Disclaimer: All the Twilight stuff belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing in her sandbox.

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Chapter 13 Making Ourselves at Home

EPOV

Bella grew in strength daily, the wires and tubes removed one by one. She seemed to gain strength after the ceremony. She complained about not being allowed to walk to the bathroom alone and she complained about the fact that I had insisted on a suite for her - only the best for Bella Cullen. Bella Cullen - I just liked saying it almost as much as I enjoyed hearing it. From the expression on her face each time she heard it, she felt exactly as I did.

Time came for her to leave the hospital. There had been a great deal of discussion as to where exactly she would be going when she left there. Charlie, of course, wanted her home with him and conceded that, since we were married, I could come and stay there as well. I realized that that admission was a huge step for him, but she was my wife and we were going to start our lives together as they should be, not in her childhood bedroom with her father across the hall.

"So," Charlie said as he walked into Bellas hospital room, "they are releasing you. I'm so happy you're better, Bells. Renee has volunteered to come back to Forks with us and help take care of you."

I turned to see a terrified look cross Bella's face, her entire body sat rigid beside me on her bed almost as if she were bracing for a shock. She started to speak to me, but I held one finger to her lips to quiet her while I turned my attention back to Charlie.

"Edward, really, this marriage thing was endearing and we are all thankful that you were here to encourage her to live, but my daughter needs to be home with her family where she is loved and will be cared for," he said somewhat condescendingly.

"You believe that my being here was out of guilt, that the wedding was just a ruse." My anger grew, it was becoming hard to control, so I spoke even softer, "You believe that it was all fake, that I did it just to fulfill her dying wish and possible give her hope and strength to continue to fight."

Charlie looked at me as if I had lost my mind. "Yes, of course." Those were the words that came from his lips. He actually said it. "Edward, my daughter needs her family and to be at home." He looked almost smug, like he was doing me a favor, relieving me of the responsibility of tending to her for the coming months. Did he think the wedding was fake? Was he serious that he thought I would step away if given the chance, did he actually believe that the wedding had been faked, that it wasn't even legal? I looked at Bella - she looked as though she hadn't taken a single breath since he started.

"Breathe Bella," I reminded her, but her tension was palpable. It surprised me. I guess I had assumed she believed that I would never leave her, I had married her, I had told her I loved her, that I had always loved her and would always love her. She knew she was my only mate. Ever. Yet she tensed . . . waiting . . . it broke my heart. I would spend an eternity regaining her trust, if that's what it took.

"I realize that, Charlie, and that's exactly where she will be." I stood and turned to her. She froze. I offered my hand and gently helped her off the side of the bed and to the waiting wheelchair. She never took her eyes off of me. I felt her body as it trembled, eyes pooling to tear. She thought I was saying goodbye. As if there was any force under heaven or earth that could separate me from this beautiful creature. I would spend forever worshiping her and thanking God in heaven that she had allowed me back into her life.

"I appreciate the offer, Charlie, but she is my wife and she'll be recuperating in our home with me. I love her and I will never be parted from her again." He looked at me with a murderous glare, but I continued, "Bella and I will be moving to Highlands, North Carolina, to join my family. We have a home there waiting for us."

The look on Charlie's face matched the thoughts in his mind. He was stunned, absolutely stunned. He had no words and had lost the ability to speak or move as he stared at me.

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BPOV

Edward stepped behind my chair and rolled me past my father and into the hospital corridor. I had been so afraid when Charlie had first come into the room this morning. He had everything planned, arrangements made and seemed so sure of himself, so certain that I'ld be leaving with him - going back to Forks with my mom there while I recovered my strength and healed from the effects of the wreck. It hadn't apparently occurred to him that it would be any other way. Edward, to him, would be relieved to know he no longer had the responsibility of caring for me, however grateful he was to him for the things he had done for me the last few weeks and the devotion he had shown me. Charlie knew that it was Edward that had pulled me through this accident. It was Edward that had given me something worth fighting against the overwhelming odds for . . . thru the pain. Charlie was grateful to Edward, in some respects, though he did not like him. He was grateful to him for being there for me, for staying throughout my recovery, for staging a marriage ceremony to fulfill what might have been his daughters dying wish. But the pretense was over, it was time to go home. Charlie had assumed all along that the wedding was fake . . . a farce, and certainly not legal in any way.

Charlie was wrong.

Edward had dotted every I and crossed every t. It was air tight and absolutely legal. I was Mrs. Isabella Marie Cullen, wife of Edward Anthony Masen Cullen.

Legally.

Edward had been so proud when he pulled the notarized wedding certificate from his jacket and handed it to Charlie. His eyes were sparkling, despite the deep purple evidence under his eyes that he had not tended to himself, had not even hunted in weeks. He was not unkind to Charlie, even if my dad did deserve it. He had simply told my father that he would be taking me home to our home with him. I was 18 and the decision was mine to make if it came to that but Charlie knew where I would choose to be. I had given no thought to this or to where our home was or what it would be like. Edward was here with me and he loved me . . . I was already home.

Edward had made his choices clear as well. An outing on the day of our wedding, simply because he insisted on hand selecting our wedding rings from a near by jeweler in person had been his only time away from me. Alice had forced him to hunt, assuring him that she knew of a place and they would only be gone a couple of hours, and insisting that his eyes needed to be amber, not black in the wedding photos and that the dark purple circles underneath needed to be gone. She was right, of course, to insist. Since the wedding, Edward had not left the hospital.

Not once.

Edward was fully capable of caring for me, though my dad was unaware of the two medical degrees he held. He was unaware also of the seemingly limitless funds that Edward had access to and had, in fact, earned over the years. What comforted Charlie was the fact that he knew Carlisle to be an excellent doctor. He trusted him and he knew Carlisle would be nearby. With that in mind, Charlie had kissed me on the cheek, told me he loved me and asked me to call him, and stepped aside as we left the hospital.

Edward took my hand and helped me to my feet, gently putting his arms around me and pulling me into a hug. My tears were flowing freely. It had not been a dream. Here he stood, holding me to him and caressing my hair, kissing the top of my head, and it was real. He was my husband and he loved me. He was taking me home . . . to 'our' home.

"Careful, love," he cautioned as he helped me into the front seat of the Volvo. Instantly he was in the drivers seat and we were off. I noticed snacks and a small cooler behind the front seat, along with pillows and blankets in case I got cold . . . Alice's careful preparations no doubt. It was a two hour drive to the southern Appalachian mountains, to the small town of Highlands that the Cullen's now called home.

As we made our way North, I couldn't help but notice the abundance of beautiful tall trees and thick forests. These forests were different from the evergreens I was accustomed to in Forks, and the forested landscape was a far cry from the bare brown desert scapes in Phoenix. We turned into the narrow driveway that lead to the house. It seemed to go on forever, twisting and winding up the mountainside until it seemed we ran along a ridge for a time. A clearing appeared in the distance, and I should not have been surprised at the magnificence of the house. After all, Esme had found it and done all the modifications to it. It was beautiful, natural wood with even a wooden shingled roof and fireplaces of smooth round stone. The view off the deck on the back of the house was serene. A place where anyone would relax and rejuvenate and heal. It was perfect.

"Let's go inside, love," called my husband and I held my hand out to him as he wrapped his arm around me to help me to the door.

Bella.

Bella.

Bella.

The voices of my family called out! Alice was clutching her hands together and literally bounding up and down with excitement, Jasper with hands on her shoulders standing up on the stairs behind her. Emmett walked over to us and started to grab me into one of his bear hugs, smiling from ear to ear.

"Emmet, no!" snarled Edward, his hand flying out to his brothers chest to stop his approach.

"Eight broken ribs, remember?"

"Oh, right . . . sorry, I just wanted my little sister to feel welcomed!"

"Thanks, Emmett," I said it with all the clarity I could muster thru my tears. Esme stepped forward to put her arms around me. It was an awkward hug but only because Edward did not take his arm from around me.

"Welcome home," said Carlisle, placing his hand on Edwards shoulder and gently kissing me on the cheek. It had only now occurred to me that Carlisle was welcoming Edward as well. I would ask Edward about it when we were alone.

Alone.

I had forgotten.

With vampire hearing, I wondered if there would ever be suck a thing as alone in this house. Sensing how tired I was, Esme led me through a door to the left into a room beautifully decorated in blue and cream. There was a day bed, somewhat larger than the twin size you would expect, a lovely sitting area with love seat and chair, and a wardrobe in the corner. A desk with a computer was against one wall and a flat screen hung from the other. The view from the floor length windows was not as breathtaking as the rear of the house, but still soothing.

"The morning sun comes in through these windows, we thought you might like that, and you don't have to try and climb the stairs. It's only temporary, it was the dining room, but, well, we don't eat in the house anyway. I hope you're comfortable here," said Esme with a smile.

"Everything is just beautiful, Esme. Thank you," I said as I sat on the daybed. I was so tired. Edward sat down beside me and I noticed that my family had disappeared, living us to ourselves in our new room. I scooted over to the pillows and threw an arm over one as I fell fast asleep. It was dark when I awoke. I felt the soft comforter over me and the feather soft pillows to my side. Was I dreaming - I couldn't be sure. I lay very still, but I heard nothing. As light slowly entered the room, I turned my head toward the windows.

"Good morning love!"

I was looking into the soft amber eyes of the man I loved. He was right there, beside me though he never slept. He had rarely been able to lay in bed with me in the hospital, for lack of privacy or the peering eyes of a nurse or the simple fact that there were just too many tubes attached to me and too little room on the small hospital bed. I was surprised by the bed here, I had expected the Cullen all out king sized everything like Edward had bought for his room in forks, but this smaller one had been chosen probably to allow for the love seat and sitting area in the room. I liked it though, it was quite beautiful and I didn't mind that there was little extra room for Edward to move far from me on this sized bed. He kissed me softly, lovingly, propped up on one elbow and his hand cupping my face. I grasped the silky hair at the base of his neck and pulled him to me. Our kisses were soft, patient. There was no rush, no destination, just shared feelings and mostly, love. I wanted him. I'm sure the scent of my arousal was heavy in the air to him, but we both knew I had far too many broken bones for anything to be possible yet . . . so we continued to kiss and caress each others faces and hair. The look in his eyes said all I needed. My stomach growled -

"Breakfast time for the human," Edward grinned. He had no sooner uttered those words than Alice burst in thrugh the door with a platter of everything from eggs and toast to bacon and cereal, milk and orange juice, and set it on the table by the love seat.

"Hungry, love?" asked Edward.

"Of course she's hungry. That's why I brought the food in!" Alice scoffed.

"Well Alice, next time I wonder what my wife is feeling, perhaps I should just ask you," smirked Edward, his eyes playful.

"No, but you could ask me," said Jasper as he peered around the door, "Good morning, Darlin'."

"Good morning, Jasper! I suppose he could just check in with you to see how I'm feeling, but I'd rather we bypass the middle man."

He grinned from ear to ear as he answered my smart-elleky comment, "Whatever you think best, Darlin'," I was so glad Jasper knew there were no hard feelings over his trying to take a nip at me at my birthday party. I had long since forgiven him.

Everyone laughed. Alice was fiddling with the things in the wardrobe, I was sure she was picking out what I would wear for the day. It looked as though she had filled the cabinet with soft loose tops and yoga style stretches, clothes that would be comfortable on my stitches and raw skin and would pull over my cast. She was amazing.

"Well Alice, show me to the restroom I need a human moment before my eggs get cold!"

I kissed the slightly hurt look on Edwards face and rose to go with Alice. As I passed the wardrobe, I noticed only a shirt or two of his hanging there. After I had changed, I realized that none of Edwards music collection or journals were in our room either. I remembered his room in Forks and it seemed none of his things were here.

"Thank you for the clothes, Alice. The nightgown was so soft don't even remember you helping me put it on."

"I didn't help, Bella. Edward wouldn't let any of us help him."

I'm sure my eyes gave away my surprise at this, but I continued, "Alice, why aren't Edwards things in our room, his music, journals and all the other things that were in Forks? And I only saw a shirt or two for him in the closet."

She looked at me so sadly, "You haven't really talked about the time you spent away from each other, have you? What clothes my brother has are in the closet in your room and his other things are upstairs in his room. We fixed this room for you instead of that one because of the stairs and he had never used the room upstairs anyway, he never unpacked his things from Forks."

We needed to talk, and I wasn't going to wait long.

Edward was pacing back and forth across the floor of the room when we returned. He instantly took my arm and guided me to the couch to have my breakfast. I noticed for the first time that my husband wore soft flannel sleep pants slung low on his hips and a simple soft tee shirt covering his sculptured chest.

He was barefoot.

He was glorious.

He was mine.

"Have you had your breakfast, Mr. Cullen."

"No," he smirked at my cavalier reference to his diet, "Not yet."

"Well, when will you be hunting, then?" I asked him in between bites of egg.

Edward shrugged off a mumbled reply so low I could not understand what he was saying. I caught a glimpse of his face, though he stared at the floor and his brow was wrinkled, just over his eyes, the way it used to get when something was troubling him.

"Edward, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"I just don't want to leave you, that's all," he ducked his head, unwilling to look at me, "I can't bear to be away from you. I was on pins and needles while you were with Alice in the bathroom. I remember the look on your face when Charlie thought he was taking you home from the hospital with him and I don't ever want to see that doubt in your eyes again. I won't leave you. Ever."

He had the look of someone tormented.

"Edward! There is a huge difference between leaving me and going to feed yourself so that you don't starve to death. Come on, you must see that!" I almost shouted at him. I put down my fork, "If you don't then I won't eat and you won't like that very much, will you?"

"You win love, I'll go out in the backyard and see what I can find this afternoon. Happy?"

"Will you be wearing those flannel pj's while you hunt? I just don't want the animals attacking you. Those are really cute on you," I teased. He immediately rose from the couch and moved to the wardrobe and began gathering some of his clothes. It reminded me of something I had meant to ask -

"Did you change me into that nightgown last night?"

"Yes," he answered without hesitation.

"Edward!" I could not have blushed more if I tried.

Wrong.

When I looked up at him, he had removed the flannel pants and I was staring at the rock hard ass of my husband, in all its naked glory. He paid no attention to me, sliding on his boxer briefs and continuing to remove his tee shirt. When he turned to respond to me he froze. He had just changed in front of me without giving it a thought. I on the other hand, was giving it lots of thoughts. I was staring at him. I only hope I wasn't drooling. I had never seen Edward with more than two buttons on his shirt open, so the sight of my bare chested husband was breathtaking. He walked over to the love seat and sat down by me.

"Are you okay, love? I didn't mean to startle you," he said as he put his arms around me and nuzzled my neck. This Edward was different, this was not the Edward that wouldn't even leave the buttons of his shirt open, the Edward that was so carefully guarded. This Edward was at home, comfortable with me, with us, and I was astounded by the change.

"Edward, I need you!"

It was all I had to say. He seemed to understand immediately. We were lying on the daybed together before I could even blink. He moved me with such care, I didn't even realize we had moved till we were there and I was in his arms. He leaned on one elbow, his jaw in his hand, hovering over me and tracing kisses from my throat to my jaw, softly asking me what it was I needed.

"You have seen me without my clothes on and I've only had a glimpse of you, it's so not fair!"

I said petulantly as though I were a 4 year old. He laughed. Not a small laugh or a chuckle, but a laugh that shook him and made his eyes dance and sparkle.

"I'm right here, love. What would you like to see?"

I didn't have the nerve to verbalize it. I placed my hand on his chest, tracing the lines and curves of it, across his abs to the soft hair that traced below his navel and past the waistband of his boxers. I looked up to his face as he leaned in to kiss me. It was a soft kiss, as all his kisses had been, but it conveyed all the love and longing that I had been feeling for years. His tongue traced my lips and my mouth opened to him. He had never allowed this, would never allow this.

Who was this man!

I reached further to the front of his boxers and over the waistband, my hand coming to rest on the hard bulge in front. I gripped him, eliciting a moan from him. His kiss stopped and he rested his face ever so gently on my chest above my heart.

"Sweetheart," he almost stuttered with the effort it took him to speak, "we can't. You haven't recovered yet. You know this." He continued kissing my neck, my collarbones, my shoulders and back to my lips. Loving kisses, kisses with no particular direction or intent, they had no goal, other than to express his love for me. I could feel him harden under my hand and I began to stroke him lightly.

He didn't move my hand.

He didn't move my hand.

Edward didn't move my hand!

He took a deep breath, rolled back on his elbow and said, "Love, we need to talk. You know we can't make love, you're not up to it yet. You know this."

"Edward," I paused, stumbling over the words, "I need to touch you. I need to feel you close to me."

"I am only yours, love. You can hold me, kiss me, feel any part of me. I am only yours. I will never deny you anything, especially the right to choose for yourself, but be reasonable. Hear me out. You have to agree that you have too many mending bones to do anything vigorous or to have any weight on you, right?"

I could not believe my ears. Edward was as good as his word. He had said he would never again deny me anything or take away my right to choose, and he was giving me that right today, this minute. He was right, of course. Just the small movements of this morning had me sore, aching. The car trip had been hard on me, but I tried not to admit it. I just wanted him so badly.

"I know. I know we have to wait, but I have to at least feel you close."

He continued to nuzzle me and tell me he loved me, and trace circles on my arms and stomach. I fell asleep with one hand feeling soft hair at the base of his neck, and the other hand having remained on his boxers, holding on to his ever hardening erection. I had thought that he might be distancing himself from me, that inner part of me that still said this gorgeous creature could not possibly want me, that I could not possibly be enough for him was speaking up. I had worried when I had not seen his things in my room that we were not sharing a room, that maybe Charlie was onto something, maybe Edward was just going to let me down easily and slowly. This was not the case. He wanted me and needed me just as much as I needed and wanted him. He allowed me close to him, he had allowed me anything I wanted. When I had wanted something that he thought was too dangerous, he had discussed it with me. No choices were taken away, he allowed me to choose with him, to determine together what was best for us. I loved him for it. This is the way it should always have been and now he understood.

I had to talk with him, to find out what Alice had eluded to, I had no idea what he had been doing or where during the time we were apart. Alice seemed to think it was the elephant in the room, but it hadn't been. We had just spent the time since our wedding talking and being together, feeling no need for anything else. I suppose we were going to have to discuss our time apart, and probably soon.

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