Chapter 13: Prospect
pros·pect [pros-pekt] - anticipation; expectation; a looking forward.
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It's funny how easily you fall into routine with your mate. After a week or two, everything you do seems like something you have been doing all your life. School was so much easier for Edward and Bella now that they had each other; plus, if they got bored during the hours specifically set aside for learning, they could always turn to each other and get lost in their other half. It was a nice difference for Edward, who had gone more than a century without Bella. Edward finds his mind wondering just how he had managed to function without Bella before; she was his everything now, and she always would be.
Bella wasn't thinking about things like this; of course, she had only been alive for just over 16 years, and had just recently reached her Immortal Age. It was different for her; she had never had to get up every morning for decades without the comfort of a mate. It was also harder for her; she had never lived anywhere but with her mother and step-father. Having just moved in with her father, it was confusing for her to move houses again within one week. However, she would give up anything and everything for Edward. He was her world.
The week back at school had passed quickly, and now the Cullens were looking at the beginning of another weekend. They hadn't planned anything, but of course they wanted to do something all together, so that Bella could get used to being with them. Alice had told them all how nervous the little lamb had seemed just in the half hour she took to dress her up earlier in the week. None of them liked how much she clung to Edward; in the almost two weeks she had been staying at their house, nobody had seen Edward let go of Bella. They were no longer Edward and Bella; they were like a single organism of EdwardandBella.
Alice and Rosalie wanted to be able to bring their new sister shopping; Emmett wanted to be able to play video games and watch movies with her; Jasper would like to be able to talk to her about books and history; and Carlisle and Esme just wanted to do anything to make their children happy. They knew it wasn't healthy for a mated pair to be together all of the time, no matter how good it felt for them to be with each other. Bella should be able to have her own life, though she would always be Edward's mate.
Carlisle had a theory; possibly, since Edward had spent so long without a mate and because lions are dominant and fierce and protective, it causes all the feelings he has had over the years to be built up so that he needs to get all those pent up years out of his system now. Though he himself had spent a century alone, being a deer was never that hard. You were always calm and peaceful; you never wanted to hurt anyone. Esme being a deer, as well – as, remember, most mates are the same species: Edward and Bella being the exception – was perfect. It was almost as if everything was the same, except now they had each other to hold onto. Everything was easy for them, as it was for the other children, as well. But, it wasn't natural to be together all the time.
Another part of his theory was that since Bella was so painstakingly breakable and Edward obviously wasn't, was that maybe their spirit animals were causing the differences. Maybe Edward's subconscious had realized that he had to do everything in his power to protect his mate, which means that nobody could be trusted with her, except for him. The qualities in him that make him know that he wouldn't be able to survive without his mate were magnified so much that it would probably physically hurt both of them if they were separated for too long. Carlisle wasn't sure what to do.
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Edward knew that his family wanted to talk to them. In one hand, he hadn't been spending very much time with any of them and was beginning to miss them even though they all still lived in the same house. On the other hand, he didn't want to have to share his time with Bella.
Even so, he knew he owed it to his mother, at least, to spend some time with them all. It's not like Bella wouldn't still be with him later; they couldn't exactly kick her out of the house, not when she was Edward's mate. He also wanted his mate to be fully comfortable with his family; it would be nice if she didn't think everybody in the house might hurt her. He didn't want her to be afraid all of the time; he wanted her to be able to relax without being in the presence of only him.
After getting her to eat breakfast, he led her to the living room to wait for his family to join them. Instead of setting her on his lap like her normally would, he set her beside him and leaned her against his chest, so that they could watch some television while his family finished eating. She didn't seem to notice the difference in positions, as she watched him surf the channels for anything that might be interesting to watch. After browsing through the options quickly, he decided on watching a rerun of Friends.
Renee loved this show, so it was no surprise to Bella when she recognized the opening scene and lines already. She even hummed along quietly to the opening song, which caused Edward to chuckle. She smiled and began singing the song, wanting to hear him laugh again. He didn't disappoint and began laughing outright as she began moving her head to the beat. They had yet to truly have any fun moments, everything being so serious with the beginning of their lives together, and Bella loved how free they were acting. His laughing cheered her up quite a bit, and she even began clapping to the song, which only fuelled his laughter.
Edward had yet to see this side of Bella, as well; her childlike innocence and insecurities all fit together in this playful side of her. She had never seemed more beautiful or more perfect to him in that moment. He was tempted to sing along with her, knowing the words off by heart like she, but decided that just listening to her voice was good enough. He basked in her happiness, watching her as she began laughing when the song ended. He found himself wishing he could turn back time so that he could watch it all again.
"I love you, Bella," he smiled down at her, still chuckling a little bit at her. "And I love your singing," he added.
As usual, she blushed a bright pink, and said quietly, "I love you, too." She didn't say anything else, but those words meant everything and more to him. He kissed her head, moving his hand to rub her arm in a soothing motion.
As he did this, his –their – family walked into the room, stopping slightly to watch the couple interact. Even Emmett found himself smiling at the touching moment. He was happy to see his brother happy, and happy to see Bella happy. They both deserved happiness.
Carlisle cleared his throat, fully making his way into the living room. Bella and Edward merely looked up at them, but neither of them moved out of their embrace, though that would have been the proper thing to do. Esme couldn't hold back her smile, though she knew how serious the conversation was going to be. Nothing could stop her from being ecstatic at how happy her son was.
"Edward, Bella," Carlisle started, "I believe there are some things we need to talk about." His voice was soft and calming, as it usually was; he did not want to cause his son's temper to rise, as he knew it might if Edward thought that he was going to be disciplined.
"What about, Carlisle?" Edward asked, not seeming to be very bothered. – Bella was in his arms, safe and sound, after all.
"It's about yours and Bella's relationship." Alice chimed in as they all took seats, angling themselves toward the couple on the couch. "We have some concerns."
"You have concerns?" Bella whispered, adapting her quiet voice now that she was in the presence of others. The Cullens – excluding Edward – frowned at this, it bringing back the thoughts that she wasn't getting used to them. They didn't want her to be scared or shy in any way around them, not when she was such a solid part of the family now. "Concerns about what?" She looked at Edward, her eyes growing worried. Were they doing something wrong?
"I'm sure it's okay, love, they just probably want to bring some things to our attention. It'll be fine." Edward spoke.
"He's right, Bella; nothing is wrong, per say, but that doesn't mean that everything is perfectly fine." Carlisle tried to soothe her. He didn't want his son getting angry because they had caused any kind of anxiety for his mate. "Haven't either of you noticed anything... strange about the way you act around each other? Something that you don't notice about other mated couples?"
Edward and Bella shared a glance, confused at the direction the conversation was going. "No, we haven't. Are we doing something wrong, Dad?" He asked, now worried that maybe he was causing unnecessary trouble for his mate.
"No, you aren't doing anything wrong. It's just, even from the beginning – when the pull to be near each other was so much stronger – you should have been able to be separated, if only for small amounts of time." Esme said, watching her son's face as he took in the information.
"It's wrong to want to be together all the time?" Bella asked, her voice not as quiet now that she was worried.
"No! No, of course it's not wrong. It's just, both of you should still be able to have your own lives. Look at your father and I; he has a job at the hospital, while I'm a stay at home mom. It would never work out very well if we were always together. I would get in the way of him treating a patient, and he would get in my way while I tried to take care of the house and you kids." Esme paused. "Though I want to be with him every second of every day, I see that it cannot always be so. Being able to live separate lives is a very big part of a relationship; you need to have something besides each other."
Edward decided it was best now to speak up about what he had experienced the day that Alice had taken Bella from him. "I know we should be separated more, but... it almost physically hurts me to be away from her. When I can't see her, it's like there is this hand grabbing a hold of my heart and squeezing with all its strength. It only went away when she was back in my arms, and I could smell her scent and feel her warmth, and I knew without a doubt that she was safe."
Bella's voice broke the quiet that followed his announcement. "It was the same for me, like something was squeezing my heart, only it was hard to breathe, too. Like someone was squeezing the air out of my lungs. But, once he was holding me again, everything was fine. Not like it had healed or anything, but like it had never been there in the first place." She smiled at him, letting him know that though she had been in pain, she wasn't hurt now, so he had no cause to worry about his absence hurting her any longer.
"I've never heard of anything like that, before." Jasper spoke, turning towards his father-in-law. "How about you, Carlisle?"
"It's not usually like this," He answered Jasper, also speaking to the entire room. "I think it has something to do with the fact that Edward and Bella are opposites in every way. The fact that she is so much more vulnerable than him is magnifying every instinct he has. The fact that he is so much stronger, let's something in Bella know that she is truly and completely safe with him, and her instinct is to be by his side at all times to keep herself from harm." He sighed. "It's as good an idea as any others I've got. I'll have to look around and see if I can find anything that can explain; though, as I have never heard of anything like this before, I doubt I'll find much."
"I'll help you," Jasper said, distractedly. He was already thinking about which books and websites he could look through that might shine some light on the matter.
"Thanks, son." He turned his attention towards Edward, watching as Bella pushed herself into a little ball in his lap. No matter how strange and possibly unhealthy it seemed, he couldn't hold back his smile. "We'll see what we can find; for now, you two are free to go."
"Okay, thanks, Dad." Edward didn't seem too worried; he didn't mind the fact that he couldn't be away from Bella. In fact, he loved whatever it was that was giving him the perfect excuse to never leave her side. If he had it his way, Carlisle would never find anything, so that he could continue to hold her in his arms for the rest of eternity.
The others dispersed, Alice saddened by the fact that it seemed for now she would have to leave Bella alone. They were all determined, though; to spend more time around the couple to get the little lamb acclimated to their company. No member of the family should be afraid to be there.
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Jessica's plan was almost complete. Now, all she needed was to wait for the perfect opportunity at school, and Edward would realize that his plan to get her jealous had worked, and they could finally begin their life together.
It had taken some convincing, but she had managed to call in the favour of an old family friend from Seattle. He would take care of the little problem that was named Bella Swan and her and Edward would be fine.
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