Stephenie Meyer owns all of the rights.

"Alice, please," I murmured, pushing away the latest plate of cake that she had set in front of me. Even the smell of it was too sweet to my nose. "I'm really not feeling well," I pleaded, locking my eyes with hers.

"Oh, just one more bite, Bella!" Alice exclaimed, trying to talk me into something that I really didn't want.

The rest of the Cullen family was away hunting, due back any moment. They had been gone for the past two days; Alice had convinced Charlie that while they were away camping, she and I needed to plan for the wedding. And, of course, this involved me staying at her house. However, she had told Charlie that her family would be gone for four days. That meant that I got one day of Edward without Charlie knowing, not that he could actually do much at this point.

Edward had presented me with the option of going to La Push for the weekend – something that I would have enjoyed, had Jacob been talking to me. I assumed that he was still hurt from our last conversation, and rightfully so. I hadn't even asked Jake if I could see him anytime soon; I had damaged that boy's heart, and if he needed distance... then I could suck it up and deal with it.

Besides, Alice wasn't too bad...

The previous days had been easier. They had been full of a whirlwind of colors; dresses, invitations, flowers... Alice hadn't really needed (or wanted) my help with those items. She had just been placating Edward, who insisted that I have some say in my wedding.

Today, however, had been pure agony. Since there would be humans invited to the wedding, there had to be food supplied. Unfortunately, this was where Alice faltered, unable to help. She needed me to pick out the right wedding cake, entrees, sweets... whatever we were serving. I had hated every second of it. It was quite ridiculous; who needed to sample thirteen different flavors of cake – most of them chocolate? All the sugars that my body had absorbed had given me a magnificent headache, which was causing the room to spin.

"Ugh," I groaned, placing my entirely too hot cheek against the wood table. It felt cool. I closed my eyes to stop the spinning, but the pain and the dizziness didn't go away.

"Bella?" The voice that called my name wasn't Alice's. No, this voice was made of velvet, and I would have known it anywhere.

I didn't make any sign that I heard Edward's voice call my name except a whimper that escaped my lips. I doubted that I'd ever be as grand of a masochist as Edward was.

"What did you do to her?!" I heard Edward demand, and I cringed. He wasn't yelling-yelling, but it hurt my head to hear his voice even raised just a little bit. I felt his cool hands on my cheeks, lifting my head the tiniest bit off of the table.

"Nooo," I cried. The motion caused everything to fall out of balance, even though my eyes were still clenched tightly shut.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Panic was evident in Edward's voice. If I didn't feel so shitty, it'd probably be at least a little bit funny.

I groaned, pushing my arms out in front of me. My right hand hit the fork that was resting on the plate of cake that Alice had wanted me to try next, and the fork clattered noisily to the mahogany table. I heard Edward's sharp intake of breath, and I didn't need to see the glare that he was giving Alice at the moment.

"I just want to sleep," I pleaded with Edward, tired and sick. I still hadn't opened my eyes, or moved from his cool hands.

"Your blood smells far too sweet, Bella. That's probably why you're so sick." His voice wasn't above a whisper as he murmured these words. I murmured a 'yeah' back and he seemed to relax; I guess, in his eyes, it was a good thing that I could listen to what he was asking me, at least, and pretend to care enough to answer back.

"Here." Carlisle's familiar voice caused Edward to retract one hand from my face. I shuddered; I needed the cool feeling against my cheek. It was one of the few things that was keeping me together.

"Bella, I need you to take some medicine," Edward cooed, tilting my head towards him some. I heard someone set down a glass of water on the dining room table, and I opened my mouth obediently.

I swallowed the pills as he intended, and he seemed content when I pulled his free hand back to my cheek. I knew that he had just given me ibuprofen, but I didn't see how that would really help at this point. My head was exploding.

"It's just a headache, Edward," I heard Carlisle's voice murmur, though the words were slurring together too much for me to pay attention. He didn't need to really explain it to Edward, of course, since Edward had been through medical school several times, but I felt a pull of gratitude towards Carlisle anyway.

"Yes," Edward agreed swiftly. His arms wrapped around my body and he lifted me gently into them.

I groaned; I definitely didn't want to be moved while I felt like this. Couldn't I just stay at the dining room table? I tucked my face into his shoulder, willing myself not to feel the motion or open my eyes. I was still far too dizzy.

"I'm just taking you up to my room," Edward reassured me, his cool lips grazing over my ear. Any other night and those words would have been fantastic. Tonight? Not so much.

It felt like forever in his arms, but soon I felt the soft bed beneath me. I opened my eyes and immediately closed them. Even though the room was almost completely dark, the light that was visible was too much for my poor eyes to handle. I crawled towards the top of the bed and climbed under the covers. To make sure that absolutely no light got to my eyes, I pulled one of the pillows over my head. I knew that Edward wouldn't like that, but what could we do about it? I didn't want to feel like this anymore.

"Bella, are you sure that you're going to be fine?" Edward's voice was full of doubt and skepticism, but I was saved from having to answer due to a soft knock on the door. A very soft knock on the door.

"Here, Edward," I heard Esme's sweet voice say softly, as not to disturb me.

I pulled the pillow off of my head and opened one eye enough to see that she was passing him a wet washcloth and a bowl. I assumed that the wet washcloth was for my forehead... which meant the bowl was probably for when my stomach finally decided to expel all of that chocolate cake... To be honest, I hoped that it didn't make that decision...

...And, it seemed a bit late for me to wish for that.

In a flash, Edward was at my side, holding my hair back. He had shoved the bowl in front of me, and I emptied some of the contents of my stomach into it. The heaving shook my body rather violently, and I felt Edward trying to hold onto me the best that he could. When I was done, the pain in my head seemed to lessen, but not by much. And, my stomach was still in full protest mode.

"Here," Edward said. His voice sounded kind of panicked, like he wasn't sure what to do in this situation, but at the same time, it sounded calm. He handed me a glass of water and had me spit it into the bowl before he rinsed that out in the bathroom down the hall.

By the time that he got back, I was already half asleep, my eyes covered by the wet wash cloth that Esme had supplied. I needed to thank her for being so motherly towards me; it was a blessing, especially in times like these.

Edward didn't leave my side all night, except to empty the throw up bowl twice more, and the one time when I had to go to the bathroom. (I was finally glad that Alice had raided my items before kidnapping me for the weekend. After the last time I threw up, I was more than glad to have a toothbrush on the ready.) Other than that, he held me and let me sleep off my headache, and I was happy about that. By morning, when the sun peered in through the large window in Edward's room, I was feeling better. As I felt the warmth on my face, I smiled and stretched a little.

"Feeling better?" Edward asked as I opened my eyes. His own eyes looked anxious, like he was unsure of if I would ever fully recover. That kind of made me wonder how sick I had been, though I wasn't about to press the issue with him.

"Much, thanks," I responded, snuggling into his side. Sure, it was as hard as concrete, but it was what I preferred. I couldn't wait until I was as unbreakable as Edward; then I wouldn't have to worry about eating too much sugar or anything stupid like that.

He kissed my forehead, letting his lips linger for a moment. "You really had me scared, Bella."

"Sorry," I apologized, my face turning red.

"Not your fault, doll... Not your fault at all. I'm the one who suggested Alice let you help her decide things. I should have been here, supervising."

I sighed. I should have known that he'd blame himself for this. It was so Edward.

"I do have a favor to ask of you, though," he murmured as his lips trailed down my jaw and back.

"Of course," I mumbled, trying to keep my composure.

"Please never eat that much sugar again; your blood smelled way too sweet. I doubt that even Jasper would have been tempted," he chided, though I knew that he didn't think that it was my fault.

Before I could respond, however, the door swung open to reveal Alice in a new, trendy outfit. "Bella!" She exclaimed; I sighed, she had known that I would be feeling better by now. She never missed a beat, that girl.

Before I could even ask her what she wanted, Edward's chest started vibrating in an angry manner. The growl that was coming from his throat most definitely wasn't a happy growl, either. It was more like a "get-out-and-leave-Bella-alone-before-I-kill-you" kind of growl, which was never a good sign.

Alice sighed and pouted before closing the door behind her retreating back. I knew, though, that I would somehow pay for Edward's temper later.

"Edward, what did she want?" I asked, almost afraid to know.

"She wanted you to finish trying the cake."

"Oh," I commented lamely. I had no programmed response for that.

Edward smiled, his lip twitching a bit. An inside joke with himself, I guessed.

"Edward?" I wondered what he was thinking about. I guess that it drove me kind of crazy sometimes, too, but not the way that my silence drove him crazy.

"I was just thinking that I can provide you with something much sweeter than that awful cake," he murmured before kissing me.

Yeah – much sweeter.