A/N: I'm happy you all enjoyed the fluffernut sauce! Big puffy hearts.

"Oh, sweetheart. Look at you."

Edward watched Bella's expression, worried, as his mother clucked over her. The bruise on her face was more of a shadow where James's fingers had been pressed tight over Bella's mouth. There was another finger shaped bruise on her arm, he knew, but it was covered up.

With Bella's permission Edward told his family about James's attack, again leaving out Bella's connection to him. They'd surprised the hell out of the couple by rushing over, all six of them.

"You should have called us," Jasper said, a fierce, protective expression on his face. "I wish you had; we would have been there for you last night."

Bella ducked her head. "I'm sorry. Everything happened so quickly. I just..."

Edward stepped in. "We didn't think about it," he said honestly.

He saw sadness pass through his father's expression, but Carlisle's smile was gentle as always. "We're your family. You're so used to dealing with everything on your own, but we want to be here for you. Especially things like this," he said quietly.

Edward blinked, having not thought about it like that. Now that he looked back on the situation, he wondered if that should have been his first reaction - to call his family. Was that the normal thing?

But Carlisle was right. He was used to dealing with all of his life's crises on his own.

"We're here now." Surprisingly, it was Rosalie who spoke. She was a mirror of Emmett's body language, her arms crossed, her expression touched with anger. She took a breath, her eyes gentling noticeably as she went to Bella's side. "Tell us what you need. If you need us all to back off, don't be shy about it."

Bella's expression was comically wide-eyed for a moment, but she tempered it quickly. "No. I'm okay. Really."

The family settled down around the living room. Edward kept his arm tight around Bella, brushing her arm comfortingly whenever she tensed. Esme asked about the baby, and Edward answered that everything looked fine, but Bella was supposed to be taking it easy until her follow-up appointment the day before her birthday.

"You should come over to the house this week while Edward is at work," Esme said suddenly. "So you don't have to be alone."

"Oh, no. I'm fine. I'll be fine," Bella said quickly, but Edward could see the way she blanched. She'd confessed to him once that being alone in the big house was unnerving, and that was before she'd been attacked.

"I was going to stay home this week," Edward said quietly. He hadn't discussed this with her yet, but he had absolutely no intention of leaving her alone. Not only did he want her to rest as much as possible, but he wasn't sure he was ready to let her out of his sight just yet.

"You don't have to do that," Bella said firmly.

Edward just rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious," Bella insisted. "You have that important meeting Wednesday, right? To get your plans approved? You need to be there for that."

"It's fine," Esme interrupted. "Go to your meeting, and I'll take care of Bella."

"I don't need to be taken care of. I'm not a child," Bella said irritably.

Esme made a face. "Oh, dear. No. That's not what I meant at all."

"I think it would make all of us more comfortable if you weren't alone," Carlisle spoke up, and the rest of the family nodded their agreement.

Edward and Bella exchanged a glance. "They're definitely your family," Bella said wryly, low enough that only he could hear.

The comment struck a chord with Edward.

Later, when the family left, Edward and Bella lapsed into silence, both in their own little worlds. They sat together, her head on his shoulder, his finger idly twisting a strand of her hair around and around and around.

"What are you thinking?" Bella asked, breaking the quiet of the house. She raised her head, leaning her chin on his shoulder instead.

Edward was distracted momentarily by the closeness of her face. A smile crept over his features, and he kissed her lightly, adoringly.

"I was thinking that we're very alike, you and I."

"How's that?"

"I think we're very isolated people."

She sucked in a breath and sat up straight to look at him, her expression uncertain. "I don't understand."

He tapped his lips, arranging and rearranging his words in his head before he spoke. "It frustrates me that when I - or my family, as was the case today - want to help you or expresses concern for you, your automatic reaction is that you don't need a babysitter."

Bella frowned. "When you put it that way, you make me sound ungrateful. I-"

He held a finger to his lips. "What I realized today is that I do much the same thing. My father was right. I never do think to call him in any crisis of my life." He chuckled sadly. "I don't think either of us is ungrateful for the people in our lives, just perhaps unused to being cared for. Certainly my grandfather encouraged me to be self-sufficient, self-comforting, self... everything. But there's something to the idea of needing other people."

Smiling gently, pressing his thumb to the tiny dimple on her chin. "When you let me take care of you, whether it's something big or something as small as me getting you a glass of water, it fills a need in me, in part of our relationship. Give and take. Both of these must be equally important, because if you can't take, I can't give.

"The same logic should be applied to all my relationships. I've struggled to get closer to my parents, my brothers over the years. It's true they haven't made it easy at times, like most recently with the house, but I'm beginning to wonder if my being so self-sufficient, so completely unwilling to lean on them at all, is keeping us from bridging the gap between us."

Readjusting himself, Edward threw his legs up over her lap so he could face her. She looked amused and rested her hands on his shins, pursing her lips in thought. "I don't know if I've ever thought of that as isolation, though."

He took her hands, squeezing. "If you didn't feel so isolated, would you have run from Forks the way you did?"

Her whole body stiffened, and Edward was instantly sorry for his thoughtless words. "Bella, I-"

"No," she said quickly, shaking her head. "No, you're right. There was no one I could trust. No one except Jacob, and he was a high school kid." She frowned. "That's not normal, is it?"

"I don't know that I could claim to be an expert on normal." When he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, she seemed to calm, her shoulders relaxing. "Will you tell me how it happened?"

Bella sighed and didn't pretend to misunderstand him.

"My mother was a young mother." As she spoke, Edward thought there he heard a tightness to her voice. "If I had to guess, I'd say she never took to it. Never took to Forks and never really took to me."

Edward wondered if she realized her hands hand strayed down to her belly and she stroked idly, instinctively assuring her daughter that it wouldn't be the same with them.

Bella sighed. "She's not a horrible mother. I think she just gradually drew deeper into herself until she was mostly checked out. When I was little, my dad was taking care of both his parents. When they died, he knew my mother was unhappy."

"They never meant to get stuck in Forks," Edward surmised.

She nodded. "I was always okay, so I suppose I learned to take care of myself."

They were both silent for a moment.

"I don't know what it all means," Bella said with a shrug. "I've never thought about it, really. I was lonely sometimes in high school, but I did have a boyfriend at one point," she pointed out.

Edward hummed his assent, not really wanting to think about her boyfriend however far removed. "And Alec?" he asked softly, stroking her back when she shuddered. "How did you end up friends with him?"

Bella breathed deep, in and out, once, twice before she tried to answer. "I was stupid," she said in a whisper.

"Bella," Edward began, but she shook her head.

"No, really. I was a stupid kid. I, um..." She rolled her eyes, her fingers pressing against his leg randomly. "I guess I was fourteen when he was a rookie? I don't know. My dad talked about him a lot. He was proud of him." A bitterness crept into her voice and she looked off without seeing.

"See, Alec has a twin sister, Jane. They were both delinquent kids." Her fingers twisted in the fabric of his jeans. "But Alec turned his life around..."

Tenderly, Edward reached out, stroking her cheeks with his fingertips, aching for her.

The motion calmed her and, taking another deep breath, Bella continued. "Like I said, I was fourteen and stupid. I don't think I hid my crush very well.

"My crush faded, but Alec... Well, I saw him often because of my dad and because Forks is a small town. I don't even know when it happened, but little by little, he started to ask me questions that made me uncomfortable, questions I know now were inappropriate. And he would put his hand at my waist or just... on me, all the time." She sucked in a shuddering breath.

"I don't know," she continued in a small voice. "I kept on thinking that I must have been misreading the situation. Obviously, my dad wouldn't let him near me if he was... bad, so I had to be overreacting."

Her hands became fists over his legs. Edward put his hands over hers, and she twined their fingers together, gripping tightly.

"When I was 17, he kissed me. It took me completely by surprise, so I didn't say anything right away. When he tried it again, I stopped him. He teased me." She made a face, her voice becoming mocking as she imitated Alec. "'Isn't this always what you wanted?'" Bella closed her eyes, breathing steadily and holding on to him. After a long moment, she shook her head.

"You're right, about the isolation. I never told anyone. I never felt like there was anyone I could tell. I felt like I should handle it myself."

She sounded ashamed, and it broke Edward's heart. Quickly, he shifted, putting his feet on the floor so he could pull her close. With two fingers under her chin, he lifted her head, his eyes fierce on hers. "What he did was not your fault," he said firmly.

There was uncertainty in her eyes, but she nodded. "I know."

~0~

Bella laid in bed pretending to read. Her thoughts were anywhere but the words in front of her, though.

Beside her, her husband sat up in bed, his eyebrows furrowed as he concentrated on his laptop. She hid a smile, not wanting to be caught ogling just yet.

As usual, he'd come to bed without a shirt on. His laptop sat on a writing desk, so her view of his bare chest was mostly unadulterated. She drank him in, her fingers itching to trace the firm lines of his muscles, to feel the sparse hair against her palm. She wanted his eyes on her, shining with love and that look, that hunger, that sent fire through her veins and tipped off an exquisite ache centered where she wanted him most.

Good God, she wanted him. She'd been turned on in her life before, of course, but this was altogether different. Maybe it was the hormones, but she was hornier than she'd ever been. There was a possessiveness to her desire. She wanted to claim him and for him to claim her. She wanted to feel him inside her, feel his hands on her the way he'd touched her before...

Before she'd totally flipped out about Alec.

Bella frowned to herself, biting her lip.

Never could Bella have imagined she would end up married to someone she'd never had sex with. She'd decided as a teenager that it was wiser to know exactly what you were getting into, to be sure you were compatible with your significant other before you made it legal.

Life, as always, proved to be very creative with curveballs.

They were newlyweds. They should still be in that blissful stage where they couldn't keep their hands to themselves.

Bella closed her eyes tightly.

Just that day, they'd been back to the doctor for a follow-up after her run-in with James the previous week. Edward held her hand the whole time, obviously just as anxious as she was about the results.

The doctor had been all smiles, cheerfully announcing that everything looked great and, "You can resume sexual activity."

Even Edward had blushed, and he'd smirked.

Because of course, Edward was not going to touch her - not until he was sure she was absolutely comfortable. They slept in the same bed every night, and he showed his love with his gentle touches and kisses.

She wanted more, he wanted more, but neither of them wanted her demons to interrupt their intimacy.

Her lucid thoughts were sanguine, knowing with utter certainty that Alec and Edward were nothing alike. If Edward wanted to hurt her, wanted to claim her body as his possession, he could have done it so many times. She'd been in his house, in his bed, in his arms, and he'd never once pushed her.

Alcohol often stripped a person down to their base instincts, their most primitive selves, wiling away inhibitions and the careful mask they held in place for the rest of the world. Alec and James had been drinking when she went to his house that day. Alec's base self had bound her up and locked her in a closet until she 'came to her senses'. Edward's base self when he was drunk off his ass had always been to protect her, even when it went against everything he'd been taught to believe about marriage.

Edward was not Alec.

Bella wanted her body to believe as thoroughly as her mind did.

Before she could lose her nerve, she climbed to her knees quickly. Taking hold of the laptop desk, she tried to move it off him, but Edward caught it and held fast.

"Bella!" he protested, guiding the desk back. "Stop that. I'm almost done." He sighed, shaking his head.

He hadn't even looked at her.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, laying down again and turning away from him so he couldn't see the tears that welled in her eyes automatically. Rejection stung horribly making her eyes burn and her throat tight.

Edward's hands stilled on the keys, plunging the room into silence save her deliberately even breaths as she tried not to cry.

His hand on her shoulder made her flinch.

"Bella?" he said her name slowly, uncertainly. "Are you... Are you crying?" His tone was horrified.

"No," she lied, but her voice wavered.

The bed shifted, and she heard a clatter - Edward putting his laptop and desk to the side. He laid down beside her, his gentle fingers on her cheeks, finding them wet. "Oh, Bella."

Frustrated with herself and chaffing, Bella batted his hand away, furiously wiping away her tears. "It's nothing. It's just hormones."

'It's not nothing," he said quietly, brushing her hair back over her shoulder so he could kiss her cheek. "Especially not if I hurt your feelings. Please look at me."

Biting the inside of her cheek, trying to get her emotions under control, Bella rolled onto her back but didn't look at him. She closed her eyes when he began to press tiny, sweet kisses along her hairline. "I'm very sorry," he rumbled, his lips against her ear. Bella shivered. "You caught me mid-thought. I didn't mean to snap at you."

She sighed. Melting a little. "It's important. It's work. I shouldn't have grabbed your desk like that."

He hummed, kissing down her jaw, her chin, and finally lingering at her lips. "You are the most important thing to me now. The most important thing to me ever," he said, his tone absolutely sincere before he kissed her.

Bella forgot what the word rejection even meant as he kissed her. No, he wanted her as she wanted him. She was his, and he was hers, and all was right in the world.

"Now," Edward said softly when they were both panting. His fingers brushed the side of her cheek, and her arms were wound around his neck. "What did you want to talk about?"

Biting the inside of her cheek, Bella couldn't answer. There was no part of her that could say the words, not when he was looking at her like he was... his green eyes gentle yet intense. She didn't want to have a discussion about it, and if she spoke, a discussion there would be.

So instead, she ran her fingers across his chest as she'd been imagining all night, feeling the hardness of his muscles. Edward looked confused, simply watching her as she ran her hand down his shoulders, his arm, finally wrapping her fingers around his wrist.

Her heart was beating of control as she tugged, pulling the hand he was not propped up on between them.

"Bella..." he murmured, beginning to catch on.

Taking a deep breath, not letting him distract her, Bella pressed his palm to her chest, remembering what it felt like that first time, nearly two weeks before.

Edward's breath stuttered, but he didn't drop his hand when she let go of his wrist. His eyes were wide, a little scared, but dark with the same desire she felt. He swallowed hard, never breaking their gaze.

And then he gave in.

When he claimed her mouth, his kiss was more urgent than it had been just a moment before. His hand cupped and fondled her breast, his thumb brushing over her nipple through the cloth of her nightshirt. Bella gasped and moaned into his mouth, running her fingers along the strong muscles of his shoulders and back.

He didn't rush, and she didn't push him, enjoying the sensation of his light caresses, his lips moving on her, and his tongue sliding along hers. He'd snaked his arm under her shoulders, pulling them until they were laying side by side, their legs tangled as they kissed.

Bella gripped his hair when his fingers slid up under her nightshirt, skimming along her body, sending thrills down her spine. He palmed her breasts, and it was amazing, until...

Until her throat began to close, and her body stiffened.

He broke their kiss. "Bella. Bella, look at me."

She hadn't even realized her eyes were closed. She opened them quickly, locking her gaze with his.

He loved her. That one fact radiated out of him.

The lump in her throat loosened, and she leaned forward kissing his chin, thrusting her chest at him so he would know it was okay to keep going.

He kept his gaze steady on her as he let his hands move again, brushing over her nipples. "I love you," he murmured intently.

"I love you," she answered in a whisper, simply holding onto him as her tensed muscles loosened.

She loved him and she trusted him.

He was slow as he touched her, telling her how much he loved her and how beautiful she was, how she felt in his arms.

And when the world had dwindled back down to only him, only them again, she closed the little distance between them, reclaiming his lips, letting her hands wander down to cup his ass, reveling in the way she could make him gasp with her touch.

"I want you," she mumbled against his lips.

She could feel him stir against her where their legs were tangled.

Taking that as agreement, Bella slipped her hands down the back of his pants, skimming his skin, memorizing the way his body felt under her fingertips. Never before had she been so completely enthralled in another person's body this way, fascinated by the way hard muscle met soft flesh. And holy crow, how the little noises he made as she touched him, explored him, were almost visceral. She felt each sound in her body - a tight coil that tugged at her nipples or made her rub her legs together, seeking sweet friction.

And if listening to him - touching him - was good, his caresses were better.

The way his eyes swept her nude frame, his fingers tracing the same trail, made her feel beautiful despite the awkward swell of her changing body. His touch was reverent and adoring. His quick intake of breath and his hardness pressed against her thigh chased away any uncertainty she might have felt that he would find her lacking somehow, unattractive.

She pushed his shoulder until he lay down on his back, and then she straddled his hips, steadying herself with her hands flat against his chest. For a long moment they were both still, his hands at her waist, his eyes on hers, both wrapped up in a bubble that was all heat, passion, love.

Slowly, his hands skimmed up her sides, his eyes never leaving hers. His smile was serene - breathtaking. He cupped her neck and then her cheeks, communicating without a single word. She was adored. Cherished.

Safe.

His.

Afterward, when she'd crumpled back to his side, breathless, her bones turned to a jelly-like consistency, she lay with her head on his shoulder, his arms wrapped around her, and his breath hot on the top of her head. She wasn't the only one who was trembling, not just from the aftermath of lovemaking but because she could never have imagined a love like this, a bliss beyond what she'd ever been capable of conjuring up.

Raising her head, she kissed him - a long, slow kiss. She tasted the salt of his skin on her tongue and knew what it was to be truly joined with another person.

A/N: As I realize it is often a very thankless task to be my pre-reader, let me take this time to express my love and everlasting devotion to barburella and jfka06. And thanks to GinnyW for beta work!

I am participating in a pledge-a-thon to raise money for schools. For $5 you can receive a private outtake from me. I'll also be doing a live chat/interview on June 30. It's for a great cause and I'm quite proud to be a part of it. Find out more here: bit . ly/ptblkris