"In hindsight, I can't believe how foolish I have been." I said as we walked down the hallways our hands wound together and our shoulders brushing every step.

"Bella, you are not foolish." Edward contradicted. "You could never be foolish."

"You don't understand, I truly was stupid." I shook my head. "When I was first changed I should have realized that Dr. Cullen was a vampire as well. And I should have searched for him. We could have been reunited decades ago. So much time was wasted in agony. And I had the key in my head. If only I had put it together."

"Bella, love, this is ridiculous. How should you have put that together? There was no reason to even think about it." He drew circles on the back of my hand while talking. "When you were being changed it had been a quarter of a year since my death. There was no reason for you to think about the doctor that treated me and my mother."

"His words haunted me in my dreams. Of course I thought of him."

"Alright, love," he admitted. "Carlisle was still in your memory. But that does not mean that you had any thoughts about him as a person. He was just the doctor that treated me, correct? He was just the one that told you I was gone."

I nodded.

"Then why should you wonder about his species?"

"I didn't."

"See, love?" he said, looking me into the eyes. "There was no reason for you to suspect. And once your change was complete and you understood what you yourself were, did your mind connect that to anything related to Carlisle?"

I shook my head again.

"And why should it? There was little you could have found." he told me. "Yes, there was the pronounced beauty. But apart from that-"

"And the eyes." I added.

"No, love." he disagreed. "Remember, his eyes were golden. But yours were red. It was only once you changed your diet that yours would resemble his."

"But my creator had golder eyes as well. I do not remember much but her eyes were golden."

Edwards' fingers stopped. He looked at me with wide eyes.

"What's the matter?" I asked, nervous because of his reaction.

"Nothing." Edward shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and continued his ministration. "But even so, you had little reason to think of him at all. And," he added. "no one would ever suspect a vampire to work at a hospital."

"I suppose so." I gave in. "But-"

"No, Bella." He stopped me. "You have not been stupid or foolish. There was no way for you to know."

"But you do not understand, Edward." I spoke up again. "I did have all the information that was needed. Even if it was approximately five years later."

"How so?" Edward asked with a sigh.

"I did not want to kill." I said quietly as we entered the biology classroom and found our seats. "So I mostly hid in the woods and one day I came upon a nomad. His name was Garrett and his eyes were red."

Edward nodded. "He is a friend of Carlisle´s. I never met him though."

"Yes." I agreed. "He told me of Carlisle. And of his diet. He told me that Dr. Cullen had lived off of animal blood since his change in 1662. He even told me that there was talk that Dr. Cullen had recently created himself a companion that shared his diet. But I never dreamed that you could be that companion." I grabbed his arm tight. "I should have searched him out. To be honest, it is incomprehensible to me why I never did search for him. Even if just to talk."

"Perhaps your subconscious mind did remember him very well and at the same time shied away from the pain that came along with the memories?" Edward suggested, stroking through my hair in an effort to comfort me. "But, love, I think there is no use in hanging onto this. You did not act foolish. You are not stupid. And we can never know what could have been. Only what is. And right this moment I am here with you. I'm touching you. And I will never let you be alone again. Do not dwell on the possibilities. Nothing good comes from it. We have an eternal future to look forward to."

I nodded and grinned. "Where does all this wisdom come from all of a sudden?"

"If you have not yet noticed, I am 104 years old." he winked.

"Well, you have aged horribly."

"Did I, now?"

"Oh yes." I nodded, trying to keep my face straight but failing miserably. "Not a single wrinkle or gray hair. It is quite tragic."

"And what about you?"

"What about me?"

He leaned in closer and I could feel his breath on my face. "It seems you make a horrible 105 year old."

"That is because I am not." I said triumphantly.

He raised one of his eyebrows.

"I am eighteen and I will be for all of eternity."

I could see his smile even as he scoffed playfully. "Let's stay seventeen and eighteen forever then, shall we?"

"You have a deal." I agreed and kissed him on the cheek.

The teacher entered the classroom. After he had placed down his bag he called me to his desk.

"I assume you are the new girl? Miss Masen, is it? My name is Mr. Banner."

"Yes, sir."

He nodded and gathered some papers for me. "We are currently working on cell structure. I hope this hasn't been covered at your old school yet?"

"Unfortunately it was." I said.

"Did you already look at the onion skin under the microscope?"

"Yes I did."

He sighed heavily. "Then this lesson will probably be a little repetitive for you. I hope we will soon reach your level."

I nodded.

"Well, having you sit next to Mr. Cullen should work. I hope you will be able to work well together."

"I'm convinced of that." I smiled. "Is that all, Mr. Benner?"

"Yes, you can return to your seat."

Biology was over quickly and together Edward and I wandered back to the secretary's office. Edward gave me his much too large hooded jacket to protect me from the returning rain although I no longer minded the wet and cold in this form. The sleeves reached far over my hands.

"Miss Masen, Mr. Cullen, what can I do for you?" the red haired woman that had helped me earlier asked as she saw us. She came over to the counter, her eyes solely trained on Edward. I could feel his body stiffen slightly next to me and stepped closer to him.

"We would like to change some of our classes around." I said calmly even though I was sickened by her obvious crush on my husband.

"Ok." she said. "What would you like to change?"

"Bella and I would appreciate it, if we could share more of our lessons. I have never worked with anyone as well as I was able to work with Bella in biology today. I would like to have the same experience in other subjects. I'm sure you understand how frustrating it is not to have a partner who is on the same academic level as yourself and how rare a partner of quality is."

"You want to change your schedule because of partner work?" she asked, perplexed.

"Certainly." Edward nodded, giving her one of his most dazzling smiles. "I am sure you understand our predicament."

The woman's eyes seemed to cloud over for a moment before she blinked rapidly and nodded. "I will see what I can do for you, Mr. Cullen."

In the end Edward dazzled her until we had an identical schedule and changed from Spanish into French class. We thanked her and left for the parking lot.

"Should we take your car or mine?" Edward asked me. "I could leave mine for Alice and Jasper."

"I was late this morning. So, I'm here on foot." I explained.

"I suppose that settles it then." He shrugged and pulled me towards a silver car. "Alice and Jasper will just have to drive with Rose and Emmett. It's fortunate that Rosalie and Emmett have been on a hunting trip so her car is here today. Usually we all drive in mine."

He held the passenger door open for me before rounding the front and taking the driver's seat.

The road took us to the north of Forks and beyond. There were no longer any other houses to pass when Edward turned off at a bend onto a woodland path. The house that appeared as the surrounding forest cleared must have been built around the time of my true youth. Surrounded by the old trees and painted with faded white paint, it almost took me back in time. Ignoring the silver car, it was almost as if Edward and I had stumbled upon an early twentieth century three-storey mansion in the wilderness.

"What do you think?" Edward asked me as he took my hand in his.

"It is beautiful."

A fresh wave of anxiety rolled over me. Placing my hand over my stomach I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The fresh aroma of the forest failed to calm me this time. But I could detect the gentle heartbeats of a grazing group of deer to the west of the house. I tried to focus on it. On the feeling of Edwards skin against my hand. The sweet smell of him just next to me. Everything but the man I would meet in just a few moments. And I am sure I would have been even more nervous without all those distractions but I couldn't help but feel like my heart would have hammered against my chest if it were still beating.

I knew my fear was not entirely rational. I knew I should not hold Dr. Cullen responsible for my hundred year long separation from Edward. He had not acted with malice. But I did hold him responsible to some extent. Because he had made choices that affected me deeply. Wrong choices. Choices that all but destroyed me.

But I was almost certain that I would have a similar struggle even if Dr. Cullen was in no way to blame. He had been the one who told me that both Elizabeth and Edward had died that fateful night. It had been the worst day of my entire life and Dr. Cullen was irrevocably connected to it.

"Esme is wondering why we are waiting. She is a little confused both by our actions and by your presence." Edward said calmly. "Do you think you are prepared to enter, love?"

"So you don't bring home a strange vampire every week?" I tried to joke.

Edward grinned for me. "As a matter of fact, I do not."

There was silence until Edward spoke again. "How long do you want to continue stalling?"

"A long time?"

He rolled his eyes but smiled.

I took a deep, unnecessary breath and reluctantly nodded. "I don't think I could ever be prepared but I don't think anything could change that. Why don't we get through with it?"

"If you are certain?"

"Yes." I took one last deep breath and gripped his hand more tightly. "I am certain."

I followed him up the stairs and opened the door for me.

The inside was not what I had expected. It was modern. Bright and airy. A stark contrast to the preserved shell of the house.

To the left of the door, a small woman was waiting for us. Her face was tender and soft. Her caramel-coloured hair fell in soft waves. And a warm smile graced her lips. She was the last of the Cullen Coven. Dr. Cullens mate and wife. And that fact alone made me surprisingly nervous.

"Esme, this is Isabella." He smiled down at me.

"Bella, love, this is Esme." he returned the introduction. "She has been like a mother to me for the past ninety years."

"It is very nice to meet you." I said with a genuine smile.

Esme took a moment, blinked rapidly and then pulled me into a tight hug. "Thank you," she whispered in my ear.

I threw Edward a questioning glance over my shoulder. He answered with a shrug and a half smirk. I would have to remind him to tell me her thoughts later on.

"Carlisle?" Edward asked and the nervous feeling in my stomach grew. If I was still human I would have been shaking.

He turned to face the stairs. My muscles tightened in suspense. Edward tried to sooth me by rubbing circles on the back of my hand.

He looked just as I remembered him. Too young looking to have plausibly completed a medical degree and have actual experience as a doctor. His hair was just as golden as his eyes.

It took a few seconds for him to start his descent, his brows were furrowed and he never took his eyes from me. "Isabella Masen?"

"Hello Dr. Cullen." I greeted him quietly.

"Masen?" Esme asked in the uncomfortable silence that followed. "But I thought- How are you related?"

"Esme, Bella is my wife. Not a sister or cousin. We were married before my change."

Esme's smile was brilliant. Edward nodded to a silent question and Esme embraced him. "I am so glad you found each other again."

"In life, you always meet twice." I smiled as Edward pressed a soft kiss to my temple.

"I can only agree, son." Dr. Cullen said. "It was horrible to see you plagued by grief for all those years."

Edward nodded. "I was incomplete without Bella. Even though I saw her face and heard her voice in everything I was lost without her presence. I was a damned soul without her love." he said solemnly. "I wept freely in the beginning but with time the pain grew inward. Growing in magnitude like a festering wound. Swollen and irritable." The sigh that left his lips was full of devastation and exhaustion. Until the boy I once was with my Bella was covered by the great and never ending pain."

I gently placed my hand on his cheek. Stroking the soft bruised skin under his deep golden eyes. It was my way of comforting him. Of reminding him that the pain was behind him. Behind us. And that from now on nothing would separate us.

"It was only when I saw her today that my hollow chest was refilled with a heart so full of love. She was an angel placed into the cafeteria of this unlikely town. And she saved me. She is my salvation. My sun in the endless expanse of the universe. The comet that illuminated my endless night."

He turned to look at me and I studied his face intently. "I felt the same way. My heart was left with you. It was lost to me."

"Yes." He nodded in agreement. "Everything I was, I had left in here, love." He brushed his hand over my chest. "Everything I was, I left with you."

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against his chest. The sweet smell of honey and sunshine surrounded me and it took me a while to remember that Edwards coven members were still in the room with us. I hurriedly stepped back, only clasping Edwards hand in mine.

Esme was grinning from ear to ear. Her eyes sparkling with pure joy. Dr. Cullens smile on the other hand was smaller. Subdued. And riddled with guilt.

No one really knew what to say after that. I was still uncomfortable with Dr Cullen's presence and glanced around the room searching for something to talk about until my eyes caught on the piano to the left of the door. "Why don't you show me your progress in the last ninety years?"

"Go on, play something, Edward" Esme also encouraged. "But will you tell me what happened to you two, afterwards?"

"Of course, Esme." Edwards smiled. "But we should wait until the others arrive. I would prefer to tell the story only once and I am sure Bella feels the same."

I nodded in agreement.

"Of course, dear."

"Well, come on then." He pulled me to the piano bench and placed me next to him. It was just like we sat most evenings back in Chicago. "What would you like to hear, love?"

"My lullaby." I said without thinking. "Please."

His fingers practically flew. With each touch of the worn-out keys, the room filled with the unbearably sweet melody that has always been with me. It was so tender and intimately familiar, and yet this time Edward brought something new to it. A new tone. Embellishments of relief and pure euphoria.

My lullaby flowed seamlessly into Debussy and Tchaikovsky. A few of his own creations were scattered throughout. But they were heavy and melancholy. Full of sentimentality. Longing.

The loud banging of the front door tore me out of the rêverie into which Edward's music had lulled me. My head snapped up from his shoulder.

"Honey, I'm home!" Emmett bellowed with a laugh as he spotted us.

Rosalie behind him rolled her eyes dramatically as she nodded in greeting.

"Welcome back." Esme greeted them. "How was your day?"

"Eventful, I would say." Jasper said, nodding to us.

Alice patted his arm. "It was absolutely delightful. You should have seen them in the cafeteria, Esme, they only had eyes for each other. It was magical to see my vision come to live."

"I am sure it was, Alice." Esme smiled.

"Well, I am mostly just confused." Emmett said, "I still don't understand how and why and what happened."

"Edward promised me he would explain everything to us once you have come home."

"And we will explain." I nodded. "Dr. Cullen?"

Edward led me to one of the armchairs and pulled me onto his lap. His hands rested on my hips.

"Where do we begin?" he asked me.

I grinned. "As always, preferably the beginning."