Bella was the first one to wake up on Christmas morning and it was quite early to as the sky was still a bit dark as she made her way downstairs for a cup of coffee and a bottle for Snowball.

She moved herself and Snowball into one of the guest rooms because she knew that Alice and Jasper would most likely be celebrating their engagement. She started the fresh pot of coffee and took the bottle for Snowball upstairs and fed him. He was quite hungry and drank every drop he could draw from the bottle. She placed him back in his bed and headed back downstairs to see if the coffee was ready.

She was halfway through her first cup before she saw anyone else downstairs. And the first person downstairs was Esme so she could get started on the Christmas morning muffins. Bella quickly made her a cup of coffee and handed it off to her.

"Oh thank you. You didn't have to," Esme said. "We have a small black pot in the pantry for Sasha's coffee."

"I have no idea how to make her coffee. She had liked twenty-five steps to make it when it should only have four or six depending on how you take your coffee," Bella said. "She can make the coffee herself if she wants it."

"Oh I agree," Esme said.

"What muffins are you making this morning?" Bella asked.

"Peppermint, triple chocolate, banana, Lemon and the gluten-free blueberry vegan ones for Sasha," Esme said. "Last year she requested bran muffins and didn't eat a single one claimed she told me she was on a no-carb diet."

"Those were the muggle version of Hagrid's rock cakes," Bella said.

Esme gave her a weird look.

"Alice gave me one thinking it was one of the chocolate ones," Bella replied. "Do you want me to get the small coffee pot now?"

"No, Sasha can get that herself," Esme said. "I have balding to do and I am tired fo taking extra steps for her. If there are any muffins left over I am taking them and dropping them off at the soup kitchen later today."

"Okay," Bella replied. "Big silver bowls?"

"Yes, they should still be in the dishwasher from last night's dinner."

Bella retrieved the silver mixing bowls for Esme along with the muffin tins. She got to work on the muffin recipe that Esme put in front of her and quickly got them into the oven before starting onto the next one. Within an hour and a half, they had the muffins mixed, backed and cooling on the wire racks as everyone came down. Sasha's coffee was ready for her the moment she stepped into the kitchen. Esme usurped Bella out of the room and into the family room with the Christmas tree so Bella didn't get to see what Sasha's reaction was.

She sat down in an armchair farthest away from the tree since she was likely not to get much compared to the Cullen's but she was used to it and her dad had a gift waiting for her at home. She picked at her muffin as one by one the Cullens trickled into the room. The last one being Esme. Bella listened quietly as Esme explained how the gift opening was going to go and started to hand out gifts as she went. Soon everyone had a healthy stack of gifts in front of them including a stocking stuffed with little things.

"Carlisle dear, you are the oldest so you go first."

Carlisle picked a gift at random from his pile.

"It is from Alice," He said. "Kind of then but that doesn't mean anything where Alice is concerned because the book she got me last year didn't make it here until February forth."

He ripped the paper off and then slowly lifted the lid off the box and turned the gift outward so everyone could see a set of ties that looked like they could come from the set of Harry Potter. With the animal of each house sew into the tip of the tie. Next was Esme who opened a vegan spa day set from Sasha. The gift opening continued on like that with each person opening one gift at a time. Bella being the youngest was the last to do so.

Bella opened her smallest gift first as it was an envelope that had an Amazon gift card tucked inside. Her second box to be opened was a pair of gloves that you could wear and still used your phone without having to pull one off. Next box she opened held a cheap jewelry set from Walmart that actually looked kind of cute. After the jewelry set, she opened a flat box that held a pink silk sleep set that she more than likely never would wear because it wasn't to her taste and it was three sizes too small. She was told to open the next to gifts together and found a black handbag and a matching wallet from Prada. Next was her gift from Lush that Alice had gotten for her that Bella knew cost more than the limit they had agreed upon. After Alice's gift was a gift from her cousin Kate of a printed silk scarf that she had apparently designed herself. Her last gift was a Bluetooth record player from Jasper.

Overall Bella liked what she got. She was surprised that she hadn't gotten anything with Edward's name all over it. Last year he got her a large box of cheese-its because she was eating them all the time while she studied. Granted he could have been one of the gifts that she had gotten that didn't have a name on it but she had no idea and felt it would be quite weird to ask him if he got her something. She was saved by a text from her dad saying that he and Sue were both home and would be happy to accept her arrival at any time.

"My dad is home," She told Alice a few minutes a later.

"Give me a moment to help mom clean up and I'll take you home."

"That's alright. I need time to pack up anyway, and I have to feed Snowball one last time while we are here."

"Just let me know when you are ready," Alice said.

"I will."

Bella then carried all her gifts up to the room that she had taken over and set them down. She quickly packed her bag and made sure Snowball was okay before going to get the last of the formula she had pre-made for him to feed him. He looked like he was doing a lot better but Bella still wasn't sure if he would make it or not. She placed Snowball back into his box after feeding him and then placed the box into the bag along with everything else of his.

"Hey Bella, Alice said you might need a bag or two," Edward said as he held up two reusable shopping bags.

"I do thanks," Bella replied.

Bella took the bags from Edward and continued to pack up her things. She couldn't wait to get home and spend some time with her dad before she had to leave for New York in a couple of days.

"Bella could you please stop for a second I need to talk to you," Edward snapped. "Sorry I have just been trying to figure out how to talk to you for months now."

"I have trouble believing that. You have hardly said a word to me since that failed date several months ago."

"I've tried several times in fact. I can't seem to find the words when I'm talking but after I decided to give you the gifts it seemed easier but you didn't like that."

"Then why lie and say it wasn't you?" Bella asked.

"I've never denied it because you have never asked me," Edward replied.

"Yes, I did. I asked you if you were the one behind the gifts the night we went to the bar with Emmet, Jake, Jasper, Ben, and Angela got engaged that night I believe."

"I don't remember that night," Edward said. "I can't tell you if I said something or not."

"That doesn't matter Edward you have had more than one chance to tell me it was you. Why wait this long to say anything."

"Because there were times you were pissed off that money was being spent on you when all I wanted to do is show you that I am in LOVE WITH YOU!" Edward said.

Bella had no idea what to say to Edward so she just booked it out of the room and the house and into the woods. Edward was quick to go after her since she had not taken a coat or any other protection against the cold weather. He lost sight of her after she went through a thick line of trees. His heart nearly dropped when he heard her scream and then go quiet. He ran as fast as he could toward the spot he heard her voice coming from. She found her sitting against a pine tree clutching her ankle with her one good hand.

Without a word, Edward walked over and picked Bella up from the snowy ground and started back for the house. He took her back up to her room without anyone spotting them. He set her on the bed and went to get his dad so he could say if Bella needed to go to the hospital or not. Edward thought that she just had a mild sprain but he didn't think that Bella cared for his opinion at the moment. Once Bella was in the care of his father he went to his room to get the last gift he had for Bella. He pulled out a sheet of paper and began to write and before he knew it he had several pages. He took his latest letter and the last gift he had for Bella and put them into a shipping box and stuffed it with spare newspaper to keep them from moving around too much. He'd send it out tomorrow when the office re-opened.

By the time he was finished with everything, Bella had already gone home. She left nothing behind not even a scrap of wrapping paper that happened to be stuck to her gifts. Edward went back to his room and thought to himself before he grabbed his bag and packed it. He figured that he would head home to New York tomorrow after sending out his package to Bella. If she didn't want to talk to him after he tried talking to her then he would leave her alone. The ball was in her court now.

"Bella your home."

"I wanted to spend some time with you before I had to get back to New York," Bella replied. "

"When do you have to go back?" Charlie asked her.

"My flight leaves from SEA-TAC at six thirty in the morning on the twenty-ninth."

"I thought It would be good to get into my apartment and hunkered down by the time the New Year celebrations start."

"At least I have three more days with you," He replied. "Was your Christmas with the Cullen's okay?"

"It was great. I just wanted to get back and get Snowball settled in. I still have to head to Newton's to get a carrier for him."

"You should get it now, we are supposed to get snow and Ice tonight and you shouldn't be on the roads unless you have to be."

"Is there anything else I should get?" Bella asked.

"No house is fully stocked of any dry goods and water we may need to in case we are snowed in and Seth is going to stay at a friends house for the night and Leah is staying at her dad's old cabin in La Push and Sue is staying at the hospital since she is on call for the next two days because of the potential storms."

"What about you?" Bella asked.

"I'm on call as of seven pm tonight but I'm going to head in early after I finish eating that way Lukas can get home to his wife."

"She's due any day now right?" Bella asked.

"Yes and she's on bed rest until she has the baby."

Bella sat down and watched the recorded game with her Dad until it was time for him to leave. Bella left the house at the same time as her dad. He climbed into his cruiser and Bella climbed into the car she was using for now.

"Be safe dad and don't forget to check in with Sue," Bella said.

"I won't," He replied.

Her dad turned left heading toward the station and Bella turned right headed toward Newton's she found the smallest pet carrier she could find for her new kitten. It was a small fabric one with a stiff but removable bottom panel that made it easy to clean if necessary. She ignored Mike Newton's leering stare as she paid for it and quickly left once she had the receipt and carrier in hand.

Once she got home she made sure that she had everything packed. She even checked with the airline to make sure that she could take Snowball with her on her flight. She didn't think that things were going to work out for her and Edward and there for things would be awkward for her and Alice so she thought it would be a good idea to get her own place once she was back in New York.

Bella baked a frozen pizza and settled in for a night of true crime television. While waiting for the pizza to bake Bella downloaded the Zillow app and began her search for an apartment to rent. After hours of searching and four slices of pizza, she found a couple of places to check out once she got back into town. She knew that Jasper and Alice were likely to get their own place if not stay in the apartment that she and Alice had called home. She had no idea when Alice and Jasper planned to have their wedding. Alice marked ever important event down for them so there were several days they could choose from. Three hundred and sixty-five days if you count all of the other days that held no importance for them.