Author's Note: All my chapters are pretty long today, aren't they? You must be so proud of me. Well, I left you at a cliffie last time. ;) So here it is! Read on.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.


Chapter 45

Bella's Point of View

"Hey, looks like Edward's here too," Jasper said.

I lay quietly on my old bed, staring up at the ceiling.

He looked at me. "Act natural, Bella. I know you two haven't had the most pleasing past, but it's Christmas. Everyone will be surprised to see you back, and the first thing you should do is help everyone be comfortable with that fact. You haven't forgotten, but you should at least pretend you did."

I hadn't admitted it, but Jasper already knew that I hadn't forgotten about Edward. He'd seemed relieved by it, strangely.

"Don't worry," I said softly. "I have no intention of letting the atmosphere getting awkward."

We listened to everyone greeting Edward downstairs. He sounded a bit…melancholy.

"Why is he so down?" I wondered, sitting up. "Did something happen?" I couldn't help but let concern flood into my tone.

He looked at me with raised eyebrows. "He's always like that."

I looked at Jasper, startled.

He smiled, shrugging. "Shall we go down now?"

"I hope you got me a good present," I said as we exited the room.

"Nah. Just dug something out of the trash."

"What?" I asked, mockingly indignant. "And to think that I baked you cookies! I'm taking it all back!"

"What?" Jasper's eyes grew wide, then narrowed. "Never!" He began tickling me.

I shrieked with laughter loudly and my writhing made thumps on the floor. "Stop!" I rushed down the staircase, laughing.

"Come here, you little…"

He caught my waist just as we reached the first floor, and I fought my way across to get the living room door. The room on the other side of the wall had gotten quiet.

I opened the door a bit too suddenly, and we stumbled into the room, still laughing. Jasper's grip on me tightened to help me straighten, and I did, looking up.

Ironically, the first person I saw was Edward. He hadn't changed a bit. His green eyes were wide as he stared at me in shock.

Not wanting to be noticed staring at him for too long, my eyes slid away from him to Emmett and Alice, who were gaping at me in shock. There was a beautiful, blonde young woman blinking at me in surprise.

"Hi," I announced brightly. "Long time no see!"

Carlisle and Esme's jaws had dropped.

"Hi, honey," Renee said, perfectly relaxed as she sipped her coffee. "Did you have a nice talk upstairs with Jasper?"

"Sure," I said, grinning. I looked back at the Cullens. "What, no welcome hug?"

"Bella…" Esme whispered in shock. "You're back!"

"BELLA!" Alice screamed, and she ran towards me. I caught her and hugged her tight, breathing in her homey scent. "Oh, Bella…! You're back! I can't believe it!"

"Hey, Alice," I chuckled, kissing her forehead. "How are you?"

She pulled away, and I saw that she was crying. "Bella…"

"Silly…" I said, wiping away her tears and laughing. "It's just me."

"Just you?" Alice asked incredulously. "It's you! You're back!"

"Hey, move over, you pixie," Emmett barked out.

Alice turned to stick her tongue out at him, but did as he asked. I found myself crushed by Emmett's bear hug.

"Bells!" His loud voice boomed out. "I missed you!"

I laughed and hugged him tightly. "I missed you too, Em. Now let me go; you're crushing me."

He let me go, grinning widely. His familiar, huge grin… It was as if nothing had changed.

Carlisle and Esme, too, had gotten up. Esme was smiling, but she had tears in her eyes as well.

"Oh, sweetie," she whispered as she reached for me. "Welcome back."

"Esme," I said, feeling content in her arms.

Carlisle looked happy to see me again. He squeezed my shoulders gently, and I felt comforted. "Welcome back, Bella."

"Thanks," I said, laughing slightly.

"What happened?" Emmett asked once Carlisle had let go of me. "You're back in New York so suddenly, I don't…"

I grinned playfully. "I came to spend Christmas with you guys, of course. Merry Christmas!"

Everyone chuckled at my bright tone.

"Is this what you've been keeping from me, Jasper Whitlock?" Alice demanded. "You could have told me that Bella was back!"

Jasper looked wary. I didn't blame him. Alice looked like she could beat him up any minute. "Bella told me not to."

"Bella?" Esme asked, surprised. "Why?"

"I wanted to surprise you," I said. "Looks like my plan worked."

"I'll say," Emmett snorted with laughter. "Look at Edward."

I turned to the only Cullen who hadn't greeted me with joy. He was still staring at me with wide eyes, frozen in his seat.

I smiled gently. "Edward. It's been a while."

He blinked once, then relaxed slightly. He nodded slowly. "Bella. Welcome back."

The atmosphere was getting tense. I could feel the awkwardness radiating off in every direction. Everyone was watching us warily.

I laughed quietly. "Wow. You haven't changed a bit. I would have thought, after eight years, something would have changed. But really, New York hasn't changed at all."

"Of course not," Alice chimed in, realizing what I was trying to do. "It's still same old New York." She trilled out a long laugh.

I smiled at her as I sat next to her on the floor. "Well, maybe except for the three Cullen siblings, I suppose. Who won the bet?"

Alice's grin became wider. "I did, of course!" she chirped happily. "One million bucks from each of my brothers! And that was four years ago." She pouted. "You should have been there. It was truly something unforgettable!"

The tense atmosphere broke, and everyone began laughing as they remembered the memory.

"True," Jasper chortled. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"I thought I was going to explode from trying to suppress my laughter," Esme remembered. "The look on Emmett's face…!" She chuckled.

"Edward was a bit boring," Alice recalled. "He just handed over his check without much reaction. I think he agreed to the bet knowing that I would succeed."

I smiled amusedly. "I'm sorry I missed it. I would have taken some pictures."

"Oh, we've got some," Renee said brightly. "I'll show you later."

Emmett looked disgruntled. "Whatever. I gained that million back within three months of becoming a successful lawyer."

"I bet," I said lightly. "I read it in the newspaper. You and Edward made the front pages quite often."

Edward had leaned back into his chair. He was listening to our conversation quietly, still staring at me. I tried not to act like I'd noticed. But it was hard to ignore that strange, pained look on his face. I thought he'd moved on. Was he still feeling guilty?

I glanced at Emmett, then remembered the beautiful blonde next to him. She was smiling at me while I stared at her in fascination.

"Hi!" I said, smiling warmly. "You must be Rosalie?"

Rosalie laughed. "Yes."

I rose to my knees and held out my hand. "It's nice to meet you."

She shook my hand. "Very nice to know you. Everyone's talked a lot about you."

"Really?" I asked. "I…uh, hope they didn't talk about anything bad." I raised my eyebrows at Emmett who averted his gaze, suddenly finding his muffin interesting.

Rosalie shook her head, finding my reaction amusing. "No, no. They were all good things. In fact, I was just beginning to wonder if there'd been anything bad about you at all. You sounded so perfect."

"I'm flattered," I said, grinning.

It was awkward at first, but as the hours passed, I felt more comfortable. It was easier to have Edward there as the minutes ticked by.

I found Rosalie and Emmett extremely amusing. But the way interacted was a bit painfully familiar, because it reminded me of how Edward and I had acted before our wedding.

Carlisle glanced at his watch. "It's nearly eleven. Shall we open presents?"

"Ooh, ooh!" Emmett said excitedly.

"You sound like a monkey," Alice snapped. "Act more mature in front of your fiancée. She's going to think she's marrying a pig."

"I already know I'm marrying a pig," Rosalie said dismissively. "It's fine."

I started cracking up. "Do you always act like that?"

"Sure," she said, shrugging. "I already know what kind of a man he is. I have a hard future ahead of me, Bella."

"I think I'll like your fiancée, Em," I said, looking at her with respect. "You've picked a good woman."

"Oh, thank you."

"Ugh," Emmett grumbled as he crawled towards the tree. "You women are always picking on me."

"Come on, are we opening presents or not?" Jasper asked impatiently, joining Emmett.

We all gathered under the tree, and for a few minutes, there were lots of arguing and scuffling over the presents.

"Hey, that's mine!" Alice protested. "Give it back, Edward!"

"No, it isn't," Edward disagreed, laughing for the first time. "Look, it has my name on it."

Alice frowned. "Go away." She pushed him out of the way and continued to look for her own. "Where's mine?"

Edward laughed silently when he opened his present from his brother. It was a small music box that had a picture of him and Emmett making silly faces back when they were younger. The picture twirled once, then closed, and another picture came up. His smile faded when he saw it. Abruptly, he closed it.

I was the only one who noticed. I wondered what had made him close it so suddenly like that.

"Here, Bella," Jasper said, handing me a small box. "Yours."

"Mine?" I asked, surprised. I hadn't expected anything.

"You should have told us that you were coming," Esme said regretfully. "We would have gotten you something nice."

I laughed. "Don't be silly, Esme." I looked back at the little box and opened it. My eyes widened. It was a set of car keys.

"Jazz, you didn't!"

Jasper grinned. "Outside."

A grin spread slowly on my face, and I stood up quickly, startling the others.

"Where are you going?" Alice asked.

I ran outside and stopped dead when I saw a beautiful new Audi waiting for me on the curb. I could have sworn that it hadn't been there when I'd arrived.

I giggled, pleasantly surprised. I skipped back inside happily. "Thank you, Jasper!" I sang, throwing my arms around his neck, choking him from behind.

"You're choking me, Bella!"

I kissed him on the cheek, refusing to let him go. "You're the best brother in the whole wide world. Love you!"

"You see this, Alice?" Jasper asked, grinning. "You should appreciate me like my little sis does."

Alice laughed. "I do. Except a wife's love is different from a sister's love. What'd he get you?"

"A beautiful new Audi," I said proudly. "It's so pretty."

"Hey," Emmett said, frowning. "This is all I got?" He was looking down at a small stack of presents at his feet. "Seriously?"

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to a blonde wig and a princess get-up set. "Who gave you that?"

"Edward," Emmett said, grinning broadly. He put on the wig and struck a pose. "What do you think?"

Jasper and I started cracking up. Everyone joined in, even Edward, finding Emmett ridiculous.

"That's hilarious!" Rosalie gasped for air. "Oh, you should totally wear that at our wedding."

"What?" Emmett asked, frowning. "I think I look pretty hot. Thanks, man."

Edward reached over and bumped his fist against Emmett's. "Suits you, bro."

"But seriously," Emmett said, taking off the wig. "This is all I got?"

I blinked, then remembered my own huge bag of presents back upstairs. "Oh, wait!" I said, letting go of Jasper and hurrying back out.

Two minutes later, I dragged in a huge bag of presents into the room. "Dig in. I'm not going to hand it out."

"Mine!" Jasper said triumphantly, successfully digging out a tin can of homemade cookies.

Emmett's eyes grew round. "Where are my brownies?" He pushed Jasper out of the way roughly and began digging into the bag like an insane man.

"Hey, watch it," Jasper said, slapping him on the back. He took a bite of his cookies. "Mm, yum! Delicious!"

"Ha!" Emmett said proudly, waving another tin can of brownies that had his name on it. He immediately got one out and began munching on it. "Mm, yum!"

"Give me one, you pig," Alice said, slapping his hand away. She placed a brownie in her mouth. "Mm…"

"Hey, it's mine, you pixie," Emmett protested, crawling away and shielding the can protectively. "Get your own."

Alice scowled. "Whatever. Ah, mine!" She'd finally found a huge box wrapped in golden paper. She shrieked when she saw what it was. "A Louis Vuitton bag! It's so beautiful! Thank you, Bella!"

"Hey," Carlisle said, having wrapped his own present. "Look at this Christmas sweater. It's perfect. Thank you, Bella." He put it on immediately.

I laughed. "It suits you, Carlisle. I'm glad. Here," I added, digging into the huge bag. "I got you all sweaters. You pigs, there are more presents for you in here. Here, Em." I threw him his huge present, and he caught it neatly. "Jazz." Jasper caught it and began unwrapping it eagerly.

"Thank you, Bella!" Esme said, looking over the stack of books that I'd gotten her. "I was just thinking that I needed to go visit the bookstore…"

"You're welcome," I said, smiling. "Here, Esme." I handed her another box.

"Hey, look at me!" Emmett said, grinning widely.

I looked over and saw that he'd already put on his sweater.

"You got us all Christmas sweaters?" Esme asked.

"Of course," I said. "What's Christmas without Christmas sweaters? Here, Mom, Dad." They caught theirs and began unwrapping it quickly.

"Alice," I said, tossing her another big box.

She grinned. "Thanks, Bella!"

I rolled my eyes as I got out another box. "Here, Rosalie. I don't know if you'll like it or not."

Rosalie looked surprised as she accepted her present. "Thank you, Bella."

I winked at her before throwing the biggest box to Edward. He caught it at the last minute, taken aback.

I smiled at him innocently. "I hope you like it."

He blinked. "Thank…you."

"Aw, how adorable!" Alice gushed, her eyes glued to her red sweater. "Thanks, Bella!"

"Oh…" Rosalie said, staring at her light pink sweater. "It's beautiful, Bella. Thank you."

I smiled, relieved. "I'm glad you like it."

I turned my head to watch Edward opening his own present. He opened the box and stared at it.

I began to feel worried. Did he not like it?

"Hey, let's see yours, bro," Emmett said, looking over his shoulder. He, too, stared at it before busting out in laughter. "Man, nice one. Wear it!"

Edward looked up to meet my worried gaze. He was smiling slightly, amused. He obliged, taking off his hoodie, and putting on the sweater.

Alice started laughing. "How cute!"

Frosty the Snowman was running away on Edward's sweater, and there was a little speech bubble next to it that said, "Catch me if you can!"

"Thanks, Bella," Edward said, smiling genuinely.

My smile returned. "You're welcome."

#$%^&*()

Everyone became immersed in conversations afterwards. Charlie, Renee, Carlisle, and Esme all began talking about business, while Emmett and Rosalie sat in the corner, looking cozy. Alice, Jasper, Edward, and I were playing card games on the floor.

"BS!" Alice said suddenly, startling Jasper and me. "Take it back, bro."

Edward smirked, then turned over the card he'd just laid down. It was the correct card. "Nope. You take it, sis."

Alice made a face, then took the whole deck.

Jasper laughed. "Looks like Alice is going to be losing this game."

"Shut up," she mumbled. "Can we play something else? I suck at this game."

"It's seven-thirty," Carlisle said, capturing everyone's attention. "Shall we head to the dining room for Christmas dinner?"

"Whoo!" Emmett whooped, jumping to his feet. "Dinner!"

"Great, I'm starved," Jasper said, tossing his cards into the deck. "We'll say Alice lost."

Alice grimaced. "Some husband I've got."

We all got around the huge dining room table, where Renee and Esme had served many different dishes. There were turkey, chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, bread, soup, and many other favorites of ours.

"Mm, yum!" Emmett said, grinning widely as he stuffed meat inside his mouth.

I made a face. "Cut the meat, Em. That's disgusting. What must Rose think?"

"It's fine," Rosalie said dryly. "I've gotten used to it."

"Well, we haven't had a chance to hear what you've been doing the past eight years, Bella," Carlisle said just then.

I looked up from my plate.

"Why don't you tell us your story?" he suggested. "This is a perfect place to hear it. Over Christmas dinner."


AN: So…what'd you think? Disappointing? Or satisfying? Reviews!