Chapter IV

Several Months Later...

June

"Alright close your eyes!"

"Bella, I already know which-"

"Humor me, please Edward?"

"Alright, alright fine." I chuckled and closed my eyes, smirking while Bella hummed. Sitting there quietly, I waited patiently while Bella rummaged through our picnic.

"Open your mouth."

I complied silently and waited once more. Before long, a cool fruit touched my tongue and I knew what it was immediately. I carefully took the fruit from her fingers, purposefully licking her fingers while sucking it into my mouth. I closed my lips around the fruit and began to chew, smirking once more as Bella gasped at my action. It didn't take me long to devour it however and after swallowing I simply stated, "Grapes."

"You are such a stinker for pulling that mister." I opened my eyes once I heard her admonish me and noticed her pout while her brown eyes stared up at me.

"I couldn't resist it love." I murmured, and she rolled her eyes but gave into giggling.

A few months had passed since Bella and I had landed back in time to my time period. Over the past few months, I had spent as much time as I could in having time with my wife - future wife maybe, I guess is a better term, considering in this era I was a single young teen with no love life. And yet I was blessed in having my dear Bella join me back in time, so history was changing just with that small change. After that day when we had her and her mock-up mother join us at our home, I had announced to my mother and father at dinner that night that I would like to go over to the Swanson home and officially plead with Bella's mock-up parents to let me court their daughter. My mother was tickled pink, giddy as she beamed at me. My father looked shocked at hearing this bit of news and immediately opened with apprehension. He had only heard less than two days ago that I had met this girl, and already here I was proclaiming I wanted to be with her. I knew he was concerned I was only infatuated, seeing that this relationship could hold no weight to itself in the long run. But I pleaded my case with my mother's support, claiming that while I had very little time in actually knowing Bella beyond our two encounters, there was a fast connection that I felt with her as if I had known her for years. (Which in of itself, was not far off base considering our situation, but that wasn't something I could exactly explain to my parents.) It took some time but eventually, my father agreed to support me and then claimed in a few days time when he didn't have to work that all three of us would go to the Swanson home and officially bring forth my request.

I waited on pins and needles for days whilst I had done what I could to leave my home and try to find time in meeting with Bella outside of my home. It was hard to coordinate any meetings with my wife since we had no technology other than the slow mail system of this era. No cellphones, no emails, and of course the fact I was no longer a vampire so I couldn't simply run over to her home to meet with her, it was becoming a struggle of great proportions as I tried to come up with plausible reasons of simply popping over to the Swanson household every other day to meet with her. I couldn't go a day not seeing her, and I knew that Renee was not clueless to my feelings for Bella with how often I'd come by in that week, but she thankfully didn't fight me and let me spend time with Bella albeit under her hawk watch of chaperoning. So most days of that week if I left my home, Bella and I would be in her home's parlor with Renee close by, where Renee and her would busy themselves to homemaker activities and I took to chatting with them casually here and there. Once I'd leave each day - with a kiss to Bella's hand that left her smiling and blushing -, I'd return home and would be just as bad as my wife with my cheeks aflame as my mother would ask how Bella was as soon as I'd come through the door. Beyond that, I did what I could to pass time in my estate with either reading, composing music and playing it on my piano, or doing anything to help my mother out around the home.

Finally at the end of that week, the three of us had dressed up in our best clothing and had made our trek to the Swanson home. We took an old-fashioned car of that era that my father owned and cruised down the old streets of Chicago which I took to just taking in the sights of my old home town. It was almost refreshing still each day that I got to relive this time. Much of my time as a youthful human had faded more and more from my memories when I had been changed into a vampire and time wore on. So I didn't really remember what Chicago had looked like in this era, or the sights, the sounds, the smells, the people I had came across over time as none of it had a lasting impact on me. All that truly ever stayed with me before, was my mother, what little time I had with her, my desires to join the army to fight in the war, and then the sudden spread of the Influenza that overtook our city and killed off my family just as I had landed in the lap of Carlisle. I still wondered about that detail, praying that it wouldn't change since Bella and I had been brought back in time - I was concerned that something would change in this timeline and he'd potentially not come to Chicago. But granted, he was a man of science and medicine in his good faith and whilst he'd be alone at this point, the call of wanting to help those in need would outweigh anything that could take him away from this state. I however wished he had come sooner as I was still completely and utterly lost without him in this jarring time being human again; of course I doubt I could immediately open with telling him every little detail that would be our future family and expect him not to look at me like a lunatic, should I come across him prior to him finding me on my deathbed once more. Still, I had turned to him many times in the past for his wisdom should I be lost and needed guidance. And that was something I wish I could have again at this moment.

Once we had arrived at the Swanson home that day, I had dropped any thoughts about my future adoptive father and focused back on the present matter at hand - approaching Bella's mock-up parents with a plea for courtship. My parents had walked with me to the door and once Charles answered, he gave us a confused furrowed look. My father had greeted him and asked if it wasn't too much of a burden to ask if all of us could convene within his home regarding a serious matter. Charles still looked leery to this, but agreed after a few moments and let us come inside. He especially hardened his eyes once I had walked past him, to which my heart sped up and I bowed my head just a tad in submission. He guided us to a nearby den and amended that he'd go find his wife and daughter before he left us. It took a few minutes before the Swanson clan rejoined us and sat opposite to us on another couch. I caught Bella's eye while she sat and she naturally blushed at me. There, Charles questioned out loud as to what this was about, hoping it was not bad news. My father reassured him that it wasn't and then explained that it'd be best if I were to take over and explain my self, which he gave me a pointed look.

I took a few deep breaths and nodded before I began to pour my heart out to Charles and Renee about my feelings for Bella and wishing to court their daughter. Charles naturally reacted sour, his bushy brows furrowing and eyes narrowing while I spoke. Renee reacted much like my mother albeit a bit more outwardly as she clapped her hands excitedly and squealed surprisingly, crying out in gleeful shock. It took a hot a minute before Charles had begun his stern lecture with me.

"Now you listen here young man - I have no doubt you are nothing but a wonderfully bright, and kind gentleman but I must question this plea. You have not known my daughter for very long and are already professing your desires to be with her. I am her father and sole protector of her mind and feelings, and I do not wish to see her hurt much less thrown to the wayside should this go awry. How can I trust you to not do such a thing to her? And what about your future together? How can I know that you'd even remotely be able to provide for her?"

I reiterated my feelings in true to Charles, claiming that I felt like Bella and I had known each other for years and knew each other very well, well beyond a few days. I explained that it had felt like our feelings went deeper than surface infatuation and desired to be with her, protect her, cherish her and worship her. Renee had cut in and gushed that she found this all simply romantic and adored our budding relationship, arguing with her husband that it was love at first sight for the two of us to which was something so simple to understand and that it wasn't anything that should be questioned. This caused Charles to become flustered at his wife's arguments, yet he wasn't easily deterred and repeated himself on his question of how would I even be able to provide for Bella. That is where my father had cut in, saying he might've found a solution for that. I turned to him just as he said that he could provide me a job at the local attorney's office as a clerk which I could at least work my way up the ladder to whatever point that top would be - but not be on the same level as lawyer of course since I wasn't going to school to get a degree as a lawyer. I wanted to cringe at the offer considering being a clerk in this era in a lawyer's office was basically an errand boy and the pay was rather abysmal by modern standards one way or another. However it was a free offer of a career that was better than nothing - or worse, the only other choice I had if I wasn't going to be going to school, which was working in a factory. My mother openly pouted upon hearing this offer from my father. I had briefly recalled that in this time frame, I had taken a pause in my studies with schooling since I had my fantasies of drafting in the war and chose to stick with that versus trying to focus on my studies. And I knew she'd like to push for me to go back to school - yet if I were to take that route for her, I'd be away from Bella more and more during this time. I couldn't live with that option.

And so once my father had offered that position, I nodded to him and gave him my verbal agreement that I'd take the offer. Thus once I looked back towards Charles, his lips were pursed when he watched this brief agreement between us. My father argued for my case in saying now that I had a career behind my name, I'd be working on making and saving money for myself and for Bella which would lead to her being secure. It was also a reminder that at least between our two families should we have this arrangement approved and it leads into a marriage in this time period, we'd be merging two financially healthy families that'd still leave Bella and I secure enough in our lifestyle.

It took some time but eventually, Charles begrudgingly agreed to the courtship. Renee and my mother cheered audibly to hearing the acceptance, whereas a smile stretched across my face. My father also happily celebrated to the news, of course in a more reserved manner. Us men stood and came over to where I firmly shook hands with Charles. I glanced over towards Bella whose beaming, pink face smiled back at me whilst she was whisked away by our mothers to the kitchen to whip up a celebratory lunch.

Since then for the past few months time seemed to have passed by in a blur. Within the following week after I had won the approval of a courtship for Bella's hand, my father put his promise to good use and got me hired as a clerk at his law firm. We'd ride together throughout the week to his firm, and he along with several other lawyers in the office would task me with classic clerk tasks day in and day out: running papers back and forth between lawyers, running letters to the nearby post office, grabbing lunches and coffees, cleaning offices, organizing and reorganizing files - everything you could name as a task for a clerk, I'd be set about doing it. I pushed through it and made sure I got through each task dutifully yet meticulously, trying to prove I'd be a hard worker and hope that could at least either land me better pay or up the ladder that I could only climb to get out of clerical duties. This sadly left only little time I could have with Bella to the weekends of whatever times my mother could schedule with Renee for chaperoning events while I took to courting Bella. We'd spend time together with our mothers but could at least sit together, hold hands, I could kiss her cheek, and show to Renee that I'd treat Bella like the princess that she is.

Over time as I worked and saved money, while meeting with Bella whenever I could, I'd send letters to her and we'd correspond on and off throughout the week by mail as it was the only way we could communicate since I was busy with work to prove myself to her parents and to my father that I'd take this seriously if it meant I could have Bella's hand in marriage in this era. The thought excited me all over again at the prospect that I could marry Bella a second time in my lifetime, but this time we'd both be human and I could see her in a wedding dress in this era, seeing her walk down the aisle once again. I had expressed as much to her once when our mothers had left us alone in my home's parlor for a bit, to attend to the cooking in the kitchen. (I feel like this was a subtle way of them of allowing us unmonitored and unsupervised alone time that would other be taboo in this era. But whether that was just their undying trust in my gentleman ways, or the fact they adored us young teens in love and wanted us to explore that, I wasn't about to complain.) Bella had brightened considerably once I had divulged this to her, and groaned quietly when I bent down and kissed her tenderly, using up this free time to indulge in stealing her lips with a kiss. But once we had come up for air, she expressed her own giddiness at the thought of marrying me once more, even if she was also nervous. She wasn't nearly as unsure about the idea of a marriage like she had been before back in our time - namely because she didn't have the 'failing example' of divorced parents to scare her. She had gotten a taste of forever with me before, and now she was looking forward to it again. Before we could talk further however, our mothers had returned.

And so that's how it went for several months from March to our time now, in June. I'd go to work most days, busying and proving myself to my father and the others at the firm that I was a dedicated, hard working clerk. I'd write to Bella and we'd communicate throughout the week with our correspondence, pining over one another and chatting about what all we were doing in our down time - be it after work I'd express to her my reading material or composing music, while she'd detail to me discussing what new homemaking activity she'd be thrusted into with her mother. She claimed that Renee was speedily getting her through these lessons to prepare her as a wife for me, which led into such discussions that I couldn't wait to come home from work to her meals and love. And then on the weekends would be either supervised dates with Bella - either having my mother, our mothers, or one set of our parents joining us. It varied often between dates at either of our estates, out and about at the park or around Chicago, or even planned dinners at our homes.

Each time however when we'd be able to see each other, I took this time to discover human past times with my wife. If we were out and about, we'd explore Chicago in the Victorian age it was set in, taking in the sights of the old buildings and the active streets of its residents. Or we'd wander towards stalls outside of stores and see what they had on offer; be it flowers or food, we'd experience it together. Bella adored watching me take in the smells of any food that vendors would procure and put out to entice shoppers, or watch in awe as I took in the sight and smell of flowers from florists. I'd even buy some flowers for her to which caused her to blush deeply - and of course whichever chaperone would be with us, be it my mother with Bella's mother, that also won me brownie points suffice to say as they'd squeal at the sight of us. Other times if we spent time out with picnics, Bella would feed me fruits, sandwiches or any bit of food she had took time in packing - per her mother's orders that she'd bring the food rather than the other way around -, and she'd watch me with rapt attention as I ate. Bella was fascinated watching me adjust in being a human again. She only ever knew me as a vampire in our time we had been together, and of course she was a vampire herself even if it was brief before she was whisked away to this time period with me. Still she adored watching me eat, watching me drink, walk like a human, breathe and sweat like a human, play and exercise as a human, get tired and sore as a human - she just loved seeing me as a human. A small part of me wondered if perhaps she preferred me as a human as opposed to being a vampire. Would she be disappointed if we find a way back to our time and become vampires again to where she'd wish we could remain humans together and share our lives together as mortals? I made a note to myself that at some point I'll have to ask her this - but for now I focused on the now with her.

Even better is if I had any luck in having some time with just her and out of sight from our chaperones, where I could experience more human emotions - like our love and lust that was still present as 'husband and wife' to which I could freely kiss her. Sure I had gotten a taste of it myself as well when she was a vampire along with me, and I'll say I loved to be able to kiss her without any concerns back then. I had to be extremely careful with my physical affections for my Bella back when she was a human and I was the only dangerous creature in the room with her. She was always easily turned on by my presence back then, where a single touch would light her nerves on fire and she'd be ready to throw caution to the wind if it meant she could get more than just a hard-pressed kiss from me. But I had to practice strong restraint anytime we'd have our moments before, make sure I wouldn't lose control as I feared hurting her. One poorly time kiss and a single ounce of control that'd slip, I feared I'd let the beast run loose which could risk me hurting her, biting her, draining her of her blood. My carnal lust for Bella in the past mixed with the vampire blood lust that came alive whenever we'd kiss, as her blood did sing for me. She was my singer from the start. After our separation from her dreadful eighteenth birthday and our joyous reunion her blood no longer called to me in that way, but more than anything I craved her. So the control loosened once we got back together even though I still held back as much as she wanted me - all of me. Thus I had proposed our arrangement back then that if she wanted me and wanted eternity, she needed to marry me first. Of course I had to agree to her stipulation as well, considering she wanted our first night together when she was still human - a honeymoon with a human and a vampire, I thought it'd go to absolute hell but regardless I promised her that we could try but I couldn't guarantee anything.

Our honeymoon, save for the disaster that was the first night, slowly progressed into utter bliss. Don't get me wrong as much as I beat myself up still for that first night, it was the best night of my existence to be able to finally be with her in our marital bed. And once I had let go of my fears, Bella and I connected deeper with one another. I felt like I was flying each time I was with my wife. It was a wonderful honeymoon and it did lead to our gift, our daughter. I wouldn't take it back for anything else in the world.

But now here we were in unchartered territory - we were both on the same playing field now. Humans together. I never could've prepared myself even after all of these years to be readjusting to human life. Previously as a vampire while I could only vaguely remember my time as a human, most of my past had been fuzzy and I had long since lost all sense of it while my identity had molded permanently into only knowing how to be a vampire. So being thrusted into being a human again as suddenly as I was, it's taking time to getting used to it. Eating and drinking has become easier over time, as is with catching up on sleeping, on relearning how to walk and move as a human, breathing and adjusting to the level that was human emotions - it was slowly coming back to me. But what was still jarring to relearn was everything related to how I felt about my wife - the hormonal emotions that a boy could experience when he was with a lady. It was definitely something that took finesse to adjust to. So in these private times, more often than not Bella and I would test ourselves and see just if it was any different being together as humans versus how it had always been like.

I loved being able to kiss Bella when I could sneak us away for these moments. Most of the time all that we could express to one another in terms of affection of love would be simple kisses on the back of her hands, or pecks to the cheeks. Anything beyond that would be extremely taboo in society's eyes - until you hit the altar to which you could finally kiss your beloved. High society, Victorian standards, whatever you'd want to blame it on, it was sadly something that was the accepted norm and no one dared to question it unless you enjoyed being ostracized. So that required some tactful time like this, hidden away from our chaperones, to where I could openly kiss my love like I wanted to. Bella was adjusting to this experience as much as I was, gasping and shivering each time our lips would collide into a heavy kiss. It'd start out as tender before suddenly she'd boldly peak her little tongue out and lick my lower lip, which would cause me to groan in unadulterated lust and I'd immediately open for her, for our tongues to dance while our breathing would become pants, quiet moans and groans, and she'd hum happily while I'd pull her closer to me so I could feel her body with mine. No longer would it be marble on soft flesh, but instead it'd be hot flesh against hot flesh, squishy and soft. However there were two downsides to this - at least from what I could see and experienced so far. For one, breathing was a hinderance. As a vampire, I didn't have to continuously breathe, rely on lungs and air to get by. And when Bella and I had been able to kiss as vampires, well we never had a true need to stop kissing like needing to take a minute to breathe. Sure us vampires would breathe here and there just to be comfortable but we didn't need it nearly as much as humans did. But now that we were both humans again, I couldn't kiss Bella for as long as I wanted to until my lungs would be screaming at me and I'd start to feel light headed. Once we'd pull away we'd both be gasping for air, taking awhile to catch it before we'd be back to normal.

The other downside is that as soon as we'd start kissing, my emotions would ramp up and I wanted more from her. The repressed emotions as a human boy trapped in the Victorian era was the worst; anything that was close to arousal was, of course much like kissing before marriage, strictly off limits and taboo. It was heavily frowned upon to celebrate sexuality, to give into those feelings of lust and desire for your partner. Not even within the bedroom, since marital duties like sex was reserved only for reproduction; forget trying to make each other feel good and ensure that the two of you enjoyed the act, a man and woman were only together in bed for the reason solely of creating offspring. I had to be reminded much of these feelings thanks to my human father even coming up to me and giving me the dreaded 'talk' yet drilled it into my head that I was to save myself until after marriage should Bella and I last (and of course we would), but once our first night as husband and wife would come I had to simply take my wife and she was supposed to lay there. Afterwards when we'd be ready to begin a family, Bella had to continue being stiff as a board while I would try to impregnate her - and sadly that was on par for the course of how relationships were in this time. But no, here I was a sexually wound up teenage boy with his lover - his future wife mind you who's had a taste of what's on the other side - and whilst kissing her, my hormones would run amuck and I wanted to forget about the norms that were in place, and take my wife like I wanted to. I had daydreams about it whenever I'd be with her, kissing her or spending time with her - and it was no better when I was by myself at night longing for her touch. I'll admit that I had to push past my awkwardness with my own body, and even gave into the acts of pleasuring myself considering the problem could only be quelled so much with me imagining gross imagery to rid myself of the arousal. It was horribly mortifying the first few times around as I felt like I'd release myself much too quickly - and almost had screamed out my wife's name in the dead of the night, embarrassingly so. Over these past few months I felt like with more practice - and feeling like an insatiable debauchee - I could say that I'd gain control of myself and how quickly I'd give into my sexual urges, give into my orgasms I guess you could say. Just rethinking about this was not helping my cause in trying to control myself around my wife. Bella would be blushing and giggling like mad in seeing how worked I'd get from her, but she admitted to me in hushed tones once, that I did the same for her and it was incredibly unfair that she couldn't exactly have the same plumbing as I do (her words not mine) that'd make it easier for her to satisfy herself like she wanted to. That only just further spurred on my arousal for the woman and she knew what she was doing.

Focusing back to the present, I shifted and grabbed some fruit from behind Bella, leaning impossibly close to her yet reserving a small breath of space between us. Bella sat there, eyes captured on my closeness yet her brown eyes remained locked on my face. She looked gorgeous as ever in her attire today - a pastel blue day dress that was short sleeved and fitted into an empire waist, made of a breathable cotton material to combat against the humid heat that Chicago was providing this early summer. She had on white cotton clothes, with the dress going down to her ankles before it gave way to white and black oxford shoes, her skin covered with light stocking. Her brown hair was curled and half pinned up, while her makeup was kept light. Meanwhile I was dressed in a light blue button down, the sleeves rolled up. I had a brown suit that wasn't too heavy so I wasn't dying in this heat, and for now I took the jacket off while my brown pants at least still worked with this blue top. I still believe Alice would have a conniption if she saw my fashion sense these days. On my feet were dark brown loafers, and while I did have a newsboy cap, I had it off and set to the side on our picnic blanket. Bella wanted it off because at times she'd reach up to run her fingers through my hair. After leaning forward I had grabbed a slice of apple from our basket and kept it in my hand while murmuring to Bella, "Close your eyes love and open your mouth."

Bella's signature blush came to her creamy cheeks, even enhancing the color that was already on her cheeks, yet she complied and closed her eyes. Her pert little pink mouth opened up and she sat there waiting eagerly for what I would feed her. I gulped, feeling my trousers - that which had already pitched a tent, so to speak - seemingly hardened even more than I thought was possible, whilst raising the slice to her mouth. I set it in her mouth yet didn't let go for her to take it into her mouth; instead I leaned forward towards her and grabbed the other end with my teeth. Bella suddenly felt my body and my face closer to hers and she gave a little gasp, yet remained still. Once I had the piece secure and lowered my hand, I leaned forward which pushed the slice further into her mouth. Finally Bella realized what I was doing and engaged, grabbing onto what she could of the apple slice and began to snap her teeth into it, which was enough for me to let it go into her mouth and I kissed her mouth, my tongue slipping into her mouth.

Bella hummed and moved the slice to the side of her mouth while she lost herself in our kiss, her small hands reaching up to place them onto my shoulders. I moved my arms on either side of her waist and had moved to be about halfway on top of her, where I let one hand slip behind her and rest on her lower back. I kept her steadied as I had pushed her body into a half up, half down position, but in doing so with my hand on her back I had also pushed her closer into my body. I groaned quietly as I felt her curves while being pressed into my chest, as feeling her held so tightly against me had me wishing that we didn't have this many barriers of clothing separating us. My raging hormones began to flare up as I kissed her, happily taking in her scent as I kissed her lips hungrily. They tasted sweet from the apple, but of course her normal 'Bella sweetness' amplified the taste of the apple. I was addicted to her, to the kiss - everything that was my wife, I couldn't get enough of.

We kissed heavily for a few more minutes but the pesky need to breathe reared its ugly head for us, to which soon we ripped away from one another, gasping and breathing noisily. I rested my forehead against hers as she rapidly sucked in air. "Apple..." she began quietly, cheeks flaming red. After a couple breaths, she tried again. "Apple is good."

I gave a short chuckle at her answer and opened my eyes to stare into her big brown eyes, darkened by her lust.

"I love you."

"As I love you." she breathed, smiling.

I released her and looked out in front of us. The sun was high still in the sky, the air warm and thick with humidity that was the summery air of June. It was surprising to feel this much heat here in Chicago in this era; it was nothing like modern times with the heat due to the industrialization that was a city. Early 1900s Chicago didn't have that issue as the place was still in its infancy of building the cities from the ground up, but still, this city held a certain thickness of heat that would at least make you start to feel a sweat buildup if you sat outside for far too long. We had managed to walk a bit away into the local park and found a secluded spot away from other park-goers, where we put our pinic underneath a tree the provided enough shade for us. Our mothers who were our chaperones for this trip, were somewhere else in the park likely chatting away on a park bench. I knew we had limited time for our pinic left since we had already been here for about half an hour, and the normal allotment of time that Bella's mock-up mother would allow for our solitude would be at least an hour. My mother was my greatest ally for this time, as she did her best always to convince Bella's mother that I'd be the most respectful gentleman in protecting Bella's reputation and would never do anything sully it; but of course my mother had to reason with the fact that only a certain amount of time could be spared for me to have my privacy with Bella before Renee had to let her usual protective and strict nature win over, where soon we'd have to go back to being under their watchful eyes. Little did she know that honestly my resolve for keeping up with my manners for my wife, is crumbling each minute I spend with her.

"Our alone time is close to being over." I murmured to Bella as she shifted in her position beside me; she was reaching over for the glass bottle that had some homemade tea inside of it. Bella turned to gaze up at me, her lips set into a frown. "You know we can't always have our alone time as long as you'd like, love." I reminded her, smiling sadly down at her.

"I know." Bella grumbled, her shoulders slumping. It was hard for Bella to still adjust to these societal norms still as she was too used to the modern era she was raised in. She still couldn't wrap her head around everything that was the 1900s and never once let me forget that she detested much of this time period, namely for the fashion and how women had to act. She hated her corsets she had to wear, the amount of dresses she'd be paraded around in or the heels that ached her feet. Bella also would complain to me about how she struggled in learning to sew or take on the usual homemaker lessons with her mock-up mother, where she struggled to keep up most of the time - but she was at least pleased to inform me that the more she worked at it, the better she was getting at the small tasks. The only task that she could say she truly enjoyed was relearning how to cook in this era; Bella did enjoy cooking back when she was a human when I had first met her, although she reminded me that much of her cooking boiled down to at least palatable meals for her and Charlie to enjoy so it wasn't just fish all the time or takeout. Still, I knew my Bella loved to cook - so she appreciated the challenge that was cooking in the 1900s and learning meals to cook for us in the future that was our future marriage in this Victorian time period. She was giddy at the idea that she'd be preparing meals for me when I'd be needing breakfast or lunch on my days off from work, or the dinners she'd make for us when I'd get home to be with her. The ideas indeed excited me as well, as much as I just was more so excited to come home to her - meals or not. Bella sighing brought me back to the present, and I turned to see her glancing up at me. "I wish we could have more time alone beyond these fleeting moments in our dates. I appreciate that at least your mother, if she's chaperoning us, is attempting to let us be - but you know what I mean. I'd love to have no fear of interruptions, or someone seeing us being more physical than usual as whatever's acceptable for this time period."

"I know my love." I murmured to her and reached over to grasp her left hand in mind. My fingers absentmindedly grazed over her bare ring finger, where I wished her wedding ring could be sitting. I kept my ring safe at home in a drawer where I knew I wouldn't lose it, and Bella's told me that she kept her rings - wedding ring and my mother's engagement ring that I gave her - safe and hidden in a jewelry box. She feared that her mock-up mother would stumble upon them at some point so she made sure they were kept away in a hidden compartment in her box. "At some point though this courtship will pay off and we'll be married again, then we won't have to be fearing that anymore."

"Won't we still have to be careful?" Bella muttered, her cheeks deepening in a red color. "You told me that most couples in this era, even after marriage, never really show affection in public settings and usually are still cold to one another."

"Well, yes," I began, shrugging my shoulders. I briefly recalled that much when telling her in how this society acted with partners, never showing true affections and of course bedroom intimacy was never really a thing that many people enjoyed - rather they saw to it as a duty to procreate and keep the family name going. "But you and I are different."

"So you're not worried that if we're too affectionate with one another in public, that we'll likely be ostracized?"

"I doubt we would be, but even if we are, I won't care." I murmured, leaning in closer to her. Bella's breath hitched as I drew closer to her. "You're my wife and by god I plan on letting the world know how much I adore you, love you, and I will not be ashamed of showing others just how much you mean to me." I whispered to her lovingly, looking up into her brown eyes. "You have no idea just how strong my human emotions are now as I share this time with you, Bella. I don't remember much of my past as a human beyond the fleeting memories with my mother before it goes into the weak, sick times I had lying in my bed waiting for death before Carlisle found me. Now, I feel as if I was given a second chance to experience being a human again - and it's a greater blessing to be brought back in time to share it with you. I can feel like being a young teenage boy with you, a human teenaged boy who's young and in love with an amazing woman that is my wife from another time. I only had a taste of the married life with you before we were pulled to being here. And I don't plan on squandering my chance with you as a human - I want to experience every kiss, every touch, every breath, every feeling with you while I can."

"Edward..." Bella breathed, her eyes darkening along with the color in her cheeks.

"Believe me, it's becoming harder each day as much as I wish I could just have you." I breathed, my face becoming heated as I let my imagination run wild, thinking of Bella in every manner that I wanted her in. Once again, the feeling in my trousers worsened and I tried to take a deep breath. Bella heard the intake and she leaned into me then, her hands coming up to my cheeks. "I plan on keeping your reputation in tact on the outside, but believe me when I say I wish I could lean over you, hitch your legs around my hips and grind myself into your core." I murmured huskily to her, turning my head to kiss her palm. Bella gasped as she heard me admit this out loud quietly. "You drive me wild, my love. It's jarring to experience these human hormones since all I've ever known was my vampire emotions - but I can honestly tell you I'm enjoying this, as much as it's killing me so to speak."

"Oh Edward." Bella breathed and leaned forward, capturing my lips with hers. I groaned against her mouth again, and leaned into her kiss, enjoying the taste of her little tongue that she boldly peaked out again to explore my mouth. I shifted to where I was leaning over her for the most part again, loving the power behind my stance as I held her small frame to mine, enjoying the feeling of her body mold to mine as much as she could before it'd quickly pose a risk of it being too much. I very much wished I could grab her leg like I had detailed, as I could feel my lower half ache for her and wished that we were in a secluded room with a bed, with our clothes subtracted from the equation. One hand found its way to her lower back again to support her weight, while the other arm was used to support myself over her so I wouldn't fall on top of her. I kissed her soundly as she wanted to desperately bring herself even closer to my frame, but I knew we couldn't. Besides, the need for air once again appeared and we pulled away from each other, groaning at the loss. "You drive me mad with the imagery you plant inside my head when you say stuff like that." Bella hissed to me, breathing in pants after we had stopped kissing.

"I'm sorry love." I meekly apologized, even though I didn't feel the slightest bit apologetic for it. She had to have known just how difficult it has been for me personally, as much as I wanted to give my all to her as a human - and that meant throwing out the societal standards that's placed on us, and we had to keep up this façade of being well-mannered, innocent teens who were indeed in love but had to be non-amorous with another.

"I know you're not, but you're forgiven." Bella teased, giggling through her cheeks being bright red. "But trust me, you would not believe how many times I wish you could steal me away to a hidden spot in a forest, a meadow, or just a far off place with a bed. You don't know how much I wish I could be with you, Edward." Bella whispered, her own voice husky, her eyes dark as she darted them to look down at my lower half. I moaned lowly when her tongue darted out to lick her lips.

"Stop, you minx." I growled and pulled back with my cheeks burning from the intensity of her gaze, and Bella giggled again.

"I'm not sorry, but all's fair in love and war my dear husband to be."

"You'll pay for that remark."

"I'm looking forward to the punishment." Bella whispered, once again her voice still husky with lust. I groaned and fell back, crashing to the floor below me as I let my sexually frustrated self groan and hiss with the ache that was my erection. Bella laughed loudly this time as she saw me curl away from her into a ball, where I wished my arousal would die. "Okay I'm sorry you're in agony, but trust me - the feeling is mutual."

"That does nothing to quell this problem." I grumbled to her, not appreciating the fact she put the imagery of her being just as sexually frustrated into my head. She merely giggled at the remark.

Eventually, the timer ran out for our alone time; I've gotten used to mentally timing our dates - and with that, the separate time our mothers put on us to have our time away from their watchful eyes - and knew that we'd be pushing it if we stayed away from them another minute longer. I sat up and sighed, to which Bella knew that we were pushing it on our time. "I guess I'll start packing everything up." she murmured sadly, and I glanced up to see her smiling down down at me again.

"Unfortunately yes, our time is up." I surmised, and with a nod I stood up, taking deep breaths as I tried to dispel my issue below. Bella giggled at the obvious sight, but kept her teasing to herself whilst she busied herself with packing away our snacks. Eventually when my problem had gone away, I helped her to her feet and took to rolling the blanket up while she held the basket to her hip. I then shouldered my jacket back on and slipped my cap onto my head. Ever the gentleman that I was, I took the heavy pinic basket from her hands and carried it on one hand with the blanket on top of it, while letting her wrap her hand around my other arm. Together I took to leading her away from our spot and we began to leisurely walk ourselves back to our mothers.

During this slow walk, as we tried to delay the inevitable separation, Bella took to talking once more about our unique situation. "Do you think we're going to have to relive everything again?" she wondered aloud quietly as we began our walk.

"In a sense, yes."

"Meaning, you'll have to experience being sick again."

"Yes. What is it that you're getting at?"

"Where does that leave me?"

I quickly stopped at what she had just pointed out. I will admit, I hadn't forgotten about the abnormality in our situation for these past few months; Bella was brought back in time with me during that weird encounter from our cottage that night - likely due to the fact a vampire had something to do with it and wanted to send me back in time specifically. But she was brought along, miraculously, and she was here to experience the human version of her husband as well as experience the 1900s with her albeit it briefly. But yes, that meant we'd likely be encountering the Spanish Influenza - and I had given it thought that would things change because we were brought back in time together. Would we both become sick? Would we both fall victim to the illness? Would I still meet Carlisle and would he still change me? Indeed, where would that leave Bella?

"Let's not talk about thi -"

"Edward, no." Bella growled and stopped me from attempting to start up walking again, to avoid the obvious elephant in the room. I turned to look down at her and saw her frowning up at me. "You know you can't avoid this; you've avoided talking about this with me for months, and I've let it go because honestly the thought scares me just as much as it scares you. But you have to realize we can't keep avoiding it. You have to realize there's a possibility that I'll get sick too with it - and then what will we do?"

I grunted and turned away sharply. I couldn't fathom the idea of losing Bella - not again. I already had that fear before when she was pregnant with our daughter. Each day I was on pins and needles watching her wither away while she carried her; I regret how I treated my wife, and my daughter, yet how could I react seeing the reason for my existence was slipping from my grasp and I didn't know how to stop it? She was becoming skin and bones, unable to eat or drink, losing life each day as she carried Reneesme within her. She was covered in bruises, her bones breaking as Reneesme grew and grew, before eventually coming to term. I will always remember that first look and that first hold I had of our daughter, but it was shadowed with the realization that once Reneesme was born, Bella was dying on that gurney we had installed in our home. She was slipping away from me and I had milliseconds to save her by injecting her with my venom before biting her in those additional crucial points on her wrists and ankles. I still thought I had hesitated too long and Bella had left my world, yet thankfully she had proven me wrong and fought those three days through her transformation to join me for eternity. Still, those days plagued me - and now that we were brought back in time to my time, to the time that Spanish Influenza loomed over our heads and waited to cause its deadly sweep across Chicago... I couldn't bare to think again that there was a chance of losing my wife again.

But what else could we do? I feared that her being brought back in time with me already altered our timeline; was there the risk that Carlisle wouldn't make it to Chicago? Would I inevitably die mortal to the illness, along with Bella being taken by the same cruel fate? Or would he still arrive, save me yet I would have to suffer watching Bella die and not know if I'd ever see her again in our lifetime? Would I lose my wife, my daughter and our future? Or would I alter it in begging Carlisle to turn her as well - and thus lose Reneesme? The endless possibilities of how our future could change, ate away at me. And I did what I could to keep the fears down, to keep them at bay and try to delay the chat we needed to have over the situation. But Bella tried countless times to push me to have this awful conversation.

Today was no exception that I'd try to avoid it. "Bella, please. I beg of you, I do not wish to discuss this still."

"But you know we can't keep avoiding it." Bella hissed, refusing to budge from her point.

"I can't think of losing you again!" I hissed back angrily, whipping my gaze to her. She jumped from the tone, frowning. I sighed heavily, and stepped over to stand beside her, setting the basket down. I didn't care now if people could see us, but this had to be done to comfort my worries. I wrapped my arms around her small frame and hugged her tightly in my arms, burying my face into her hair, breathing in her scent. My human nose could only detect the rose scent in her hair from when she last washed it with soap. "I had suffered before in watching you waste away before me while you carried our daughter. I felt so helpless back then and I was an utter ass in how I treated you two. But the fear I had that night when you gave birth - and I thought I had taken too long to get the venom into your system... I thought I had lost my reason for living that night." I murmured into her hair. "Thank god I had been quick enough to save you."

"Edward, I know this already." Bella whispered and I pulled back enough to gaze down at her. "But you know that it's something that we can't keep avoiding."

"How else can I respond?" I muttered back, sighing. "You're my everything, my dear. I can't lose you again. I just... I can't."

"I know, but what are we going to do?" she whispered. "I've already altered our timeline by being sent back here with you, but that won't stop the fact the Influenza is still coming. You'll get sick again, and that means so will I. You can't exactly send me away because I'll refuse to leave you - so that means I'll get sick too. What then? Are we just going to convince Carlisle to also turn me and I'll join you in being an immortal earlier than planned - but we lose our daughter in the process. Or will we have to accept the fact that I will have to die and hope that I'll be able to come back, be reborn and hope to see you again in the future?"

"Bella please." I hissed, wincing as she nonchalantly talked about this glaring issue at hand, as if she was debating on ordering either a steak or a pasta dish.

"It's the truth that we have to sort this out at some point, Edward."

"I know - but why are you bringing it up now?"

"You keep avoiding it - it's been months since we've been brought back here to Chicago, and we haven't had much time to chat over our situation. We should plan for it, decide on what to do." Bella insisted, putting her hands onto my chest to get me to focus back on looking down at her. "It's something I do not take pleasantries in discussing about my fate either, you know. I'm scared out of my mind at the notion that I might have to die..." she trailed off and I groaned in agony, hating the thought. She shivered but pressed on. "But we need to decide at some point - because it'll frankly affect everything else for our future. If we turn me at the same time you're turned again, then at least I'll be saved and with you now. But that means we'll lose Reneesme in the process, and likely the rest of our alliances with the wolves in the future. But if we decide to let me die in the Influenza outbreak, you'd have to relive your century again without me - and we have to hope that I'll be reborn in the future and we'll meet again to start everything over once more."

"And what if you lose all memories of us, of me, of everything we've been through?" I whispered, gulping down my fear.

"You'd just have to get me to fall in love with you all over again." Bella murmured, smiling slightly. "It shouldn't be too hard to get me to fall in love with you again."

"I'd be holding onto all of our memories - both now from the ones we make together as humans, and everything that we've been through together before, dying on the inside that you'd have no recollection of anything that we've shared together as a couple, as husband and wife." I muttered down to her sadly.

"But you could also take everything that we have been through previously, as a lesson. Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from yourself and go about things the right way." Bella teased lightly, which was enough to cause me to snort in disbelief.

"Only you would find the humor in this situation, of your impending death."

"I think it's better for me to die here so we can have a shot of me coming back, and we still get to have Reneesme." Bella mused, frowning at the mention of our daughter; she missed her terribly and I was in the same boat as her.

"We will see her again." I whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Please, let us cross this bridge when we're closer to it needing to be made. For now, we need to return to our mothers else they will be searching for us like bloodhounds. I do not want them catching in on our conversation, because I'm not sure how we could weasel our way out of it."

"Fine." Bella gave in, sighing. I pulled away and bent back down to grab our basket before she took to holding onto my arm once more.

"I apologize for snapping earlier."

"You're forgiven, always." Bella stated simply, waving her free hand dismissively. "I know you're affronted at the notion of me dying as much as I'm terrified. But what keeps me going is the fact that I can only hope to be reborn, that we'll meet again and I'll get to be with you once more."

"It would greatly sour everything if you were to lose all memory of me, of our lives together you know." I murmured back down to her as we began to walk again. "I would cherish the chance to redo everything with you - making you fall in love with me, that is. You're right in that I'd take everything that's happened to us before as a lesson, to not make the same mistakes again in how I treated you. But I'd mourn the loss if you'd never remember a single thing we'd been through." I explained.

"Every touch, every kiss, every whispered sentiments of love, every bit of emotions that we've been through - both as humans together, and what all we had been through previously when I met you as a vampire?" Bella questioned, looking for confirmation. I nodded my head to her solemnly and she responded in kind with a similar sad shake of her head. "I'd be upset too, my husband. But it's a potential notion that's likely to happen; we can't guarantee everything will work in our favor like it has been so far. I've been lucky to make it back here with you for now and get to experience human life with you. But there's a possibility that I will not remember you at all if I'm to die and then be reborn again in our time; I just figured it's something you should at least keep in the back of your mind."

"Of course." I grumbled, and Bella smiled sadly up at me once more as I continued to pout like a whiny child. "Please, I'd like for us to just move away from this topic. I want to focus on us, on our time together as I try to woo you into marrying me and try to win over your mock-up father Charles."

"I know" she giggled quietly, her cheeks turning pink. "You are doing a thorough job of wooing me and then some. It just is frustrating our alone time together is always cut short - it's leaving me yearning for more..."

"You minx." I growled and Bella giggled once more. She was not helping me in trying to contain once again my desires for her.

"I'm sorry."

"Forgiven, as always." I murmured, snickering.

We continued our walk back to our mother, quietly murmuring our love to one another here and there, or throwing teasing jabs at each other as we wished we could be in our modern timeline and not have to hide our public displays of affection because of the societal norms placed upon us. Bella and I were a smiling, giggling mess once we finally found our mothers; it was at least five minutes past our usually allotted time and I tried to ignore my mother's teasing glimmer in her green eyes, or the slight reproached look on Bella's mock-up mother's face. "Well I hope you two enjoyed your lovely picnic in this unbearable heat." Renee has bustled out loud once we were standing before them. She whipped out her fan and proceeded to fan herself to combat said heat. "Of all the date ideas, I had hoped this could've been an indoor date for you two with some cool tea."

"I apologize Mrs. Swanson." I murmured to her, bowing my head in slight shame. "I wanted Miss Bella to enjoy some time out with some fresh air as I know she's been working hard at home with you over her homemaker lessons that you're dutifully preparing her for. She was thrilled at the notion of us having some time out, as she also knew I needed fresh air after working in a stuffy office for months with my father and his colleagues."

"Hmm, yes." Renee tutted, but smiled. "I can't be too harsh of course as you've been treating my daughter so well, and she is indeed flourishing with her homemaker lessons, but she after all has a lovely teacher like myself."

"Rightfully so." I agreed with her to which Bella hummed beside me.

"Edward my son," I turned to gaze at my mother who began to speak. She was standing from the bench with Renee, and smiled up at me. "I was just talking with Renee about our lovely lake house up north."

"Oh?" I couldn't honestly remember if we had a lake house or not, considering once again my previous recollections of my human life with my mother were hazy to say the least. So I don't think I would ever recall such a small detail like owning a lake house.

"Yes." My mother pressed and I nodded my head along with her notion, even though internally I had no idea where she was going with this. "I was telling her how the lake-house is in a nice, quiet space for us to enjoy some time away from the city, where we're all suffering from this unbearable heat - and that it would be a treat if we could all go up there and enjoy some time away for the summer. You remember the lake that's up there, where you used to go jumping into it and have the time of your life swimming around."

"Yes, very much so." I mused, still not completely recalling any of those types of memories. What is exactly is my mother getting at still with talking about this?

"Yes indeed." My mother mused, beaming. "And Renee agreed that perhaps we all should go up there to enjoy some fresh, cool air and get away from the heat; it'd be a nice vacation for you and your father seeing as you two have been hard at work at the firm. And Renee also agreed that it'd do Charles some good to have some time away from his own work, to relax for a bit."

"Oh?" I again questioned aloud, and Bella hummed beside me once more; glancing down at her, I could see she was pulling in her bottom lip as she looked every bit as confused as I was in regards to where this conversation was going.

"Yes, yes." Renee chimed in, smiling. "Albeit we can't immediately join; Charles is wrapping up things at the office that also involves your father's work place so they would be behind a few days in joining us on the affair."

"Oh I didn't know. I guess I should've talked with my father and offered any assistance." I chimed in then, trying to make a good impression with her still that I was a hard worker, willing to jump in to help my father with his work if he needed it. I didn't want her to get the impression that I was a lazy worker else that wouldn't look well for me in how I'd work for Bella's love.

"Oh no, my son. Your father told me it was nothing that they couldn't handle, so your assistance is appreciated but your father didn't want to overload you with this task they're working on." My mother reassured me and I nodded to her. "Merely, your father did wish for you to take a break from everything considering you indeed have been working hard these past few months at his firm; he's thoroughly pleased with your conduct, and wanted me to pass along to you that he is indeed proud of your work ethic and felt as though you deserved a vacation."

"Oh, that is awfully thoughtful of father." I mused aloud, smiling at my mother.

"And I was also of the same mindset for my sweet daughter." Renee cut in then with a bright smile, gazing towards Bella.

"Oh mother you are far too kind." Bella breathed graciously, slightly dipping into a thankful curtsy.

"Nonsense my dear daughter, you've improved remarkably in these past few months with your lessons at home. You should be rewarded."

I blinked as I still tried to figure out what our two mothers were implying.

"So us adults have to decided that in order to prepare for our joint summer vacation, perhaps you and Isabella should head north to our lake-house with a couple of our servants and prepare the home for our little planned get together, my sweet son. We have faith that the two of you will be mature and hold yourselves contempt as you tidy up our lake-house for our arrival; you two can leave as early as tomorrow and make the trek up north, and in three days time, all of us adults will join you and there we can enjoy a leisurely gracious holiday together for at least week, perhaps two if time permits it." My mother announced finally, her green eyes twinkling. "Trust me it took copious amounts of discussion with Charles and your father to promise that Bella would be fine up there with you, without our supervision of course, yet the servants we will send up will serve enough as chaperones for where they can supervise. But we have faith in that the two of you will keep yourselves together for your courtship and I trust that both of your virtues will remain in tact - you two are young lovers indeed, but I know in the eyes of God neither of you will disobey him or your parents' wishes to keep to yourselves."

I felt my face flare up twenty degrees as my cheeks likely darkened in color at what my mother was implying. When glancing down at Bella, I could see she was in the same state as I was. Renee merely giggled and fanned herself.

"Mother, you know I would never jeopardize Miss Bella's reputation." I murmured to my mother, and bowed to Renee. "I can assure you that I'd never sully Bella's virtue and wish to keep it intact."

"I know my dear boy." Renee bustled with giggles, her own eyes twinkling. "We can see the love you two hold for one another, it's teeming at the surface and makes my own heart flutter in joy. You two are the definition of sweet love, but I applaud you for being the ever courteous, gracious young man in how you treat my daughter with respect and care. You have proven to me well enough you are indeed a man of your word and that you'd never engage in pre-marital acts such as that, and you wish but nothing to keep my daughter's reputation above everything else. I am pleased." she continued, nodding her head. "Thus, your mother and I had come to an agreement that we have enough faith and trust in you to be alone with my daughter for a mere few days before we join you."

I nodded my head graciously to the two of them, and felt my mind race. I would be alone with Bella, up north, for several days before our parents would join us. I don't know if I was sent a gift from the heavens above, or a gift from the devil himself. I longed for, craved even, this moment - a chance to be alone with my sweet wife. Sure we'd be slightly baby-sat by some servants sent by my parents, but frankly we'd be truly alone. No other adults supervising us honestly, with complete seclusion away from onlookers to which I could be with my wife as much as I wanted. I don't know if that spelled disaster, or if that meant we'd be able to finally experience some lovely bliss with one another.

I guess we'd soon find out.

The Next Day...

The next morning my home was in a whirlwind. After my mother and I had returned home she shooed me to my piano room while she packed away some clothes for me that'd last for a week's worth of time away, with a few extra days to spare considering she had hopes our trip would ultimately be a two week vacation away from Chicago. I would be forever grateful for her help in getting this alone time for me with Bella, but this was just as much of a treat for her with my father as she missed him terribly everyday while he busied himself at work. I had to think still of how I'd repay her; whatever my mother would ask me to do from here on out, I knew I would do so in a heartbeat. She was the greatest mother in granting me this opportunity.

After I had a restless night of sleep as I dreamed about my wife and I being together, I awoke the next morning a jittery mess. I did the best that I could to keep myself occupied whilst my mother advised me how she would have some of the servants take us by car up north. They'd drive me over to the Swanson residence where we'd pick up Bella with her things, and then we'd be shuttled up north to the lake-house. I tried to keep myself out of the way of the servants as they bustled about taking my things to the ancient 1900s buggy, but my mother stopped me as I had paced the parlor's length for the fourth time.

"Darling, you look to be a nervous wreck."

"Mother," I began, taking a deep breath in trying to compose myself. I looked down at her, trying to capture the memory of what she looked like yet again. She gazed up at me with concern evident. "Yes, I'm nervous."

"Why my dear son?" Elizabeth pressed me.

"I'm..." I tried to collect my thoughts. I had the urge to run my fingers through my hair - the usual nervous tick of mine - but I had a cap on my head again and I didn't want to ruin my hair as I knew my mother would have my hide over it. "I love Bella so very much and I feel like a bumbling mess. I feel so honored that you're entrusting us to be up there by ourselves like you are, but I don't wish for this to cause any upset with anyone - especially with father or with Mr. Swanson."

"My dear sweet son," my mother began, cutting in. She put her hands on my cheeks and I relished in her motherly touch; I very much had acted the same with Esme when I began to grow closer with her over the years I had my vampire family, and realized it was because I missed having my own blood mother there for me. I found it easily in Esme of course over time. "I have faith in you that you and Bella will enjoy your time together - I don't need to know any gory details if things were to happen between you two. And before you begin again," she cut me off as she knew I'd try to defend myself and Bella's honor. She held up a finger and waited until I settled down. "My sweet Edward, I know you'd like to believe you can say you'd never let anything go far - and even more so I'm happy to believe as much. But you are a growing young man and I'm delighted in seeing you change in these past few months simply because you have found the love of your life in Miss Bella. I was young once, and your father and I had gotten into our own little share of misdeeds as much as he would like to deny it. You are human, you are a young boy with ever growing and changing emotions. I'll never be ashamed of you and whatever it is you may do. I know you'll make an honest woman out of Isabella, as she will do the same for you when you two marry. I am not saying that you can freely go about enacting every little scandalous act imaginable just because we've allowed you to go up there without supervision. But what I am saying is that I trust you to be responsible with your sweetheart, even if things are to slip past your control. Just know I'll love you regardless through it all." she murmured to me quietly, and I could feel my cheeks heat up at what she was implying.

My mother wasn't giving a blessing to me to obviously lose every bit of control I had within me so I could ravage my sweet wife, but she was giving me a blessing in a way a mother could. She was merely saying that she understood that things can happen, that emotions could get the best of us and if something were to happen, she wouldn't be severely disappointed in me or shun me from our family. She had trust in me that I would still handle the situation tactfully - and that it wouldn't lead to Bella becoming a harlot either. As if I'd ever let that happen.

For a time where anything sexual was taboo, was deemed distasteful and you'd be seen as a freak if you were to celebrate your sexuality, I was glad to see that my mother was progressive. Elizabeth Masen, a woman of high societal standing and caring towards set standards, was behind her son getting some. God I can't believe I could say it like that, but in blunt terms it was very much like that. Emmett would be proud.

Elizabeth smirked at me and gave me a wink, before she stepped back. "More importantly, I think after this trip you should consider saving up for a ring for Miss Bella."

I coughed out my startled response. "W-What?"

"Oh you heard me my sweet boy." she gave into laughter as she watched me sputter about like a dying fish. "You have been hard at work for this courtship, proving to your father and hers that you are a man of your word. In my eyes I knew all along you'd be the perfect man for Bella - and I am sure as anything that that girl is ready to have a ring sit upon her little ring finger. Have you been saving your pay?"

"Every cent."

"Good." my mother nodded firmly up towards me, beaming. "Have you looked at any rings as of late?"

"No..." To be honest, there was still the matter that Bella had my mother's engagement ring sitting away in her jewelry box. Yet on my mother's dainty hands, beside her slim wedding band I could see the very same engagement ring that I'd give to my Bella nearly a century later. How there hasn't been a discrepancy in this timeline for the same ring to exist in two separate instances, I'll never understand it or think I'll ever find the answer for it.

"I think after our vacation away up north, you should go to the markets and find a ring for Bella that you'd like to propose to her with."

I could only nod wordlessly to my mother. She was ready for everything to be set in motion, when here I was still floored by what she had said previously. My mother giggled and I blinked down at her.

"I see a great relationship that can bud between you and Bella, my son. I have faith in the two of you that your love will be everlasting. And don't try to bet against me." She tapped her temple with a finger. A similar motion I was all too familiar with thanks to a certain pixie from the future. "You can't bet against a mother who's more than pleased in seeing her son finally find love."

"Of course, I wasn't planning on going against you." I murmured, feeling myself smirk. My mother clapped her hands then excitedly, smiling up at me.

"Wonderful then. I believe the servants are done getting your things into the should be leaving now to fetch Miss Bella."

With that, my mother kissed my cheeks and wished me well before ushering me out of the house. I waved goodbye to her before hopping into the outdated buggy where we bumped along the paved roads heading towards the Swanson estate. It took perhaps half an hour before we arrived to her home, where I could see Renee and Bella outside with several servants. Much like my own father where I assumed he was at work, Charles was nowhere to be seen in seeing his daughter off. I aided the Swanson's servants in stowing away Bella's things into our buggy cars, which Renee applauded me for my efforts. Before long, she was hugging Bella goodbye and waving us off. Bella joined me in the backseat of one of the buggy cars that we were bringing along for our trip, and held onto my hand. We'd cast excited glances to one another, whereas I could only assume what she was thinking during this ride up north.

I knew for a fact I was extremely nervous at the prospect that we'd be alone for a few days - in a sense; yes, servants would be there acting as babysitters or moreover just helping us out around the house while we'd wait for our parents to join us. But honest to god we'd be alone. I was definitely nervous at the idea that now we wouldn't have our parents hovering over us for a few days, watching our every move. We could finally have a moment of peace, and give into our human emotions. The thought excited me more than it should, but a small part of me was also horribly terrified. Excited that now we didn't have to worry about holding back with our affections to a point, yet I was terrified because frankly just how far would I let it go? Would I only let us progress a few steps but still keep ourselves waiting for any further intimacy until after we were to be wedded? Just how much would I be able to resist my wife's charms when I was putty in her hands from a simple batting of her eyelashes?

I think Bella knew it too, and I was scared of just how much she would try to push me on this trip.

But I guess, we would just have to see how it goes.

Heaven help me.


A/N: And that's another chapter for ATY. It's been awhile since I've updated this story, but again same said for many of my stories. I have had a hard focus on HSNE AR considering I've mostly got a lot of motivation to write for that story vs any other story. I'll admit I was a bit stumped on how to progress this story since there's a lot of ground to cover for this work.

For the most part, I don't think I'll go "heavily" into detail of day by day with human Edward and Bella in 1900s Chicago predating the Spanish Influenza. But there were at least be a couple chapters dedicated to them exploring human life together before we come to the inevitable catalyst that takes our beloved angsty vampire boy that is Edward. I've debated on how to really work this story out post-time-travel-back-in-time with our couple, but I believe I finally worked out a slight kink in my plotline before we'd get back to their modern times. In terms of also how long I'd want to make this story, well I'll just have to see how I'll let the inspiration drive me. I won't spoil much else but stick around to see how I'll work it out.

For now, stay tuned as we'll get to see just how these two teens handle some alone time finally for this little vacay of theirs; is it a bit OOC/far-fetched to think that a Victorian Mother is okay with her teenaged son being alone with a girl with no supervision? Yes perhaps it is. I'd like to believe that Elizabeth has undying faith in her son in not breaking any rules and thus has trust in him in not taking things too far - but like I tried to explain, she's a bit more understanding that her son does have emotions and feelings as a teenaged boy would, and she wants him to know she isn't ashamed of him if he were to let loose a bit. I'd go more into it but I think it'd potentially spoil things again for the next chapter so I'll just leave it at that.

Until the next installment, any feedback is always appreciated! I try my best in proof-reading as I type up chapters, and before I post, but I'm human and things are likely to slip past me still. Please forgive me for any misspellings or grammar issues.

~Lady Eleanora