Chapter 13 – Reunions

Esme's POV

It was such a relief to have Amber back home with us. I know that I was pushy about demanding that she come back to the house with the rest of the family, but my vampire instincts wouldn't allow me to let her out of my sight without knowing that she was well fed and that she had an opportunity to be well rested.

I was in the kitchen finishing up the last of the dishes while the chocolate chip muffins were baking in the oven.

I can hear a soft snoring type of noise come from the living room and I couldn't help but take a picture of the adorable sight that greeted me.

Amber was at the end of the couch with her head on the back of the couch with a tiny bit of drool at the corner of her mouth. Rosalie had obviously taken this as an opportunity to 'nap' and cuddle with her mate. She had a pillow thrown in Amber's lap and as she cuddled and burrowed into Amber. Amber's hands had seemed to seek out to hold onto Rosalie in her sleep.

That sight alone was beyond adorable and I had never seen such a serene look of contentment on my daughter's face, but that's not what had me instantly pulling out my phone to take a couple pictures.

It was the fact that the whole family had congregated together into the living room. That in it's self isn't that abnormal as we often spend family time together, It was the fact that everyone was so relaxed and close together. Jasper had Alice in his lap at the other end of the long sofa. Edward had moved the over stuffed leather arm chair and ottoman closer to the couch and was reclining in a very un-Edward manner with Bella cuddled into him. Emmett was sitting on the floor leaning against the middle of the couch on the floor. He was playing video games with the sound off.

I turned to look at my mate when I felt his eyes on me. I shouldn't have been surprised to find that Carlisle was in the love seat with a book in his hand, but I was surprised to find that like the rest of our children he had moved the love seat to be closer to the rest of the family.

I couldn't help but release a pleasant type of shiver when he patted his lap in a clear invitation,

That was how we spent the rest of the night. All together, in the arms of our mates. As a vampire I knew that life truly could not get any better than this.

Amber's POV

I can't be sure what had caused me to have a brief startle that had me jump a bit awake, but I did notice a few things before I was fully aware of my surroundings. First off I was completely relaxed. More relaxed than I have been in a very long time.

I also noticed a weight on me that I almost unconsciously can't help but pull more into me as I almost don't open my eyes full and just go back to sleep. The unidentified weight seems to sigh and make a moaning hum type of noise that has me wide awake and alert almost instantly.

When I full open my eyes and look around I notice that my feet are up on an ottoman, which is odd, because I know that I didn't have my feet up the last time I remember. What has my heart rate accelerating was what I saw when I looked down into my lap. I had a goddess laid out on my lap, with her face resting on my upper stomach, I know that it's not a real 'goddess', but it's Rosalie so it's close enough.

I am awestruck by the sight of her. How the soft TV light seems to make her skin glow and how it seems like she subconsciously snuggled closer to me body. Realizing that she probably did that because she was cold, I looked around and found a blanket on the back of the couch, so I carefully put in on her and tucked it around her. I couldn't help myself as I softly brushed a stray piece of hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear as I let my finger tips brush tenderly along the side of her face.

I quietly let out a sigh as I can't help but pretend and wish for things that will never truly be.

I look at the watch on the inside of my right wrist and realize that I can still get a few more hours of sleep, so I relaxed back into the sofa and held onto Rosalie as I closed my eyes. I drifted back off to sleep knowing that my dreams could never hold a candle to what I had just woken up to.

- Line Break –

Amber's POV

Time seemed to speed up over the next few weeks. I managed to get some leave to visit my Grandparents and I had settled back into work. A new development seemed to be the overflowing presence of the Cullen's in my life. It was strange at first, but I have slowly begun to think of them as a second family and I just hope that they have started to think of me as the same.

With the never ending new adventures that we have been having I failed to realize that my birthday was fast approaching. That is until I walked into our Squadron's briefing room to see the Cheshire cat smiles on my teammate's faces. That was usually scary enough, but then there seemed to be a soft singing that a few of them had started. My blood ran cold when I realized that they were singing 'Happy Birthday' and then realizing that this was a total set up. It took me about 3.2 seconds to turn around and run. Sadly they planned on me running, because when I turned around they were blocking the door. What they didn't count on was for me to dive on the floor and crawl under their legs. I then took off like a bat out of hell down the hallway. I had managed to out maneuver them for about 20 minutes until it came down to an almost all out brawl. They finally got me after they cheated, at least in my opinion, when they used a taser.

After they managed to actually get a hold of me they then duck taped me to a spine board, which is just a type of paramedic stretcher. They then lifted me and carried me to the Sere Pool, where they proceeded to tie me up so that they were able to dunk me into the pool and then hold me above the water to be able to dunk me all over again. As if this wasn't bad enough they decided to tase me a few more times. This last for hours….ok to be fair it only lasted maybe 15 minutes, but it sure felt like hours.

After everyone had their fun I was left upside down still duck taped to the spinal board and I was expected to get myself out as everyone left.

Thankfully my SERE training had prepared me for getting out of situations like this and I was able to get out in just a few short minutes.

What I wasn't expecting was to have a cake shoved into my face as soon as I started to walk out of the door that leads to the pool area.

My team starts to sing happy birthday to me as I try to recover from not only the force of the hit but from the shock of it all as well.

As I start to eat the cake that I seem to have all over me I'm told that I need to clean up the mess that I've made before our classes start as everyone has a laugh.

I can't help but laugh as well as we all exchange hugs as we all start getting ready for the day.

- Line Break –

Rosalie's POV

These last few weeks I have been on cloud 9. I still let out a loving sigh whenever I think about Amber's first night back from Thule. The way she seemed to subconsciously hold me close or the way she wrapped me up in the only blanket to keep me warm instead of using it for herself. She is so kind and chivalrous that I don't even know how I got so lucky.

Since Amber has gotten back she has spend what seems like all of her free time with at least one of us.

Jasper and Amber had taken their motorcycle trip, but Alice and I had made sure that we were invited along as well.

And let me tell you riding on the back of a motorcycle pressed into my mate as I held her was not only wondrous but also such a sweet type of torture. I still can feel the tingles all over my body just from thinking about that day.

Emmett had revealed to me that my mate also has a hard time sleeping so she takes late night drives to help clear her head. Turns out that on more than a few occasions they would go driving around causing mischief.

Since Amber and I have worked out our misunderstanding I have accompanied her on a few of her midnight drives as well.

I love those drives, because those are the times when we really connect. Amber has a lot of walls, but those walls seem to loose some of their height when it's in the middle of the night and we're driving around the city. We've had so many heart to heart conversations and afterwards I feel so close to her.

We've talked about everything from music, places we've been and the things that we have on our bucket lists, all the way to her parent's deaths, We have even touched upon her life after her parents died. After she told me about some of the abuse, which I know she was only telling me snippets and definitely not everything that had happened to her. I was beyond livid.

It broke my heart to hear how broken my mate truly was, but it helped me to understand why she is so guarded. It just made me want to show her how much I cared about her and want to love her even harder to make up for all of her bad experiences.

I still haven't told her about my human life, at least how it ended. I knew that I would tell her, I mean how could I not tell her, but I just needed time. I know that it's a ridiculous fear, but I was worried that she would reject me because of all of my past trauma.

I'm brought out of my thoughts when I get the sense of safety and security I usually only feel when Amber is close by. I look up to see my 'twin' giving me a reassuring smile. I walk over to him and give him a hug. After a few seconds we pull out of our embrace I ask if I'm doing the right thing, waiting to tell Amber not only about the whole vampire thing, but also about my own past tragedy.

He sighs and says "That's up to you" after I give him a stern look he softly chuckles and continues, "But if you're asking me, yes I think that you're right in wanting to wait, There's nothing wrong with trying to make the most out of your time with your mate before you have to lay down the heavy, so to speak. Just make sure that you don't wait too long."

Emmett chose that moment to come barreling down the stairs announcing that Amber called to say that she was on her way over for what has now become a traditional bi-weekly family dinner.

I don't' think Jasper could help but project the happiness that he was feeling from throughout the house at Emmett's announcement.

I decided that I wanted to dress up a bit to try and catch Amber's attention tonight. As I walked up the stairs with the perfect dress in mind I couldn't help but fantasize about Amber taking it off of me instead.