A/N - Wow!!! Glad you all were happy with Edward and Bella's reunion - hope it was worth wait!!

My wondrous beta, changedbyEdward surprised me with the next chap this evening...beta'd and ready to go.....a round of applause for her puleeze!!! Big hugs and kisses bb!!

Ms. Stephenie Meyer is the proprietor of everything in the Twilight world. No copyright infringement intended!


Chapter 28

(Bella's POV)

I lay with my cheek pressed against his chest and watched the morning sun rise through my window. The moment was one of perfection as we lay together in contented silence, basking in the afterglow of everything that had happened.

Edward's fingers feathered against my back, tracing intricate, invisible patterns against my skin as he pressed his lips gently to the top of my head.

Somehow, some way, we had found our way back to each other. I knew that we still had some difficult moments ahead of us, but I also realized that neither of us would ever survive without the other. For the first time since that fateful day that he left me in the forest, I felt whole again. Although we hadn't yet spoken, the joyful sparkle in Edward's eyes made me want to believe that he felt very much the same way. I turned my head and pressed a gentle kiss on his chest. He sighed in response and hugged my body closer to his, burying his face in my hair.

I felt his lips continue to press gentle kisses against my scalp and I snuggled in even closer to his frame. It was amazing how our bodies melded against each other so perfectly and that his skin no longer felt cold to me. He sighed softly and I looked up into his face only to see a mask of frustration looking back at me. I didn't need to ask, I had heard them off in the distance making more noise than needed, most likely to warn us of their impending arrival.

"I guess we should think about getting dressed." I started to move away from him only to feel his arms tighten their embrace. "Edward?"

"Not yet. Please?" I looked up to find his golden orbs staring back at me, begging me not to leave him.

I smiled coyly and nestled back into his arms. "Okay, but remember, you're taking the blame for the piano bench." He chuckled as he continued his onslaught of tiny kisses, moving from the top of my head to the back of my ear. The tease of his breath on my lobe made me wish our family could disappear for awhile longer, but I knew that once Alice had made her decision to return – there was no stopping her.

"Bella, I hope that…," Edward hesitated briefly, "I hope that you don't regret what happened?" His voice was tender and timid, his velvet tones softly coating his question. I understood his trepidation as until last night, I certainly had not given him much reason to believe that our being a couple could still be a possibility.

"Edward." I pushed my frame up against his so that we were face to face. I paused to witness all of his insecurities about us flash across his stunning face. His eyes dipped down and I brought my hands up and gently cupped his cheeks, urging him to look at me. "We both have issues that we need to work through and I would be lying to you if I told you that I believed that everything was going to work out because I don't know what lies ahead for us. But what I do know, right now, is that you are my life. I love you. I never stopped loving you, even when I told you otherwise. I can't tell you where we go from here and I can't promise that everything will be perfect, but my heart? It's yours. It always has been and it always will be."

"Bella." His eyes glistened as he took my hands in his and gently pressed his lips to mine. Like so many times before, the connection was like an electric current travelling between us and I lost myself in him again. This kiss was so much more, though. Full of hope, love, remorse and longing. When it finally ended, I stared up at him only to see each of those emotions mirrored in his golden eyes. "I love you and I will do everything in my power to spend the rest of our existence proving that to you." He kissed me again lightly and then chuckled. "But now, we do need to get dressed."

I nodded and brought our clasped hands to my mouth, kissing his hand tenderly before I moved towards my closet. A low, seductive growl almost pulled me back, but I was anxious to dress before Alice had the opportunity to barge in and tell me what to wear. I yanked open the closet door and pressed my forehead against the wood, unsure whether to laugh or cry. There hanging in all its glory was a garment bag complete with a cheery note on Alice's personal stationary saying 'Wear this, Bella' signed with a happy face. Another garment bag, hanging just behind it held another fancy note with Edward's name on it.

I jumped as Edward's arms enveloped me from behind and he buried his face against my neck, smothering his snigger against my skin.

"I should just dress in something else to spite her, you know!" I glowered, yanking the garment bag from the closet.

"Bella, love, a wise woman once told me not to bet against Alice." He smirked again as he kissed my shoulder and grabbed his clothing bag from the hanger. "Trust me, it isn't worth the argument."

"Speak for yourself! She doesn't dress you in heels!" I steamed as I stalked off to the bathroom to freshen up and change. "You've won this time Alice but don't think this is going to become status quo!" I thought to myself as I kicked the door shut behind me.


(Jasper's POV)

I watched in wonder as my beautiful wife flitted through the trees, dancing through the air like a world-stage ballerina as she made her way to the clearing where we had agreed to meet up with the rest of the family. Even with all the stress of not knowing what Victoria and Mike were up to and the cloudiness of her visions as far as the wolves were concerned, nothing could hamper the sheer joy that lit up her face.

Alice hadn't given any of us details other than that we all needed to head away from the house for the evening and that we did not need to worry about Bella. I had my doubts about this and tried to argue, but she had giggled and put her fingers to my lips, telling me that I should know better than to argue with her. And she was right. If she truly felt Bella would be safe, I had no reason to doubt her.

I sat back on the ground; my back leaned up against an old oak and watched as she twirled around the field, gathering wild flowers and greenery. Satisfied she had enough to keep her busy, she settled down beside me, leaning her head against my shoulder as she craftily chained the flowers and foliage together in an intricate web. She hummed quietly to herself as she worked and as I caught the melody of the tune, I turned to her. It was Bella's lullaby.

"Darlin', what aren't you telling me?" I asked as I plucked a daisy from her chain and pinned it behind her ear. Grinning like a cat that had swallowed a giant canary, she looked up at me and I was floored by the emotions radiating off of her. My body pulsed with excitement and I hugged her close, laughing at how alive she felt after so many conflicting thoughts.

"It won't be long, Jazz, and I will tell you. I promise!" She giggled and kissed me quickly on the lips, up and dancing once again through the meadow. I watched her happily, so relieved to see such radiance from her again. There had been moments of happiness since we had returned to Bella, but they were tainted with Charlie's death and the unknown that lay ahead of us. Whatever had happened, Alice was euphoric and I was willing for that to last as long as it could.

It wasn't long before Carlisle and Esme emerged from the tree line, hand in hand. They made their way towards us and settled under another tree, both of them enthralled by Alice's exuberance as well. Carlisle looked over towards me, his eyebrow raised in question and I grinned and shrugged. He shook his head and leaned back against the tree, content to wait for the news. I was relieved to find he was mostly at peace with himself again. When we had first returned to the house after Bella's transformation, I had been almost bowled over by the guilt and self-loathing that Carlisle was feeling. I had known that he would have mixed emotions over Bella's change. After all, he was not only taking a healthy human life, he was also making the ultimate decision to betray the wishes of his first 'son.' I had never dreamed that they would manifest into such dark thoughts however, and I had worried for him. Alice, of course, had seen this in her visions and knew that Carlisle would eventually forgive himself and that the feelings would wear away, but it didn't make it any easier to watch him wrestle with the conflicts within.

Rose and Emmett finally made their appearance and we all headed back towards the house together, Alice leading the way. She turned to grin back at us as she raced up the steps, dancing into the library and settling onto the couch, pulling me to her as I approached. I raised my eyebrow, but she shook her head, grinning, and turned to watch the stairs while the rest of the family settled in.

I felt the joy radiate from Esme before I actually saw the reason, but soon after, I was spiking like a kid on a candy rush from the excitement and happiness in the room as Edward and Bella made their way downstairs to join us, hand in hand.

"Well, lookie here!!" Emmett began as he stood and slapped Edward on the back. "It's about time, Eddie!!" Edward scowled at Emmett, but I knew it was just a cover for the emotional high he was riding. It had been a long time since I had seen either of them look so peacefully happy and it was a relief to know that they had been able to get past the pain and focus on what was important.

Bella smiled as Esme ran over and smothered her in a hug and then reached up and kissed Edward on the cheek. When she turned to face Carlisle, I could have sworn that if it were possible for her to cry tears of joy they would have been plummeting from her glistening eyes. Esme's devotion to her family was limitless and to see her oldest 'son' finally find his way back to Bella was a wondrous thing in her eyes.

If only we could have frozen that moment in time, but it was over too soon as Alice stiffened beside me and I turned to see her eyes glazed over. "No!" was the only word that escaped her lips as she was swept away in terror by the vision that now consumed her. The room had grown silent as I held her close, trying to push away the horrified emotions that were pouring from her and send waves of calm over her at the same time.

Edward moved to Alice's side, grasping her hand in his and I knew from the look on his face that whatever Alice was witnessing was devastating. The vision had consumed her in a way that frightened me and I knew as I glanced around at the overwrought expressions on our family member's faces, that they shared my concern. Generally her visions passed quickly and although they were difficult, she was usually able to pull herself together, but the vice-like grip that this episode had over her was new territory.

After what seemed like hours, but in reality was no more than a few moments, Alice began to relax in my arms. She turned her body to mine, burying her face in my neck as she pulled herself together. I felt her trembling in my arms and knew that she was beyond stressed from what she had seen. Finally, she sat up and grasped my hand tightly in hers as she turned to face the incoming inquisition.

"Alice?" Carlisle spoke softly as he looked at her in concern. "Would you like to take a minute? Perhaps we should go into my office?" I knew Carlisle was concerned with the intensity of her vision and that he also feared the implication of it and how it might affect Bella. It wasn't so much that we were trying to keep things from her, but we were concerned at how she would react to some of the things Alice had been seeing. As controlled as Bella was for being a newborn, we had all witnessed what could happen if she became overwhelmed and none of us wanted to see her go through anything else she wasn't ready for. The recent events with the trapper had been proof of how unprepared we were for her change.

Alice shook her head slightly and closed her eyes for a moment. With a more determined look on her face, she looked to Carlisle and then Bella. "No Carlisle, really I'm ok and I think it's time that Bella knows. She needs to understand what has gone on and what's coming."

"Alice, what do you mean?" Bella asked quickly. Edward tightened his grip on her shoulders and was about to say something, but Alice shook her head at Edward quickly.

"Bella, I'm going to tell you everything, but you need to take a seat with Edward and relax. I know some of the things I'm going to tell you will be upsetting, but I know you can handle it as long as you can keep yourself calm." She turned to Edward. "And you, my brother, need to hold her hand, but I will not keep anything from her ever again, so you need to accept this and accept that Bella is not made of glass. She is one of us now and needs to be included."

I sensed Edward's tension and knew he wanted to argue, but watched in awe as he did as Alice asked, moving with Bella towards the closest loveseat and sitting with her, gently taking her hand in his. Maybe the boy was finally learning something. Bella curled her body towards Edward's and then looked at Alice, giving her an encouraging smile.

Alice smiled back in response and looked around the room, all of our family watching and waiting for her to begin. With a large, un-needed breath she chuckled and squeezed my hand for comfort. "I think it's probably best if I start back at the beginning so that Bella has all the information that we all already know." She looked at Carlisle and he nodded in agreement and we sat back to listen as Alice began to tell her tale.

I watched Bella carefully, monitoring her reaction as Alice recounted her vision of Charlie's death. I knew this would be difficult for Bella to hear again and her grip on Edward's hand tightened as Alice spoke of how we believed Victoria had initially tried to turn her father, but was unsuccessful. The look of terror on Bella's face gave Alice reason to pause. Bella buried her head in her hands and everyone was quiet as Edward whispered soothing words and massaged her shoulders. Within a few moments, I felt Bella regain control and motioned silently for Alice to continue.

"Bella, my visions have been blurry at best as far as Victoria is concerned. At first I thought it was because she was so indecisive, but I believe that she has someone in her group that may be some sort of a shield. Everything is sketchy. I get glimpses, but nothing definite, however a few things have come to pass that the dogs…uh, I mean the Quileutes... have been able to give us a bit more information about."

"You said group, Alice. How many are in this group?" Bella asked calmly.

I squeezed Alice's hand and spoke. "She's building an army, Bella. We don't know how many, but she has been very productive in her recruiting."

Alice continued. "Bella, we know that she has been back to Forks." Alice looked at me quickly and I didn't sense that it was too much so nodded. "A couple of bodies were found at LaPush and we know that she tried to turn at least one of them."

Bella swallowed and I knew she was fighting to rein in her emotions. Her next question came as barely a whisper. "Do we know who?"

Alice nodded. "I'm so sorry, Bella. It was Jessica and Lauren." Bella gasped and swallowed to fight back the venom that I knew was building in her throat. Her eyes had darkened and again I signalled to Alice to give her a moment, knowing that we were far from the worst of it. No matter how we felt about Mike Newton, he had been a good friend to Bella and I knew it was going to be difficult for her to hear what we believed to be true... and then there was the vision of whatever Alice had just seen. I glanced around the room at our family wondering how much more we would have to endure before we would all be safe again.


End of chapter - our lovely Alice will be offering daisychain-making classes to those who review....or so she says anyway!! Please review!!!