Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight series or any of the characters.

Oh, just a quick note, I have decided to go in a different direction than the preview I left on Chapter 3! Hope you like it!

Thanks to all my reviewers for staying with me this far! I really do appreciate it!

Frankie Sayz Relaxx, Kendall94, heal my bleeding heart, AmCat, Emmyjazzyfinnlove61, spikeluver89, RosieRathbone, NJ94, ., tink3rb311ar3b31, bornagoof, ACullensHeart, and Miranda (I updated!)

A special thanks to my beta, tink3rb311ar3b31. And to JFresshhh for sending me that message!

Enjoy!

BPOV

After putting the finishing touches on my makeup, which only consisted of some light foundation, eyeliner, and mascara, I made my way back to the living room to await Edward. I made sure that I had my phone with me and then sat down to watch some television before he arrived. I was flipping channels when I heard a knock at my door. Glancing at the VCR clock I noticed that he was five minutes early. I quickly turned off the TV and then went to the door.

Edward was standing there with a small bunch of flowers and a very cute smile on his face. I smiled at the sweet gesture; I wasn't used to small gifts like that, especially from guys.

I motioned for him to step inside while I went back to put the flowers in a vase. As we walked back out of the door, I was surprised to see him start to sign.

How are you?

My smile grew wider as I signed back, wondering just how much he knew. I decided to keep it simple since he was considerate enough to learn some of the language that I "spoke".

I am fine, you?

I signed more slowly than I would have, and kept the words simple, since I didn't know how much he had learned.

Great now that I am with you.

I dropped my eyes down and blushed a little at that. I pulled the door tight behind me before walking to the elevator.

"So, when did the doctor say you could get your cast off?" he finally spoke.

I held up two fingers. Getting out my phone I added on: 'I can't wait either, a cast and crutches aren't helping my clumsiness either.'

"Well, at least it's not for much longer." He gave me an encouraging smile.

I nodded and gave him a smile of my own. Again, I couldn't help but notice our close proximity. Usually I wasn't one for letting anyone in my personal space, but with Edward it just felt sort of natural to have him there by my side.

Our brief silence was broken by the 'ding' of the elevator, and again Edward gestured for me to go first. Stepping out carefully, I hopped out and stood by the door and waited for Edward to grab the door for me. He did so, and began to lead me to his car.

After the brief walk and silence, we were on our way. As we were driving, I realized that I had absolutely no idea where we were going. This led me to another thought. I barely knew this guy and I was going against Emmett, my brother, for him.

I leaned back heavily and let out a sigh.

I must be going insane.

"Everything alright there Bella?" Edward asked, looking at me with concern.

I pulled my phone out and typed: 'Yes, it's just that some things are hitting me all of a sudden. It's starting to be a bit much for me is all.'

I stared at the message I had written for a moment, waiting for Edward to stop at the next red light to show him what I had written.

"Oh," his eyebrows furrowed. "Do I need to take you back? We can do this some other time if you want."

Though his words were completely sincere, I could tell by the way his lips turned down and the way his eyebrows creased that he was hoping I'd say otherwise.

I gave my head an exaggerated shake to make certain he knew that I was fine with our date. He smiled then and turned his eyes back on the road, his lips twitching back into the smile that I was becoming fond of. It was these small gestures from Edward that made me feel confident in my decision to be with him.

Slowly, he turned his Volvo onto a narrowly paved road. I turned to look at him when we turned off the small road, wondering where we could be going.

"You'll see." He spoke quietly, and I leaned back on my seat, folding my hands over my lap patiently waiting for us to arrive at our unknown location. We continued down the dirt road for a couple of minutes and when we stopped, my curiosity had only grown.

Edward came around to my side and helped me out, then reached behind me to grab a small backpack. He set the pack on the ground then closed my door. I'm sure he could see the question in my eyes.

What about my crutches?

Guessing what I was wondering about, Edward answered my unspoken question.

"The walk there isn't too far from here and you'd probably have a hard time walking through the forest with crutches."

I quickly showed him the message I had typed on my phone while he was giving me his explanation.

'How am I supposed to get there, then?'

"Oh, that's easy," he shrugged in a nonchalant manner, "I'll just carry you."

Oh, well that's a perfectly reasonable explanation. He'll just carry me. This man must be insane if he can think he could carry me through the forest.

I started to type frantically on my phone, not stopping even as Edward peered over my shoulder.

"Bella," Edward spoke softly as he slowly pulled my phone from my hand, "honestly, it's not that big a deal. And no, you aren't too heavy for me to carry. Besides, it's really not that far of a walk."

Insane. That's the only possible explanation. Absolute and complete insanity.

I shrugged my shoulders and pulled on his backpack. If he wanted to trek through the woods with me on his back, then we were going to trek through the woods with me on his back.

He turned around and squatted, and I jumped, albeit very ungracefully, but not too bad considering I only had one leg to jump off of.

True to his word, the hike through the woods didn't last very long at all. And I must say that I was very impressed with Edward for voluntarily taking me out here to show me his special place that he liked to be alone.

And carrying me, no less.

It was sweet, even if it was a bit…different from any other date I had been on. Then again, Edward was different from any date I've ever had.

As we stepped into Edward's meadow, my breath was taken away. Flowers bloomed in the most magnificent and radiant colors of red, pink, yellow, white, and orange. The trees seemed to have been perfectly positioned, as if they had been all placed by hand, for they let the right amount of sunlight, while still providing shade.

Stunning.

Edward craned his head back to catch a glimpse of my reaction. A wide smile made its way across his face as he took in my awed one.

Gently, he set me down on a large rock that rested in between two trees. He slid the pack off my shoulders in one smooth motion. Walking to the center of the meadow, he pulled out a quilted blanket and a medium-sized lunchbox. Edward shot me a grin as he began to spread out the blanket and set up the food. I felt guilty that I was incapable of helping him, but I then realized he probably wouldn't have let me anyway, injured or not.

Calling out to me, he asked my thoughts of the picnic and the meadow.

Edward made his way back over to me to carry me over to the blanket he had so thoughtfully laid out. He moved one arm under my knees and the other behind my back as he carried me, bridal style, to our picnic.

I pulled out my phone and tried to compose a message that would adequately describe my feelings at this moment.

'Words cannot describe my feelings at this time. It is all so beautiful, and I am so honored that you feel I am important enough to share this with. I really do love it out here. And the lunch looks great! I'm sure it's absolutely delicious.'

Edward looked back up after he had finished reading, a pleased smile on his face.

"I'm really thrilled that you love it here. It's a great place to come and think or just to lay back and relax. And of course you're important enough for me to share this with. I couldn't imagine anyone else I would rather be here beside me." If it was at all possible, I believe my smile had grown even wider.

"The beauty of this meadow is dull in comparison to the woman seated in front of me." At this a brilliant blush spread across my face and I lowered my eyes from his, hoping that he couldn't see the embarrassed and goofy smile that had taken claim on my face.

Lifting my chin up, he looked into my eyes as he began to speak again.

"I know that I haven't known you for that long, but there's something special about you." He picked up one of my hands and held it in between both of his. "About us."

Letting go with one of his hands, he intertwined our fingers and, once again, warmth like nothing I had felt before spread through me.

Typing expertly with my left hand, I told him my simple observation, feeling more comfortable with sharing now.

'It may just be me, but it does seem like our hands fit together very well'.

And it was true. Even though his hands were larger than mine, they slid together perfectly, like two pieces in a puzzle.

Edward leaned in closer, so that his forehead was leaning on mine.

"I was thinking that myself."

I fought my hardest not to shudder as his breath whispered across my face. Tingles were going up and down my body at his close proximity. Usually whenever someone was this close to me, if they even got the chance to be this close, I would have backed up by now. But, with Edward, I felt so entirely comfortable. It was a strange feeling, but nice at the same time.

I took the time to really look into his eyes, such an intense shade of green. I hadn't ever seen a color quite like his and offhandedly wondered if he would mind if I used that color for one of my character's eyes.

"Bella," he whispered my name, and again I fought the shiver than ran through me like a bolt of electricity. He paused for a moment, taking in the moment or gauging my reaction, I really couldn't be sure. Edward's eyes drifted down to look at my lips and then back to my eyes.

I gave a short nod, if that, and moved a little closer. With that, Edward closed the distance and touched his lips with mine.

Now I have had a few kisses and described hundreds of them in my books, but none of them, not a one, could compare to the sensation that I was feeling right now.

There weren't fireworks or a chorus of heavenly angels singing hallelujah, but a feeling I couldn't even describe. All of my previous thoughts and worries and fears had fled from me, and I could only think of Edward and me, me and Edward.

I wasn't sure how long we had continued kissing; it could've been seconds, minutes, or hours. All I knew was that I didn't want it to stop. That thought would have scared me, but I saw the look in Edward's eyes once we finally pulled away.

My heart was racing and I pulled my hand up to my chest, taking in a deep breath to try in slow it.

"You don't think my heart isn't doing the same?" Edward asked me with an amused smile. He grabbed my hand and pressed it against his chest, and I could feel in beat just as fast as mine was. I couldn't help the silly grin that spread across my face then.

I had done that! Little 'ole me caused that in Edward!

I was almost glad that I didn't have my voice, because I'm sure I would've let out one of those embarrassingly girly squeals.

"Proud of yourself, are you?" The amused grin hadn't left his face. I nodded giddily.

I hadn't known it was possible to feel like this!

And after only one kiss!

The fact that Edward felt the same way only increased my great mood.

"So, do you want to eat?" He asked, bringing me out of my Edward-induced daze. I nodded, embarrassed I had completely forgotten about the picnic. He handed me a water bottle and pulled out some sandwiches for us both.

I smiled as Edward scooted over to sit closer beside me and I lay against his arm, content. I never wanted this date to end.

After we both finished eating, Edward put our trash back into the backpack and put it over on the side of the blanket so we would have plenty of room to lie down and relax. Lying down, Edward held out his arm for me to snuggle into, and I happily obliged.

We laid there for who knows how long, talking about different things.

I told him how I had lost my voice when I was younger. I don't really remember all of the details because I was younger when it happened, but my parents had told me that something had happened to my brain when I got sick, and as a result, I wasn't able to talk anymore.

Whether or not it was the truth, I wasn't really sure because I hadn't looked into it too much. Because by the time I was old enough to understand what had happened, I had already learned how to deal with being mute, so it never really made any difference to me if I could talk or not.

Edward nodded at my explanation, but looked as if he wanted to do some more research into it. Before he could say anything, I quickly reassured him that I was fine with the way I was and to do any extra digging into my 'illness' would be unnecessary.

We weren't able to talk too much longer because it started to rain. I scooted off the blanket as Edward grabbed it and the basket. Handing them both to me, he scooped me up and began jogging back to the car. He quickly set me inside before running around and getting in the car himself. Starting the car he asked, "Did you enjoy today?" I nodded energetically.

I don't think I've ever had a better date.

Edward drove me back to my apartment, holding my hand the whole way. When we arrived back, he walked me inside.

I motioned toward the door, asking if he'd like to come in and hang out for a little while. He shook his head 'no'.

"I'm sorry, but it's already getting pretty late, and my time off stops tomorrow." He ran his hand through his hair. "How about I text you if I don't get off too late and we can go and get dinner?"

I nodded and brought out my phone, 'If you want, you can just come over here and I'll cook you dinner.'

"Yeah, I'd like that." Edward smiled. He gave me gave me a soft kiss before watching me go inside. He gave me a small wave before turning and disappearing into the elevator.

I shut the door and went to go lay down on my couch.

I sighed, satisfied.

Suddenly, my phone started vibrating, jarring me out of my blissed out state.

I had a great time today, can't wait to see you tomorrow.

-Edward

I smiled to myself before sending back a reply.

At this moment, life was good.

Ta da! 10 pages! I surely hope this makes up for my absence, or at least some of it. I'm working on the next chapter as you are reading this =)

Let me know what you think! Or give me your favorite line. (Or both!)

Thanks for reading!

-Holly