[Disclaimer] All things Twilight belong to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer.

[A/N] Welcome back my lovely readers. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review. It really means a lot to me. I appreciate your kind words a lot. They motivate me to continue writing, so please keep them coming.

This chapter is dedicated to samaramorgane, Kyraaah1992 and Hayley for liking the Barbie part with Lilly. I have a lot of fun writing her character, so there is more to come…

Sorry about the chapter length. I know that it's short…but better a short chapter than none at all. Don't you think?

**Chapter 34**

Ali's POV

I sat down on the small balcony that belonged to the hotel room and watched the dark sky above me turn into a bright orange color that made my pale skin look two shades darker.

It was still cold and so I wrapped my jacket around my shoulder as I pulled out my cell to check if I had any missed calls on it.

The first three calls were from my mother and I deleted them without even bothering to listen. It was obvious what they would be about. How could you? Why did you? Yeah, that kind of stuff, probably…

Had she asked him those questions too? And if she had, what would he have told her?

I wondered if she and Carlisle would consider forgiving me for pressing charges against my brother, if he didn't end up in jail. But what if he did? Damn it, Ali, try not to think too much about that…

The next one was from Jazz.

"Hey, beautiful girl… How about answering your cell? You're not still angry at me for what I said to you in the hospital, are you? Look, Ali. I just don't want you to get hurt again...You know that I know you better than anyone. Can't you see that I'm trying to protect you? Well, just call me back if you feel like talking…or yelling. You're cute when you yell, did you know that? Take care. I love you."

I pressed the delete button and sighed deeply. It couldn't be that she was still in love with me, could it? She had had about five different girlfriends since we broke up. Yes, Jazz was a little bit in love with the idea of love, but I didn't understand why she was suddenly showing such an immense interest in me again. Was it because Bella and I were having that kind of relationship that she secretly wished for? No, that didn't make sense to me…

After sipping on the glass of coke in front of me, I flipped through the several texts my sister had sent to me.

*Hope you're well. Mom called. She's freaking. Call her back. Will you? R.*

*So you didn't call back. Fine, you know how much I hate it when Mom cries. Call her or I'll make sure she's going to live in your house when she's old and senile.*

*Ali, do me a favor and call our mother before she makes me crazy. LU R.*

No way, I thought while I dialed Rosalie's number. She would be awake now anyway, probably being returned from her morning jog with the mutt.

After the third ringing she picked up, it sounded as if she was eating something while she spoke.

"Morning, Tinker-Ali."

Jeez, always that stupid nick name. I think that she loved it that it made me furious when she used it.

"Hi, Rose. How are you feeling?"

"Hmm, let's see. Mom called me eight times yesterday, because you turned off your cell. She's worried that Edward will end up in jail." I'm worried about that too…

"Rose, don't you think that I already know that?"

"I didn't mean it like that. It was right that you pressed charges against him. If I were you...I would have probably done the same. Or well, Em would have talked me in to it, I guess."

"Did you tell that our parents?"

"No, I didn't. You see, this is difficult for me too. Everyone expects me to take sides and I don't feel like I can do that."

"I'm sorry about that Rose."

"Don't have to be. I just wished that Mom wouldn't be so sad about this all the time."

"Dad is pretty pissed at me, isn't he?"

"That's putting it mildly. Carlisle is furious; especially because Em broke Edward's nose."

Crap…just what I needed to hear right now.

"Em told me that I should just hang up on him if he continues throwing such a tantrum about this whole situation. This is not about Carlisle. It's just about you and Edward."

Something sizzled in the background. What the hell was that?

"What are you doing right now? Trying to burn down your house?"

"I'm making breakfast. Eggs and bacon…and pancakes…"

"Don't you usually only eat fruit salad in the morning?"

"You start sounding like Em. He made some really stupid comments that my boobs are starting to look bigger. God, I don't want to gain weight."

Why the hell did women have to bother with their weight all the time? What difference could a few pounds more or less make?

"I don't know what's wrong with me. If I continue stuffing down so many calories I'll get fat like a cow. But I'm always hungry, like a bottomless pit. It's embarrassing."

"Maybe you've starved yourself for too long and now your body is simply forcing you to give it what it craves for."

"I don't know. But I have discovered that I actually enjoy cooking. Did you know that scrambled eggs taste a lot better if you put mustard on it?"

"Rose, that doesn't sound very tasty."

"Trust me, it's delicious."

"Hmm,"

"Do you know when you come back to Seattle?"

"In a few days…Bella thought that it would be a good idea to celebrate Lilly's birthday in Disneyland."

"Yeah, she'll love that. Can you give me the address of your hotel? Em will send the present we bought for her over with Fed Ex."

"What are you getting her?"

"Ahm…I think Em bought some new Barbie dolls for her."

Great, I thought, more Barbie dolls to play girl-kissing with them. I wondered what my parents would say if they saw her do it…

XXXX

Jasmine had asked me once, I think it was on our fifth date or something like that, if I was planning on having kids of my own. I remember that I had rolled my eyes at that, while she desperately had tried not to look totally pissed at me. The whole situation had been awkward for both of us and when I told her that I didn't want to have kids; not now and not in ten years or any other time, she had unbelievingly shaken her head.

"But you're the born mother, Ali. You just don't know it yet."

The thing was that I didn't want to risk a child to be born with my stupid heart condition. Wouldn't that be terribly selfish? So I had settled myself for a life without children, focusing mainly on my career…or what was meant to become a career. And I was happy with that, never feeling like I was missing something.

But now that I was holding my copper-haired niece in my arms, her tiny head resting against my chest, I wondered if Jazz could have been right about my hidden maternal instincts.

Slowly I started rocking her back and forth on my lap while I hummed a lullaby that my mother had sung to me when I was little.

"Smile for me." Bella whispered and when I raised my head, the flashlight of the camera blinded me for a moment.

"Why are you taking pictures?" I asked her, trying to keep my voice as low as possible.

"I'm sorry…but the two of you are just too cute together."

She wrapped her arms around my shoulder and planted a soft kiss on the sensitive skin on my neck, her touch sending a pleasant shiver down my spine.

"You can put her down now, if you want to. She won't wake up."

I stood up from the sofa and carried Lilly to the bed that squeaked slightly when I laid her down on it.

"So stubborn…she wanted so much to stay awake until midnight."

"She's excited about her birthday and I'll hope that your sister won't tell Edward where we are. He would have the nerves to show up here and spoil everything."

"What about the restraining order?"

"Oh yeah right, I almost forgot about that…" she mumbled halfheartedly.

Forgot about it? Well, I guess it was something that she preferred not to think about too much…

Bella took my hand in hers and started rubbing small circles on my wrist as she guided me to the other room and closed the door behind us.

I cupped her face between my hands and covered her mouth with mine, while the tip of my tongue licked over her plump lower lip that felt smooth like silk underneath it.

A low moan escaped her throat when my tongue nudged against hers and a shiver went down my spine as I felt her hand circling over the small stripe of bare skin on my back.

I took two steps backwards until I felt the cold metal frame of the bed against the hollow of my knees.

"I love you." She whispered against my lips as we sat down on the edge of the bed.

Her hands slipped under my top that landed on the thick carpet next to us.

I unbuttoned her shirt, caressing each inch of her creamy skin with my fingertips until I cupped her full breasts in my hands.

God, how much I loved to touch her like this. She was so soft and warm and I couldn't believe that she didn't like the way she looked like. If I had breasts like that I would be spending half of my day fumbling on myself.

My lips twitched into a smile while I circled my thumb over the sensitive skin of her nipples that hardened under my caress.

Then I raised my head, because she was so unusually quiet next to me.

"Bella?"

"Hmm,"

"Are you okay?"

She nodded her head and stroked up and down my thigh in smooth movements. I realized that she looked incredibly tired. Why didn't she tell me that she wanted to sleep?

I took her hand in mine and squeezed it gently.

"You're tired, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am, but it doesn't matter…we can still…well…if you want to…" she mumbled against my neck while she continued stroking my thighs so lightly that she was barely touching me.

I grabbed my hand around her wrist to stop her.

"No."

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked me anxiously when she saw the expression on my face.

"Bella, you look as if you're about to fall asleep any minute. We don't have to make love tonight, if you don't feel like it."

"But you want to do it, Ali. I don't want you to be disappointed…"

I raised one eyebrow.

"Disappointed? You're kidding me, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not. Look, Ali. I want to be everything that you need, whenever you need it. You're so pretty and you could be with anyone else. I don't want to…"

"Bella, I want to be with you and no one else. You have to stop doubting my feelings for you. This…," I took her hand to my heart and planted soft kisses on her fingertips.

"This is not just about sex. I love you. And if you're too tired or not in the mood or whatever, you need to trust me enough to tell me about that."

"Okay,"

"I'm serious about this Bella." I told her while I wrapped my arms around her from behind and kissed her neck.

"You really don't have to worry to tell me things like that. I only want to sleep with you, if you want it as much as I want to…"

"Kay,"

Slowly she turned around and kissed my mouth tenderly.

"Can you hold me?" I whispered and rested my head against her bare shoulder while I twisted a wisp of her chestnut hair around my fingers.

She wrapped her arms around me and mumbled something that was too low for me to understand it.

"I love you…I really do."

I petted her scalp with my fingertips until she started snoring next to me and my eyes felt too heavy to keep them open…