Chapter 6: Irrevocable

ir·rev·o·ca·ble [ih-rev-uh-kuh-buhl] - unable to be repealed or annulled; unalterable.

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When it had been just Bella and Renee, dinnertime had been an event unto itself. Renee couldn't cook a meal to save her life; nicely put, she could burn water. Bella had taken over the cooking at a young age, and had never received any complaints about anything she attempted; so, she had thought herself to be a decent cook.

Until she tried some of Esme's cooking; after that, she started to think of herself as one of the worst cooks in history. Esme's food was that good.

Used to cooking for a large group – and Emmett, as the amount of food he could take in at once was enough to keep a small country afloat – it was no problem at all for Esme to add in just enough food for one tiny lamb, such as Isabella Swan.

Now, Bella had never seen this much food in her life. As Renee and Phil were both rabbits, they were – of course- very picky eaters. And Bella could barely take in more than a toddler's amount without feeling ill. It seemed that Esme had picked up on that, and so only served Bella amounts that she can easily take in. Compared to everybody else's plates, it looked like her plate was for a baby; the amount of food was so small.

Esme was born to be a mother, as her both her children and her husband had told her many times in the past; she had a sixth sense for these types of things. Just like how she knew how much to give Bella when she was making the sandwiches, she knew how much extra to make for her while preparing dinner. Bella was fitting into the Cullen family seamlessly, just like how both she and Edward wanted her to fit in.

Now, hopefully Edward could earn the approval of Charlie in the same way.

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Chief Swan had resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't get to see his daughter as often as he had expected to when she moved here; he had heard many a tale of what it's like to find your mate – a privilege he had yet to receive. Though, he didn't feel lonely in anyway; he was content enough to spend his days working and fishing. His job and hobby were all the family he needed, though I am not saying that Charlie did not love his daughter, because he did – very much so. He had been devastated when Renee left, taking Bella with her, but he understood that Renee wanted to find her mate. Charlie had never been good at expressing his feelings, so he knew that Renee would be the better choice to take care of Bella.

All he could be glad for was that he had one good week with her, before she got carried away by that lion. Edward Cullen.

"You better treat her right, Edward." Charlie spoke aloud, taking a sip of his beer before turning on the television; there was a game on tonight.

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Rosalie Hale warmed up to Bella as soon as she saw the tiny girl blush. It was hard to resist that blush, and even harder to deny the fact that Edward and Bella were perfect together. They balanced each other out, while most couples just matched each other; it was refreshing to see.

She could clearly remember when she had met Emmett, though she had still been so frightened of every man besides her brother, Jasper. She had grown to love Emmett quickly, though perhaps not as instantaneous as was the norm.

Rosalie could also clearly remember the night those men had taken her innocence away from her, no matter how many times she tried to wipe it from memory.

She strongly hoped that little Bella would never go through something like that. It's one thing for her to go through it – she was and is a bear, a strong animal – but, a lamb most likely wouldn't make it out alive. And, in turn, Edward would go, as well.

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Carlisle watched his family accept their newest member easily, as if she belonged there; and she did. As his wife had been thinking throughout the day, it was easy to tell that their family was now complete. It may have taken over a century, but every member now had their other halves... there was no longer an unevenness in the family. Everything was as it should be.

He had looked over Bella's medical file, and had waited for the moment during dinner to ask her; he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, and she seemed quite relaxed. He cleared his throat a bit, before speaking.

"Bella, could you answer a question for me?" He looked directly at the young girl, who – of course – blushed a light pink. It lit up her eyes, causing them to almost sparkle.

"Okay." She spoke softly – so softly that everybody had to strain their ears to hear her. But, that's how she almost always spoke. She didn't like to raise her voice very much.

"I took a look at your medical files – I just wanted to be sure I knew if you had allergies or anything – and I noticed that your history is quite... well, large." He didn't need to explain anymore than that. Bella blushed even more, and looked down at her hand that Edward still firmly held on to. Edward had tensed up at the thought of her having to go to a hospital... and the fact that she had been there many times made him wonder if anyone had ever hurt her on purpose. If anyone did, he would kill them.

"Umm, yea. I fall down a lot." She sheepishly smiled, before ducking her head down when Emmett started laughing. When he calmed down a bit, she continued. "I really shouldn't be let out of the house. My... clumsiness should be classified as a disability, or something. I've never gone a day without getting at least a bruise."

Carlisle smiled at her, nodding at what she said. Her many trips had all been noted as 'accidental falls' or anything like that; he had just wanted to confirm it. It was obvious by the way she was talking that she was telling the truth. Carlisle had had a lot of experience with trying to find lies... people had come to him trying to fake an illness to get out of school, to get some medication... many reasons people had lied to him. He had to learn how to be good at seeing the truth.

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Charlie called Renee that night, telling both her and Phil about the events that had transpired. Renee pretty near made him deaf by the way she squealed into the phone... he pulled it away quickly, but that didn't prevent it from ringing a bit.

Renee had always had this feeling that Bella would find her mate soon. She barely cared that this boy who had bewitched her daughter's heart and soul seemed to be completely wrong for her; Fate would not better than anyone else just who would belong with each other. After all, it had brought her to Phil.

When they hung up the phone, Renee sent a little prayer up; something she rarely did.

Please; let Charlie be happy and find his mate.

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Bella had never been happier, but she knew that with every second that passed she would love Edward more and more. He was perfect. He always held her tightly, as if he never wanted to let go, and he hadn't let her fall since he had held her for the first time. When she was with him, everything was right with the world. There was nothing that anybody could possibly do to ruin her mood; except, of course, try to separate her and Edward.

If she was without him, it just might kill her. Of that, she was certain of.

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Edward thought the same thing about her. For years, he had felt that he was whole in himself; that he needed nobody but himself to make himself feel complete. He had believed that until the very second he had laid his eyes on his little lamb; at that moment, he had realized that he needed her to survive, as if she was the air he needed to breathe. He knew that his Bella was very vital to his health. Without her, he would perish.

Though he realized that his family had easily accepted her into their midst, he still found himself sending warning glances there way, as if to say hurt her and I will kill you.

He could not deny it; he would murder anybody, even his own family, if they ever tried to hurt her.

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-Dad

Staying at the Cullens for awhile; I'll call you when I'm coming back. If...

I love you.

Bella

This is the text message Charlie received that day. He knew what the discontinued sentence was – If I come back. Not even Bella knew if she would return to her father.

He sighed. "I'm going to miss you, Bells." He spoke to the screen.

-Bella

It's okay. I understand. Be sure to call me.

Dad

He sent the text message, whispering as it went, "And I love you, too, kiddo."

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Bella read the text message, knowing what her father was trying to say. Neither of them had ever been very good at sharing their emotions; Bella had hesitated many times before adding the I love you into the text message she had sent earlier.

She had also noticed that Edward had tensed up when he saw her right those three very important words to somebody else, even if it was her own father.

"Edward, I'm just texting Charlie. I kind of feel guilty that I just got here, and now I'm ditching him." She looked down at her father's number saved in her phone. "God, I'm such a horrible daughter."

It took everything in Edward's willpower not to growl at her for putting herself down like that. "No, you're not, love. You just met me." He smirked arrogantly. "Your father will understand that it is hard for us to be apart. He's a rather sensible guy, and he wants you to be happy."

She curled into him, breathing in his calming sent. "I know, but still. I can't help but feel guilty. The emotion is like hard-wired into my brain, or something." She giggled a little, causing him to smile and tighten his hold. He laid his chin down on her hair, bringing one of his hands up to twist it into her long locks, brushing through them. She mewled a little – which he found both adorable and sexy at the same time – and shivered in pleasure.

They continued that way until Bella yawned, causing Edward to laugh and kiss her head. He thought about kissing her for real – and even though he was burning with the desire to claim her – he wanted their first time to be special. He had already thought about bringing her to his meadow – now, their meadow – and knew that it would be the perfect place to bring her. Until he had laid eyes on her, he had thought the meadow to be the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

He never thought that he would have a mate that would make it appear dull in comparison. But, of course, Bella could outshine anything.

He took pleasure when Bella turned into him, her warm, moist breath tickling his neck. He slowly heard her breathing even out, knowing she had fallen asleep on his lap. He smiled; she already knew that the place she belonged was as close to him as possible.

Though he knew he would have to treat her with care, Edward also knew that he wanted her to be his. He was hers, in a way, but he was clearly the stronger one. And, though he had never had thoughts about this before, all he couldn't help but think about her as his, almost as if she were a possession.

His most treasured possession, by far, but his possession, all the same.