I jostled about on Edward's back; he was too much of a hurry to be careful with me. Luckily, I wasn't the fragile human I once was, it didn't bother me. He didn't carry me all the way to the front door, instead I was dumped on my feet by the edge of the forest, while he carried on racing toward the mansion. He was inside in the blink of an eye, and I could hear the crash as he slammed the door behind him. I smiled slightly, imagining Alice, Jasper and Emmett's punishment. The idea of Edward and I getting married was ridiculous. We'd both said so. He was really only joking around when he had that engagement ring. He could have picked a better time and way to ask my help in identifying who the ring belonged to. But really… was it so ridiculous? I mean, I knew I wanted to marry Edward, or at least be with him forever, and as far as I knew, he felt the same. And there was no problem with longevity – we were both immortal, and I'd be able to tell Edward sometime soon. It didn't matter about different species - as long as vampires didn't want my blood – we didn't have any plans we couldn't fulfil. Children were never going to happen, not a vampire and… any humanoid being. So that could happen, sometime in the future. I'd just have to tell Edward that I would be able to live forever with him.

I couldn't help but feel a little hurt though, that his reaction had been so drastic. Sure, I'd been annoyed that we'd been mistook, a little chagrined too, but I wasn't angry enough to attack the troublesome trio, just scowl at them a little, smack them upside the head. I shook my head, and began ploughing through the snow, back to the mansion. There was plenty of time to discuss things, iron things out. Edward and I had a rocky past, so of course it would be hard to begin with.

When I reached the house, I hesitantly opened the door, worried about what I would hear…

"No, Charlie – alright, Mr Swan - we're not-" I could hear Edward's voice, and the buzz of a phone, and my heart flew into my mouth. "Look, I swear, it was a-" This time, the sound of Charlie's yelling approached my ears, and I cringed. "She's here now! Yes, you can talk to her… No, I don't decide what she does! ...No!" I could see him now, standing in the hallway, glaring at an immobile Alice and Emmett. Jasper was nowhere in sight, so I guessed he'd 'emotioned' his way out of trouble… for now. "Yes, Mr Swan – okay! Chief Swan! – here she is," Edward said to Charlie, getting annoyed. He thrust the phone at me, and I stared at it blankly, then looked up at him. He looked down at the phone pointedly, and I shook my head, mouthing, 'Oh no, don't get him angry at me!' He looked at me incredulously. "Bella, don't prove him right!" He whispered, wiggling the phone at me expectantly. With a glower, I grabbed the phone and walked away with it.

"Bella?!" Charlie said, and I could hear the fear and worry in his voice, which was surprising, since I had expected pure anger.

"Yes, it's me," I sighed, rolling my eyes, despite the fact he couldn't see me. "Calm down, Dad," I started, but he ignored me.

"Bella," He said shakily. "Is this true, about you and young Mr Cullen?" He said, sounding very formal.

"Dad, it-" I started, but he didn't let me finish.

"Because Bella, I wish you'd given me some more of a warning." He sighed resignedly. "I mean, honey, he left you months ago, and you were in shreds."

"Dad." I said loudly, trying to get him to listen.

"And then you disappear up to his house, and then…" He paused, and I could hear his sharp intake, as he considered what he'd heard. "You aren't pregnant, are you?!" He asked sharply.

"What?! No!" I yelled.

"Then why are you getting married so young?" He sounded suspicious, and it made me angry at him, for some reason. I hadn't been here long, did he think I was the sort of girl who just threw herself at her exes beds?

"Because I love him!" I said loudly, and decided it was true. One hundred percent true. Why else hadn't I given up, really? But then, I realized my fault. "Wait… but we're not even getting married, Dad."

"Are you sure? It's pretty easy to hide a trip to Vegas when you're not near me," He said, still unconvinced.

"Look, do you think I'd leave you out if I was getting married? And I swear, I'm not pregnant," With a lot of effort, I hadn't growled out the words.

"I could actually come up to Alaska to see you…" He said, and I audibly gulped.

"No, it's fine, Dad. You don't need to come here…" I sighed, tired of talking to him about this now. "When's school starting up again?" I said, changing the subject.

"Oh! They haven't had any further news… though Mike Newton got in trouble with us police, it was suspected to be arson… but instead of pressing any charges, he's been spending time with the fire fighting service… I don't know if you care about any of this, really, Bells." He said, and I laughed.

"Any news from Jake?" I asked, remembering my wolfy friends.

"Uh… not really… I was down at the reservation earlier today… Ivy was there…" He said, sounding confused.

"What? Dad, she's here," I said, confused myself. I'd seen her earlier today.

"No, she arrived there just before I went round, she's staying with Billy and Jake." He said adamantly.

"Okay," I said, baffled. I decided to go ask around, to look for her as soon as Charlie was away.

"Actually, Bells, I think I'll be off… er… the… football match is on soon… sorry," He said, sounding ashamed.

"Dad, it's fine, I don't mind if you want to watch football, I'll be home soon anyway. Plus, it's an important match, right?" I said encouragingly.

"Yeah… okay." He said, not entirely convinced, but I guessed he wouldn't feel too bad about it when the match started. "But you promise me you'll tell me if you do anything drastic, like get married, or get knocked up?" He said, sounding – surprisingly – like he wouldn't be angry.

I, on the other hand, was a little annoyed by him again. "Dad! Of course! What do you think I'm like?"

"I think you're perfect, honey," He said, and then hung up abruptly. I hung up too, then looked at the phone in surprise. I hadn't expected that for a conversation. I guess only Edward got the mean, police chief attitude. I put the phone back down in its place, and instead of confronting any of the things I wanted or needed to, I walked up to my room, and lay down on the bed. Alice would know if Ivy had left; the two had become great friends, and Ivy wouldn't just leave.

I could talk to Edward later, though I wouldn't dare ask why he had got really annoyed with Alice, Jasper and Emmett when the prospect of marrying me came to mind; that'd just be too hypocritical. As for the troublesome trio, I'd get them later, for calling Charlie. Imagine that! How annoying. It's like they'd set out to cause me trouble.

I closed my eyes, intent on sleeping, though I was draped across my bed, rather than lying properly on it. I wanted to swim again. It was nowhere near the full moon, but the need and want to be my other self was like a niggling itch. I imagined that this was what a werewolf felt, after going with only two legs for a while, rather than four.

"If you're wondering about our future, I've got some ideas." A cool, velvety voice said, breaking my silence. It was Edward, of course. I sat up quickly, surprised.

"Edward! I could have been naked, or…" I was going to say 'with a tail', but that wasn't such a good plan.

He opened his mouth, then closed it again silently. "Sorry." He said at last, before gesturing toward the door. "Shall I go?"

"No," I sighed, "Let's have your ideas, then."

"Well, I've been thinking a lot about the future…" He started thoughtfully, as though he was still thinking about it. "And I think I've come up with something fair. When I talk about this, I honestly don't mean for it to happen any time soon, though I would really not mind if it were tomorrow. I know you've always wanted to be a vampire, to be like me, and I realize that would be safer for you, seeing as your association with us as a human will be nothing but dangerous… So I think I'm being quite fair when I suggest that I'll change you, after you become my wife," He said, sounding formal.

I shuddered. "Wife's a scary word, right? Wife… wife…" I said, and repeated it a few more times, thinking about what it meant. Connected to Edward forever, by becoming his wife. "What about 'husband'? Doesn't that make you shiver?" I asked.

He shook his head, "I like the idea. Think about it: Bella Cullen's husband. I love the idea." He smiled fondly. I raised my eyebrows, looking at him incredulously, but I was really thinking about 'Bella Cullen'. It just sounded right, to be honest.

"So, get married to you, and you'll vampire me?" I said; too bad I was already a mermaid. "No." I said, shaking my head.

"No?" He didn't sound angry, or even surprised. It was like he was expecting to be knocked down…

"Wait, I didn't mean I wouldn't want to marry you, some day, I just mean… I don't want to be a vampire." And now would be a good time to tell him the truth, but the words were stuck in my throat, hanging on for dear life.

"Pardon?" He coughed, looking at me in shock.

"I don't want to be a vampire." Okay, I couldn't be a vampire… probably. I wasn't sure. What I did know was that I didn't want to be slurping on fish blood.

"You've given up on your big argument? Your adamant decision?"

"Yup." I smiled. "I don't want to be a vampire, no offence of course… I wouldn't mind it… I mean, I'll probably change my mind when I'm a little older," Lie. "But, at the moment, it doesn't seem like a big thing for me."

"If you've managed to change such a strong decision… maybe, this…relationship isn't the best idea…" He said, sounding sad and nervous.

"No, no! I won't change my mind about you, I mean, I didn't… not even when you weren't with me. Not even when Jacob was all into me. He's a catch, though…" I laughed.

He ignored my humour. "So, you wouldn't mind if you… died… or were old, and still married to a seventeen year old?"

I shook my head, pursing my lips. "But… can you tell me what you meant earlier, about 'vampire' marriage? It didn't really make sense."

"It's basically just a marriage where the Volturi are present, and it goes in their files… so they know all about us, really. Nothing other than that. There isn't any wearing black and blood sacrifices anything," He laughed awkwardly, before thinking about my mortality again. "So… you'd just live out the course of your life, until you'd… die, and then hope for me to move on? I'm not being selfish here, but… well… I don't want to have to go through the pain of losing you, watching you slowly age and fade away…" He looked really upset, but I couldn't give up the lie, as much as I hated myself for it.

"Well, like I said, I don't know what I'll feel in the future, about vampirism, that is. I don't want you to feel bad, either," I said, taking his hand. "Do you have any other future ideas?" I asked, changing the subject.

"… Well… no. Not really. I'd need to get you a new car, if you're going to stay a fragile human… we wouldn't be able to hang around with other vampires, because they'd want your blood… I… I'm struggling to see how this will work…" He said, thinking really hard, looking panicked.

"Look," I said, and shoved my wrist under his nose. "Do you want to drink from here?! Is it a taste you'd enjoy?"

His eyes widened suddenly. He'd thought his control was good, thought that he'd wanted my blood in a different way, but he hadn't wanted to test it, and I'd shocked him. Involuntarily, he breathed in, and caught the scent. Like I'd expected, he didn't bite into my arteries. I leaned closer, testing him further by putting him in close proximity to my neck. Again, he didn't bite. "Ohh," He sighed contentedly, as though I smelt like an amazing perfume. I thought I was wrong for a second, because he moved very close, so his cold nose touched my skin. But instead, he kissed it. Right where the vein was. And he didn't stop kissing me; my neck, my face, collarbone, anywhere his cool, satin lips could reach. And I didn't let him stop, not until he was done with me. I started unbuttoning his shirt, and he didn't stop me; in fact, he helped, before starting work on my own blouse. His self control was… gone. All his careful attention to my 'fragility' had disappeared, and I was more than okay with that. "Love you," He whispered against my skin. If there was any doubt in my mind, or in my heart, that I didn't feel the same way about him; it had vanished.

"Love you more," I said back breathlessly.

Okkaay, sorry for the delay. Couldn't decide how to write this chapter. Plus school. Mostly school. Blame the system. (: Thanks for reviews, guys, long time reviewers, & new reviewers :P EdwardsGoldenEyes, I was glad to get a new, and loooooong review like that :P Now, it's late here, I've stayed up specifically to write this for you guys... feel loved! Feel loved, damnit! xD
So, im offski, review & I'll equip you with a cookie for the next chapters (: Give me ideas, or something interesting to read as a review, & I'll give you... Hmm... well, you decide.

OHYEAH! :P and I've got another story out, 'From Mary Alice To Alice', Idk if you'll like it, but it's about Alice's life in the asylum. I've had very little attention from readers to it, :( so if you fancy having a look, i'll be pleasesed. May not update till I've had interest (reviews) lol :P

Thanksssss! xxx (: