A/N… Okay, so I wasn't quite ready to let these two go. ;) And since this was Jenny's gift, I asked her what she'd want to see as an outtake/future-take. She touched on two things specifically and a couple things she could take or leave, and I'll tell you what those are at the end. I took it as a challenge to give her what she wanted. LOL I'll say this again…Jenny's very spoiled, but at least she owns it. ;)

This a future shot, so enjoy.

~ooo~Heaven~ooo~

Edward

I leaned back against the trunk of a tree, pushing my hands into the front pockets of my jeans. My eyes soaked up the sight before me. It was four years to the day that Bella, Alice, and I had barely escaped Italy with our lives.

I wasn't sure anyone remembered the date, but I did. It was the day that forever changed me. It was the day I stopped fighting what I was truly meant to do with my life, who I was supposed to be, and what kept me breathing – her.

My eyes stayed locked on the person that made me a better man. My wife. My mate. My Bella.

"If you're scared, say you're scared," Emmett taunted her, wearing his big grin.

"You wish," she growled back at him, setting her elbow on the large boulder he'd just set down in front of her.

In four very short years, everything had changed. Bella and I had married at the Cullen house in Forks the summer after we graduated high school and just before we went off to Dartmouth. Bella had wanted to give her parents something to remember, a wedding, a perfect moment where we showed everyone just how happy we were, but that we were solidly together, despite our "break-up." It was one of the best days of my life. She'd been happy and stunning in a dress Alice had made, carrying a bouquet of wildflowers I'd personally picked from our meadow.

The honeymoon on Isle Esme followed, and there weren't enough words in any language to express just how amazing that was – two glorious weeks of just the two of us, no interruptions, and barely a stitch of clothes worn the entire time. After that first time in Bella's bedroom, we became insatiable for each other. For me, it was a nonstop need to be with my mate, and for Bella, it was the most beautiful expression of her love for me. There had been days where I'd been completely at her mercy.

Grinning to myself at that thought, I shook my head. I drove her crazy most of the time. She'd joined the masses at Dartmouth with a thirst for knowledge, and she maintained the patience of a saint when it came to me. I was possessive and protective. I was paranoid something would happen to her, even the most inane things posed a threat – traffic, weather, another paper cut, and the ogling male students. The latter had been filled with lewd and foul thoughts for the two years we attended college, which resulted in my surrender to change Bella.

From the moment I'd returned to her, she'd said we needed a plan, but I wasn't quite ready to let her humanity go, and I encouraged her to give college some time. My fear of not being able to stop when it came to her change was a real and tangible thing, so I begged for time. However, after two years and one male student in her algebra class that had thought the wrong thing at the wrong time, I'd taken her too hard, with too much need, and I'd bruised her. At that point, I knew I needed her like me…and soon. I was damned lucky I hadn't broken bones.

As Bella had neared the end of two years – and her associate's degree – I'd finally fallen to my knees and surrendered, all the while kissing every bruise that was healing. I begged for forgiveness yet again, telling her I was ready, but that I needed Carlisle's counsel. I wanted it to go as smooth and as easy as we could do it, but I begged her to understand that I needed my father close. She accepted it like Bella always did – with a sweet, understanding smile and a warm kiss to my lips as she pushed my hair off my forehead.

"I trust you, Edward," she'd said, and with that, we'd started to plan and move and arrange for her "death."

Her gorgeous laughter rang across the clearing as she used her strength against Emmett. It was an arm wrestling match that was a long time coming. She was now a little over a year into her immortality, and she was absolutely flawless. She was grace and strength and speed. She was calm and comfortable in her new body. And if I thought she was beautiful and alluring as my warm, sweet, soft human, nothing prepared me for her change.

I heard Carlisle's mind before I felt his approach as he came to stand beside me.

"She's taken to this life better than any of us," he muttered, though his chuckle laced through every word, and they matched his mind.

Nodding, I smiled over at him. His thoughts were filled with pride and awe of my strength, but they shifted to show my happiness, which was a sharp contrast as to how I'd been the decades prior to Bella stumbling into our lives. He'd always worried that he'd changed me too young, that he'd condemned me to this life, but as he gazed upon his newest daughter, he knew he'd done the right thing. Or at the very least, he was ecstatic that things had a way of working out, no matter the length of time.

"I'd live another hundred years over if the end result was her," I whispered in response to his train of thought.

He reached over and gripped my shoulder. "We all feel that way about our mates, son."

Grinning, I sighed a deep breath, a content release of…finally. I'd seen through the minds of my family how it felt to be connected to that one person. They'd orbit around each other like moons and stars. Every thought, concern, and act was done with their mate in mind. Carlisle and Esme had a deep-rooted connection, and they were calming and peaceful for each other. Emmett and Rosalie were the epitome of passion and fun, but the poster children for opposites attracting, because they couldn't be more different from each other. Though, it worked for them. Then there was Alice and Jasper, whose relationship was soul deep and relied upon emotion and loyalty. I'd watched it all, tried to stay away from it. And I'd hated every minute of it. I'd hated seeing it when nothing in my life had ever been that perfect. I'd wanted it, but I'd consoled myself that it would never come.

Dragging my gaze across the clearing again, I smiled at the giggling laughter coming from all the women in my life. Beautiful warm, golden eyes met my own, and the smile Bella saved just for me curled up her full, red lips.

Edward? Baby, you okay?

My brow wrinkled as I nodded, but I couldn't stop my smile, making her giggle when I looked at her as if she were crazy. Nothing in my life could be better. My life was now infinitely better than simply "okay." Just as quickly as her mind opened to me, it closed. She was working on it, but it wasn't a constant line of communication for her. We'd discovered just after her change that she was a shield, which explained why her mind had been always silent to me.

"She's getting better at letting you read her thoughts," Carlisle said, chuckling a little. Though, every time she does it, you look like you've won the lottery.

Laughing at his silent sarcasm, my head fell back to the tree behind me. "I can't help it."

Alice's mind whirled with visions, landing on a specific one, which was that Bella needed to hunt. I didn't even think twice, and I pushed off the tree just as Bella looked to me with her fingers on her throat.

"I know, love. C'mon, we'll go for a quick hunt and come right back."

She'd missed my family, but the past year had been mainly just the two of us. This was the first time in several months that we were all back together. Alice and Jasper had decided to travel. Emmett and Rosalie had a home a few towns over. Carlisle and Esme had been in Alaska for the last four months. I'd wanted Bella's first year to be not unlike how Carlisle had worked with me – one on one. My Bella was a private person, and her change was no different. She'd wanted my guidance, and she appreciated Carlisle's input, especially in the very first days, but for this, she relied heavily upon me. And I was perfectly okay with that.

We were currently in Canada just north of Montana. We were deep in the woods, where I felt comfortable enough to allow a newborn Bella freedom to run, to hunt, and to test herself without the fear of too many humans nearby. Although, in comparison to every last one of my siblings, Bella's newborn year had been a breeze, something that Carlisle was convinced was her shield at work.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I kissed the side of her head as we walked at a human pace through the clearing. Just inside the tree line, my girl pushed away from me with a giggle and took off. Chuckling and shaking my head, I allowed her the head start, knowing I was still faster than she was. I lagged behind, tracking her enough to keep close should she need me, but just far enough away to let her hunt on her own.

Her takedown of a doe was as graceful as a lioness, with strength and speed, barely even messing up her clothes, which wasn't always the case, but she'd gotten better at it. A ray of sunlight broke through the heavy clouds, causing Bella's now immortal skin to glimmer, cast rainbows of light all around her, and I shook my head as I remembered telling her once it was the skin of a killer. Memories of how we met, getting to know her, and Italy played in my mind in perfect clarity.

Four years. I sighed again in contentment. It all happened so fast. So many important moments in my life, so many mistakes, but looking at her right then, I couldn't regret a single thing. Changing her was one of them, even the conversation that took place just prior to it.

~oOo~

"Edward Cullen, you'll stop and listen to me!" Bella said, and my girl didn't have to yell to get my attention, but her voice was trembling all the same.

Sitting forward on the edge of our bed, I sank my fingers into my hair in frustration and nerves. When her beautiful bare feet appeared in my vision as I glared down at the floor, I couldn't stop myself from reaching out and pulling her between my legs.

"I'm sorry, I just…"

"No, listen, Edward," she urged in a whisper, tilting my face up to meet her always-so-damn-patient gaze. "I need to know if that's something you want, baby. And don't give me vampire medical stats. Give me the damn truth!"

I huffed a humorless laugh, shaking my head. "I…I don't know what I want, love. That's the damn truth. Is it physically possible for you to carry my child? Yes, but at what risk, Bella?! Carlisle's concerned with your frame, your health, your diet. It would be so…so…fucking hard on you, and I—"

Her heartbeat picked up a little at my language. I so rarely used curse words, but I couldn't control anything at the moment. It wasn't the first time we'd discussed this, but it would be the last, because I needed to make a decision. All I knew was that I never, ever wanted to see bruises in the shapes of my handprints on her precious skin again. Anything other than that was superfluous.

That thought had me gently lifting the bottom of her shirt and pressing long, loving kisses to the yellowing bruises on her torso. The list of what could've gone wrong was endless. There could've been broken ribs, punctured lungs, internal bleeding. With one wrong move, I could've snapped her damn spine.

All because that useless, insignificant human in her algebra class had lost himself to a long, detailed fantasy about my wife. I'd needed to hunt – that much was certain – but it was all I could do not to snap the bastard's neck. She was mine. And I couldn't stop. I was beyond reachable when it came to my mate, and it didn't help that she fed off of it, loved the moments when I was lost to her, even when I was damned dangerous.

"I don't… Bella, I don't think I can wait much longer. I'm… This was too close," I told her honestly, my lips brushing against each remaining bruise. Looking up at her, I shook my head. "It will be hard enough for me to change you without adding undue stress to the situation. I've come to terms a long, long time ago that I would never father children, Bella. I… If this is something you want, however, I… I will have to mull it over, because to risk you… Love, I can't lose you! I just…can't. It feels like I just got you, and where a part of me gets lost in the fantasy of it, the realist in me can't live without you should something go wrong."

I smelled the salt of her tears before they fell down her cheeks, and instantly, I pulled her to my lap. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I chanted over and over against her lips, cheeks, and my favorite freckle just behind her ear. That lonely freckle was still the one place I tended to give extra love to when I kissed her, only now she knew why.

"Hey," she whispered, cupping my face and pulling me from her neck. My forehead fell to hers as I lost myself in her warm, deep brown eyes. "Okay, so we won't risk it. We've risked enough since we met."

I laughed softly, nodding against her. "Yeah, but damn, it was worth it."

"Yeah," she said dreamily, and I pressed my lips to hers. "Since you listened to me about Victoria, then I'll concede to this, Mr. Cullen."

Flashes of that evil, redheaded demon came to mind, and I nodded again. Bella had begged and pleaded for me to let it go with Victoria, to let the wolves deal with her. My girl had been near frantic when she'd heard I'd tried tracking her when we were apart, so I stepped back as my family and the wolves, now led by Jacob, ended not only Victoria, but the small newborn army she'd built. It was all over in one afternoon as Bella and I had barely left the bed of a hotel room in Seattle.

"Compromise, Mrs. Cullen?" I whispered against her lips, just about to start removing whatever sleepwear she'd donned for bed. I'd love her slowly, gently tonight, reveling in her warmth and racing heartbeat.

Her grin spread over her beautiful face every time I called her that, and I chuckled at her. However, I pulled back, sobering quickly. "We need to plan, love."

"You're sure you're ready?"

Nodding, I slipped my hands beneath her shirt, ghosting my touch over smooth, warm skin, but blindly tracing my own handprints. "I can't risk this…again."

She studied my face, reaching up to rake her fingers through my hair. "Okay, then after I finish this semester, we'll move. We'll plan it." She paused for a moment. "Actually, you'll plan it, and I'll follow."

"Not follow," I corrected her. "We're together on this one, but I need Carlisle."

"I know you do, baby."

~oOo~

The feel of Bella's hands on either side of my face brought me back to the present, and I smiled her way, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her glorious body flush to mine.

"Where are you today, Edward?" she asked with a laugh, but there was concern in her eyes, as well.

I opened my mouth to explain, only to snap it closed. Finally, I mumbled the truth. "Four years ago today, love… We…You… Italy."

"Today? Really?" she asked softly.

"Try, Bella," I breathed against her lips as I lifted her into my arms. "Let me see how you remember it."

I smiled when my girl took a deep, readying breath and then lifted her shield. I never really pushed when it came to reading her thoughts. I could read her beautiful face better than my own, but every now and then I'd ask her to simply try. I wondered if I'd ever become spoiled to it, or if she enjoyed being the only one free from my invading gift.

Blurry, human memories came to the forefront of her mind as I sat us down at the base of that tree. Bella's thoughts circled around pain and loss, but the unbelievable love she had for my sister when she'd showed up. The mantra that they both had was, "Please, let us get there in time." Over and over, Bella thought it. It didn't matter that I'd left her, that possibly seeing me would rip her heart wide open, because all she knew was I was too important to die.

Closing my eyes, I pressed my lips to her forehead and left them there as I ran with her through the streets of Volterra. Her panic became my own when the clock in the tower started to strike midday. I saw myself, my resolve to die, but I looked at how she saw me. Thinking she was already gone from this earth, I already felt dead, and I looked it. I also looked thirsty and worn, with barely a glance at my surroundings. And if I'd have just looked, I'd have seen, heard, smelled Bella coming at me at the fastest her feet could carry her.

Her memory was fuzzy up until the throne room with Aro, Caius, and Marcus. Her fear was palpable, even after so long, not because we were standing in a room with the most powerful of my kind, but that those men had my head in their hands, and she simply couldn't allow it.

Kill me. Not him.

You know nothing about his soul.

Bella's shield closed up, and I pulled back to look at her.

"Sorry, I couldn't hold it much longer." Her smile was sweet, but her apology was unnecessary.

Smiling, I brushed my lips over hers. "You're getting really good at that, love," I praised her first, but paused for a moment to push a lock of hair away from her face. "You were mad."

"I was pissed!" She laughed, shaking her head. "Who was that guy to tell me what I should believe about your soul?!" She pointed a finger at me and growled a little. "And don't tell me he's the leader of the vampire world. I don't care. He can believe whatever he wants about himself and his creepy brothers, but he can't tell me you aren't a beautiful soul. He didn't even know you."

"My brave girl," I soothed, cupping her face and kissing her deeply. "You know, that's what Marcus saw. That's the moment I realized that you were my other half, Bella. He saw that you would, without a second thought, put yourself in my place. He stopped Aro, telling him to leave us, that we were mated."

Bella tilted her gorgeous head a little, her sharp eyes raking over my face. It was every bit vampire and alien, not my shy, sweet girl, but her smile and loving gaze were exactly the same as that human girl I'd first met. She still had some work to do when it came to slowing down her actions to a human pace, but she was getting there. Reaching up she trailed her fingers across my face, along my jaw, and down my nose.

"Is that why Aro made you promise to change me?" she asked softly, dragging her thumb gently across my bottom lip.

Pressing a kiss to it, I nodded. "Partly. The other part was because, we'd broken a rule about humans knowing, though Marcus had lost his mate at one time, so he spoke up, putting his foot down to Aro."

We were quiet for a moment, content to simply be in each other's arms.

"You look lost today, baby," she noted, her brow furrowing, but she laughed lightly.

"It's been four years, love," I whispered, looking down between us where she was wrapped around me in sinful jeans. My eye caught my mother's ring on her finger, and I picked it up and pressed a kiss to it. "In some ways, time isn't a factor for our kind," I said, smiling at the word "our," because she was one of us now. "Time for me personally was long and dreadful before you, Bella, even though it really wasn't. Meeting you simply made everything before that pale in comparison. But these four years – hell, even this last year – have gone by in the blink of an eye, and…"

I swallowed nervously, because what I was about to say was the blatant, raw truth.

"One lifetime with you will never be long enough, Bella. Changing you…" I sighed deeply, finally lifting my gaze to her patient, golden eyes. "It was the scariest, most important, yet best decision of my life. I need you. And I've always needed you, love."

I rolled my eyes at myself, at how lovesick I sounded at the moment, and I was glad my brothers weren't around to give me hell about it – not that they didn't have their days where they were just as bad – but my eyes caught sight of my bite mark on her neck. It was just below my lonely freckle I doted on so much. My finger trailed along its shiny surface, noting each tooth mark.

The memory of the night I'd changed her was clear and vivid, bringing with it the feeling of panic and fear. As much as I tried to convince my Bella to keep everything clinical and controlled, my wife had wanted something…different.

~oOo~

The scent of shampoo and floral soap and warm shower wafted in from the bathroom as I gazed out the window of our new home in Canada. I could hear Esme with Bella, a gentle, calming conversation. It was just the four of us in the house. My siblings had been by earlier, but for this, I needed my "parents."

"Here, son," Carlisle said, coming to the doorway. In his hands were two syringes – one was morphine, and the other was my venom we'd collected just that morning. "I'm not so sure the venom won't simply burn away the morphine, but it couldn't hurt to try it." He sighed deeply, reaching out to grip my shoulder. You can do this, Edward. I have complete faith in you, and I promise I'm just going far enough that all you need to do is call my name, he thought to me, and it was soothing and filled with hopeful pride.

"Wh-What if… She wants me to… What if I can't stop?"

He took a deep breath and let it out, not because he needed it, but to take a moment to let his thoughts center. He thought back to how he'd changed me. He'd closed off his throat in order to keep the flavor from even tempting him. He'd quit breathing to stop the scent of it from starting a frenzy. And lastly, he'd closed his eyes, not even letting the sight of it meet his gaze until he'd at least gotten the venom into my bloodstream.

"After you, I got the hang of it," he said, grinning when I snorted a little. "You… You were different. You'd lost so much, but your mother…" He sighed deeply, shaking his head when his thoughts trailed off. "Esme was so close to death…Rosalie and Emmett, too…but their heartbeats were faint. You had a pounding heart, due to your fevered state, so you posed a bit of temptation, but I closed every one of my senses off."

We both shifted a bit into the hallway when the shower shut off, and Esme continued to pamper Bella.

Edward, he thought to me. I've never regretted changing a single one of you. I love you all. Bella, too. But you, son… You were there for me when I needed you the most, even when you were at your most confused, and I couldn't be more proud of you. It's my absolute honor to help you do this. Do you understand what I'm telling you? I've watched you guard, protect, and love everyone in this family without question. You've stood by us when it was breaking you apart inside. For me to see this…this amazing level of happiness – something I've wanted for you since I found Esme – it does my heart good. Edward, you're so much stronger than you think you are, and when it comes time, I need you to keep your love for her in the forefront of your mind. Block everything else out but that. Use your heart, son. Follow it. Let it guide you through this.

"Yes, sir," I whispered, a little overwhelmed at just how much love I could feel from him through his thoughts. I looked down at the two syringes in my hand, nodding a bit. "It hurts me, scares me to no end to think I'm going to cause her pain, Carlisle."

"I know, but as soon as the venom hits her bloodstream, I'll be right here with you to monitor her. You will not be alone in this. I know you want privacy, that Bella wants it, and I can respect that, but I'm here for the both of you. Okay?"

I nodded and then felt Esme's arms wrap around my waist from the side, and I couldn't help but smile down at her as she said, "We won't be far, my sweet boy."

Grinning at the old term of endearment, I nodded, kissing her cheek. "Thanks, Mom."

"She's nervous, but she's more worried about you, and what this will do to you."

I let out a rough laugh. "Of course she is," I said through a chuckle I couldn't stop. "That's just…Bella."

Carlisle grinned, but reached up to hold my face for a moment. "That. Hold that in your mind. You won't lose her, and I won't let you."

They left the house when the sound of Bella calling my name made me turn around and close the door. She stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a beautiful blue robe. It was some sort of soft material – silk or satin – and my hands ached to reach out and touch, but I took a deep breath and held up the two syringes.

"Carlisle thought these would help." Her sweet face paled a little, and her nose wrinkled adorably, which made me chuckle as I set them down on our nightstand. "My brave Bella," I said with a light laugh, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "The thought of pain and immortality doesn't scare you, but the tiny needles do?"

"Shut up, Edward!" She giggled, and it was the most beautiful sound, considering what we were about to face. "Immortality just means that I get to keep you."

That simple and totally honest declaration made my chest constrict with the weight of my love for her. If my heart could beat, it would've pounded against my ribcage. As it was, my breathing faltered and the venom stung my eyes with tears.

"Christ," I breathed, reaching out to pull her by her hand to stand between my legs. I held her waist but met her deep, loving gaze. "I'm never going anywhere, Isabella Cullen. My fate is now wrapped up in this beautiful face," I told her, trailing my fingers down her blushing cheek. "It's right here." I placed my hand flat over her pounding heart. "Whether it beats or not…"

"It's yours," she finished for me.

"Yes, ma'am. Always."

I said that with the knowledge that she was – and always would be – mine. And I was hers. I knew it like I knew that the sun rose in the east and set in the west. I relied upon it, leaned on it, and flaunted it, because it was unbreakable, infallible, and absolutely beautiful. Bella loved me as much as I loved her. It was the truth that came from leaving her, from reuniting with her, and seeing it firsthand in Italy that fateful day. I never doubted it. And I didn't need Alice's visions to show me that our future would be amazing. I could feel it, see it every time I looked Bella in the eye, felt her touch, and heard her voice tell me she loved me. It was why I'd requested privacy for this night. I wanted Bella to guide me. Carlisle was simply insurance, because I was no longer arrogant enough to think I knew best.

"Edward, I—" Her face blushed crimson when she snapped me back to reality, but she dropped her gaze to my lips, licking her own. "I just… I want you one more time. I want…" She turned and looked at the needles, only to spin back to me. "I understand those, but…I want to feel you love me before…"

I couldn't deny her anything. I never have been able to do it, despite what she thought before we returned from Italy. I'd hand her anything her little heart desired, but all her heart ever wanted was me, and I was a humbled man because of it.

Reaching out, I toyed with the tie on that midnight blue silk robe. I pulled the belt free of its knot, and the material parted but didn't reveal all of her, even though I could see she was bare beneath the soft fabric. Trailing a fingertip across her bottom lip and down her chin, I smiled when she shivered. I continued my path down that sweet peek of flesh, keeping my eyes on her gorgeous face.

She didn't believe me, but the last two years had caused amazing changes to her body. She was smooth skin, strong muscles, and curves that drove me mad on most days. She'd tell me she still felt like the awkward teen from Forks, but she was so far from it. Every inch of her was sexy and awe-inspiring woman.

Her heart rate picked up, but a small, shy smile curled her lips. "I love it when you look at me that way. Will…Will you miss it? The warm, fragile human, the heartbeat?" she asked, but I could see her worry.

My hand flat over her heart, I shook my head no. "I get to keep you," I whispered in response, still shaking my head – whether in answer or to clear it, I wasn't sure. "You, my sweet Bella. I could always tell your emotions by your heartbeat, but I look forward to learning to read you in other ways, love. Your facial expressions won't change," I teased her, bringing her closer in order to press a soft kiss to her lips. Cupping her face, I brought her forehead down to mine, finally expressing the biggest concern. "I don't want to hurt you, Bella." My voice broke a little. "I don't want to lose myself if this…if I—"

"I trust you, Edward."

They were the four most dangerous, most amazing words she ever uttered to me. Her faith in me, her trust since that black day in the woods just outside her father's front door – that meant everything to me. Having broken that trust and earned it back made me appreciate it all the more, but it scared me, too.

"I know you do, love. And while I love that you trust me, your request scares me to no end. To actually bite you—"

Her smile was warm, sweet, and patient as she cut me off with a kiss. "Does my blood still sing for you, Edward?"

That tease, while truthful, was meant to bring us back to the beginning. I huffed a light laugh, but then I sighed a bit, pulling her wrist to my nose.

"Yes and no. I'm very used to how it's always there, but sweetheart, it's been three years since I've tasted it on my tongue, and not to scare you, but I can remember it clearly." I winced at that statement, but she cupped my face. "It doesn't matter that I was saving you then…from James's bite. It's now going to be a deliberate act, and oh God, the pain."

"Right," she conceded, kissing me briefly. "But I also know that you want to make me yours, mark me in some way."

Embarrassed, I glanced down at my hands that were still toying with the edges of her robe. She was right; I did want that, but at what cost?

I grimaced at that but looked back to her face when she asked, "Is that a mating thing? Or an Edward thing?"

Chuckling, I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe a bit of both. Bella, I'll try. Try, okay?"

Bella placed her hands flat on either side of my face, bringing me in for a kiss. "I love you. And no pain can compare to losing you, baby." She smiled sadly. "No pain can touch that. So I know that when I come through this, your oh-so-handsome face will be the first thing I'll see. That this hand will be holding mine."

"Yes. Without question, my beautiful Bella. Are you nervous?"

"No." She shook her head. "I just want to make love to you, and then however you feel comfortable, Edward, just… I just want you to know that while I'm out for three days, I want this, want you, and that I'm ready. Know that now before you even touch me."

Nodding, I took a deep breath, focusing on her body, the scent that was wrapping around me like a heady fog. This scent had nothing to do with blood, but everything to do with my draw to her.

Slipping my fingers just under the edge of the robe, I slowly pushed the soft fabric off her shoulders. The dark blue fluttered to the floor, and my eyes drank in the sight of her bare body, her shyness that no longer existed because she believed me now when I told her that she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

"How do you want me to touch you, love?" I asked her, tilting my head just enough to inhale her sweet skin from her sternum up to my favorite freckle just behind her ear.

If I could've picked a spot that I wanted to mark, it would be that place, but I was still unsure, and I took comfort in the syringes lying on the nightstand.

"Just love me, Edward."

Fingers threaded into my hair, and I closed my eyes at the feel of it, the comfort of it. I opened my mouth to her skin, giving my freckle a long, loving kiss. I pulled back, holding her still before she could shift any closer. She was a vision, just stunning. I noted a few changes, but knowing my sisters and my mother the way I did, I could see that they'd prepared Bella for her change. All of us were changed on a whim or in an emergency, so haircuts and shaving and manicures were difficult when it was all said and done. They'd wanted to save her the trouble.

Shaking my head, I met her gaze. "You're beautiful."

"You're kinda cute yourself, baby." It was a teasing tone that came from her. She was aware of how humans saw me, that looks were just on the surface, that our beauty and grace were a lure to bring them in. It was Bella's way of telling me that she loved me for more than just the outside.

Pulling her a bit closer, I pressed a kiss over her heart, where it was pounding. It wasn't a nervous beat but the same tempo she had when she was turned on, when she wanted to kiss me. And I gave her what she wanted. With her standing while I sat on the edge of the bed, she had control. Warm hands pulled my face, and her hair created a curtain around us. Her scent increased ten-fold once my hands started to touch, caress, tease.

Our kiss was slow, languid, and so good. It was deep, and slowly, I started to relax. Bella was setting the pace, and once my fingers trailed up her thighs and around to her bottom, I finally pulled her to my lap. She hummed in approval, reaching for the bottom of the T-shirt I was wearing, and we pulled apart long enough for her to pull it up and off me, only to fall right back into the rhythm of our kiss.

Bodies started to shift and roll, and nothing about the cotton pants I was wearing could hide what she did to me, not that I hid it from her anymore. She loved that she caused that reaction from me. She said it made her feel beautiful and powerful that she was the only one in over a hundred years who could do that. I smiled into the kiss, my hands squeezing and teasing her bottom, slipping through her folds from the back. I rolled us, placing her gently on the bed and looming over her. Her change was temporarily forgotten as smiles were shared, as she giggled when she used her feet to push my pants down to the foot of the bed where I immediately kicked out of them. The personal and private language we'd started a few years ago in her bedroom was now even easier. We were fluent in it.

"Please, Edward…"

My fingers teased and tested her pussy, and she writhed with my touch.

"Please, what?" I asked, knowing she'd let out the moan I lived to hear from her.

"Unngh," she growled, her head falling back as I licked slowly around each nipple, my fingers never stopping, always working, but I knew what she wanted.

I worked my way down her torso, giving that small scar just above her navel a brief kiss. Closing my eyes, I inhaled the smooth, warm skin from hipbone to hipbone, finally nuzzling her mound with my nose. Opening my eyes, I gave a small, teasing lick, letting the tip of my tongue just barely touch her clit, because the reaction was instantaneous.

"Fuck!" she hissed, her legs falling open even farther and her hands reaching for something, anything. I gave her mine, linking our fingers together, and her free hand twisted into the covers of the bed.

I hummed at her cursing, because for some reason, I loved it. She never said anything harsher than "damn," so to hear it now, hear it when I caused it made me crazy for her. Careful as always of my teeth, I leaned in and tasted Bella from the source. It was such a pure flavor, so much more than her skin, but not as potent as her blood. This flavor was better, though, because it was all for me. I'd caused it. She was dripping wet because she wanted me, this, all of it.

It never took long. She came so fast that way, and I had to pull back when she did, because her body was a livewire as her orgasm took her over – toes curled, fingers gripped, and hips rose up off the bed. My lips pressed to the inside of her thigh, and I found the second place I'd mark her, but instead, I sucked at her skin until a love bite remained.

Our fingers were still entwined, and she gave my hand a squeeze, pulling me up her body. I braced our hands by her head, dropping my forehead to hers. Her hazy eyes opened up to mine, and I brushed light kisses across her lips.

"You taste delicious when you come on me, Bella," I told her, my lips pushing the words out against her mouth, her chin, and down to her neck, where I buried my kisses just below her ear.

I purred in want of her when her hand slipped up my side and around to my ass, pulling me in, gripping me to show me she wanted me inside. I let go of her hand, because even after making love for a few years now, it was still too overwhelming. I'd break her hand. Lining up with her entrance, I barely slipped inside, nuzzling her nose with mine and waiting for her eyes to open.

When dark, heated brown opened to meet my gaze, I slid slowly all the way in. I lived to watch them darken to almost black and then roll back as she lost herself to the feel of us becoming one.

"Yes," I growled, dropping my head to her shoulder. "God, Bella…you feel so good."

Warmth and wetness surrounded me. Her heartbeat was every-damn-where. It beat heavily like it was my own. Her fingers gripped and grappled for a hold on me once I started to move, but my own stayed firmly planted on the mattress.

Her legs wrapped high around my waist, hands slipping into my hair. "Uh…there, Edward…"

A half-smile lifted my mouth as I made sure to hit the spot she wanted. Over and over, I rolled my hips, mesmerized as she lost control. Her orgasm seemed to surprise her, but her head fell back to the pillows. Her neck stretched, and I couldn't resist it as I pressed my mouth to her pounding pulse that fluttered beneath her skin.

I rode out her spasms and her warmth, her clenching pussy triggered my own loss of control. Burying myself to the hilt, I growled as I came. I was about to move off her, when her arms and legs locked down around me. I held her close, allowing a bit of my weight on her. And her kisses to my neck and shoulder soon met my ear.

"Now, baby. Edward, do it."

My face was too close to her throat, my need still evident and hard inside her, but her plea was impossible to ignore. I reached for the nightstand at the same time I could smell myself and her arousal on her neck. Exposing my teeth near her for the first time in over three years, I bit down.

Her gasp and grip was harsh in the quiet room. But the flood of her sweet, potent blood hit the back of my throat. For a split second, the monster reared up his ugly head, reveling in the flavor of her. But my name left her sweet lips at the same time I could smell her, feel her around me.

"Edward, don't leave me…"

If any words in the English language could've gotten the monster to settle down, it was those four pleading words. I'd never leave my Bella again. With all the internal strength I could muster, I pulled back, turning to spit the remainder of her blood out of my mouth. With a nervous and shaky hand, I plunged the syringe with my venom into her heart.

"I've got you, love," I whispered, pulling out of her, my arousal no longer hard and ready. This was no turn on for me. "I know it hurts, but I'm here. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."

Her body arced up when the venom started to work, and I cringed at the pain etching across her face. I quickly got out of bed, pulling my pants back on and grabbing the other syringe.

"Carlisle!" I called over my shoulder as I administered the morphine straight into her arm.

He was there in an instant, as was Esme. She and I covered Bella, as my father did an assessment of her. Esme's mind was full of cleaning her up and changing her bedding, but Bella wasn't making a peep.

"Did… She's so quiet, Carlisle. Did I…" I fell to my knees beside the bed, whispering my love and promises against her hand.

My father's calm, patient gaze turned to me, but a smile played on his face. "Listen to her heart, Edward. Hear it? It's strong, so focus on that sound."

~oOo~

"That was three very long days," I sighed, smiling at Bella's giggle, but I turned her head a little to eye my mark on her again. "I could've—"

"But you didn't," she countered before I could finish, kissing my lips. "I'm here. We're perfect."

"You've always been perfect, Bella," I told her, grinning when she laughed at me, which essentially meant she thought I was full of shit. "Perfect for me, love," I amended, and that stopped her laughter cold.

"I love you, Edward," she stated out of the blue, tilting her head a little. She raked her fingers through my hair as I echoed my love back. "I'm glad you did it the way you did. I wanted to have you, us…that way as my last human memory." She nodded once, but she pushed her shield up just enough to show that all of us – every last member of the family – had horrific or sad memories before their change. Bella didn't want that. She wanted her memory to be of us – of the very reason behind the pain she was about to endure. "I have no regrets, Edward."

For a brief moment, she left that shield up, showing me every memory she had of me. From her first day at Forks High, to our meadow, to our first kiss, to even Italy where I'd become a new man, and finally making love the first time. She showed me standing up to Charlie when we decided to get married, and my endless smile the day of our wedding. All of it was ours, and to her, perfect. She wouldn't change a bit of it.

I found myself kissing her, and with her immortality, I could be rougher, more commanding, so I gripped her hair in my hand to ravish her, claim her. If I wasn't careful, though, we'd lose ourselves right there underneath that tree. So with a few sweeps of my lips over hers, I pulled back.

Her warm, gold gaze was a touch darker, and I smiled at how easy it was to just let go with her. It would not be the first time I claimed my mate out in the middle of the woods. I was debating stripping her bare when she brought me back to the real world.

"Alice says it's almost time for us to join the family."

I nodded; I'd seen the vision of Bella in school with us again somewhere new, somewhere cloudy. "You say that like you're not sure, my Bella," I pointed out as I wrapped a dark curl around my finger.

She shrugged a shoulder, something that was nowhere near immortal; that was all human Bella that carried over from her change. "I was trusting you to make that call."

Sighing deeply, I wrapped my arms all the way around her and pressed my lips to hers. "We have lifetimes to figure it out, Bella. We can try, or we can wait, but we can do whatever we want."

Her smile was soft, sweet. "Lifetimes," she repeated, and again her shield slipped a bit, and I heard her swirl the word over in her mind, along with the fact that it had been four years since Italy. She leaned in to kiss me once. "You're right, baby. One lifetime wouldn't be enough."

I kissed her thoroughly in agreement, but I could hear our phones ringing in our pockets. "Okay, let's go figure it out, love."

~ooo~Heaven~ooo~

A/N… This is the very end. The first thing that Jenny wanted was Bella's change, specifically while making love. The other thing was how long did they wait, which was two years. I asked about Nessie, and it wasn't important, so I opted to go a different way. I've never written a vamp change that way. Angelward was out of necessity, and Masen Manor didn't show it. SO…I took it as a challenge, and she approved. ;)

I hope you liked it. Like I said when I started this one, this fic was written simply for fun and lemons. ;)

Until next time… Mooches, Deb ;)