7

Edward POV.
I reluctantly ended our kiss but remained in Carlisle's arms.
We should tell the others" I murmured
"I agree. I'm guessing you already have an idea about how to do that"
"Indeed I do. I don't have the faintest idea how Rosalie and Emmet will react but with Jasper's gift I think he will understand quickly so I'm thinking we ask Alice to bring Jasper back and we tell him then we can ask him to help control the atmosphere while we tell Rosalie and Emmett. "
"Once again that sounds like a good plan darling"
I smiled shyly. Carlisle noticed.
"What is it
"You called me darling"
"I did didn't I" he looked down shyly "do you mind"
"I like it"
my smile got bigger and Carlisle smiled back. He leaned in to kiss me again
"Don't you have an empath to talk to" Esme giggled as she passed us with a box full of my CDs. I pulled back reluctantly.
"She's right you know"
"i know" carlisle sighed "but I like kissing you" he pecked me quickly on the lips then pulled back "go on make your call before i give in to temptation" he winked at me
I spun in Carlisle's arms so that I was leaning on his chest then pulled out my phone and dialled Alice's number
"Moving in together already" was her opening greeting, of course she had been watching to see how things went. I gently freed myself from Carlisle's arms walked down to the lounge and sat on the sofa as we spoke, Carlisle followed sat next to me and wrapping his arms back round me began nusseling my neck. Even with my vampiric concentration It made it hard to focus on the conversation.
"I hope your out of ear shot of the others" I teased
"Of corse Edward I'm not an idiot." Alice said mock crossly "Now why are you calling"
"I'd like you to bring Jasper back please, only Jasper we want to tell him first so that he can help us tell Rosalie and Emmet I have no idea how they will react"
"We are as good as on our way" she hung up.
I tuned to look at Carlisle"
Your very affectionate today"
"I've wanted this for nearly a hundred years and I can still hardly believe its happening its no wonder i can't keep my hands off you, and I think you can forgive me for making the most of finally having you." He grinned "indeed" I replied "now where were we". He leaned in for a kiss and this time I didn't resist. His lips pressed against mine hungrily his tongue sought and gained entrance and our tongues duelled playfully learning what the other liked. One of carlisles hands tangled in my hair and the other moved up the back of my shirt. I moaned into his mouth as I felt his touch send streaks of fire through my icy skin. My hands roamed up his back under his jumper and it was his turn to moan. I started stroking gentle circles on his back with my fingers and his hands tightened around me half pulling me onto his lap causing us both to topple backwards against the arm of the sofa. Carlisle was now half laying reclined on the sofa and I was sprawled across his chest the fall hadn't broken our kiss. We were lost in the feel and taste of each other and it didn't occur to us that we were now in a position more suited to a bedroom than a family living room. We had also forgotten in the heat of the moment that we were waiting for Alice and Jasper to arrive. Suddenly we heard a gasp from the kitchen doorway followed by a giggle from Alice and a yelp of "What the hell" from Jasper. ,

I was used to knowing people were approaching by their thoughts so the unexpected arrival of jasper startled me. I leaped away from Carlisle in surprise with a lot more force than necessary hit my head hard on the ceiling and landed at the other end of the sofa with a thump. Carlisle sat up a slightly embarrassed smile gracing his features he straightened his very ruffled clothes and then grabbed my arm and pulled me back along the sofa so that my back was snuggled against his chest. He kissed the spot on my head where it had collided with the ceiling and then looked at Jasper I followed his gaze. Jasper had mostly collected himself but was still staring and Alice was doing her best not to laugh too hard at me. She was failing.
Jasper still shocked ignored Alice and looked at me,
"I'm guessing and I use the word guessing in the loosest possible way that you changed your mind about telling Carlisle how you felt"
"Not exactly he followed me into the Forrest to make sure I was ok and overheard me berating myself"
"Based on that erm display It obviously Turned out alright"
"Fortunately he felt the same"
Alice and Jasper came to sit on the sofa with us. Jasper sat next to me and alice sat on his lap facing us and snuggled into his chest Jasper wrapped his arms around her And rested his chin on her head.
For a minute Jasper was busy tasting all the emotions in the room then he looked up and gave Carlisle a look
"How long have you felt the same Carlisle" he asked demandingly
"I have loved Edward ever since I first laid eyes on him"
jasper looked satisfied
"I had my suspicions when I first joined your family you used to have emotion spikes that seemed more likely to be aimed at Edward that esme but then they stopped and I assumed I was wrong" he sounded almost questioning.
"I learnt to control my emotions"
Jasper just nodded. Then he looked at Carlisle intently again then smiled. I read his thoughts and laughed delightedly.
"Ok what is it" Carlisle demanded looking at us both
"You tell him jasper you will explain it better"
Carlisle looked at jasper expectantly
"We'll ever since I have known you no matter what was happening and no matter how you felt there was a part of you that was intensely sad. even in your most joyous times it was there. At first I had no idea why then as I got to know you I began to believe that it was a part of you that still hates what you are torturing you for being a vampire and for condemning others to This life. Yet even as our family grew and we were clearly happy as vampires happy together that part of you remained sad it has always worried me. Yet now when I reach out to look for it it is gone there is no trace of it left, I see now that it was your love for Edward torturing you and now that you are free to love him that dark place is gone. All I feel from you right now it pure untainted love and joy. It is wonderful Carlisle I am so happy for you for you both."
I grinned at carlisle. "Jaspers right I could see that place in you mind too"
"You could?!"
"Yes it was this dark place I couldn't read into And it looked like it was eating at you, it was always there and over the years it grew I often wondered but I but I never figured out what it was it disappeared the instant you released you feelings for me. It's totally gone now.
Carlisle grinned the biggest grin yet
"yes it is, and all because of you my love" he turned me round in his arms leaned in and kissed me soundly.
Jaspers thoughts turned concerned, something had occurred to him. I broke away from carlisle and looked at him.
"I'm guessing by the fact that you aren't afraid to sit here kissing that you have told Bella and Esme.?"
"Yes we have"
"How did they take it?"
I twisted round to look at Jasper, properly Carlisle didn't remove his arms from around me so that now he was sitting leaning against the back corner of the sofa and I was next to him leaning against his chest. I placed my hands on top of his which were wrapped around my waist.
"Bella took it roughly ran out but it went better that I expected, i think she realised there was someone else but i didn't get chance to tell her outright or to mention who it was. As soon as I told her the wedding was off she just walked out, no shouting or crying".
Jasper looked surprised he turned to Carlisle "and Esme?"
"Esme took it astoundingly well" smiled Carlisle. She's currently upstairs swapping rooms with Edward, her own suggestion" he added when Jasper looked astounded. "To be honest her reaction has quite confused me"

"Perhaps I owe you all an explanation" Esme said as she bounced down the stairs and sat in the armchair. She wasn't at all bothered by the way Carlisle and I were cuddled up Together.
We all turned to her.
"That would be nice" said Carlisle.
"I reacted well to the news that you want to be with Edward because I have been waiting for i" she said simply ". I have always know that you love Edward and I knew that one day something would bring the two of you together. I am nothing but pleased that the day has finally come and you can both be happy. " we all stared at her gobsmacked.
"I think you should explain that a little further" Carlisle managed to choke out through his shock
Esme looked at Carlisle and directed her explanation to him.
"Ok well you know your theory that vampires bring their strongest human traits though to this life and intensified and that some are intensified to the point of being supernatural gifts. and you think that it was my compassion that was brought through and intensified"
"Yes" Carlisle prompted.
"Well your right in a way but what you don't know is that When i was turned i gained a gift. Its Similar to Jasper's but much more specific. I can sense love, only love no other emotion But I can sense everything to do with it. It's presence it's Intensity and it's focus, and a persons reaction to the love that they feel, I knew you loved Edward as soon as I got a grasp on my gift and I also knew that you had no intention of acknowledging or admitting it. You fell in love with me too to a lesser degree and i reciprocated, also I wanted to be a part of your family so I accepted you as a mate. I knew you were settling but that was ok. soon i noticed Edward begin to see you in the capacity of a mate and when he did I could feel him fell in love with you. However he didn't realise it himself.
I have always known that loving him and hiding it prevented you from being fully happy. I hoped that one day you would both recognise your feelings and become mates. The years passed though and neither of you showed signs of admitting or recognising your feelings and I grew concerned. I wanted you both to be happy. Yet I had no intention of interfering it wasn't my place. Also knew that the last thing you wanted was for anyone to know how you felt so I never said anything and I hid my gift from Edward and later from jasper. Then Edward met Bella and he fell in love, he loved her deeply but I could tell he too was settling even if he couldn't. As they became more serious you grew sad, as much as you tried to hide it I knew you well enough by then to be able to tell. They got engaged and you grew sadder still. I decided that enough was enough. You were never going to acknowledge your feelings by yourself it was time to act. I knew that if I could get Edward to recognise his feelings it would likely set of a chain reaction which would result in you admitting yours. So I broke your biggest unwritten rule. I knew that you avoided kissing me where Edward might see and I knew why. I also knew that the best way to get Edward to realise his feelings was to make him see you in a romantic position and give him a shock i knew the shock would unsettle him and allow seeing us together to make him jealous, then he would be forced to consider why, which would result in him realising his feelings. So I waited till Edward was on the way home from hunting and I kissed you in full view. It worked exactly as I had hoped. All I had to do then was wait for you to come and tell me. Once I saw you follow Edward to the Forrest I knew it wouldn't be long. "
Esme finished her speech and sat back A cat like grin on her face. We all sat there in shocked silence at the revelation,
"Crickey Esme your sneaker that me" Alice was the one to break the silence
"I cant believe You planned all this!" I said incredulously"
"We'll I sure didn't see that coming" said jasper
"That is one hell of a conspiracy" Carlisle added
"We'll I had to do something I couldn't let two of my boys carry on unhappy, you needed to realise you were meant for each other and you sure as he'll weren't going to do it for yourselves" esme smiled.
"I think on some level I should be annoyed but I'm not." said carlisle "Thank you for leading to my true mate"
"Yes thank you esme" I added "you truly are a selfless creature"
"Thanks" she smiled shyly.
We sat there for a moment then jasper spoke.
"I have a feeling we may have got off topic. Edward why did you ask Alice to bring me home ahead of emmet and rosalie?"
"Because I have no idea how they will react and I would like you to keep an eye on their mood while we tell them"
"You've already told us bro" came a voice from the kitchen doorway. We all spun round and there stood emmet and rosalie. None of us had heard them come in.
"How long Have you two been standing there" I asked
"Since esme came downstairs" rosalie replied "we've heard everything. We didn't know that we were supposed to wait so we followed Alice and jasper home, when we came in we realised we were isn't erupting something but were intrigued by what was going on so we sorta eavesdropped" rosalie said looking at the floor.
Saves us explaining it all all over again I guess." I smiled.
"Are you ok with this" Carlisle asked warily
"Ok?" Emmet boomed. "I haven't l seen the pair of you so happy since well ever and seeing as esme orchestrated the whole shebang she's clearly fine with it. What is there to not be ok with." He pulled Carlisle and I to our feet and hugged us both forcefully. When he released us we remained standing. Carlisle wrapped his arm round my waist and i leaned my head on his shoulder. Rosalie still hadn't left the doorway. Carlisle noticed and turned to her.
"Rose are you ok"
"Yeah just trying to wrap my head round all this. She said slowly. I never would have imagined the two of you as a couple" she paused and cocked her head sideways "but looking at the pair of you together like that you totally fit, I can't believe I missed it all these years, your perfect together" she grinned. " congratulations".
"One thing tho guys" she said with a sky smile on her fave
"Yeas" Carlisle said carefully
"When u guys get married. " she turned to Alice " the will eventually won't they?"
Alice's face went blank for a second "yup definitely can't see when tho" she replied grinning
Rosalie turned back to us "when you guys get married you'd better let Alice Esme and I plan the whole thing"
Carlisle and I laughed. I looked at Carlisle for a second. I didn't need to read his mind to know what he was thinking, I turned back to rosalie "Of course Rose how Could we have it any other way. I paused then grinned cheekily
" You three would slaughter is if we tried."
We all laughed. Rosalie came over and hugged us both. We all sat down. Alice Carlisle and I on the sofa. Alice insisted on sitting between Carlisle and I one arm round each of our shoulders.

Where do you think Bella went.?" Emmet mused from one of the armchairs. .
"I hope she is alright" Esme worried
"I can't see her" Alice said
"We'll then I guess that answers the where she went question." I observed "If Alice can't see her then she must have gone to Jacob."
"That's not so good" Carlisle said
"Why" rosalie asked
I answered before Carlisle could.
"Jacob doesn't have the best of tempers. I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with a wolf bursting through the door any minute"

"Actually I asked Sam to forbid him from attacking any of you"
spoke a voice from the open front doorway. We all looked round. Bella stood there looking very controlled but her eyes were bright red. She had obviously been crying. Behind her stood Jacob a murderous expression on his face but he was totally in control of himself.
"You came back" I said in disbelief
"Not for long. I came back for my things and for information then Jacob and I are going to Denali." She spoke sharply clearly angry with me.
"Ok I said. You can have as much information as you like. And I'm glad your going to Denali. Tanya's family are wonderful people."
She came in and sat in the last free chair. Jacob stood protectively behind her.
"May I ask what your plan is" queried Carlisle
"Of course Carlisle your not the one I'm mad at" Carlisle looked guilty but Bella didn't seem to notice, she addressed Carlisle.
"I still feel I belong in this world and I can't ignore the threat the Voltori pose, so for both those reasons I still intend to become a vampire. Tanya and I are going to discuss changing me. I also don't intend going off on my own. I want to be with people who I can trust and who know everything and who I can coexist with as a vampire. Two families fit that bill yours and Tanya's. I'm sure you understand that I don't feel able to be around Edward right now so I am going to stay with Tanya's family for the time being. Jacob is coming because I need his friendship and company right now. "
"You seem to have a very well thought out and carefully considered plan Bella. I'm proud of you, You will be happy in Denali I am sure. I hope one day you may consider rejoining us though you will always be welcome?"
"Perhaps one day Carlisle. But I don't know when"
She looked at me. I was suddenly conscious of Alice's arm around my shoulder worried that Bella would make assumptions but Bella knew Alice and Alice still had her other arm around Carlisle so i stopped worrying.
"I need information Edward."
"That's fair enough what do you want to know"
"Your in love with someone else aren't you"
"Yes"
"How long"
"I haven't been cheating on you if that's what you mean I would never do that"
"I know, I'm guessing you decided you wanted to be with them shortly before you told me it was over"
"Yes"
"So how long have you loved them"
"How long have I loved them or how long have I known that I loved them"
"There's a difference?"
"Yes"
"Ok both"
"I have loved them for many decades. I only realised it today though"
"Oh. So you found out pretty quick that they reciprocated"
"Yes. I hadn't meant to tell them but they overheard me talking to myself about it"
"Ok fair enough" she paused seemingly deciding which question to ask next
"Human or vampire "
"Vampire"
"Male or female"
"Male"
"How long has he loved you"
"Many decades"
"Did he know all that time"
"Yes but decided at the beginning to hide it permanently he only revealed it because he overheard me talking to myself about my feelings for him"
"Did he have a mate"
"Yes"
"Male or female"
"Female"
"Has he told her"
"Yes"
"How does she feel about it"
esme interrupted the quick fire questions.
"Bella may I answer that question I know her better that Edward does"
"Of course esme"
"Well. She understands that he and Edward are true mates, she has always know that they should be together but was unwilling to interfere with his decision to not make a move she has been waiting a very long time to see him truly happy and although she loves him she wants what is best for him and is very happy for them both"
"How has she always knows" this question was directed at Esme.
"She possesses a gift enabling her to sense the presence intensity and focus of love, and she can identify wether a mated pair are true mates"
Bella looked at esme strangely for a second I was concerned that esme might have given away that it was Carlisle prematurely. But then I remembered that bella believed that esme had no gift. I was expecting her to have asked who it was sooner but Bella clearly wanted all the information she sought before knowing who it was. I assumed that it was so she wouldn't make assumptions based on who it was. A very sensible thing to do I thought. then Bella's expression changed and i was further reassured That she still had no clue. It occurred to me that she must think Carlisle so unlikely that the possibility of it being him hadn't occurred to her
"That's extremely big of her" was her only comment.
She looked at me, really looked at me for over a minute.
"There is something different about you Edward, you look content, truly content. I've never seen you like this. If this woman can accept things so readily then so can I. It must have been hard for you to tell me knowing how i reacted before, I've only been thinking of myself not about you. I am happy for you Edward."
And she looked it. She was still sad but she was no longer angry. she had accepted things as totally as esme had. I just hoped that wouldn't change once she found out who it was.
"And Bella" esme added "there is someone out there who is your true mate too. You will find them don't worry"
"Yes I'm sure your right" she looked slightly comforted
"Right" she looked at me "final question Edward, I want to I know who he is"
"Have you anyone in mind" I couldn't help but ask
"Honestly Edward I have no clue"
Alice got up and flitted over to jasper, imperceptibly fast to Bella's eyes Carlisle and I shifted to fill the gap so that we were sitting close together. I looked at Bella she hadn't noticed.
I looked at Carlisle, for some reason I was scared to tell her. He could read the fear in my eyes
It had been a minute since Bella has spoken
"Edward. Please tell me"
/would you like me to tell her love/ I nodded nearly imperceptibly.
Carlisle looked at bella
"it's me bella. i am Edward's true mate"
he couldn't help smiling as he said it. And hearing it from him his voice both sure and serene I couldn't help but smile too. He put his arm round my waist and I leant against him. Bella was clearly shocked
"Carlisle?!" she stuttered to me. She was clearly shocked beyond belief But then she looked at us, really looked at us. And her expression went from flabbergasted disbelief to recognition to understanding and settled on pleased.
"Yes I can see it now. You two fit. You look like you belong together. congratulations"
"Thank you" I replied.
"Yes thank you for your understanding Bella" Carlisle added
/I hate to admit it especially as this has hurt Bella but they do look right together/
I looked up at Jacob shocked.
"Crap I forgot you could read minds for a second there"
I smiled at him.
"What did he think " Carlisle asked.
"He thinks we look right together."
"We'll we seem to have got universal acceptance "
"Indeed we do. I love you"
"And I love you"

"Bella times getting on we had better hit the road if we are doing to make it to Denali for morning". Jacob said clearly trying to distract her from our display of affection.
"Yes your right Jacob. You go get the car started and i will be out in a moment" Esme stood and speed upstairs. Coming down seconds llater with two huge boxes. "This is all your stuff bella. I've been packing up Edwards room because he is giving it to mee and I got ur stuff ready incase you came wanting it."
"Thanks Esme"
"Your welcome I will put it in your boot" she quizzed out the door
We all stood to wish her goodbye. She came up to Carlisle and I and hugged us both.
"I really do understand and I really am happy for you. I don't think I will be away long after all but I do have to go for now"
She turned and left the house. We heard the car doors shut and the car pull away.

"We'll that went about a hundred times better than I expected" Carlisle said with a grin
"It certainly did" agreed Alice.
"I'm going to get back to rearranging the bedrooms." Esme said as she shot back upstairs
"Rearranging the bedrooms" rosalie asked.
"I'll explain" said Alice grabbing Rosalie's hand "lets go help" they followed Esme.
"Chess?" Jasper asked emmet
"certainly" he replied.
They headed into the den.
Carlisle looked at me
"Care for a swim in the river"
"I'd love to" i replied
"Race you" he laughed running full pelt out the back door. I gave chase at top speed.