I apologize that this is a little bit late, I worked late yesterday and then fell asleep before I was able to post. But here it is, please enjoy.

Many thanks to my pre-reader Pienuniek and my beta Chandra, check them out if you haven't already.

You know SM owns Twilight, we just like to play with them

*** HS ***

Chapter 3 – Meadow

Bella was happy to let me lead after we left the school parking lot. She had the window down and was just enjoying all of the fresh air and views. Living in Colorado Springs had its advantages. While cool most of the year, it was a beautiful place to live. There was a great ratio of cloudy to sunny days, not that it mattered a whole lot. There were an abundance of schools to work for or to make sure that I wasn't working at the same place my siblings were attending. I needed a little space to myself since we all lived together, and living with three mated couples was hard.

Granted, we all were not home a lot considering we had things to do. Carlisle was still working as a doctor, but decided to change his specialty this time and work specifically with children at the Children's Hospital in the Memorial Hospital. Even Esme was doing something off the wall. While we had been at UDub in Seattle, Esme had joined us. She had such a gentle nature that even animals weren't afraid of her; she studied to become a nursing technician in animal care. Esme had begun working for the Animal Hospital of Colorado Springs and she was flourishing. There was one of us who I had no worries about meeting and accepting my Bella.

I found it ironic that while the others were attending high school they chose to enroll in a private Catholic school, especially one called Divine Redeemer Catholic School. Although I don't think it helped Rose much, she's still the same vain spoiled girl who Carlisle saved all those years ago. I wanted something different, so I decided to teach at a prep school called the Colorado Springs School, or as it's known, The Claremont. It was a fantastic school, with great staff and students, even if they are just about the same everywhere. The difference is that while they thought like other students anywhere else in the world, these ones wanted to go places.

We cruised around Colorado for a while before I decided to head out to one of my favorite spots here. Just because I didn't eat the same as the rest of my family didn't mean I didn't enjoy being out in the wilderness. Part of being a vampire is that we can enjoy nature more than a human being can. The smells, the feel, the fresh air, the fact that I could run as fast as I could without being detected probably helped too.

Colorado has some of the best untouched national forests in the USA and getting lost in there is a lot of fun. On one of my "hunting" trips I'd come across this beautiful meadow that seemed untouched; as far as I could tell none of my family had come across it either, and it was to this place that I was taking Bella so that we could talk, or to just be.

I'm glad that she was one of those who seemed to be able to just be. She wasn't filling the space with endless chatter; she was enjoying all that nature had to offer us as we drove into the parking lot of the national park. That may have been in part because she's an angel; I figured they would enjoy nature as it had been intended.

"Okay, love, how do you want to get to where we are going? Are you going to fly above me, or do you want to catch a ride with me?" I was curious as to which way she'd go.

"Hmm, today I think I'll catch a piggy back ride. Maybe next time you'd like to join me in the sky?"

To say I was shocked would have been an understatement. I hadn't thought about her flying with me, but I was intrigued. Who wouldn't be? Her giggle is what brought me out of my shocked state.

"Well then, little girl, let's go!"

I got out of the car and zipped around to her side, seeing as we were by ourselves, opened the door, and held my hand out to her to help her out.

"Thank you, my love. I always did love how men were raised to treat women in your day, Edward. So much of good manners and being a gentleman has been thrown to the wayside. Just because a woman is independent doesn't mean a man cannot treat her like a lady," she supplied as she climbed out of the car and onto my back as I knelt down.

That little rant told me that she knew how old I was but not how she had come to know about me. I needed to know what she knew.

"I agree with you about that. Now hold on, little girl, you're about to see how I can move in the forest," I couldn't help but warn her.

Bella clamped down on me around my neck and waist and then we were off. She squealed and laughed in my ear; I saw her eyes shining in my periphery. She loved my speed; that made me so happy.

To revel in her carefree joy and being outside doing what I loved with my mate on my back, I took a circuitous route to my destination. Running was second nature to me, but it was one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Being faster than all the others had its perks. More so if I wanted to be by myself or if I wanted to get away from the love fest that happened at home sometimes. It was always good, because the faster I got away the less I had to hear. Maybe, though, I could get some of my own payback soon. Although I wasn't sure I wanted to share all her noises.

Sooner than I liked, we came to the entrance of my meadow. I placed Bella back on the ground and let her go on ahead. It was a beautiful place, although I was sure it would be out shined by the heavenly creature stepping into it. It was a small oval, with a stream running through at one end and covered in summer's end wildflowers in every color of the rainbow. We were getting ready for autumn but it was still gorgeous.

Bella made it to the center of the meadow and spun around with her arms outstretched and her head tilted to the sky. She had a fabulous little smile on her face that said she enjoyed what she was doing and where she was. When she stopped, she held out her hand in my direction and I stepped out to join her. It was an overcast day so the sun wasn't shining, which was good. It meant that I could spend more time out here with her.

I joined her in the middle and sat down on the forest floor. Bella sat in front of me then laid down and placed her head in my lap. I ran my fingers through her hair, while she lay there and enjoyed the peacefulness of the forest with her eyes closed and a serene smile on her face.

I wasn't sure how long we sat there in silence before I couldn't help it anymore and I blurted out my first of many questions that were floating around inside my head. Although the one that came out surprised me.

"Can I see your wings again?"

Bella opened her eyes, smiled at me and sat up. She scooted her little bottom back until it was almost touching my knees. I watched with fascination as two lines split down either side of her back and the tips of her wings started coming out. Slowly but surely they extended all the way out as she stretched them. When they were all the way out I watched as those two lines closed back up around the articulated arms at the top.

Boy, they were gorgeous, all pure white and glowing. I think they were glowing more now than they were indoors. I watched as all the flowers, grass, and leaves grew a little more, or bloomed a little brighter, and stood a little taller. Another thing to add to my list of questions. I reached my hand out to touch, but pulled it back because I wasn't sure if I should or if it would hurt her.

Bella must have seen it as she had turned her head to get my reaction. "You can touch them, Edward; in fact, it feels fantastic. It's a very euphoric feeling I'm told to have your mate or partner touch and groom the feathers in your wings. Something I'd like for you to help me with one day, if you'd like. They take some work to keep them in place sometimes, especially as they will be folded up most of the time. There will be days that I'll need to come to a place like this or somewhere secluded to stretch them out because they can get cramped up."

By the end of her little speech she was giggling at me because I was nodding my head like a bobble headed doll. Touching her wings and helping her groom them would be my honor; to help them look this beautiful every time she brought them out would be fantastic.

I reached out again to straighten a few that I could see were off kilter and I was surprised at how soft they were, like her hair. It was like touching the thread from silk worms they were that soft. I could see that, as I was running my hands through them, straightening them and rubbing them down, she was getting more relaxed. Although I detected a change in her honeysuckle scent, it deepened and became more than it was before. It was then that I realized what she meant about preening and grooming her wings by her mate. It made them euphoric and meant it would also lead her to having an orgasm. It turned them on; that was good to know.

I didn't know that I'd stopped until she pleaded with me to keep going. She started letting out these moans. I was already hard at the thought that grooming her wings was making her wet, but to add her moans to the mix was making me all the harder. I kept stroking her wings, although now I had her lay back on the grass and I laid down next to her grooming the front. I wanted to be able to kiss her, but by this stage she was nearing her peak, so I kept going. To see her come undone would be spectacular, and all without having touched her intimately.

"Oh, Edward… Oh… please don't stop… mmmmm…. Yes… EDWARD!"

"God, baby, that was beautiful, you are beautiful, and to see you like that was… I have no words, none at all," I told her, holding her tight while she wrapped her wings around us.

I'd never felt the love that encased me as she wrapped them around us. It was like being in a pure love bubble, nothing but the most perfect feeling in the entire universe. It was warm, comforting, passionate, loving, and just good.

It was then that I couldn't stop myself from kissing her anymore. I cradled her face in my hands and lowered my mouth to hers. I was reluctant to open my mouth at first.

'Don't worry, Edward, your teeth and venom can't hurt me. My skin is almost as impenetrable as yours, and the venom won't affect me. You can't turn me and your strength won't hurt me. Hold me as tight as you can; don't worry about it.'

So while the kiss started off slow and a little chaste, it escalated into something deeper, and just more. It was the perfect mix of teeth, tongues, and lips. Bella brought her arms up and ran her fingers through my hair. It felt wonderful; nobody had touched my hair but me in a long time. My hands wandered from her face, too; one back into her hair to direct her where I wanted her to go, the other down her side around to her back, over her gorgeous bottom and to her knee, where I pulled it up and hitched it over my hip. My hand then ended up back on her bottom, kneading and pulling her closer to my aching cock.

While I hadn't intended on this happening when I brought her here, I couldn't say I was upset that it was. I knew we wouldn't go too far; I could feel that from both of us, the determination not to go all the way. But I could tell by her thoughts that she wanted to make me feel as good as I did her.

"You do make me feel good, Bella. You're making me feel really good right now. That's it, right there, love…oh fuck… yes right there…"

I'm not one for gratuitous use of profanity, but there are times when a well-placed curse can be used to your advantage. While that wasn't what I had intended on happening here – because it was more about how good she felt right then – it pushed her closer to another release.

I could feel she was hot and wet through her panties as her dress had ridden up. I know she could feel how hard I was as I was rubbing right there, right in that perfect spot to get her again. I could feel my orgasm approaching, but I wanted to wait for her.

"C'mon, Bella, come for me again. Come all over my cock, baby. I want it, let it go…"

'Oh…oh… oh…Edward. Oh wow, oh just…' Her thoughts went blank as she came and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

I could feel her orgasm subsiding as I let go, calling her name and twitching against her. Bella cradled me to her neck where I'd rested my head, running her fingers through my hair and relaxing me into a state of perfect bliss.

'Wow, I didn't know that would happen when you pruned my wings… that was wow. I can't even describe it.'

"Wait, you didn't know that would happen?" I asked in surprise.

"No, Edward. When they said it felt euphoric I thought they meant that I would just feel relaxed and happy. That is a nice side effect though. It never felt like that when I did it," Bella answered, happy and satiated.

She was relaxed in my arms, with her wings still wrapped around us. Her eyes closed, a secret little smile on her face and a nice warm glow all about her. It's like when she was completely euphoric she glowed a little, just like her wings.

"Bella, love. Let me just go to the stream and clean up a little, then we can get to know each other some more. While I'm not upset that that happened, I'd like to get to know you more before we go any further. I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay, my love, I'll just lay here with my eyes closed." As she replied, she opened up her wings and let me out by rolling onto her back.

After they had let me go, I thought the feeling of being in our bubble would disappear. While it dimmed, it was still there. It was a fantastic feeling and I couldn't wait to feel more of it.

I walked over to the little creek and jumped over it. I wanted to take off my boxers and clean up a little, so I decided to go out of sight to do it. Once I was clean, I headed back to my Bella only to find her sitting up and her beautiful wings put away.

"Don't pout, my love. I'll bring them out again soon. I just thought with our recent discovery it might be better if I put them away for now. To not be as distracting," Bella explained.

I hadn't realized I was pouting.

She was right; that would be distracting. All I'd want to do is touch them again, and not just because of her reaction but because of the silky soft feel of them. At least without her wings, I'd still have her hair. So I sat behind her, laid her back, and put her head back in my lap so I could reach her hair.

"How about instead of asking questions and us getting distracted again, I'll show you my story. After that, if you aren't too overwhelmed, you can ask questions," Bella suggested.

"Hmm, sounds good," I hummed my agreement.

I was then sucked into Bella's past.

She started when she was just a beautiful little girl. A little girl, all of three, running around with her wings out that couldn't have been more than two feeteither side. Dressed in a beautiful white dress and glowing like a sunny day.

Bella ran up to a couple of people outside a little white house with blue shutters. The woman was a beautiful older version of her, but with ash blonde hair, and the man was a strong broader version with masculine features and the same coloring as Bella.

"Momma, Daddy. I's here, I's home from Gamma and Poppa's," she squealed out. "Gamma was teaching me how use my wings, buts I can'ts fly yet."

She stood there flapping her wings after hugging her parents, trying to get airborne. It was cute as hell.

"See, Momma, I'm nots going up yet!" she exclaimed.

"Oh I see, baby, but you'll get there one day. It takes lots of practice, okay," her mother commented then turned to the older couple there. "Thank you for having her last night, Alison, we needed the time."

"You're welcome, Renee. You know that we are happy to have her any time. She's our grandbaby and she's always welcome."

"I'm glad that you could take the time to teach her. She reminds me so much of Charlie's grandmother. She looks like those photos in the albums at your place. Do you think she's destined to be one of them?"

Alison sighed, while watching Amos her husband, Charlie, and Bella playing in the yard. She could tell that Bella was listening to all that was going on. "I do, Renee. I know she is one of them. If that's the case it's the best thing for her; you can't stop her growing up. Know that she can come into this plane of existence after it happens to see you. Why her great grandmother doesn't, I don't know. Hopefully we will find out sooner or later."

I saw more of her days filled with school, flying lessons, learning how to look after a mark like a guardian angel, because that's what you grow up to be. Friends, family, dinners, and birthdays. She filtered through it all then stopped at another memory.

She was now about eight years old and she was in a room of the house I hadn't seen before.

Bella was leaning over the side of a crib, looking down at a very sleepy little baby. She was happy that she was able to have a sibling before she was an adult. So many of her friends had siblings whom were hundreds of years older than them since angels could only have babies when they are needed and not all the time.

"Don't worry, little brother Seth, I promise to love you and play with you every day. I won't let anyone be mean to you ever."

She watched as her little brother got his hand free of the swaddling and reached out for her; Bella stood there and reached out for him. They held hands until Seth fell asleep, and even then she didn't let go.

An hour or so later Renee came in to find a sleeping Bella laying on the floor holding onto Seth's hand through the railings of the crib. From that moment on they were inseparable.

Bella slowed down her memories again when she was about twelve years old. She had been flying for a few years now, but she was a little upset on this day.

Charlie could see that his baby had been crying when she came home from school. He followed her up the stairs to her bedroom and knocked on the door.

"Bella, baby girl, are you okay?" he enquired through her bedroom door.

"Go away, Daddy. I don't want to talk about it," she sputtered out through her tears.

You could tell that Charlie had never been able to see his baby cry, so he opened the door anyway to see her flung across her bed on her stomach crying her eyes out.

"Oh, baby, what's wrong? Nothing could be worth all these tears."

"Daddy, why don't I look like the other girls? Why am I shaped different and why don't the boys like me like they do the other girls?" Bella blurted out all at once.

It looked like even in another plane of existence there were body image and self-esteem problems.

"Oh, baby, you don't want to look like all the other girls. All the other girls are carbon copies of each other; they all look the same. You, baby, you are an individual. You are a rare bud getting ready to bloom. When you do, you are going to be more spectacular than any of them. You are a true beauty now, but when you bloom you are going to be absolutely stunning.

"The boys don't like you because they are afraid of you, baby. They know that you are out of their league; you are destined for something and someone higher and better. You don't need them, sweetheart; your one is out there somewhere, and when you find him everything will click into place. I promise," he toldher.

By the end, Bella had sat up and looked at her dad. Her tears slowed, and when he finished she flung herself into his arms, crying anew for a whole new reason.

"Thank you, Daddy. I love you."

"Love you too, baby girl."

She flowed through more memories, showing more lessons in flying. Some in changing her appearance and some I wasn't sure what they were about.

I saw her friends going on about their lives, getting skinnier and taller, dating other angels and moving on with their lives. While Bella was a part of it, she also stood apart,sometimes on the outside.

Bella was about sixteen now, looking up at her grandfather Amos. He had a book in his hands and was about to tell her a story. He opened it up to a picture Bella had never seen before.

"She looks like me, Poppa. Who is that?"

"That, my girl, is your great grandmother. A beauty just like you. She had many of the same powers that you do. Linked to nature, the earth, and the sea. You are a special young angel, Bella. Do you know what kind of angel you are?" Amos replied.

"No, Poppa. I haven't been given an assignment yet. My teacher tells me that I will be told soon becauseI turned sixteen not long ago."

"You will be told today, my sweet girl. It's my duty as your grandfather to give you your assignment as your father couldn't be here today. Know he wanted to, but a very important figure was passing on today and he was given that assignment as a show of good faith." He paused, knowing this was going to be hard for both of them.

"Bella, you are one of only two angels that hold this position. You were born specifically for this position. To advise you of your duty, I first need to go back and tell you the past. Listen carefully, because it will explain your future, okay?" he implored.

Bella nodded; she was excited to learn about her assignment and curious as to why there weren't more of her kind out there.

"Please remember that we don't have all of the information of what happened to your great grandmother, so I'll tell you what I know. But let's start at the beginning…

"Back when the universes were created by the gods, they governed them themselves. This you know, now once the many species of inhabitants grew too hardto manage by themselves they created angels to help maintain things. Earth started with seven: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Samail, Sandalphon, and Jophiel.

"Each had their own jobs to do. As the world kept growing, the need for more angels became apparent. So the gods created mates for them, and their lines started to develop; the only problem was that one of our first seven never managed to find his mate. Samail – the Angel of Death – was never able to find his mate in any of the first angels or subsequently any of their children, but the world and their jobs continued on. The first seven angels were then promoted and became the Governing Council. After time the first seven started training up the children of the angels to become part of their departments.

"There were Guardian Angels, Angels of Death, Cupids, Destiny Angels, Justice, Healing, and Eden Keeper Angels. Each of the original seven then delegated the jobs to their department angels. All was well for a while." Amos paused to take a drink of water.

"Around 5500 b.c., the gods were upset at the toll the earth was taking from the building population of animals, earthlings, and development – even in its early stages – so they decided that she needed help. The gods created an angel, Mother Earth, and named her Mikail. Her job was to help the earth, keep it running, and try to get some of the people on Earth to start looking after it through their Guardian Angels. Everyone celebrated this news, and the further news that Mikail was Samail's mate.

"Soon it became apparent that Mikail needed help, and she needed it on Earth and not from above. The gods advised that through Samail and Mikail's line there would be Earth Angels born. Only girls, and only when they were the first born. Until this time there wasn't a need, so Samail and Mikail hadn't been able to have children. It wasn't long though before Mikail became pregnant, and she was promoted to be part of the Governing Council for when the Earth Angels were born and ready.

"You know that angels have a slightly shorter gestation period than humans as we grow that much quicker, so it wasn't long before Mikail gave birth to your great grandmother. From here the story becomes a little vague. We know that Mikail gave birth to a girl that had incredible abilities like yours. She grew up and trained like everyone else; she turned sixteen and was told her destiny. Except the next thing we all know is that shewasmarried to an angel who was not her mate and having a child, me. I know that only a few short years after my birth, I was left with Samail and Mikail and she disappeared. Not long after that my father, Balail, was ejected out of this life and made into a Fallen. Destined to live life as a human again and again until Samail's name was cleared. Of what I don't know; he won't talk about it." Amos stopped to clear his throat and wipe his eyes.

"What happened next, Poppa?" Bella inquired hesitantly, as she could see he was upset.

"I grew up and became a Justice Angel, met your Grandmother Alison, and had our beautiful babies, your father and your aunt Alida, gods help her. Charlie climbed the ranks and made me proud the day he became an Angel of Death. He married your mother Renee, who makes a beautiful Guardian Angel, and had you and your brother Seth. We knew that you would have a very special destiny. Can you guess what that is?" he asked of his beautiful granddaughter.

"Am I to be an Earth Angel, Poppa? I'm going to have to leave you all?" He could see Bella becoming upset at leaving everyone she knew and loved.

"Not just yet, my beautiful girl. You still have some learning to do, and you won't leave us until you see your mate in the Looking Pool. Every day from the day you turn seventeen, you will go and look in the pool for your mate. Yes, you will have to leave us to live a life on Earth, but there are perks. You'll be mated to a supernatural creature, so you will live on eternally. Unless he passes on, because you know that we cannot outlive our mate for long. The biggest perks of all are that you will be able to visit home and bring him with you. We can keep in touch and see each other. We can visit you too, as long as we know where you are, never forget that," Amos reassured her, happy to see that she was more relaxed and even happier at the thought that she wasn't just different. She was special.

The day had finally arrived. Bella had been looking in the Looking Pool every day since the day she turned seventeen. Today Bella had seen her mate and boy was she happy.

She was running through the streets to find her family to tell them the good news; she wanted to fly but the airways were crowded, so she just made do.

As quick as she could she made it home and she rushed through the front door, glad to see that her grandparents were there.

"Momma, Daddy! Guess what?" she squealed with excitement.

They all turned to look at her with their eyebrows raised in the universal gesture for "What?"

"I saw him, I saw him today! I saw my Edward! He's so handsome and I have to get ready to go; it won't be long now before I'm sent down to find him," she rushed to explain while trying to leave the room.

"Now wait a minute, baby girl. Are you going to describe him and tell us what he is or are you going to make us guess?" Charlie tried to slow her up. He wasn't sure if he was ready to let her go yet.

"Daddy!" Bella whined.

He waved his hand around as if to say 'get on with it.'

"He's simply handsome, Daddy. He has bronze hair that sticks up all over the place as if it has a mind of its own, and golden eyes. A sharp jaw and he's just the right height, about a foot taller than me. He's a vampire, Daddy, and you know how hard they are to kill, so I'm going to have a very long life with him. Isn't that wonderful?" She sighed happily, completely smitten with him already and she hadn't even met him yet.

"His name is Edward Anthony Masen and he is part of the animal drinker coven, The Cullens, which currently live on the Olympic Peninsula in the USA. I can't wait to find him when I get to Earth. I promise to bring him as soon as I can."

A few monthslater she was standing at The Rainbow to take her down to Earth with her family. She had already said goodbye to her grandparents and mother. Bella was giving her brother Seth a big hug and promising to see him as soon as she could and that Edward was going to love him.

Charlie walked up to Bella; he was given the day to see her off. "Now you promise to be careful, Bella. You bring him home to meet us as soon as you can, okay?"

"Yes, Daddy, I promise. I'll bring him soon. I love you so much, Daddy. I'll see you soon."

Bella and Charlie hugged until he pushed her away with slightly wet eyes, "Go on then, baby girl. Live and be happy. I love you."

Bella gave one more wave, turned, and stepped onto The Rainbow.

When her memories slowed to a stop, I looked down at her.

"Wow," I said aloud.

"Wow good or wow bad?" Bella whispered.

"Wow good, but I certainly have a lot more questions now!"

Bella broke into peals of laughter, and I smiled at her.

"Don't worry, my love, I will answer them all… As long as you answer the ones of mine. I don't know much more than what you saw in those memories," she replied when she calmed down.

"I will endeavor to curb your curiosity and promise to answer all of yours as well," I whispered fervently, as I leaned down to kiss her again. "Right after this…"