DISCLAIMER: The characters do not belong to me…they are all the creation of the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Cullens spend Christmas at Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia

Christmas 1

As I finished packing my bag for our trip, I thought about the last few weeks with Bella. We had only left each other's sides for a few hours, at most, each day, and that was only so Bella could have some individual time with each family member. She gardened with Esme, worked on Emmett's Jeep with Rosalie—the idiot had thrown out his transmission when he got stuck in a deep mud puddle and insisted on 'rocking' the Jeep out by trying to go forward, and then throwing the engine into reverse—helped Alice do some Christmas shopping, discussed art with Carlisle, played video games and wrestled with Emmett, and spent some time talking with Jasper.

Bella was doing much better with her emotions, but she still wasn't quite done with her grieving yet. I was certain she would be fine very soon, though; Alice assured me of it. And I knew Bella wanted to come to terms with everything so that she could enjoy her days with me, and our family, without worrying that her emotions would get in the way. I wanted this Christmas to be fun and relaxing for my beautiful wife so that she would thoroughly enjoy it.

"What are you thinking about?" Bella asked, running her fingers over my cheek.

"You, my love. The answer is always you." I scooped her up into my arms and sat down on the couch, holding her in my lap.

She smiled and kissed my cheek. "Are you excited for our trip?"

"Very. It's been a long time since I went skiing and snowboarding."

"I bet you boys are quite the sight, speeding down some mountain side no one else would dare to tackle."

I chuckled and buried my face into her hair, inhaling her sweet scent. "The last time we went, Jasper ended up hitting a snow bank and flipping off his board. Emmett laughed so hard that he caused an avalanche."

"No," she gasped, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Yes. Luckily, though, no one was injured and we were able to cover our tracks and leave the scene before rescue workers showed up to check for victims."

"Your life has never been dull. First, you had to deal with Emmett and the silly situations he can get into. Then, I came along and turned your world upside down even more. You really do have a lot of patience, you know."

I laughed long and hard. "No one else in our family would agree with that. They all think I have a rather short fuse."

"Oh, you do when you're extremely angry, but other than that, you do have an awful lot of patience."

"I think 'control' would be a much better word for what I manage."

"Yeah, too bad you couldn't share that control with Emmett the other day," Bella laughed. "Maybe their room wouldn't have sustained so much damage when his punishment ended."

"I don't think Jasper would even have been able to calm him down enough to prevent that. Rose had teased Emmett a little too much," I chuckled.

"She enjoyed it, though, so I guess that's what counts. And Emmett did a pretty good job of repairing the damage. He's just lucky Esme was out of the house and doesn't know about it."

"I doubt she would take the chance of punishing him again," I laughed.

"Even if she did, we're leaving for our trip within the hour anyway, so Emmett should be able to take out any frustrations on the slopes." Bella kissed my cheek and smiled. "I'm really excited to learn to ski."

"I'm excited to teach you. Will you go ice skating with me while we are there?" I asked, running my nose along her jaw.

"As long as you hold onto me like you did in New York."

"That won't be a problem," I chuckled. "Holding onto you is one of my favorite things to do."

"That's good because being held by you is one of my favorite things."

"And I'll be holding you for the entire car ride."

She smiled and hugged me tightly, pressing her face against my neck. "What's the first thing you want to do when we get there?"

"I want to take a run, just you and me together, and explore the area."

"I like that idea. I always enjoy running with you. But even more than that, I enjoy the fact that I don't hold you back."

"No, you are still the second fastest in the family."

"Edward. Bella," Esme called from the living room. "Are you two nearly ready to go?"

Bella jumped off my lap and ran to our open door, poking her head out of it. "Yes, mom. My bag is already in the living room and Edward is finishing up his right now."

"Okay, dear. Your father wants to get on the road in the next few minutes, so please have Edward hurry," Esme instructed.

I got up from the sofa, grabbed a few CDs from my wall, and then finished packing my bag. I lifted my bag into my hand and walked over toward Bella. I wrapped an arm around her waist and then we headed into the living room, joining the rest of our family. I let go of Bella and grabbed her bag as Emmett, Jasper, and Carlisle grabbed the rest of the luggage. Esme opened the front door for us and we all headed over to the Lexus GX 470 that Carlisle had rented for this trip. Jasper hopped onto the roof of the vehicle and we preceded to hand him the luggage to load onto the carrier on top.

After that was done, we all climbed into the vehicle. Carlisle and Esme took the front since he wanted to drive first. Bella and I climbed into the very back row, and Alice, Jasper, Rose, and Emmett took up the row in front of us.

"I brought movies," Alice announced, holding up a small bag.

"Yes," Emmett said, smiling happily. "Dad, thanks for getting a rental with a DVD player."

"I thought it might help you all to be calm on the ride," Carlisle chuckled.

"By all, we know you mean Alice and Bella," Rose laughed.

"Hey, considering you and our other siblings are the reason why we get all excited, I think you're a part of that all, too," Bella pouted.

I hugged her tighter to me and kissed her cheek. "Don't worry about them, love. You know how much they love to tease you."

"Alice, put in Anchorman first," Emmett instructed.

Alice put in the movie and our siblings quickly became engrossed in it. Bella and I had seen the movie enough times, and we only liked certain parts of it anyway, so I decided we would do something else. I squeezed her hand, letting her know I wanted her to open up to me.

'Yes, husband?'

'Hello, wife. I know you find the movie as tedious as I do, so I thought we could talk.'

'Sure. What would you like to talk about?'

'Well, I know how much you like it when I talk about my past, so I thought I would tell you about the few times that I've gone.'

'Oh, Edward! I would love that!'

I kissed her forehead and smiled. 'I thought you might. I'll give a brief history first and then I'll tell you about my memories. Snowboarding started in the late 1960s and became very popular in the 1970s. Ever since then, it's been something the humans have enjoyed greatly. The speed and adrenaline it produces in humans is only matched by driving a fast car, but you don't have the wind whipping around you in the car. Because of our strength and weight, we have to be mindful of what we are doing, but once we get a feel for the board, we don't have issues. Emmett's size makes it harder for him to do some of the tricks, but he tries anyway. Jasper is the most graceful of the three of us, while I am, of course, the fastest. I don't really care for the tricks, as they break up the wind flow and slow down your speed. But I do enjoy watching Jasper perform them. The first time we went snowboarding was in 1969, when Carlisle and Esme took us to Breckenridge for a long weekend. Jasper and I caught on quickly, only breaking three boards each. It took Emmett a little while longer and he ended up going through seven boards before he finally adjusted to his weight and strength correctly. He has to make sure he gets a wider board so that he doesn't have trouble maneuvering himself.'

'Wow. How many boards do you think I'll go through?'

'You are always very conscious of yourself, so I would think no more than two. We'll pick up some extra boards there so that you don't risk breaking the board Emmett bought you.'

'Was that the time when Emmett caused the avalanche?'

'No, that was in the late 1980s when he did that. We were actually in the Swiss Alps at the time.'

'Switzerland? Really?'

'Yes. I'll have to take you there some year. We'll go at a time when few humans are traveling in the area so we can camp out in the Alps. We can either go alone or with the family.'

'We'll decide when we're ready to go there. What did you hunt when you were there?'

'The animals of the Alps have been hunted by the humans so much, they are near extinction. We did our hunting in France. Emmett enjoyed chasing down a wild boar, but he didn't care for the blood very much.'

'What did you have?'

'A chamois. It looks like a cross between a deer and a goat.'

'So you've been to Paris, then?'

'A few times. I would like to take you there, as well. I know you will enjoy the old buildings, and the Eiffel Tower at night is a beautiful thing to behold.' I moved her hair behind her ear, letting my hand trail down and linger against the soft skin of her neck. 'I'm sure it will be even more so with you there.'

'You always manage to say the sweetest things.' She rested against me, tucking her head under my chin. 'I love you, Edward.'

'I love you, too, Bella.'

"You guys are awfully quiet," Rose commented, turning her head to look at us. "Everything okay?"

"Yes. We are merely enjoying each other's company," I replied.

"We're ready for another movie if you two would like to suggest one," Alice chirped.

"Let's watch The Princess Bride," Bella suggested.

"Good choice, Bella. I love that movie," Alice said, changing out the DVD.

"That is a pretty good one," Rose agreed. "I love the battle of wits with the drinking cup and the poison."

"The sword fight between Westley and Inigo is good," Jasper commented. "Especially the conversation they have while Inigo is waiting for Westley to climb up the side of the cliff."

"Dread Pirate Roberts was so cool," Emmett said. "I would be a suave pirate like him if I was ever a pirate."

We spent the rest of the ride watching movies with our siblings and making fun of the characters. When we finally got to Snowshoe Mountain, everyone was ready to have some time alone and take a break.

"Let's get checked in and unload the car and then you can all go off to explore," Carlisle announced. "Esme and I will get the room keys. You boys get the luggage down."

Since we had to move at human speed, it took us nearly a half hour to unload the carrier and check into our cabin. We ended up being in one of the Whistlepunk Townhomes, and Bella loved the view from the balcony in our room. She decided she completely loved the room once she looked into the bathroom and found the hydrospa tub. She immediately made me promise that we would do that together later tonight after our run.

Once we had unpacked our clothing, we said our goodbyes to the family, letting them know we would be exploring the area.

The day was just foggy enough to keep us from sparkling without dampening the beauty of the place. It was nice to be experiencing a new place with my Bella, and from the way her eyes were darting back and forth, I knew she was enjoying this as much as me.

We neared the tree line and I checked the area, making sure no one was close enough to see us. When I was sure the few humans around us were preoccupied with other things, Bella and I took off at vampire speed through the trees. We had been running for a few minutes when my ears picked up a familiar sound and my mind registered the thoughts of some humans. I grabbed Bella into my arms and quickly scaled up a tree with her. There would be no way to explain what we were doing so deep in the forest if we were spotted.

I nodded my head to Bella, letting her know it was okay to open her mind to me.

'What's going on, Edward?'

'You'll see in just a second. Just look down, but be extremely still and quiet.'

Bella did as I asked and a few seconds later, a group of four humans came tearing through the area on dirt bikes.

Bella looked over at me and smirked. "Think we can do something like that before we leave?"

"You want to ride again?" I asked, remembering her reluctance to share that with me before.

"I won't be holding you back now and I trust that you won't be overprotective if I fall for any reason."

"You really expect me to let you fall?" I asked, trying hard to keep my voice calm.

"Yes, because you know it won't really hurt me," Bella said, running her hand against my cheek. "Besides, I don't plan to fall."

I thought about pointing out that she never plans her falls, but I decided to let it go. "We'll look into it. For now, let's finish exploring the area."

We covered a few miles in each direction before the sky started to darken. Bella and I climbed a tree and sat near the top, watching the sunset, and enjoying the peaceful silence.

"Edward, this is so incredible. I never thought my life would be this amazingly wonderful. Thank you."

"I feel the same way," I replied, hugging her tighter against me.

Bella sighed with contentment before looking up at me. "Do sunsets look the same on the other side of the world?"

I chuckled softly as I kissed her temple. "I'm not sure. I've never paid attention that closely. We'll have to compare and find out together."

Bella nodded her head. "Will tonight be a full moon?"

"I think it might be. Why?"

"It's been awhile since I've seen the moon sparkling on the snow. I miss it."

"I miss having snowball fights with you," I mused, running my hand through her silky hair.

"I miss wrestling in the snow with you," she laughed. "And with Emmett, too."

"We are here for a week, so we have plenty of time to do those things."

"Sounds good. You know what else sounds good?"

"What's that, my love?"

"Heading back and taking that bath you promised me."

"Yes, that certainly does sound good," I laughed, helping her down from the tree.

We returned to the townhome and headed up to our room. We spent a long while in the tub, just enjoying being close and talking in soft whispers about random things, mostly music.

Once we were dressed, we headed downstairs and joined our family in front of the large fire. We all took turns, telling each other what we had done with our free time for the evening. Emmett and Rose had found a video arcade and spent some time there. Jasper and Alice had gone tubing, taking advantage of the fog to enjoy that afternoon activity. Carlisle and Esme had gone exploring as well. They had come across a beautiful river and wanted all of us to see it before the week was up.

"I just love it when we do things as a family," Esme sighed, resting her head against Carlisle's shoulder. "We are blessed to be together and to be happy in the way we are. I hope you all realize that."

"No matter how often we get aggravated with each other, we know we would never want things any other way," I said, speaking for my siblings and my wife.

"Yeah, that's why Rosie and I always come back within a couple of months. We enjoy our time together, but we love being with you guys," Emmett explained.

"Does anyone have plans for the summer?" Carlisle asked.

"Bella and I are going to tour England and Scotland for a month or two," I announced.

"Jasper and I will be taking a trip to Spain," Alice chirped. "It's been so long since we've gone. We're going to go to Catalonia. They have the best nightlife there."

"Rose and I were thinking of going to Monaco," Emmett announced. "What about you?" he asked, looking at Carlisle and Esme.

"We thought we would spend some time with the Denali Coven," Carlisle replied.

"Oh, I'm going to miss you all so much," Esme sighed.

"But we'll be back before the end of summer, mom," Bella said, putting her hand on Esme's knee. "It won't be that long until all eight of us are together again."

Esme leaned over and put her hand against Bella's cheek. "Anytime without my children near me is too long. But I know that you are all married couples who need their privacy from time to time. As much as I will miss you all, I know you all will enjoy your trips and be happier when you return to me."

"Edward, will you be staying in the same place we were at last time we visited England?" Carlisle questioned.

"I was thinking we would stay somewhere a bit smaller this time," I chuckled. "Bella would not be pleased with me renting an entire castle for only the two of us."

"No, I certainly would not," Bella said, looking up at me.

"Then may I make a suggestion?" Carlisle inquired.

"Of course," Bella and I replied at the same time.

"You should look into renting a house on the outskirts of Gloucester. It will put you right in the middle of everything, and Gloucester itself has so much history. I know that's very important to the both of you," Carlisle said.

"Thank you, Carlisle," I told him.

Bella got up and gave him a hug. "Thank you."

"I love you both dearly, Bella. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you…For any of you," Carlisle said, sweeping his eyes over every member of our family. "We are a family and we are bound together by our love and devotion to each other. No matter how many miles separate us, if any of you call us, we will all be at your side."

"Enough of this," Esme said, smiling too wide and blocking her thoughts from me. "Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and we are going to have a wonderful holiday together. Why don't we all go off and enjoy a quiet night with our partners? We'll meet in the living room early tomorrow to get started with our skiing."

I stood and Bella took my hand. We walked up the stairs and went to our room, stretching on the bed and facing each other.

"That was weird at the end. Esme looked upset," Bella remarked.

"She always gets emotional when she thinks of us leaving her sight for an extended period. It's the mother in her."

"She makes a really great one," Bella said smiling.

"Yes, she does," I agreed, as I took Bella into my arms and held her tightly against me. "We'll have to bring her something special back from our trip."

We lapsed into a comfortable silence after that and spent the nighttime hours holding each other close. We spoke only with our hugs and the occasional soft kisses that we gave to each other. It was one of my favorite types of nights with Bella…Although, I suppose every night is a favorite when an angel is there to spend it with you.