A/N: This is the final chapter of my little Bridge between Stephenie Meyer's Midnight Sun (published on her website) and Meadow of the Midnight Sun, a well written and true-to-canon fanfiction piece by HeartOfDarkess, which does a very nice job finishing the book. This bridge serves as a few "missing chapters" to link the two works. The intent is to be true to canon.

My first chapter starts directly after the end of Stephenie Meyer's last draft chapter. There is no introduction; I just start right up. If it's been a while since you read Midnight Sun, you might want to start there.

Also, if you read the first chapter when I first posted it (a looong time ago, it seems now), you might want to reread it. I wrote the original version when I was away from home, and therefore, my copy of Twilight. When I came home and got ready to write the next chapter, I discovered canon issues that I've since fixed.

Thanks to HeartOfDarkess for her encouragement to write this, and for serving as an unofficial beta. You are always so generous with me, and I am very grateful for the help and camaraderie.

Stephenie Meyer owns these characters, and no copyright infringement is intended.

EPOV

It had been a very pleasant evening, listening to Bella's gentle, steady breathing, and learning about her through her favorite music and poems. Some of it I'd already known and liked, but I listened to it with new appreciation, knowing that it had drawn her in as well. Some of it I hadn't known, but I liked it; I could appreciate the beauty and longing in the songs. I wondered…hoped that the longing was directed at me. And I could appreciate it all. Appreciate it because it was important to her. I'd never experienced that before. It was…strangely gratifying. But then it hit me as I drove back to her house before school, much of the music, and all of the poems, had been about love. Her heart must have been touched before. My smile faded with the thought. Of course, it was ridiculous to feel jealous of some imagined fifteen- or sixteen-year old in Phoenix that she never mentioned—that she knew before we'd even met—but that didn't stop me. I sighed. I'd have to ask her today. I didn't really want to know, but it would be far preferable to imagining…then again, the one time she'd stirred during the night, she had reached toward me and whispered my name, sighing gently. Combined with her music, it had left with a heady feeling.

I heard Charlie's cruiser leaving when I was but two blocks from Bella's house, and so I drove straight up to her driveway, rolling down the windows, turning off the engine, and adjusting the volume on the Miles Davis CD I'd placed in the stereo before leaving the house. I didn't know if she was familiar with this one, but I felt certain she would like it; and it was one of my favorites. I smiled at my new confidence in understanding her tastes.

She came out of the house almost immediately, walking straight up to the car and letting herself in. There was no shy pause, and her assurance made me grin happily, forgetting all about the mysterious Phoenix boys.

"How did you sleep?" I asked. Her eyes glazed slightly.

"Fine, how was your night?"

"Pleasant," I said, smiling as I thought again of her music, 'somewhere I have never traveled', and looked at her small hands. I started toward school.

"Can I ask what you did?"

"No, today is still mine," I said enthusiastically. She rolled her eyes.

"My favorite color is still brown."

I laughed. "Tell me about Renée."

"I've already told you about her…what more do you want to know?"

"What are her hobbies, other than dancing around the living room?"

"Ah…Renée and her hobbies…she's had so many of them…" I raised an eyebrow, seeking clarification. "My mother goes through phases with her hobbies…she gets excited about something, buys whatever equipment she needs, takes a class or two, realizes it's hard, and then packs all that stuff up in a box, puts it in the garage, and gets excited about something else. So there's a box for stained glass window making, one for fused glass, one for acrylic painting, one for pottery, one for macramé…"

"Macramé?" I pulled into the school and parked the car.

"Seriously, I have two belts. Also knitting…that red scarf that I was wearing in January…one of hers. Lately though, she's a baseball wife, and it apparently takes a lot of time." We got out and I started walking her to her English class.

"That scarf had a…unique…shape," I added.

"That's Renée," she said with a grin.

"The way you describe her…she doesn't seem like an opera buff."

She smirked. "If you had to describe Renée with a single word, eclectic wouldn't be a bad one, though others come to mind when I'm feeling less charitable. The point is she'll try anything once, and is fairly easygoing, so she finds things she likes all the time. When I was growing up she played opera, classical, jazz, soul, rock, disco, bluegrass, folk… pretty much everything. Some of it she'd only play once, and it would move to the bottom of the pile. But when I started having a preference, I had a wide selection to choose from." I nodded…it was a haphazard approach to music education, but much better than simply listening to top forty radio.

"So she really likes music?" I asked. She thought about that for a moment.

"Well, she doesn't know anything about it. She doesn't have a box in the garage with an instrument and sheet music. It's more like, she needs a soundtrack for her life. What she listens to is tied to what she's reading and watching on TV. So if she's reading Austen, it's Mozart…Shakespeare, it's opera…while she was reading the Raj Quartet we listened to sitar music for months…I still have some in my collection somewhere. If she's trying to prove how young she is, she'll listen to what I bring home, like Zero 7 or Elbow, or the Doves."

We were outside her class now, people rushing past us, and she turned to me expectantly. I tucked a bit of stray hair behind her ear and asked, "Are you like that too, with what you read?"

She thought a moment and chuckled. "Maybe a little. When I saw E. M. Forster on the reading list for English, I wondered if I'd be pulling out the sitar music or the Bartok. But on the other hand, I'm happy reading Austen to Coltrane, so…" she shrugged. I smiled down at her, studying all her features, memorizing them again before I had to leave.

"I'd better go," I said, as I noticed the halls clearing in the corner of my eye.

"Yeah, me too." She didn't move; she was just as resistant to parting as I was. I groaned inwardly and finally turned away from her with a little wave.

"Edward!" I turned and saw her flash me an amazing smile as she stood outside the open English door. "I'll see you after Spanish." She went in and I turned again, grinning like an idiot…well, like a teenager. I jogged to my calculus class, just taking my seat before the bell rang.

My classes dragged, just as they had yesterday. It was a shame, in some ways. Calculus wasn't an inherently boring subject, but the way that high school teachers invariably taught it—and I'd taken it dozens of times—always left the students wondering why they should care. Government was almost as bad. English was more entertaining, just because I knew Bella liked the book we were reading, and so I was approaching it with a new perspective, something that hadn't happened since the thirties.

Alice and I were partnered in Gym again. She twirled her racquet between serves, and silently recited 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead' in Japanese. This would have been hysterical, if I weren't so annoyed with the fact that she was hiding something from me. As it was, the tennis scene had me choking back laughter, trying to cover it with coughing fits. It's funny enough in English, but somehow, in Japanese, in Alice's soprano mental voice, with the tennis swings in the play synchronized to Alice's swings in the badminton game… I could barely control my mirth. The other team thought I was laughing at them, which just made Alice's eyes gleam more.

I tried to drown her out by checking in with Bella, who was in Spanish class. Jessica was regaling her with plans for the dance, wanting Bella's approval for every detail. Bella was tolerating it, though without a plan to go herself, the conversation was one-sided…which suited Jessica just fine, I noted, smirking. Well, I'd rescue Bella soon enough.

I was waiting for her when they left the Spanish classroom. Jessica just rolled her eyes and walked away; Bella walked straight to me again, her smile and heat warming me through. Her new confidence was thrilling me.

"Hi," she said, her eyes drinking in the sight of me. I knew the feeling.

"Hi," I answered, touching the small of her back to gently turn her in the direction of the cafeteria. Thrilling. "Yesterday you mentioned that you didn't really know Charlie's parents, just their garden. Did you know your other grandparents? Are they still alive?"

"No, not anymore. I knew Gran Marie, Renée's mom. She died about 6 years ago, but we were pretty close. She was great…sort of a free spirit like Renée, but more grounded…more reliable, easier to relax around. I really miss her sometimes."

"What about friends in Phoenix? You never talk about anyone from there…" I led her into the lunch line.

"My best friends through most of elementary school and junior high were Kari and Grace, but when we got to high school we all sort of went different ways. Kari's really artistic, and started hanging out with all the artsy kids, and Grace just sort of went bad…had a boyfriend that got her involved in drugs, and she stopped showing up to school. I tried to help her for a while, but she didn't want any help." She sighed. There was more to that story, I imagined. "Once we were in high school, I don't know, I was busy with school and work. I had friends I hung out with at lunch, but we didn't do a lot after school. Kari and I talked on the phone sometimes, but she was pretty involved with her new friends. Weekends were really for Renée…she and I didn't have time to hang out during the week. None of those friendships were the kind that really survives a long separation. Kari's written once. She likes Kwakiutl art, and wants me to tell her if I've seen any. I think there's some at Seattle Art Museum. I was going to try to go some weekend soon and see if I could get her a book or something." We sat at our table and she started picking at her bagel.

"So she's the only one you're in touch with?" I was stalling. I didn't want to get to my next question. I didn't really want to know what had inspired her love of all those poems. Or rather, whom…

"Yeah, Kari's great, but we're both really lazy correspondents…I don't have a lot of hope for the friendship, but I'm trying." She smiled a little sheepishly. I took a deep breath.

"What about boys? You must have dated in Phoenix."

"No." She looked startled at the question.

"What, not at all?" I asked incredulously. She shook head. "So you never met anyone you wanted?" It was starting to dawn on me just how much responsibility I had in her life. If she had never felt love before, and I made any sort of mistake, I'd steal that potential from her forever.

"Not in Phoenix," she said. She took another bite of bagel as I sat, stunned.

She meant me. I was her first. I was her first, and I could so easily destroy her. The idea paralyzed me. I had thought that learning of her first loves would chill me, but this was much, much harder. There was no way I could be worthy of her. How was I even to get through the day tomorrow? I felt the weight of it crush me. I would just have to be strong enough. There was no option. Which brought me to my preparations…

"I should have let you drive yourself today," I said, wishing, as always, that I had more time with her. I was very nearly out of time…in so many ways.

"Why?" she demanded.

"I'm leaving with Alice after lunch." I looked up at her face and saw her disappointment.

"Oh…that's okay, it's not that far of a walk."

What kind of gentleman did she take me for? "I'm not going to make you walk home. We'll go get your truck and leave it here for you."

"I don't have my key with me…I really don't mind walking." Silly Bella. As if the lack of a key would be a problem…

"Your truck will be here, and the key will be in the ignition—unless you're worried someone might steal it." The insurance agency would never believe that! I thought chuckling…they probably didn't even bother with insurance.

"All right," she said. I'd insulted her with my quip about her truck, and she didn't think I could manage to find a simple key. I fought back a grin. She really had no idea what skills I had at my disposal, especially with Alice around.

"So where are you going?"

"Hunting," I answered grimly, the weight of what I was planning crushing me again. "If I'm going to be alone with you tomorrow, I'm going to take whatever precautions I can." I wished I'd asked her to wear my jacket during lunch, to recharge that as well. But it was too late. So very nearly too late. "You can always cancel, you know," I suggested, not knowing if I could let her. I wasn't strong enough to break the date, but maybe she could, and maybe I could let her. It would likely only postpone the inevitable, but perhaps I'd think of other precautions with more time…

She looked away. Why? Was she bracing herself? No. Avoiding my eyes. Avoiding being dazzled. "No." She looked back up at me. "I can't." There it was. We were both hurtling forward…two lone passengers on the same train, just praying that it wouldn't crash.

"Perhaps you're right," I finally said, visually grasping at her features again…willing myself to be strong enough for her.

"What time will I see you tomorrow?" she asked.

"That depends…it's a Saturday, don't you want to sleep in?"

"No," she said quickly. I repressed a smile. She didn't like the idea of being separated for any longer than necessary either.

"The same time as usual, then," I assured. "Will Charlie be there?"

"No, he's fishing tomorrow." She looked very smug at the thought.

"And if you don't come home, what will he think?" After he calls the FBI and National Guard, that is…

"I have no idea. He knows I've been meaning to do laundry. Maybe he'll think I fell in the washer."

How could she treat this situation so lightly? I must have been scowling at the thought, because she scowled back: a kitten-fury scowl.

"What are you hunting tonight?" she asked. How did she speak of it so lightly? As though I'm not a monster…

"Whatever we find in the park. We're not going far," I answered quietly. I never understood her.

"Why are you going with Alice?"

"Alice is the most… supportive." For lack of a better word…irritating little pixie.

"And the others? What are they?" she asked.

I scanned their thoughts. "Incredulous, for the most part."

She looked over at them, behind me, and her face fell. "They don't like me."

"That's not it," I tried to reassure her. Well, with one exception. I sighed. "They don't understand why I can't leave you alone."

"Neither do I, for that matter."

We'd been over this. How was I ever going to convince her? "I told you — you don't see yourself clearly at all. You're not like anyone I've ever known. You fascinate me." She looked skeptical, making me smile. If only she knew what every human male in the room was thinking. "Having the advantages I do," I said, touching my forehead lightly, "I have a better than average grasp of human nature. People are predictable. But you… you never do what I expect. You always take me by surprise." She looked away, annoyed. Excellent. Way to woo the girl, Edward, you just made her feel like a curiosity, I thought to myself. Her eyes fell on my family. I watched her, and struggled to clarify my feelings.

"That part is easy enough to explain. But there's more… and it's not so easy to put into words…" How could I describe these strange longings, which I didn't even understand myself? How could I express my surprising fascination with her lips, and the slope of her shoulder, and the curve right above—and below—the small of her back? How could I describe how my center trembled and coiled if she sat near me too long, or looked into my eyes, or touched my hand?

Suddenly Rosalie's thoughts intruded my mind. I can't believe he's risking a war with the wolves for this human. If I lose Emmett over this pasty-faced child, the Volturi will be the least of his worries! I could see Bella through her eyes, see how their eyes were locked, and how Bella's face grew frightened. Through Rosalie's eyes I saw the back of my own shoulders stiffen as a low hiss escaped my lips. Rosalie noticed too, and she turned away, now looking at Emmett, whose expression was confused, and then reassuring. I focused back on Bella.

"I'm sorry about that. She's just worried. You see…it's dangerous for more than just me if, after spending so much time with you so publicly…"

"If?"

"If this ends...badly." I covered my face with my hands, too ashamed to face her. I felt her movement, her indecision about how to comfort me. But it was too late for that, too. I was out of time.

"And you have to leave now?"

"Yes," I said looking at her again. "It's probably for the best. We still have fifteen minutes of that wretched movie left—I don't think I could take anymore." I felt Alice suddenly standing behind me, her stillness belying the excitement she felt.

You can't get out of it this time, Edward.

"Alice," I said in greeting, never taking my eyes off Bella.

"Edward," she answered, for Bella's sake. Now introduce me to my best friend!

"Alice, Bella — Bella, Alice." I moved my hand in introduction, smiling at Alice's impatience.

"Hello, Bella. It's nice to finally meet you," Alice said sweetly to Bella, adding to me, I can't believe how long you made me wait, silly brother. Really Edward, was that so difficult?

"Hi, Alice," Bella said shyly.

"Are you ready?" Alice asked me.

"Nearly. I'll meet you in the car." I quickly slipped her my keys. Go away, Alice. I get a few more minutes. I hoped she'd see my decision to say it. I felt her move toward the door, and watched Bella's eyes follow her with an odd expression on her face. Wistfulness?

"Should I say 'have fun', or is that the wrong sentiment?" she asked, impressing me again with the way she took all of this in stride.

"No, 'have fun' works as well as anything," I said, smiling.

"Have fun, then." She was trying to sound happy for me. As if I could be happy that I had to leave her…silly Bella.

"I'll try. And you try to be safe, please."

"Safe in Forks — what a challenge," she quipped.

"For you it is a challenge." My thoughts were turning serious again. "Promise."

"I promise to try to be safe. I'll do laundry tonight — that ought to be fraught with peril."

"Don't fall in," I reminded her.

"I'll do my best."

I stood. It was time to go. She stood as well, saying, "I'll see you tomorrow." She looked depressed.

"It seems like a long time to you, doesn't it?" How differently we perceived time. I had no idea if I had enough of it anymore; enough time to change myself, and make myself safe for her. She nodded.

"I'll be there in the morning," I promised, realizing sadly that for the first night in a long time, I would probably not see her before then. I wished again that I'd asked her to wear my jacket during lunch. I smiled at her and reached across the table to stroke her delicate cheekbone, in what had become our customary goodbye. Then I left before I could change my mind.

I walked out to the car where Alice was sitting in the passenger seat, putting in a new CD.

"Alice, what have I told you about messing with my music? What's wrong with Miles Davis?"

"Nothing's wrong with Miles, I just feel more in the mood for Radiohead. Be nice to me, Edward, or I won't tell you where you're going to find her key."

I started the car and headed for Bella's house. "I'd still find it," I challenged.

"Yes, but it will take a lot longer, make more of a mess, and get us hunting later, which will mean you won't like your prey as much." She shot me an amused look.

Irritating little pixie. "Fine, Radiohead it is." I mock glared at her. I liked Kid A anyway. We pulled up to the house, and I let us in using the key under the eave. "So where am I going to find it? And by the way, what was that about in Gym today? What are you hiding?" She made her eyes wide with innocence and then played me part of a vision: I was going through a pair of jeans on the laundry room floor. I went in and retrieved the key.

"I was just in the mood for a little Tom Stoppard, and haven't used my Japanese in a while. We need to settle somewhere with a larger Asian population next time, so I have people to practice with."

"I'm sure Carlisle will take it under consideration…just make him a list of all your requirements: languages, mall size, types of large game, weather…" I walked back into the kitchen and took a piece of paper off the message board, quickly wrote two words on it.

"Don't forget cultural pursuits. I haven't seen a play or been to a museum since we left Connecticut. Not that I'm complaining. Forks has its charms." She gave me a sly grin. I glared at her. "Oh, loosen up, Edward."

"Loosen up? Do you hear yourself? You were the one all freaked out that I was still taking her to the meadow! And speaking of museums, do you know if SAM has Kwakiutl art?"

"I think so. Why, are you going native?"

"Bella has a friend interested in it."

"I think there's an even better display in Victoria. Does she have a passport?"

"I don't know. I'll ask her tomorrow. You ready?" She danced over to the door and let herself out. I threw her my keys without telling her, and she did a little twirl and caught them perfectly, making me smile. You weren't even trying to trick me.

"No," I said. "I just like seeing your little gift in action. Follow me back to school?"

Sure.

I drove the truck back and placed it in my parking spot, carefully set my note on the seat, and then got into my car; Alice had already moved to the passenger side. We headed to the house to drop off our school things. "You should get changed now," Alice said.

"Before we hunt? What if I get dirty?"

She rolled her eyes. "When do you ever get dirty hunting?"

"Okay, okay. Give me a minute." I went to my room and changed, wondering why I was spending time doing this now, when Alice was concerned with getting us out of Bella's house early. I was downstairs within a minute. "Okay, let's go. What?" I asked, catching her look as she eyed my clothes. She was suppressing a giggle. I looked down at myself. She had bought these clothes for me, and I failed to see what was humorous. "What?" I looked into her mind to see if I'd missed a vision, but if I had, it was too late…she was thinking of prey now.

"Nothing." She pointed northeast, "Elk, or," pointing southeast, "deer?"

"I thought you said I'd like the prey if we hurried at Bella's."

"I said you'd like it less if we waited."

"Edward?" Esme was coming down the stairs. "Am I going to see you again before you go to the meadow with Bella?"

I looked at Alice, assuming that she wouldn't have had me change if I were coming back. She shook her head.

"Doesn't look like it," I answered.

"Can I have a moment, then?"

"I'll be outside," Alice said.

I turned to Esme and she finished coming down the stairs, walked over to me, and cupped my cheek in her hand, resting her other hand on my shoulder. Her eyes were full of love and concern. I started to feel all the tension that had built up over the last several days begin to crumble away. I'd constructed walls to try to keep myself strong for what I was about to do, but with a simple touch, Esme brought them down, leaving me with only my raw fear and agitation. I felt my expression change; it had been hardened…guarded…but now I felt pain wash over it. She drew me into a fierce embrace, closing her arms over my shoulders, and my arms wrapped around her as I squeezed my eyes shut against my fear.

"I'm so scared, Esme."

"I know. I'm sorry. I wish there were more I could do."

"This helps, actually." She smiled.

"You know I love you unconditionally…we both do." She and Carlisle, she meant. She was telling me that they would still love me if I failed. I didn't want to hear that.

"Esme…"

"Shhh. Let me finish. You know I love you unconditionally. But there's something else I want to make sure you know, before you go." I nodded, waiting. "I believe you can do this, Edward. If it had been any of the others, I would have talked to Carlisle about leaving, and dealt with Rose myself. But I have faith in you. You can do this. Do you remember when you came back to us, after your sojourn to New York?"

I remembered. She'd held me like this then as well. I nodded. "I was so proud of you for coming back, for being strong enough to change your mind, stand by your new decision, and face Carlisle like a man. I know that you think you aren't as strong as Carlisle, but you're wrong." She pulled back so she could look at my face. I knew my expression must have shown all my fear, all my self-doubt; Esme brushed my hair from my face. "You have every bit as much control, every bit as much goodness. You are just as strong. I mean it, Edward," she said as I looked away in disbelief. She touched my chin to turn my face to her again. "It's true. I've known you longer than anyone on this earth, save one, and in some ways I think I understand you better than he does. You should trust me; I know what I'm talking about." I smiled. "You are capable of anything. And you love this girl. You love Bella." I nodded. "You won't hurt her. I know you won't. And she loves you; and Edward, I can't wait to meet her." Her smile warmed me. It was hard not be infected by her confidence.

I pulled her into another hug. "Thank you, Mom," I whispered.

You are the brightest star in my sky, Edward. My brightest star. I hugged her tighter.

She pulled away, looking into my face again. "Now, go get fed, and have a wonderful day tomorrow. I want to hear all about it when you get back." She kissed my forehead and released me.

"But if I fail…" she put her hand on my lips, not letting me finish.

"Edward, we're all here to support you, before and after, no matter what happens. But it won't come to that. You're stronger than you think you are. You won't hurt her." She looked at me with pride and confidence and love. Then she kissed my forehead again and went upstairs. I joined Alice outside.

"Pep talk over?" I smiled and nodded. "Feeling better?'

"For the moment. Any prey left?"

"Oh, I think we'll be able to rustle something up. I vote for northeast."

"Ladies first," I said, motioning for her to start. We ran for quite a while, Alice leading us higher and higher into the park, until we descended into a narrow valley. She stopped about a half mile from a stream where we could see a small herd of elk. I started to move towards them…

Edward, wait. I stopped, still crouching, and watched the scene below. The moon rose over the ridgeline. Nothing was changing, and I was growing impatient, when suddenly the breeze shifted slightly, and I caught another scent: the scent of a predator. I looked at Alice and she grinned at me.

See? Patience is a virtue. I rolled my eyes. She continued, That one is yours; I'll take one of the elk.

"Thanks," I mouthed. I headed toward it, keeping downwind. The cat was distracted, stalking its own prey. It was too easy, but I didn't care. I'm not Emmett; I don't hunt for the challenge. Thinking of Emmett reminded me of his comment at the last family meeting. When I finished draining the cat, I ran down to where Alice was finishing up with an elk. The rest of the herd had moved down the valley. I sat on a boulder and waited for her. I felt lucky to have Alice for a sister. She really wanted me to succeed, and I felt grateful to her. Between Carlisle and Esme's confidence, and Alice's support, I was actually starting to feel slightly optimistic about tomorrow. She stood and wiped her mouth.

"Alice?"

"Hmm?"

"Did Emmett and Jasper really bet on the outcome of tomorrow?"

"No, Jasper's far too much of a gentleman to bet on something so important to you. I, on the other hand, have no qualms about taking my brother's money." She grinned.

"You bet that I'd bring her back?"

"Of course!"

"May I ask what odds you gave him?"

"No. But it doesn't matter, because I'm not going to lose."

"You weren't so sure two nights ago…"

"Well, I'm still not sure, but I'm coming around to your way of thinking. And a few things have solidified…"

"And you're not going to explain that…"

"Nope." She grinned again. Then I caught part of a hazy vision. There was a tall tree, and I was standing under it with Bella. Then it was gone.

"What was that?"

"Oh. Oh, I have to go, Edward. Jasper needs to hunt. I didn't realize he needed to hunt, too."

"Alice, what was I doing to Bella?"

She looked surprised. "Nothing. You were just standing there."

"Are you sure?"

"Edward, my concern about tomorrow is with the things you don't decide… a sudden reaction. If I'd actually seen you do anything to her—anything bad—I would have told you, and talked you out of this.

"So nothing's changed since the meeting?"

"Nothing to do with you. I need to go. Are you going to be okay? Are you going to Bella's tonight?"

I looked up at the moon. Part of me wanted to go to Bella's room; I could get accustomed to her scent again. Normally, the cat would be plenty. But it seemed like a better idea to hunt some more; I needed to make sure I had absolutely no thirst tomorrow.

"No, I think I'll go in search of the elk, and maybe go to the meadow. I haven't been there at night for a long time…it will probably relax me. I'll be fine. Thanks, Alice. Thanks for everything."

She came up to me and gave me a hug.

"Try not to get all angsty. Listen to Esme. I'll see you tomorrow."

"You will?" I asked as she disappeared, her tinkling laugh fading in the distance. Annoying, loveable little pixie. I took a deep breath, and then headed for the meadow. Suddenly, I couldn't wait to get there.

A/N So this concludes my Bridge, and now I'll send you off to Heart of Darkess' wonderfully written Meadow of the Midnight Sun: .net/s/5685996/1/Meadow_of_the_Midnight_Sun. Remember that her story was written first and is stand-alone; it won't flow quite like a "next chapter" from mine. She spends some time in the beginning setting up her story, but then the chapters flow beautifully all the way to the end of the book.

Thanks again for reading my little Bridge with the "missing chapters." I'd love to hear what you think. And I hope to see you soon over at my other story, Prelude in C.