disclaimer in description

BPOV

The following week flew by at a pace much faster than I had anticipated. I had been questioned by multiple people about my more upbeat mood and I responded with one word: love. There was no way anyone could understand, though, that love was only a portion of my happiness. Edward's decision to finally open up to me had me on a high that could not possibly be recreated by any drug. I felt as if my whole world was beginning to come together. Edward would, hopefully, be getting the family that he needed more than anything else; maybe, even more than me.

I did not fail to notice that Edward had been in a slightly better mood, as well. The constant sniggers that escaped me during the week were inescapable as I watched people's reactions toward him. For what seemed like the first time, Edward allowed himself to smile slightly during school, thus taking away a chink of his reputation. My sniggering turned into full on laughter when I caught the stunned expressions of the school's females upon seeing the dazzling nature of a smiling Edward.

Of course, with Edward's increased mood, there came the marginally hopeful girls. I noticed how they would look at him in an attempt to be seductive. In my opinion, very few of them were successful, but the ones who were caused me to hit, once again, on my self esteem. They were the type of girls that Edward should have been with. They were beautiful and obviously self assured. I was none of those things and, yet, Edward chose me above all others. I really had no idea what had gone through his mind. I was just glad and very grateful that those thought had came to him.

Edward had made so much progress in such a short time. I was so proud of him for his slightly less hostile front towards all but me. All of my family had noticed and had commented on it to him at one point or another. To my immense entertainment, Edward blushed at the topic and how they brought it up. Emmett had made some crude sexual reference and suggested that 'de-virginization' had been the cause of Edward's happiness. Alice had wholly agreed with Emmett. I let him stutter through a half ass attempt at an excuse. I could only assume that his embarrassment stemmed from the topic and the fact that he was admitting to still being a virgin to someone who considered it a curse. Who would have known that a blushing Edward also lost the ability to speak when flustered? Surely, not I.

Alice kept me up all of Wednesday night to give me a play by play reenactment of her date with Jasper. While I was insanely tired, I could not help but be amused. Watching Alice pretend to be both herself and Jasper, voices included, was a great way to waste away the night. I had to admit that his idea to have a picnic dinner on the cliffs in La Push had been sweetly romantic, especially since he had been lucky enough to capture one of the rarely seen sunny days in Forks. After hours of explanation and giving of the tiniest inconsequential details Alice laid a bomb on me that caused me to shriek and fall off of my bed. Naturally, Alice would be the one Swan to be perfectly in tune with her emotions. She told me she realized that Jasper was 'the one' for her and she was very much so in love.

Thankfully, Emmett had not managed to get a hold of Alice's confession because I had a feeling that he would not be ready for another sister to be so completely invested in a boy, even if he had known that boy for a good amount of time. He did, in his own way, attempt to protect Alice from the 'dangerous minds of teenage boys,' as he put it. I had laughed when I saw him attempting to leave the house to follow Jasper and Alice. He really did want to make sure his baby sister was safe. I could relate only slightly, as I had trusted Jasper with my life for as long as I could remember. I had no doubts that my best friend would take care of my baby sister.

I had hoped that the worst of the date craze had ended with Alice and her acting. My teachers did not approve of my inadvertent attempts to catch up on lost sleep in class. Apparently, my carelessness paid off though, as I was dragged to the library by an all too excitable and nervous looking Jasper. As we sat facing each other on the floor in the reference section, I had to cover my mouth to stop from giggling. He was entirely too adorable when he had no idea of how to get something from me.

After opening and closing his mouth at least five times he sighed and said "Bella, I need your help. I mean.. I just.. I..you know both of us better than anyone else and.. I.. gah, I can't do this." At this, I slapped him lightly to get him out of his weird funk. He laughed quietly. "Thanks. I needed that, I guess. I just, well, I think I maybe, could possibly, verymuchloveAlice," he rushed out before he looked down at his lap, in a miserable attempt to hide his blush.

I giggled and pulled his face up. Grabbing his cheeks, I cooed "Aww! Jazzy's blushing! How cuuuute!" He slapped my hands away, as his face burned brighter, with a mumbled 'shut up.' I giggled again before attempting seriousness. "Well. Jazz, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Seriously, she kept me up all night reenacting your date. She even did your voice! Honestly, you guys are perfect for each other. You were just too stupid to see the obvious." After a while longer he believed me about Alice. I just hoped that they would work out to be the perfect couple that we all saw. If they didn't, I had no idea who either of them would end up with.

The rest of the week was a blur of time spent learning more about Edward's past. Whenever something came to his mind, he would just blurt out a random story or fact that he had remembered. I found his new habit to be entirely amusing. After all, who wouldn't smile at a boy who would break off from a serious conversation about a research assignment to say that he and his mom would get into flour fights in the kitchen whenever he attempted to help? That image was just plain adorable. I couldn't help but think that he had been repressing the memories he liked to avoid what followed them. The fact that he was reliving them in his mind could only make me hope for a brighter future for him.

Saturday afternoon came faster than I anticipated and I stood in front of my closet, feeling entirely too much like Alice. I sighed as I picked up yet another outfit to inspect. I knew I had to dress nicely but not to the point where Edward would be suspicious, as I never really went formal in any situation. Staring at the dress in my hands I growled and threw it onto the ever increasing in size pile on my bed. As I went to pull out another outfit, I heard someone clonk past my room. The footsteps stopped abruptly before coming back towards me. I knew immediately who it was and waited for the eventual teasing. "Bella, you are aware that you are not, in fact, Alice, right," Emmett asked in a obviously fake tone of concern. I did not turn to him while I kept looking through my closet. "Oh! I know why you're doing this. Tonight's the dinner with the Cullen's, right? You said you want them to adopt Edward, right? Ah.. the weirdness makes sense now," he chuckled to himself.

I sighed and finally turned toward him. Running a hand through my hair, I whispered "yes to all your questions, Em. Be quiet 'cause I don't want Alice to know. And it's not like I can ask her for help. She'll want to know why I'm acting…like her. I don't know what to do. I can't find anything."

Emmett chuckled before he decided to inform me that Alice was not home, as I had thought. She had decided to do her homework with Rose then come home in time to leave for the Cullen's. He seemed to ponder my predicament before he made a face that had me envisioning a light bulb above his head. "Bella, why don't you ask Jasper for help. I mean I can't give you advice on what looks good. You, of all people, know that. Rose, well she obviously can't help. I assume Edward's clueless about clothes. So that leaves Jasper. I mean, he's always wearing designer clothes, right? He knows how to dress himself, so he should be helpful. Plus he'd never lie to you," he finished triumphantly. Obviously, he was quite proud of his moment of sheer genius. I smiled at him in thanks before he left to his bedroom.

In no time at all, I sat on my bed watching Jasper tear through my clothes. I found it amusing how well he understood fashion. He really was the perfect match for Alice. I giggled every so often when I saw him pick something up off the floor, stare at it, then throw it down again. He, of course, just rolled his eyes before going back to his task. He refused to speak as I had put him under a very tight time constraint. I only gave him ten minutes to find perfection and he was annoyed at the disastrous mess I had made of my wardrobe. I promised to make it up to him by giving him advice on Alice.

After what seemed like forever, Jasper held out a cream and orange floral print sundress, a brown vest, a pair of sandals, and a brown beanie hat. I smiled at him in thanks before he shook his head in annoyance and left without another word. I knew he was annoyed at me then, but he would be over it in an hour or so; he never had been able to stay mad at me for long.

As I went to go pick up Edward, I found that Alice had returned and both her and my brother and father were ready to go. I looked at Charlie and he nodded in understanding, before I headed out the door. I knew he would understand the fact that I needed to go separately, so as to pick up Edward. I was eternally grateful for the fact that he understood the situation.

Pulling up in front of the orphanage, I was met with a sight both amusing and sad. Edward was pacing back and forth at the top of the steps, muttering to himself. He was clearly nervous and in deep thought, as the roar of my truck had gone unnoticed by him. I watched him for a minute before honking my horn. He jumped slightly, before he looked at me with panicked eyes. I smiled encouragingly at him as he climbed into the truck. He mumbled hello as he looked over my outfit, obviously pleased. "Alice," he asked in a shaky voice.

I shook my head and replied "Jasper." He nodded before he leaned over to kiss my cheek. I smiled and grabbed his shaking hand. "Edward, there is nothing to be nervous about. My family knows you already. They all like you. Carlisle and Esme with adore you. You have to trust me, okay? Just be yourself, not the fake you that you show the entire school." He nodded before looking out the window.

Soon enough, we pulled onto the long driveway to the Cullen house. Edward looked at me puzzled, as if to ask why someone would need such a long driveway. I just shrugged and continued to drive. Eventually, the driveway opened up to the front lawn of a beautiful, white Victorian mini mansion. I snuck a glance Edward and was pleased to see his awestruck expression. I had been hoping he would approve of his possible home.

As I hopped out of the truck and straightened my dress, the front door opened to reveal a smiling Esme. She looked at me with a big smile before her eyes slid over to where Edward stood, fidgeting. I watched as her eyes lit up and very smile grew. I just knew that I had made the right choice in going to her. I quickly grabbed Edward's hand and pulled him to where Esme stood, waiting. She immediately pulled me into a warm embrace and whispered in my ear, "he's adorable, Bella. I love him already." She continued in a louder voice, "I've missed you so much. It's been too long since I've seen my daughter."

At Esme's words, Edward looked shocked and confused. I turned to him and whispered "you know how my mom died when I was little? Well, Esme has sort of taken it upon herself to mother me and Ali and Emmett." He nodded in understanding before Esme quickly pulled him into a hug. He looked shocked for a moment, before he seemed to melt into her motherly embrace. I felt a tug on my heart at the sight. She was exactly what he needed, even if he did not know it.

Esme held him a moment longer before saying "welcome to my home, Edward. I'm so glad you could come. I've so many wonderful things about you." At that, she gave me a sly grin, causing me to blush. I had spent a good portion of my week telling Esme as much about Edward as possible. Edward blushed almost as deeply as I did before he stammered a quiet greeting.

I was not surprised when we walked into the open living room to hear Carlisle telling Emmett, in gruesome detail, about a surgery. Emmett, for some reason found the whole process to be highly amusing. He sat there on the couch staring at Carlisle with an awed expression, taking in all the gore, letting out a sound of approval or disgust every so often. Alice, of course, was trying to block out the conversation by staring at the large flat screen television. Charlie just sat back, next to Emmett with an amused face, watching the whole scene. Once we were in Emmett's line of sight, he jumped up and ran over to Edward. He yanked Edward toward the couch proclaiming that he needed to hear the story that was 'better than saw.' Once he was seated again, he pulled Edward down beside him.

I walked up to them and decided to introduce Edward to Carlisle, seeing as Emmett had completely forgotten. "Carlisle, this is my boyfriend, Edward." Carlisle stood up and walked over to where we were with a smile. Edward quickly scrambled off the couch in an attempt at politeness.

"It's good to meet you Edward. I've been wondering why we would see each other," Carlisle smiled while shaking Edward's hand.

"Thank you for inviting me, Dr. Cullen," Edward said in a perfectly formal tone.

Esme clucked her tongue at him and said "We'll have none of that doctor or misses stuff here. Call us Esme and Carlisle." Edward nodded with a blush before he sat down again. I watched Edward as Carlisle went back into his story. I could not help but notice how much Edward was concentrating on the whole thing. He didn't seem to take the story as a tale of gore, like Emmett did. Rather, he seemed seriously interested in what Carlisle had to say. I watched his face as different emotions flickered across his eyes. I could not tell what he was thinking, but it was obvious how interested he was in medicine. That fact did not escape Carlisle's notice.

During dinner, conversation flowed seamlessly. Edward seemed to fit into the group perfectly, as if he was always meant to be there. I noticed that both Carlisle and Esme looked upon him with affection. He had been a perfect gentleman, and yet he had not strayed from acting like himself. I was so proud of him for letting his guard down for the night. I was pleased when I noticed him talking privately to Carlisle with a happy expression on his face. I could tell that Edward truly like Carlisle, I would even go as far to that he adored him. It was obvious in the whole set of his face. His eyes shone with respect for the man. I had a feeling that, in time, Edward would come to love him as a father.

After dinner, I slipped into the kitchen to help Esme clean up. She normally refused any help but I knew she would accept mine as there definitely things we needed to talk about. The second I walked through the door, she grabbed me into a fierce hug. I felt her shaking slightly and pulled back to see tears in her eyes. I became worried for a moment before she smiled. "Bella, he's all I could ever want in a son. I don't know how you did it, but you found what I've been looking for. Thank you so much. I can tell you that we will be adopting him. It's obvious that Carlisle adores him, so I know he'll agree."

My eyes lit up at her news and I quickly hugged her again, my own happy tears joining hers. I could not believe it had worked. "Thank you, Esme. You have no idea what this means to me.. us. Thank you." We finished cleaning up in silence, both with smiles plastered on our faces. Walking back into the dining room, we saw that Edward and Carlisle were still sitting at the table, talking about something medical. I smiled at them before heading into the living room where my family was watching the television.

Sitting down, I snuggled into Charlie's side. I felt him turn his head so that his lips pressed into my hair. "I think you found him the perfect home, kiddo," he whispered before pulling me into a hug. Nodding my head, I turned to see Carlisle walk into the room. He saw me looking and gave me a quick wink and nodded. I instantly knew that the gesture was meant as an answer to the question of adoption. I smiled widely at him as he sat down in the recliner next to the couch.

As everyone watched to movie Alice had put on, I noticed Esme and Edward had not come out yet. As I was about to go see them, I heard beautiful music coming from the corner of the room where Esme's white baby grand piano sat. We all whipped around to see Esme standing, with a soft smile on her face, watching my Edward play. I was shocked. I had no idea that Edward could play.

Without realizing it, I ended up behind him. I placed my hand on his shoulder and he immediately stopped. He must have seen my puzzled expression because he offered up an explanation. "I used to play all the time before m-," he broke off and I knew what he had been about to let slip. I squeezed his arm to let him know that I understood. He smiled weakly in return before turning back to the instrument.

Esme leaned her head on my shoulder and whispered "I think I'll give him the piano when we adopt him." I turned and smile at her. She seemed to be thinking about something before she continued. "I'll give him the room on the third floor. I know he'll like it. Hmmm…I know exactly how to decorate it. He like's music, right," she asked. I nodded at her. "Okay, then I know what to do." I smiled gratefully at her before turning back to Edward.

The rest of the night passed in perfection. I could not have asked for a better first meeting between Edward, Carlisle and Esme. As I drove home from the orphanage, I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. Edward had looked so happy when I dropped him off. It didn't even seem to bother him that he was going to a place he despised. Obviously, the Cullens had quite the effect on him.

Getting home, I hopped out of my truck. I turned my head skyward to see that a section of the ever-present clouds had dissipated, allowing me to see the moon and a smattering of stars. I sighed quietly before I did something I had not done in years, not since my mom had died. I took a deep breath and whispered into the night. "Dear God, if you're there at all, please help me to fix Edward. I know I can't do it alone and I know Carlisle and Esme will help, but I need your help too."

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much love,

brianneeeee