I was until Charlie caught me.

"Who are you talking to Bella?"

"Alice. She's just telling me some of the funny stuff that happened while I was away," I lied. I excused myself to head to bed shortly after this incident. I didn't want to call further attention to my happiness, because Charlie was fairly perceptive. I guess that's just a fact of life with a job in the police force though.

The next morning, Charlie and I exchanged the few gifts we had gotten each other and enjoyed a quick brunch before going our separate ways to get ready for the Cullen's. I dressed in some comfortable jeans and a dark blue sweater that Edward had mentioned he thought looked good on me. If I couldn't spend time with him the way I wanted, at least I would know he was watching me. Charlie was just as casual as I was in jeans and a black button down shirt, but he looked good. "You clean up well old man," I laughed as he handed me his coat and we stepped out into the frigid Christmas Day air. We headed to their house in Charlie's cruiser. He wanted it available at a moment's notice in case of an emergency and I laughed at him because nothing exciting ever happened in Forks.

When we arrived, I knocked anxiously on the door and Alice was the first to greet us, throwing her arms around me immediately and wishing us both a Merry Christmas. The house looked even more festive than when I visited only a few days ago. Apparently Esme really had kept them all busy decorating every surface of the house in miscellaneous Christmas paraphernalia. I had to take a peek at her Christmas tree, which was in the corner of the living room, looking as majestic as ever.

"Charlie, Bella. It's wonderful you could join us," said Esme happily as she walked over and gave us tentative hugs, her hands in oven mitts and a big spoon clutched in one. I'm working on dinner still. We will probably eat around four. The boys are watching football in the living room if you care to join them." Charlie nodded his head eagerly and thanked her for inviting us. Alice however grabbed my hand and went to pull me upstairs with her.

"You should come hang out with us Bella. Don't you think you talked to Alice enough last night?" said Charlie innocently as Alice looked at me in confusion.

"We'll be right back Chief Swan," remarked Alice as she pulled me up the stairs and into her old childhood bedroom.

"We talked last night?" said Alice with a laugh. "I know I had some egg nog, but I didn't think I drank that much."

"No, we didn't talk. I lied to Charlie to get him to leave me alone. So don't worry about it," I said trying to sound as casual as possible. Alice still looked at me a little puzzled, but seemed to let it go.

"So, I found out what the hell was going on with my brothers," she said sounding slightly excited, but also a bit annoyed. "They're moving back to Seattle, both of them."

"That's good news, isn't it?" I asked curiously. Hell, I thought it was marvelous news.

"Yeah, my parents were ecstatic about it all. They're opening a second office here too, so they're settling down in the area. Emmett was funny about it all. He said he could never find a girl to make babies with down in L.A. My mother laughed happily of course, desperate for one of us kids to settle down." I laughed genuinely at her as she continued to talk about everything. "I just have this feeling that when they move here, things will change."

"Maybe the change will be for the better?" I offered sweetly, as Alice shrugged her shoulders.

"You got a watch?" she asked in surprise as she grabbed my wrist and looked down at the gift from Edward. "I thought you considered a watch pointless because you always flipped your phone open to check the time?" Shit, that was true. I had said that, but Edward didn't know that did he.

"I saw it at a store in Jackson Hole and it just called to me. I think I'm changing my opinion on a lot of things," I replied honestly as Alice opened her mouth to say something, and then shut it again. I finally was able to step away from Alice only moments later when Esme called up to her for some help. I offered, but she had refused. I wandered around Alice's room for a moment, recalling happier moments from our senior year of high school when I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Merry Christmas Baby," said Edward with a sigh as he walked into the room and locked the door behind him. "Fuck, I've missed you like crazy."

"Watch your mouth Edward," I said with a laugh as he pulled me to him for a kiss. "You should be on your best behavior."

"Thanks mom. Were you listening when she gave Emmett and me a lecture the other day?" he asked with a sincere smile across his face.

"Of course not. Since no one knows we're missing, why don't you show me your room?" I asked seductively as he squeezed my hand in his before unlocking the door and leading me up to the third floor. I entered his room somewhat nervously; after all, this had been his sanctuary growing up. I was also nervous to be caught by anyone in the house. "This is nice," I commented casually as I ran my hands over the shelving on the far wall covered in CD's.

"Thanks, I guess. I've never had a girl other than Alice or my mom in here," he said casually as I blushed.

"Do you think we have time for a quickie?" I asked with a laugh as Edward pulled me down onto the bed with him.

"You know I can never do anything with you 'quickly'" joked Edward as I felt him hovering above me, his lips only an inch from my face.

"Can you at least kiss me so I have something to think about over dinner?" I was practically begging. I was anxious for dinner, but knowing how much he wanted me would make things easier. I felt his hand reach behind the back of my head and he pulled me up to meet his lips, crashing them together passionately. I moaned involuntarily as I felt his other hand move up the side of my body, god I wanted him. I was about to tell him to have his way with me, family and time be damned, when we heard a knock on the door. We both immediately tensed.

"It's Emmett." Thank god, I whispered to myself as Edward stood from the bed and went to answer the door, as I straightened up my shirt and sat up on the edge of the bed. "So Mom was asking for you, and I said you were upstairs for a moment. I wouldn't make these little meetings too often today, people will get suspicious," laughed Emmett as he glanced over at me and gave me a sweet little wave.

"We know Em. I'm actually going to discuss this situation at dinner tonight. I have a feeling I know why Alice isn't too keen on us dating her friends." I looked up at Edward and was surprised by his comments.

"We're discussing this tonight? Over Christmas dinner?" I stammered nervously as I jumped from the bed.

"It's not like I'm telling everyone how I feel about you Bella. I'm putting out feelers on Alice, you'll see. I promise, you have nothing to worry about." He sounded so calm, but I was petrified. I thanked Emmett for letting us know we were missed and I headed into the bathroom on the second floor, searching through the medicine cabinet for some Tylenol. I suddenly had a headache.

EPOV

I headed down into the kitchen, sad at having to leave Bella, but eager to get to the dinner table. "Where have you been " asked Esme as I wandered into the kitchen and watched as she cut up some potatoes.

"I was upstairs for a moment," I admitted casually.

"You should go introduce yourself to Chief Swan and Bella. They're in the living room watching the game," prodded Esme with a grin. She was a little too happy about all this, and I had no idea why. Suddenly Bella walked into the kitchen, clutching a bottle of Tylenol.

"Can I get a glass of water?" she asked curiously as she popped open the container and I quickly fetched the drink for her. I didn't know she was feeling sick. I suddenly felt horrible for trying to steal second base upstairs.

"Bella, this is Edward, Alice's older brother," said Esme politely as she suddenly pushed me towards Bella with a broad smile. Holy shit, my mother was trying to hook me up with Bella. "Edward's moving back to Seattle in a few weeks. Isn't that interesting?" Bella laughed happily and nodded her head as she popped the pills into her mouth and swallowed them easily.

"That's wonderful Esme. You must be so happy to have Edward back into the family fold," she said with a wink in my direction. She knew what Esme was up to as well, and I laughed heartily as I listened to my mother talk about me as though I was People's Most Eligible Bachelor.

"So Bella, what is it that you do?" I asked curiously, playing right into my mother's hands. No wonder she had insisted on inviting Bella and Charlie to dinner. She wanted me to make a good impression, she wanted me with Bella.

"I'm currently a book editor. I am looking into doing my own writing in the near future. I was recently away in Jackson Hole for a few days and managed to start a few chapters of a potential novel. I'm pretty excited about it." Bella smiled enthusiastically at me as Esme started to tell her about Cullen Advertising and how we were relocating to Seattle. Apparently I wasn't allowed to talk for myself as my mother tried to force me to date my … girlfriend. I laughed at the situation as Alice walked into the kitchen to join us.

"What's so funny?" she asked as she watched us all talking easily.

"Nothing, Bella here was just telling us about her job," I replied nervously as Alice glanced between Bella and me. "Mom here just introduced us." Alice shrugged her shoulders and headed back into the living room.

"Well it was nice to meet you Edward," said Bella casually as she extended her hand for me to shake it. I gripped it eagerly, running one finger along the inside of her palm before she turned back to my mother. "If you need anything Esme, I'll be glad to help. I'll be in the living room with the rest of the family." I watched as she walked away, which was probably my second mistake of the night, after being caught in my room by Emmett.

"She's a sweet girl Edward. You should have Alice give you here number when you move back. You could do a lot worse than Bella," said Esme with a small chuckle as she pulled out a can of peas from the cupboard and laid them on the counter.

"Mother, are you trying to hook me up with Bella?" I asked nervously as she looked up at me and blushed. "You know how Alice feels about us dating her friends."

"So what if I am? I'm allowed to look out for your best interest's right? Alice needs to calm down with her rules." I nodded my head and laughed happily as I wandered towards the living room. I sat down in one of the armchairs on the far side of the room after introducing myself to Bella's father. He didn't seem to care too much though. There was some sort of bowl game on and he was enthralled with that, just like Emmett.

It was only an hour later that Esme called Alice and I into the kitchen to help her. I got the lovely task of setting the table and Bella was gracious enough to help me. "I think my mom is trying to get us to go out," I whispered to her as she nodded her head. She never got a chance to reply as Alice walked into the room with a handful of napkins for us to add to the place settings. Once everyone had seated, with me right beside Bella, no surprise there, Carlisle said a quick grace and we ate happily for a few moments until I decided to break the tension. This was mistake number three for the evening.

"Alice, how's Rosalie doing?" I asked curiously as Emmett suddenly started to choke on a piece of turkey.

"She's fine Edward," replied Alice as she glared at me, followed by Bella who looked confused. I snuck my hand down beside me, rubbing against Bella's thigh for a moment, trying to be calm.

"You're still friends with her? I thought you decided not to after Emmett broke up with her?" I asked a little hesitant this time.

"Dude, you know I didn't break up with her, she dumped me when I said I was going to USC. She wanted me to go out east with her, and I didn't." Emmett looked at me and was furious, even though he knew I was bringing this up to find out Alice's feelings about me dating Bella.

"Yes, Rosalie and I are still friends. She lives back in Seattle now. She got a job over at Boeing in their engineering department." Emmett's eyes lit up with this news, which was new to me as well. I knew he still harbored feelings for Rosalie, but suddenly a saw a light go off in his eyes which meant he was up to something.

"Edward, this isn't exactly proper dinner conversation," sighed Carlisle as he grabbed the gravy and poured some on his potatoes.

"I'm just trying to figure out why Alice is so against us dating her friends. Mom doesn't think it's a bad idea," I said with a wink at my mother, who blushed furiously. "Did Emmett really spoil it for the rest of us?" I asked again as Alice glared at me.

"Rosalie was the tip of the iceberg. It took me four years to get her to talk to me again after you guys split up. Then top that off with Tanya and Charlotte, and it's a wonder I have any friends at all. None of my friends ever want to be around me once you break up with them, and I wonder why?" snapped Alice sarcastically.

"I was just curious Alice, and anyways, all those were Emmett's girlfriends, not mine." I replied uneasily. This was going to be harder than I thought. Even Esme looked frustrated at Alice. So much for her plan to get me and Bella out on a date.

"Why do you even care Edward? When you move back, you'll hardly have time for any of us let alone a girlfriend. You'll be too busy moving back, setting up the business, hiring employees, finding new clients and all that mess. Why don't you worry about your life, and not about sleeping around with my girlfriends," she snapped angrily at me. I looked over at Bella and she was clearly uncomfortable with the conversation, but I was determined to find out why Alice was being so stringent about this, there had to be some underlying reason other than the fact that Emmett and Rosalie broke up. Part of me didn't want to care about Alice's rules because I felt so strongly for Bella. Alice would come around eventually, wouldn't she?

"You know, Renee was the sister of my best friend," commented Charlie. It was his first comment of the night other than some mundane things about football that he had discussed with Emmett and Carlisle earlier. "What? It's true. After we divorced though, her brother and I remained the best of friends. There was never any ill will. If people are meant to be together, they will be, regardless of the circumstances or rules." Bella looked over at her father with a sincere smile. Perhaps he was more perceptive than I gave him credit for. Then again, after all I had heard about him, he was probably thinking about Bella and Jacob.

The conversation regarding dating friends ended shortly after that, but it didn't escape me that Emmett had corned Alice once dinner was over to ask about Rosalie. He probably wanted to get back in touch with her since they were both going to be living in Seattle soon. I helped Esme clear off the table as Bella joined Carlisle for a tour of his library, where she would no doubt gush over thousands of books on his shelf and drool at each one. It wasn't long after that Charlie and Bella headed home for the evening, after I had caught her upstairs coming out of the bathroom. I pushed her back in for a quick kiss, locking the door behind us.

"Can I come over tonight?" I asked excitedly.

"Sure. Can you give us like an hour? Charlie usually falls into a tryptophan coma after eating turkey, so I'm sure he'll be asleep soon," replied Bella happily as she kissed me again, this time a little more forcefully.

"Can we go for a drive?" I wanted her so badly; the past few days had been hell not being able to touch her as much as I had been accustomed to in Wyoming. I didn't think the car was the best place to have sex, but she refused to do it in her father's house, so I had to make some adjustments to my plan.

"Sure sweetie," she answered as she ran her hand down my thigh and over my erection. "One hour." Bella strolled from the bathroom and I slipped out the second door which led into my bedroom, completely undetected and rather proud of myself.

When I finally pulled up in front of Bella's house an hour later, there was a third car in the driveway which I didn't recognize. The only light on in the house was in the kitchen, so I texted Bella to let her know I had arrived. I didn't see any movement in the house, which concerned me for a moment, until I saw Bella walk out the house, her hands raised angrily and a tall thin guy arguing with her. My immediate instinct was to get out of the car and interrupt whatever was going on, but as I my hand gripped the door handle, Bella ran across the yard and pulled open the door. She hopped in the car breathlessly and I sped away while she was still fastening her seat belt.

"Are you okay?" I asked, the anger finally subsiding in my chest. Bella just shook her head in frustration before starting to cry a bit. I pulled over onto a side road and hugged her, holding her close to my chest. "Who were you arguing with?"

"Jacob."