Hey, Everyone! Sorry it's been a minute. Between a sick cat and a stressful work time, I found it hard to focus on writing or to find time to reply to your reviews. But I want you to know I read and loved each one of them. Thankfully my cat is much better and the work issue is gone.

Thank you to My-Bella for all her help and for making sure I don't get too crazy with these two.

I don't own Twilight, its characters, or anything else familiar in this story. I just like to send them on new adventures.

A couple of terms to clarify before Y'all read this one.

CAPE or Convective Available Potential Energy is the amount of fuel available to a developing thunderstorm. More specifically, it describes the instability of the atmosphere and provides an approximation of updraft strength within a thunderstorm.

SPC- Storm Prediction Center

I miss you when the lights go out
It illuminates all of my doubts
Pull me in, hold me tight
Don't let go, baby, give me light

~Adele~

~Edward~

This chase was dragging and had been unproductive so far. A bust. Four days in and most of the systems we'd tracked down had either not developed or fizzled out, without producing a tornado. The one that had gone tornadic, we'd arrived at the end of it and it had been too late to do anything but watch it fall apart.

A big fat bust.

I'd never been so antsy out on a chase before. Okay, maybe that was a lie. I'd been nervous with excitement for a chase before. In fact, the chase I'd gone out on the day Bella had arrived back in town, I'd been more eager than ever to go on. But I'd never been eady for a chase to be over this badly before. I enjoyed my job, loved it. Not only the information gathering and learning side of it, but the thrill of the chase. The adrenaline high you got when you were facing one of nature's most ferocious creations. I'd always been content to stay out on the road as long as possible, often going on back-to-back hunts, gone weeks at a time. Which had me a bit surprised I hadn't been asked to go back out with the other team already since normally I was. It was actually a little unusual. However, for once I could admit I was a little eager to get home.

I could also admit I knew why I was so out of sorts.

Part of it was the frustration over how this trip out had gone so far. Being this unlucky on a chase didn't occur often, but it did happen. And it was incredibly irritating.

Then there was the gorgeous brunette who was home waiting for me this time. I'd only had her in my bed for one night, and I'd be lying my ass off if I said I wasn't craving for more. Just the thought of my hands on her creamy, silky-smooth skin sent my blood rushing south. I'd even had to take matters into my own hands more than once this week. And it had been a very long time since I'd felt the need to do so, so strongly.

Bella had always had that effect on me. Always had me wanting more. From the moment I'd kissed her the first time. But it wasn't like it was a bad thing. Far from it. And just seeing Bella wasn't my only reason for wanting to hurry back. I knew she was anxious to be rid of her father's house, it was nearly complete aside from the two bathrooms and a few other things on the outside. Plus, I knew Jack was planning to be there this weekend and I'd promised to help him. So whatever I could do to speed things along, I would.

Mike and Alex were also getting frustrated. Though not necessarily for the same reasons I was. Or at least not entirely for Alex. He was a single guy, but Mike was probably missing his wife and baby. I'd actually been a bit surprised he'd not taken a broadcasting job after Lauren had given birth. But it wasn't my life to choose.

Despite how difficult it was, I'd somehow been able to focus on work when needed and push thoughts of Bella to the back of my mind. While we were on the road, scouting out the next possible twister, I couldn't afford to not be one hundred percent present. When you were a storm chaser you had to be aware of our surroundings at all times. One mistake could cost all three of us our lives. But when we'd take turns, catching a few winks in the truck between developing storm systems or had the luxury of a full night's sleep in a hotel, she was right there, consuming all my thoughts until sleep took me under. Often, she'd star in my dreams too.

I missed her.

A lot.

And the truth was…that scared me.

I'd spent years trying to move past Bella's leaving, and now that she'd returned and we were giving this thing between us a go again, it was a bit scary how fast I was falling for her all over again. Those three big words were on the tip of my tongue, yet I hadn't been able to say them. And I was pretty sure I'd seen the same emotions in her eyes, even though neither of us had voiced anything out loud, or had put any sort of label on what was going on between us. If felt as if we were on the same page, but I'd thought that once before.

My alarm went off making me realize I'd been laying here in this sparse hotel room thinking about Bella for nearly two hours. It was going to be a long day. But it was the last day. I'd be home late tonight, early tomorrow morning at the latest.

Sitting up on the edge of the bed, I scrubbed my hands over my face and sighed. Time to hit the shower. But first I stopped and set up the small coffee maker the hotel provided in the room.

After a hot shower and two cups of hot coffee, I was dressed and firing up my laptop to look at today's weather data to determine our tracking route. We were currently in Hutchinson, Kansas just north of Wichita. There was a deep cold front with a low-pressure system moving southeast across the middle of the country and it looked pretty promising for causing some trouble weather-wise. In fact, it was right over us now heading southeast. But it was a slow mover, so if we moved south near the Oklahoma-Texas border, close to Durant, and actually got in front of the system, we should be in the sweet spot to track whatever it dished out to us. By midday it could be firing some big stuff. And if we were lucky enough to get a successful deployment between here and there, heading home from there wouldn't be an all-night drive.

I quickly marked out the path on the map I'd brought in with me last night. We had GPS but there were times the weather could interfere with reception and we had to go old school and use the maps. We also had to know where any possible road to turn off on was in the instance a tornado changed trajectory and put us in its direct path. In those situations, maps were a better option than GPS.

I'd rolled up the map, put the rest of my stuff back in my duffle bag, and was downing the rest of my coffee when there was a loud knock on the door.

"Yo, Edward, you ready to roll, man?" Alex called through the door.

"Yeah, coming now." I slid the strap of my bag over my shoulder, shot off a quick text to Bella, telling her I hoped to be home late tonight and tucked my cellphone in my back pocket. Daylight was barely beginning so she was likely still sleeping. I grabbed the map from the small table I'd been sitting at and headed for the door. Pulling the door open, I noticed it was just Alex on the other side. "Where's Mike?" I asked.

"He already went down. Was on the phone with Lauren," Alex supplied.

I nodded and said, "Let's go. I think we got a good chance at an interception if we can get ahead of this system over us now and be in place near the Oklahoma -Texas border. Should be warm enough by then to the south to fire up something."

"I saw that too. They're calling for temps to possibly hit near record highs ahead of the front by noon, could be a big one today," Alex added as we took the elevator down to the lobby.

"Let's hope so. I'm eager to see what all the new toys in our new truck can do," I told him. The smile on his face told me he was too.

To say the three of us and the other team were shocked when we'd learned two new trucks with all sorts of new tech were purchased would be a massive understatement. Our boss had said they'd received a grant from the government to procure the two trucks that came fully equipped with everything a storm chaser could imagine, or dream of, including built in satellite doppler radar. It also had a very special new toy for us to use to collect data on the storms we encountered. The truck came equipped with a drone we'd be deploying with different types of sensors attached to it, to gather information about the storm. It would automatically send the information it retrieved back to our laptop. Alex had been training to be the one to launch it, while I'd film it in flight. We were all really pumped up about getting a successful outcome with it today, after all the failed attempts we'd had so far this trip.

We were also a bit nervous too. Our boss had told us to take great care of the truck and drone, as the cost to insure them wasn't cheap, but he had also added that if they helped us get ahead of storms and accurately predict them, get warnings out, that it would help save lives and be worth every penny. Not to mention the drone made our jobs a lot safer, keeping us a further distance from the storms.

Saving lives was why we did what we did. We weren't just adrenaline junkies out getting our highs off chasing tornadoes. When out chasing storms, we had the best forecasting tool available, our eyes. Unlike radar and satellite imagery, we had the ability to see what was going on in real time. We didn't have to wait five minutes for the next radar scan to come in, instead we were right there watching it as it is developed. And aside from warnings, meteorologists chasing storms were able to gain valuable research information. By studying the storms, we retrieved more information which helped us to better understand how tornadoes formed. Information which eventually could lead to increased time for advanced warnings that could also save lives.

By the time we reached the truck, Mike was saying goodbye to his wife. With his call ended he looked up at us. "Heading south?"

"That's the plan," I told him.

.

.

.

We'd made it to Durant, Oklahoma ahead of the storm just before noon. The temps were already edging near the low nineties.

I pulled into the parking lot of a diner attached to a gas station. Now was the time for us to make a pit stop before the weather fired up. There were already reports coming in of severe thunderstorms popping up along the cold front. The further it sunk into the warm moist air that was building around the area we were in and beyond, the nastier it was likely to get.

After gassing up the truck, grabbing a quick bite to eat, and a pitstop in the restroom, the three of us were back at the truck. I stood there looking off at the darkening horizon, watching the storm clouds gathering to the northwest of us. Kneeling, I picked up a hand full of dirt, letting it slowly slip from my hand to see which way the wind was moving. Just as I had suspected, there was turbulence in the atmosphere. The initial winds blowing south, in from the font barreling at us had sent the first part of the dirt back at me. But as I let the last of it go, a northerly gust came up. It sent the rest of the dirt billowing out in the opposite direction, back towards the incoming storm. Looking up again I asked to the sky, "What are you going to bring us today, Mother Nature?"

"She looks ready to unleash her fury," Mike added.

I nodded, lifting my shades and squinting up at the bright sun that was still in full force where we were. It was driving those air temps even higher. That contrast in air masses was going to fuel the storms we were hoping for.

"That she does," I replied to Mike, before turning to Alex. "What's the latest readings?"

He climbed up into the back seat of the truck and opened his laptop. "SPC has upgraded the risk to high, CAPE is high and the low-pressure trough is deepening."

All these factors meant that hot air was pouring into the low-pressure system, while moist air surged up from the Gulf of Mexico. All that heat and moisture was going to rise quickly and collide with the cold air sinking along the front, condense, and possibly organize into some monster supercell storms.

"Okay, lets go," I ordered. As the team lead, I made all the final decisions. Hopping back behind the wheel, once both guys were in, I turned the truck back onto the north side of the highway.

"What are you thinking?" Mike asked. "Head into it?"

"Yeah. If we head back just a little northwest, we won't have to wait so long. Maybe closer to the Ardmore area."

I'd caught a glimpse at the radar screen on Alex's laptop and it was already showing signs of supercell development. Meeting the storm in its path lowered the chances of it fading out before it got to us.

Glancing back over my shoulder quickly, I added, "Alex, keep the radar up and look for any signs of rotation."

"Already on it."

It wasn't long before we found what we were looking for. Just south of Ardmore we pulled over to the side of the road and watched as a rapidly rotating wall cloud formed right in front of us. Wall clouds were dense condensation that formed below other clouds, near the strongest part of the storm's upward rotating winds. More frequently than not, they were precursors to tornadoes. And sure enough, soon after a large tornado dropped from it.

"Fuck, look at that rotation," Alex mused. He was looking back and forth between the radar on the screen and the swirling clouds dropping from the sky. "She's wound tight."

"Here we go!" I shouted over the sound of the winds, rain and thunder, roaring not far from us. "You're driving, Mike. Alex, find me a road that takes us closer!"

Mike and I switched spots. I called in the confirmation of a tornado on the ground and our location to the SPC so they could issue warnings. Then I got the camera ready to record the storm. I had a feeling it was going to be a big one.

"In about 100 feet take a left, Mike," Alex called from the back. "There should be an old country road that will take us closer."

Mike kept a death grip on the wheel as the rain began to come down hard. My hope was to get close enough, but still remain safe so we could deploy the drone. Soon hail was ricocheting off of the truck.

"Let's get alongside of it," I told Mike. "Maybe then we can deploy and not get the drone pummeled by hail on its first flight." The hail core would be out ahead of the tornadic cell, so going in from the side or behind it would be best.

We made a series of turns that kept the monster storm in our sight, but got us on the side of it. We were racing parallel to it now, grateful that it was just eating up land and not towns or houses at the moment.

.

.

.

It was close to midnight by the time I'd gotten home. It had been a long, tiring, but successful day. Or at least successful on our end. We were able to launch the drone and collect data. Alex had, had a hard time steering it a few times, and it almost crashed at one point from a strong down burst of wind. However, we got some spectacular video footage close to, and near the end, inside of the twister. The readings were uncanny at just how fast the levels dropped while the storm quickly dissolved as it died. Like someone had flipped a switch in it and said I'm done.

However, while the tornado had started out over open land, it hadn't stayed that way. It nearly wiped out the small town of Dickson. The property destruction was great, but because early warnings had gone out, no lives had been lost. None that we knew of by the time we left. There had been a few serious injuries, but no life-threatening ones. It might be a bit egotistical of me to think so, but I'd like to think we landed in the right place at the right time to get the alert out to the SPC so those warning could be issued. We helped save lives today. That made the risk of my job all worth it. Once the storm had blown over, we stayed around Dickson to help where we could until darkness made it nearly impossible to do anymore. Then we'd made our way back to Norman to drop off the truck and get our personal vehicles to head home in.

I'd driven slowly by the main house hoping for any sign that Bella might be waiting up for me. But the entire house was dark and quiet, telling me everyone inside was likely asleep. Parking in front of the barn, I grabbed my bag and dragged my tired ass up the stairs. As soon as I opened the door at the top, I was greeted by a furry mass, wagging her tail, happy to see me.

"Hey, girl. What are you doing here?" I asked Dottie. Dropping my bag, I kneeled down and petted her, as she rubbed her head against me, landing a few doggy kisses. I couldn't help wondering if Bella had brought her down this evening so she'd be here for me. But that seemed unlikely given Bella knew there was a possibility I might get stuck out on the road.

Before I could give more thought to why Dottie was here, she turned and trotted over to the bed. Stopping at the edge, she turned, wagging her tail, as if to say, "look what I brought home with me", in regards to the small body curled around a pillow in my bed.

Gauging from Bela's position, almost diagonally across the bed, I was betting Dottie had been up there with her until she'd heard me coming up the stairs.

Overly excited, Dottie started to turn in circles, almost dancing. Knowing she was about to bark; I raised my finger to my mouth and shushed her.

"Come," I told her softly but firmly. She followed me into the kitchen as I grabbed a bottle of water and a couple treats. I walked with her over to her bed and gave her, her reward and commanded her to stay.

Eagar to join the sleeping beauty in my bed, I chugged the water and took what was probably the fastest shower of my life to wash away the grime of the day.

Once I'd finished and dried off, I didn't even bother with underwear. I knew I shouldn't wake Bella, but I couldn't help myself, I had to have her. And any residual doubt I had about it, flew right out the window when I found her bare as the day she was born under my covers.

Oh, Kitten, I thought as I climbed in next to her. Pulling her into my arms, I began trailing kisses across the silky-smooth skin of her shoulder. "A guy could get used to coming home to this."

It didn't take long for my kisses to wake her.

"You're home."

"I am." The double meaning not lost on me.

In no time we were a mess of tangled limbs and lost in each other.

Yeah, I could definitely get used to this.

Looks like Edward got a nice welcome home surprise.

There's a few nods to one of my favorite movies in this chapter. Let me know if you found them and if you know what the movie is.

Until next time, thanks for reading!

~EA