DISCLAIMER: Thank you, Stephenie Meyer, for letting me play with your characters for this story. They are not MINE, but it's been wonderful playing with them : )

The journey back to the Cullen home was a giant blur for Bella. She didn't remember much after Edward had lifted her from the boathouse. She slightly recalled him snapped the necks of several small animals and holding them to her mouth so she could feed, but she didn't remember where she was. But it didn't matter; she was in Edward's arms and he was whispering in her ear, kissing her neck, her wrists, everything. That had been nice, for a while, Edward taking care of her. Bella could imagine their future together being somewhere along these lines; satisfying their thirsts, being intimate with each other, except she wouldn't be so weak in the future.

Bella vaguely remembered the small hunt that continued once the boat reached the far side of the bay. Within the trees, Bella stalked, attacked, and drank from almost every animal she could find. Her bloodthirst was wild and completely out of check; the Cullens flanked her on every side so she wouldn't get too out of control. Finally, Bella reached a point that, even though her body still felt weak, she was full, mentally stronger, and competent now. But she still wasn't quite Bella yet.

Emmett greeted them where the woods met the road on the far side from the bay in his Jeep. "Bella!" he called from the driver's seat, a grin spreading on his face from ear to ear. "You look… dead tired," he joked. Bella simply snarled at him.

Edward gave him a warning glare. "Please Emmett, not now."

"Sure, sure. She's pretty damn feisty for having just fed you know," Emmett commented as Alice climbed into the passenger seat beside him. Edward, Bella, and Jasper crawled into the back. Carlisle left to bring the boat back to the marina; he would drive back from there and meet them at home.

"Yeah and it's not like anything terrifying or immortality-threatening happened to her today," growled Jasper.

Alice turned to stare at him from the front seat, surprised by his angry response. "Are you okay, Jasp?" she asked quietly.

Jasper nodded, hesitant; he stole a quick glance at Edward to see if he was listening to his thoughts, but his brother was more concerned with Bella at the moment. Jasper couldn't help but stare as he watched Edward hold Bella in his arms, the way Bella clung onto his neck with her tiny arms and buried her head in his chest. He could hear his brother whispering to her, a lullaby perhaps, but it was so soft- meant only for Bella.

"Jasper," Alice prompted again, pulling him out of his gaze. "Was it that bad? For her I mean?"

Jasper could only nod his head. "It was bad for me too Alice. The pain that Bella experienced today… I would give anything as long as I never have to feel that kind of pain again. I thought I was going to die, and I was sure I've been through worse," Jasper whispered, hanging his head, shameful of having this kind of weak reaction to today's events.

Alice could sense her partner's pain, his struggle with feeling such weak emotions; she knew how badly things like this tore him apart. So she unbuckled her seatbelt, climbed into the backseat and crawled into Jasper's arms. He held her tightly and buried his face in her spiky hair while Alice let her face nestle into the crook in his neck.

"It's ok Jasper, everything is good now. Bella is going to get better and she's going to be a strong member of our family… just like you," Alice whispered into his neck. "And we're going to stick together now…the Cullens and the Hales and we're going to protect each other."

Jasper grinned at the idea of their family together forever; everyone was complete, they each had their soul mates beside them. There was nothing that could shake the foundation of their family ever again. "And we'll all live happily ever after," he laughed, pulling Alice closer. She giggled in his arms.

Emmett took a glance in his rearview mirror at the cuddling couples in his backseat. He groaned loudly, interrupting both the moments occurring. "Do you guys think you could at least wait til we get home? I just had the leather replaced back there!"

When they arrived back at the house, Edward still would not release Bella from his grasp. The drive had been good for her; she now felt like Bella and she still felt full from the hunt earlier.

"Edward, put me down! I can walk you know!" Bella protested as Edward carried her up the stairs.

"Sure you can, but I happen to like this way better," he grinned at her.

They had passed Esme and Rosalie on their way in. Rosalie looked slightly paler than usual but other than that Bella couldn't see anything outwardly wrong with her. She wasn't sure what Victoria had done to Rosalie, but she was glad she was doing better. Esme and Rosalie both greeted the return party, excited that the family was all together again, and safe. Emmett had gone straight to Rosalie, wrapped her in his arms, and pressed his lips firmly against hers. And Bella felt happy and comforted by this sight; everyone was home, everyone was with their other, everything would be okay.

Upstairs in Edward's room, he gently laid Bella down on his bed, scooting beside her and letting his body line up against hers. As his lips found hers, his hands worked their way around her body, slowly removing her clothes piece by piece. When he pulled back, Bella gasped; kissing Edward was still so intoxicating for her that she was completely unaware that he had rendered her naked.

"Well excuse me Mr. Cullen, but what seems to be the situation here?" she asked bashfully. Bella still felt somewhat shy being so exposed to Edward like this, but she made no move to cover herself.

Edward grinned, cupping her cheek in his hand. "Besides the fact that your clothes smelled like dirty ground and her," Edward hissed, took a moment and composed himself, "Sorry. I thought you'd like to celebrate your, er… return."

"Then I guess it's only fair for you to come equally dressed for the occasion," Bella grinned, grabbing hold of the back of Edward's sweater and essentially tearing it off of him.

Edward laughed. "Was that really necessary? I know you're strong," he whispered to her, rolling them to the side so he was hovering over her. "You don't have to prove it to me by tearing my clothes to shreds."

The corners of Bella's lips twitched upwards and she suddenly threw her weight, rolling them again so now she was on top, resting her light weight on Edward's torso. "I'll try to remember that next time," she laughed back. Then her face went slightly serious as she sat up taller, letting her hands trace patterns on his hard chest. "Edward?"

He scooted her further back onto his legs and sat himself up slightly, wrapping his arms around her waist and giving her his smoldering stare. "Tell me what you're thinking Bella."

"I'm thinking…" she began, then considered what she was about to say. "I'm thinking that you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I know the only reason I'm here, like this, is because of Victoria," she whispered, afraid to look at him but unable to look anywhere else but his sad, ocher eyes.

"I know," he said quietly. "I'll never forgive myself for letting her do this to you."

"No, stop, that's exactly what I mean," Bella said, putting two fingers to his lips to hush his retort. "You never… ever would have turned me. That's why you left me in the first place, isn't it?"

Edward sighed, letting his head hang with sadness. "I was never right for you Bella. And apparently my leaving didn't do any good anyway. So what's the point?"

Bella took his face in her hands and forced him to look up at her. "The point is that I don't want you to feel guilty anymore. Just let what is… be. Stop holding yourself responsible. I know it pisses you off that Victoria changed me, but it happened, and I never thought I would say this, but I'm so happy to be dead with you right now." She laughed slightly, trying to lighten his mood.

"Bella, how can I forgive myself for all the pain you've been through… because of me? Even after you became a vampire, I still failed you-"

"Stop! Edward, stop it! If you're going to waste our eternity together acting like a little brat because of this, I will leave you," Bella spoke this empty threat with a hard edge to her voice. Maybe she could scare him into not feeling guilty; of course she would never, ever dream of leaving her Edward.

His eyes gave away his shock even though the rest of his face remained calm. "Well, if that's how you feel…" he tried to push Bella off of him, but she was stronger.

She leaned closer to him grinning. "Oh Edward, you can't seriously believe I'd leave you, do you?"

He shrugged lightly. "It didn't take you long to believe me in September."

She shook her head. "That was… different. I was so scared of losing you. And now I'm an unavoidable foundation in your life. Forever," she whispered in his ear, flicking her tongue out to the soft skin there.

Edward groaned. "You could never leave me… because you'd miss this too much."

They laughed and Bella pulled away from his neck to speak seriously to him. "Promise me you won't let this guilt weigh you down anymore. Promise me, right here, right now that you will accept the fact that I'm a vampire and that I'm happy with you."

Edward brushed his hand along her cheek and pulled her as close as their bodies would allow; it was difficult for Bella not to devour his lips now since they were practically touching already. "I know I've broken promises to you before Bella, but this one I swear to you I'll keep… on one condition."

Inwardly Bella groaned. Edward and his conditions. "Anything to keep you for forever," she whispered.

"Marry me, Bella. Become my Mrs. Cullen. Be my best friend and my lover… for eternity," he breathed.

Bella couldn't help but gasp and close the distance between their lips. When she finally pulled away, her eyes were glowing a brilliant shade of scarlet, not evil but passionate. "I thought you'd never ask Mr. Cullen."

FIN

A/N: Sorry for the lame ending, I hope you enjoyed it though! Next up I'm going to try a bit of a lemony outtake from this story : ) I'm going to try different character stories next as well, so check my profile for more info on those. Thanks again SO MUCH for reading this story and reviewing, especially quietandclear, Topaz Fireheart Storm, and mom22boys- you guys kept me going. THANK YOU AGAIN! Come back for more soon : )