EPOV

The first party promises to the second party that she will be responsible for maintaining the integrity of the relationship which here is defined as a basic friendship with no additional benefits.

It took Bella exactly seven weeks before she would even think about going out on a second first date with me. However in those seven weeks, I had fun just getting to know her all over again. I could tell when she would begin to worry about our relationship. Her whole body would freeze and her eyes would get this foggy faraway look in them. Once she came back she would usually say something like, "This isn't going to work" or "what are we doing?" But I knew that patience was key.

And so for seven weeks I worked on our "friendship." I never touched her intimately or asked for more. I knew that when the time was right, she would let me know in her own way. I remained at the same hotel room and after she managed to gather the courage to invite me to her new home, I made sure to leave her every night.

It was not my intension to drive her wild but I knew that Bella had always been a very physical creature. Eventually I could tell that she was getting to the point of losing her mind with the lack of physical contact. The first time I noticed was after I had finished cooking her dinner in her beautiful unsullied kitchen. She looked like a lioness waiting to pounce. So I allowed a small kiss but the small kiss was instantly turned into more.

She pulled at my shirt attempting to keep me from stopping and I didn't want to stop because after months of nothing, this was something that we had always been good at. However, when I began to feel her pull off my clothes I had to find her journal and pry myself away.

I handed her the little brown book.

"What?" She complained.

"We can't," I said. "Read the contract."

Bella huffed out in frustration.

"Well we already bypassed the contract. We're dating are we not?"

I sighed and handed her the book.

"This was the contract and only you have the power to change it but I need to remind you what you sighed.

I read the next part.

There will be absolutely no physical contact or negotiations to upgrade the basic friendship package.

Bella looked away completely annoyed with me. She finally looked back into my eyes and grabbed a pen to scratch out the sentence.

"There. Happy?"

"The first party promises to respect the second party in all decisions she must determine to uphold and sustain the current working relationship, i.e. basic friendship package." I read the next part aloud.

"See you have to respect the decision I just made so put down the book and fuck me already!" Bella snapped.

I sighed and looked back down toward the little brown book.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. I don't want to jump back into something with you without having it written out. I think the new law you just enacted needs a cooling off period and we should write a new clause so that we don't misinterpret what we both need or want out of this relationship."

"Edward! Would you just stop with the mumbo jumbo. Do you want me or not?"

Yes, it had certainly been a very long time since either of us had that certain itch scratched but I needed to keep a level head. Or else we both would be back to where we were before. It was not a place I ever wanted to go back to.

"We need to draw up a new contract. I don't want either of us hurt and this is how we make our relationship work. Take the five minutes to do this."

Bella sighed and plopped down to her bar stool. She grabbed her pen and began to think.

"Well, what should it say?" She asked.

I thought for a minute.

"Maybe start out with, the relationship package will still hold the same respect as the basic friendship package however, the first party will be responsible for determining how slow or fast the course of the relationship goes."

Bella snapped her head up from writing.

"Why do you get to be responsible for that?"

"Because you were responsible for the basic friendship package and let's face it, you are far more likely to take things too fast than I will?"

"Says the man who proposed after only a year," She grumbled.

"This time, I plan on taking my sweet slow ass time."

And I did take my time. I did make her wait. It wasn't that I wanted to be cruel but I needed her to know that being patient could show that I wasn't going anywhere. We didn't need the physical relationship to make our relationship last. We could survive on much more than that.

Eventually, Bella would come to see that I really did have her best interest at heart and because of that trust she would begin to trust me on more important issues.

A month after Alice gave birth, she arrived with her bundle of joy to spend a month with us. It was good for Bella to see that even though we had our own perfect bubble, people from our past invading that bubble wouldn't cause it to burst. But when the summer came and Bella's presence was requested for bridesmaid duty for her brother's wedding, Bella began to have a panic attack.

"You're not packed."

I cringed knowing that Bella not being packed meant more than just she was being lazy.

"I can't do this."

I could see the tears in her eyes and face red. She was angry at herself but embarrassed as well. I had moved in a week earlier so having me around was still very new.

"It's your brother's wedding."

"I know that!" She snapped.

She wasn't mad at me. She was mad at herself. I went and sat down in the chair across from the bed.

"Bella. Tell me what has you worried."

I already knew but I needed for her to communicate with me. Communication was something that we failed at before.

"I don't want to go back there. I don't want to go to L.A. I don't ever want to go back."

I nodded and let her have a moment. I took her hand in mine as she tried to wipe her eyes with her free hand.

"It will be okay. We can do this. I promise you that we will not get sucked into that hole again. This is our life, Bella. Here in Italy. We are no longer a part of that place. I will be with you and it will only be seventy-two hours. We can even fly back the night of the wedding. I promise."

She sighed and I looked over and saw her little brown book sitting on the side table. I leaned forward and grabbed the book.

"A new clause," I stated.

The first and second party promises to always support one another in every endeavor. The parties will have complete and total understanding to each other's fears and plights.

We made it to the wedding and even though we never went back to Los Angeles after that, it was good for Bella to see that she was strong. After we returned home, Bella felt that it was her turn to help support me so she pushed to help me out with my food truck international endeavor. The food truck endeavor turned out to be the greatest thing to ever happen to us.

We had managed to get the company up and running and after a year we were able to go into Romania to help our contact there set up. Bella and I flew to Romania and were given a tour of the poorest part of the country. My focus was on the project but it was nice to see Bella surround herself with the helpless and homeless once again. I think it helped her keep grounded but more importantly, she was able to find something to be passionate about.

We returned to Romania a second time a few months later and Bella gave me the surprise of a lifetime.

"Well I think that the truck is a great success. Of course funding has always been problematic but I have spoken to a few politicians and found the funds."

I sat down on a lunch table in the middle of a rowdy cafeteria. Bella had been helping with the caretakers at the local orphanage to see to it that every child was fed. The conditions were so desolate in Romania that even the orphans often went hungry.

"That's great. Would you hand me that napkin?"

She didn't seem to be paying any attention to the hard work I had just completed but I guess her hands were a bit full.

"Are you okay?"

Bella seemed to be a bit frustrated and I hoped that this trip wasn't taking a toll on her. She looked over to me and I could see that she wasn't okay.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" I suggested.

"I don't have time for a walk. My hands are a bit full at the moment. They just left me here at this table full of toddlers and I can't just get up and leave them." She snapped.

I waved over one the caretakers and asked for her to relieve us for a minute. I pulled Bella away from the table and kept going until we reached the outside. Even though the air was rather foul smelling in that area, it was at least a fresher than the cafeteria.

"Okay. Let's just take a moment."

Bella's patience when it came to my calling sometimes wore thin. I could usually see the signs to intervene before she completely lost it.

"This is horrible! Horrible! This is so much worse than anything we ever encountered in Los Angeles. All those children and the food didn't even look eatable. It's wrong, Edward!"

I was taken aback by her ranting.

"I know. But…that's why we are trying to help."

She nodded.

"But it's not enough." She sighed.

"It will never be enough but that doesn't mean that we can't make a difference."

She nodded once more.

"Did you see the little girl sitting next to me?"

I tried to think back but I was so focused on Bella that I hadn't really noticed.

"She's four…and she can speak a little English. She was telling me that she had an apple one day. She said it was good."

I didn't know where she was going with this but I could tell it was important for her to tell me.

"Her name is Ana."

I nodded.

"And…she needs a home. She's stuck here in this place and will never have any future. But…I have a home. A really big home."

I swallowed and my heart hurt because of what I needed to say next.

"Bella…we can't adopt them all."

"I didn't ask you to adopt them all. You don't have to adopt any! I can do it. You don't need to do anything."

She was crying but even though she was pissed at me, I knew that she wasn't really pissed at me. I grabbed a hold of her and held her tightly.

"I thought you were supposed to support me in all my endeavors," She whispered.

I didn't know what to do. Of course I wanted to have a child with Bella but I didn't want this to be something she would regret. Sometimes I felt like she was blind and it was my job to lead her and make sure she didn't step into a pot hole.

"Now you want a child?" I asked exasperated.

"You made a promise. You even signed it."

I pulled back.

"You know what you're asking for, right? This is a huge decision and once you make it, you can't go back on it. Or…it would be really hard on that little girl in there if you suddenly changed your mind."

"I know! I know she's a human being, Edward. I don't understand why you aren't supporting me on this. I thought you wanted children. Or…is it that you just don't want to adopt a child?"

"NO!" I yelled a little too loudly. "That's not it at all. Of course I want this but if you changed your mind, it wouldn't just leave that little girl devastated it would devastate me as well."

Bella stepped back a little and nodded.

"I know. I know I'm not the most reliable person. I can understand your concerns." She let go of me. "But I'm doing this. With or without you."

"With! Always with me."

It took a couple months before the paperwork would go through but then just like that, we were parents. Ana was the first. A year later when we were touring Peru, five year old George became our second. Life was perfect.

Bella never did find a certain path she wanted to take. I think she did better knowing that she could do whatever she wanted when she wanted without having to commit. She took up painting. She attempted Italian but ended that after a week. Knitting lasted a month and gardening lasted two. But the one thing she never gave up was being a mother and being with me.

We never married and I never asked. Even though years had passed I figured that getting Bella to be happy and commit to our life was enough. Of course I wanted to marry her but I didn't want to see the look of panic in her eyes like I had when I asked her the first time so I stayed the course and focused on being a good father and a good partner. It seemed weird to say boyfriend after being together for nearly a decade.

Our contract continued to work and no revisions were made since the last. That didn't mean however that Bella or I wouldn't bring it up every once in a while to win an argument but it helped us both through trying times.

"Mom…how come you never help dad with the cooking?"

I snorted at Ana's question. The routine Bella and I had mastered was, I would cook the dinner and she would help the kids out with homework.

"Why don't you just stir your pot and try to not get boogers from all that snorting in our food, mister." Bella said.

Ana waited patiently for an answer.

"Well...everyone has their strengths. Your father is a good cook. I just happen to be smarter so I help you and George with your homework."

I rolled my eyes but didn't remark.

"Oh. Okay," Ana replied before turning back to her chemistry book.

George tapped his pencil on the table and looked over to Ana. I could tell there was more.

"George, do you have something on your mind?" I asked.

He thought for a minute and then lowered his eyes toward the table.

"Well…I was just wondering…well Ana and I were wondering why you never had kids of your own?"

Bella looked perplexed.

"We did have kids of our own. You and Ana are ours," She stated.

"I know but…you never had a biological kid. Why? Does it have something to do with why you never married?"

It wasn't something that either of our children had ever asked us. They knew we weren't married but they understood that we both were their parents. In this day, it wasn't uncommon to have families made up with different parts. Bella looked over to me and I wasn't sure who was supposed to tackle that question.

"I never really thought about having biological kids. I guess it wasn't important to me whether my children were born in my heart or under it. It has nothing to do with the reason we never got married. We never got married because your dad never asked me."

Just like that.

I dropped the pan I had been pouring over in the sink and snapped my attention to Bella.

"Never asked you?" I asked. "

You said no!" I said slightly outraged.

"No…you asked me a long time ago when we were in completely different points of our lives. You never thought to ask me in all the years after. We have been committed for over a decade and still there's no ring on this finger."

I just stared at her in complete and utter shock.

"You don't want to get married?" George asked me.

What was happening? I felt like I was having an aneurysm.

"Yeah…Edward…you don't want to marry me?" Bella toyed.

I couldn't believe her. But I guess after this long it went to show me that she still had the ability to surprise me. I put down the hot dish in my hands and walked over to where she sat at the table. I bent down on one knee and said, "Isabella Swan. Will you honor me with the commitment of love and marriage for all eternity?"

She smirked and shook her head slightly.

"What? No ring?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes irritated that I was unprepared and that she was making fun of me for it. She took my hand in hers and held out her hand to George. George handed her something.

"Edward Cullen, will you make an honest woman out of me? Promise to love and commit yourself to me and this family?"

She placed a ring in my hands and it was a simple gold band, of course my size.

The whole thing was planned. The silly questions from my son and daughter, all leading up to this moment. It took us so many years to get to this point. To have children. To be married. Bella had given me everything I ever wanted and thankfully I had been patient enough to receive it.

Isabella Swan, the ugly duckling who was a stuck snob when I first met her. How wrong I had been. If I had gone with my first impression I might never have the life I had. However, if she had gone with her first impression of me and never opened her heart to a smelly homeless man, she might never have the life she has. It was clear that we truly were made for one another.

AN: Thank you once again for all your kindness and loyalty you have shown this story as well as The Lottery of Life. I am honored with the time you have taken to be a part of this journey with me.

For those reading my other stories please note that I will probably not update until some time next week. I have comic con this week and will be gone for the rest of the week. Hang in there, I will try and post as soon as possible.