Author's Note: Originally, this was two chapters, but tonight when I looked at them and saw how short they were, I chose to combine them instead of drawing this out for you guys. I really enjoyed writing both of these chapters and I hope you like them too.

Now, just to make this clear, this is the last one I have done for a little bit. So please be patient. I think I left you in a halfway calm place to give me a week or two of patience. Hopefully, I'll get a couple more chapters out before CofC goes into hard editing and I have to go into posting silence for a few weeks.

So, this is your fair warning…no coming after me with pitch forks and torches…okay…or else you might scare my inspiration away and that would mean even longer before you get an update! To quote Sesame Street, because my daughter has become obsessed with Elmo this week and I've seen more recorded Sesame Street and Elmo Potty Time videos that I care to recount, the word of the day is Patience. Say it with me, "PATIENCE!" LOL. I love you all. Thanks for reading and being excited about this story. Just bear with me and hopefully we'll all come out the other end happy campers! :)

Thanks to my beta AgoodWITCH and TwilightMommyof4girls who has become my prereader and chat buddy. Vid chatting on Skype has a whole new meaning with these two ladies and I adore them! If you haven't read their work, I highly suggest you go check them out!

Chapter 15

To say that the car ride back home was uncomfortable was the mother of all understatements. Emmett barely looked at us and Rose kept shooting us evil eyes. I swear, I felt like I should be wearing a giant scarlet 'A' on my chest while living in exile. Puritanical Boston didn't hold a candle to what was ahead of us in Forks.

Edward and I held hands supportively between us as we studied the landscape outside our car windows, wishing away the miles while simultaneously not ever wanting to get there. It was purgatory of the worst kind. The brown and green blurred outside the window as we flew even faster than usual toward home, Emmett more than a little eager to no longer be trapped in the car with us.

My heart felt like it was going to jump right out of my chest as I saw the wooden sign at the edge of the town, knowing we had less than ten minutes left. We dropped Rose off at her house before making our way home. I was on the verge of hyperventilation as we pulled up the narrow driveway, the big white house growing larger through the trees the closer we got to it.

When the car came to a stop, Emmett stepped out, slamming the door before popping the trunk. He yanked his suitcase out of the back and stormed into the house without another word. Edward and I exchanged looks before slowly getting out. Edward, the eternal gentleman, held the door for me and insisted on carrying my suitcase.

When we reached the porch, Mom and Pop were already waiting for us at the door with big smiles and bigger hugs. My heart burned as I hugged them, knowing that they were going to be so hurt and disappointed in a little bit. Seconds later, they caught sight of Edward and made a fuss over his bruises. He had quite a few, as well as a very ugly looking eye that was going to take a week or two to heal up completely. Edward was evasive, so they changed topics, asking what was wrong with Emmett, expressing concern for the fact that he didn't even greet them before storming upstairs, giving us the opening we needed.

"Well, there's a reason for that and we were hoping to talk to you about it sooner rather than later," Edward said; cool, calm, and collected in a way that I couldn't even pretend to be. "Can we go sit in the den and talk?"

Pop frowned in genuine concern as he nodded, Mom casting wary glances between us before following Pop into the room. Edward grabbed my hand, squeezing it comfortingly as we followed them in. They settled on one of the love seats in the sitting area as we took the double rocker across from them, only the coffee table between us.

The fireplace popped and crackled, providing the only noise in the room as Edward and I tried to figure out where to start. Mom and Pop looked at us, waiting as patiently as they could bear. Finally, Edward broke the silence by clearing his throat and starting in.

"I guess I'll try to take this one since Bella was the one to explain to Emmett last night after he gave me this."

He pointed at his eye at which point both Mom and Pop's eyes grew wide as they proclaimed their surprise. Since those first few months after we moved in, Edward and Emmett never fought much at all, and never with their fists…at least not until me.

"Well, he had his reasons. If I had been in his shoes, I probably would have done the same thing. You see, he found out that we have been hiding something from everybody, including him, and he got really protective of Bella."

Pop's eyes grew round in surprise as they both fell silent in a sort of shock. Pop recovered first. "So are you implying that you and Bella have developed ah, uhm, sexual relationship?"

My face burned in embarrassment as Edward shifted and gripped my hand tighter between us. "No, well, yes, but no. What I mean is Bella and I have a romantic relationship. We are in love."

I watched Pop as his face fell into an angry sort of disappointment while Mom leaned forward to grab a tissue and dab under her eyes. What surprised me was that when she pulled away she didn't look disappointed at all. You could tell she was sad about the fighting and everything, but she didn't look at us with the disappointment Pop was now sending our way.

"How long have the two of you been running around doing inappropriate things under our noses? Please tell me you weren't being sexually active while living under this house during high school."

My eyes grew wide. "Oh God, no!"

I felt Edward's hand tighten on mine and glanced over to see a pained expression. I apologized with a glance and a drift of my thumb over the back of his hand.

"That didn't come out right," I said to Edward before looking back at Pop, "but I just meant that no, we would never have done that. Our first kiss was Christmas night. I will admit we did sneak around to make out a little during break here, but never before that. I swear."

Pop looked a little more placated, but by no means happy. "Do the two of you even understand what you're doing? The risks you are taking with the happiness of this whole family? What if it goes badly? You are very young, and the likelihood of a relationship lasting is slim at best. You could ruin everything we've built here."

Edward sat forward, keeping my hand in his as he brought it to his knee and cradled it between both of his hands. "Dad, we are no younger than you were when you met my mother or when Charlie met Ma. I know neither of you regret your lives with them before they died. I know you won't understand this, but I've loved Bella since we were ten. She's everything to me. I thought for so long that it was one sided and that it was impossible for us to be together, but the truth of the matter is that there's nothing beside some strange social convention that arose from the two of you getting married that makes it so. I'm not going to live the rest of my life without the woman that I love just because fate and luck made us step siblings. I refuse."

"And this is why Emmett is so angry?"

I nodded. "He found out last night and hasn't spoken to us since."

Pop shifted on his seat, crossing and uncrossing his legs. "How did he find out?" I hid my face in my hand, the skin of my forehead searing my palm with the heat of my shame and embarrassment, failing to find the words. I was more than a little relieved when he shifted again and sighed. "I assume I don't want to know the answer to that."

I felt Edward reach over and pull my hand from my face, holding it with my other on his lap, and smoothing his thumb over the back in a soothing motion. "Dad, I've loved her almost half my life. We know each other better than some married couples do, and have been dating officially for a month and a half. Last night was our first time, and Emmett sort of caught us at the end. He was angry that we were doing that first of all, and that we'd been hiding it. He felt like we were playing him for a fool. We hated every second of hiding, but we felt like we needed time to know for sure that we were ready before we brought it up and disrupted the rest of your lives. We wanted some time to just be us before we had to open up to all the ridicule."

Pop grunted as his lips pulled into a thin, angry line that was very uncharacteristic of him. I glanced at my Mom to see her appraising us. Her face was serious, but here eyes were smiling a little and it was sort of freaking me out.

After a long silence, Pop let out a huff. "We need time to process this and talk about it. I don't have the energy to do this tonight. I'm setting some ground rules that go into effect from here on out. There will be no sneaking around or making out in this house. If I catch either of you sneaking into one another's rooms, you face serious consequences. You will respect Esme, Emmett, and me by not flaunting this new relationship in our faces this weekend, or trying to sneak around. Are we clear?"

I nodded, as did Edward. Pop, the originator of the gesture, gripped the bridge of his nose. "Okay, you kids go get some sleep. We will see you at breakfast in the morning before we have to get ready for the Valentine's party."

We both nodded before slowly standing up and making our way out of the room. I paused, still holding Edward's hand and tugging him to a stop as I looked down at Pop. "I'm sorry we disappointed you, Pop. We tried to resist this thing between us, but it was impossible. I know you understand what it means to be in love, and that's what we are. Truly and deeply. I just hope you can see that and understand, eventually."

My voice cracked towards the end as I reached up and wiped at a tear. Pop looked up at me with sad eyes before nodding and closing his eyes. Mom reached over and rested her hand on his leg, squeezing gently while smiling sweetly up at us. Her eyes were twinkling as she nodded for us to go up to our rooms.

Edward held my hand until we reached the entry way, only letting go in order to pick up both suitcases. He carried mine to my door, sitting it down outside before reaching out for my hand and holding it in his.

"I love you, Bella. We're going to get through this. We're meant to be together, I just know it, but it was never going to be easy. Just know I'm here with you, no matter what."

I smiled, lifting a hand to cup his cheek before leaning up to kiss his lips softly. "I know and I love you, Edward. I'll see you in the morning."

Edward nodded before turning to go to his bedroom. He glanced at me over his shoulder before stepping in and closing the door. I extended the handle of my rolling suitcase and slid it into my room before closing the door behind me and moving to plop on the bed. We had survived telling the parents, but I really had no clue how the rest of the weekend would go.

~MOB~

I tossed and turned, my sheets twisting about my legs and driving me crazy. Finally, sometime around two in the morning, I gave up and slipped out of bed, sliding into the big fuzzy robe I had chosen to leave at home and the matching slippers before quietly shuffling downstairs in hopes of making some warm milk to entice sleep to come my way.

I tip toed past the dark bedrooms and down the stairs, creeping to the fridge and opening it, only to jump when the voice of my mother rose from the darkness behind me. I yelped and turned, surprised to see her looking tired as she slowly stirred something inside a big mug where she sat at the breakfast nook. I smiled when I noticed she had on her robe that matched mine.

"I've got some warm chamomile on the stove if you want some, or you could just warm some milk in the microwave."

I smiled and thanked mom before pouring a cup of chamomile and moving to slide in beside her at the corner nook. I stirred in a spoonful of honey from the little bear in the middle of the table before taking a sip, humming in appreciation as the warm liquid slid down my throat.

We sat in silence, just sipping and staring through the bay widow across from us for a long time. Finally, I broke the silence, sitting down my cup with a sigh.

"Are you disappointed in us? I mean, Pop was so upset and disappointed, and Emmett feels like we betrayed him. What about you?"

She smiled at me, reaching over to rest her hand on top of mine, squeezing it gently before just resting it there.

"I can't say I'm surprised by this. I saw it coming years ago and worried for a long time that it would come to fruition before you were ready. I'm grateful that you are so lucky as to have found someone to love with whom you share such an amazing connection. Few people in life ever get so lucky."

I sighed in relief, flipping my hand to curl my fingers up around hers. "So does that mean you aren't angry or upset with us?"

She shook her head with a small smile. "Not at all."

"Will Pop ever forgive us?"

She chuckled, shaking her head as she stared down at our joined hands. "Of course he will. Right now, he's just scared and confused for the both of you. He's worried about family dynamics, but more than that, I think he's worried that you are going to get hurt. Don't for one second believe that we weren't aware of how Edward conducted himself while at home. We were observant parents, but we also chose our battles carefully. Carlisle spoke to him on several occasions, but understanding that a teenage boy is often going to let his hormones rule his actions more than his intellect, he focused more on drilling safety and preaching caution and good choices. In the same way, we were also fully aware of how blessed we are to have such a good child in you. This, however, is one of the problems Carlisle has with everything. He love you like his own and is terrified you're going to get hurt if Edward isn't fully reformed."

I nodded, gripping my cup tightly in my hand while squeezing Mom's with the other. "I was worried about that in the beginning too, but I'm not anymore. He loves me. He's always loved me."

Mom smirked, "Yes he has, and apparently in every way possible. Want to talk about it?"

I gasped, my hand flying out from under hers as I hid behind my palms, my face scarlet. "Mom! Oh God! That's just so wrong…and even more so since the boy was Edward!"

She chuckled, lifting her cup to take a sip before sitting it back down. "I just want to be sure my daughter's first time was special, that's all. I lost my virginity to your father in the back of his lime green Pinto. It was not what I would call ideal, and to be honest, I regretted letting our hormones get the better of us because it was impossible to enjoy it like we should."

I squeezed my eyes tight, trying to hide from the mental image of Mom and Dad doing the nasty in the back of a hideous compact car and failing horribly. "Oh God. Where's the bleach? I need to wipe out the last ten minutes!"

Mom laughed, grabbing a hand towel that was under her cup and throwing it at me. "Oh stop it! You know you and your brother were not borne of Immaculate Conception. I had a healthy sex life with your father, as I now do with Carlisle. It's a part of life, and not something to be ashamed of."

I groaned, letting my forehead fall to the table in despair. I was never going to get all of these facts I never wanted to know, out of my head. Mom laughed harder as I moaned and groaned, shifting my head from side to side.

"Just tell me whether or not it was good. That's all I really need to know sweetheart. Did you feel loved and cherished?"

I slowly looked up with a wistful smile. "Completely. He was worried about it being in my dorm room, but I told him it wasn't about the where, but rather the whom." I paused, looking down at my cup as I turned it around in my hand, the porcelain now cool to the touch. Finally, I sighed before looking up to gaze straight into my Mother's eyes. "It was the single most wonderful experience of my entire life."

Mom's smile was nearly blinding as tears welled along her lower lids. "I'm so happy for you, Bella. Honestly, I am. I know things look bleak right now, but eventually everyone else will see what I see. The two of you are two pieces of one whole, Bella. You've always fit together so perfectly. As children, it was as playmates. As teens, it was as confidants. Now, as young adults, it is as soul mates. It will not be an easy path, but I have every confidence you will weather the storm…together."

"You think Pop will come around?"

She smiled. "Absolutely. It may take a little time though. He has to adjust his thoughts about the two of you. For years, Edward has been his son and you have been his daughter. He's going to have to rework his views of you in his mind to sort of carve out an existence where you can be both his daughter, and his son's mate. The process may take a bit of time, but in the end he will see the perfection as clearly as I do."

I reached over to grab her hand again, squeezing in thanks as my eyes teared up a bit. "And Em?"

She sighed, her smile falling from her face. "I fear your brother may be the hardest sell of all. Maybe even more difficult than the town. Honestly though, the town can hang for all I care. I want to see my children happy. If God had seen fit to direct your lives in a different path, we wouldn't even be having this discussion, of that I am quite certain."

I jumped out of my chair and ran around to my Mom's side, hugging her tightly, tears streaming down my face.

"Thank you, Mom, for everything. I was honestly afraid that the attitude of the town might make you more wary. I don't want you to suffer any backlash or anything, but I'm pretty sure you might."

She smiled and caressed my hair as she tugged me to her side, resting her head on top of mine. "Let them. I refuse to let the closed mindedness of this town keep me from supporting my kids, especially when what they are doing is neither legally nor morally wrong. There is only a perception of impropriety. If those people can't see the reality behind that, then it's their shortcoming, not ours."

I melted further into my Mom's side, feeling the calming effects of her reassurances along with the chamomile taking effect on my heavy eyelids. A long moment later, I finally sighed.

"Thank you, Mom. Your reassurances were all I really needed. I think I can sleep now."

She kissed my head as she whispered good before telling me to head on up while she cleaned up our few dishes. I stood slowly and turned to leave before glancing back for one last thank you to see her chuckling with a devious tinkle in her eye.

"What's so funny, Mom?"

She glanced up in surprise before her devious smile filled her face. "I was just thinking of something, but it might keep you up if I mention it."

I cocked my head. "What?"

She chuckled as she shuffled past me with our cups and spoons in hand to reach the sink.

"Oh, I was just thinking, and don't you dare let this happen before you're at least twenty five," she said with a finger pointed at my nose. I nodded with a nervous brow before she smiled and continued washing the cups.

"I was thinking that now you and Edward have to give me four grandchildren to make up for the deficit."

First of all, I was floored Mom was talking about Edward and me having kids, but more than that, what the hell did she mean by deficit? I must have been more tired than I thought, and apparently said that out loud because she scolded me for my language before explaining with her devious smile again.

"Well, I've been counting on two grandchildren from each of my three kids. Now, since you and Edward are going to be coupled up, then you guys have to have four to make up the difference. I am determined to have a whole slew of grandbabies running around this house before I'm sixty!"

I wasn't sure whether I should faint, puke, or run and hide. Either way, my calm, sleepy mood sort of shattered around me, leaving me all twitchy again. In a bit of a daze, I turned to walk down the hall, jumping in shock as I came face to face with Pop. He looked down at me with a sad smile before reaching out and pulling me into a hug before kissing the top of my head.

"I love you, kid. I love all of you, and I just don't want to see anybody hurt."

I sent him a sad smile as I nodded. "I know. Mom explained a lot tonight."

He smirked. "Yeah, I heard more of it than I care to admit. We had a long talk tonight and she brought quite a few things to my attention. It's going to take time and work, but things will be okay, Bella. You'll see."

I took a deep breath as I leaned back into him, hugging him around his waist. "Thanks, Pop. The hardest part has been worrying about hurting all of you guys. We both knew things were going to be difficult, but it's so hard to say no to love."

He chuckled against my head as he squeezed me again before releasing me. "I know, sweetheart. Trust me, I do. You go on up and try to get some more rest, Bella. We face a long day tomorrow with a lot of talking and preparing for the party. You're going to need your strength.

I nodded and wished him goodnight before plodding up the stairs, jumping in surprise to find Edward sitting on the top step. I couldn't help but laugh at the eavesdroppers we had in our midst. When I reached him, he smiled and held his hand out to me. I took it and let him tug me to sit next to him, snuggling into his side with a contented sigh. We stayed there until the sounds of Mom and Pop coming our way forced us to separate and go back to our rooms where we would continue to toss and turn for the rest of the night.