A/N: I'd give you a million excuses as to the length of time between updates, but you don't care and I have three children under 5 so we'll just say life happened. This story is nagging at me, so it will be finish hang in there. It actually doesn't have too far to go...I can't say a number of chapters. This is unbeta'd mistakes are all mine...

Welcome to Seattle.

Bella felt her stomach churn at the sight of the sign. She had been trying to psych herself up for this road trip all week, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't seem to muster anything but dread.

The rain beaded against the windshield making her glad she had given over driving responsibilities to Edward. Her mood appeared to mirror the dreary weather outside of the car. It was a familiar trip she had once made often, but the weight seemed to grow heavier on her shoulders each minute they grew closer to reaching their destination.

Once upon a time that sign had spiked her full of anticipation. The knowledge that the long but worthwhile trip was finally over. *NSYNC blaring from the CD player as she and her Mom danced around driving her father crazy as they hyped themselves up for their shopping trip. Whether it was Christmas or school shopping, Bella had adored being able to go into the city and do real shopping.

Even after she graduated Seattle had meant growing up and the next chapter in her life. That her life with Emmett was really starting. She was moving onto things like college, learning how to be a mom, and raising Alyssa. She had anticipated spending most of her adult years with Emmett creating a life. This city was simply a painful reminder of what her life was supposed to be. Now all she felt was her heart constricting inside of her chest. She knew she wouldn't be able to truly breathe until she had Lyss in her car and was leaving this place again.

A hand clasped around hers as if sensing the cloud that was making its way into her mind.

"You sure about this?"

"Yeah, of course. I can't bear the thought of being so far away from her. I'm sure you think I'm pathetic, it's only a weekend."

"I think you're a wonderful mother, honestly. I am glad you let me accompany me, besides I've decided it is my only mission this weekend to be sure that you let your hair down and have some fun."

Bella laughed as she looked over at him surprised, "I'm sorry, I feel terrible you took off work to go on this trip with me and here I am being Debbie Downer. You're right we should have fun on this trip."

"So you're up for it?" He asked as he lifted her hand to her his lips as he parked at the hotel. "I think I may have found a way to show you a new side of Seattle."

She arched a brow studying him, "A new side of Seattle, you say? That sounds awfully confident, sir."

"It's a money back guarantee kind of offer. If you do not enjoy yourself tonight on our outing then I will dress up as Flynn Ryder for Lyss's birthday."

"I hate it already! You're hired."

Edward leaned forward and brushed a kiss over her lips softly. "Let's get ourselves checked in to the hotel and then we'll head out for our extravaganza of fun!"

"An extravaganza of fun? You might need to fire your script writer if he's giving you lines like that."

"Trust me on this one, you're going to love it, darlin."

"Oh, I do trust you that's the scary part."

"I promise not do anything to betray that. I want you to know that you can trust me." His fingers traced over the curve of her cheek as he looks into her eyes.

She could feel something inside of her shifting unsettled. His words went well beyond one night's activities and they both knew it. The chalk line their relationship had been teetering along had begun blurring when they took Alyssa to the movies together. He was giving her a peek at his hand she just had to trust that this was worth the gamble and go all in.

x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*

"Ladies and gentleman, it has been a nail biter of a game, Edward Cullen has thrown a twelve inning no hitter, it's completely unheard of! One man-"

"Hey!"

"Excuse me, the politically correct police are here today. One woman stands between THE Cullen and the impossibly perfect game. Can he do it, ladies and gentleman, I do believe he can. He winds up, draws back and releases the pitch. It is the perfect specimen of a fastball it spins almost too fast for the naked eye to see. Can she make contact with it when she had failed to all evening and-"

Bella couldn't help the peals of laughter that escaped her as she watched him grab his stomach where she'd knocked the wind out of him. She probably should have been more concerned about him, but he'd gone from passing out hitting tips to making fun of her and after swinging the bat so long her arms were starting to ache she couldn't help the feeling of victory that coused through her that she had nailed him.

Swallowing deep breaths of air she finally finds her voice through her laughter. "And she does. It not only is the the prettiest woman in Major League baseball, but she ruins THE CULLEN's completely improbable game. She ran teasingly touching the fence as if she were running bases but just as her giggles return as she runs towards her imaginary home she feels herself tackled and hands going to work on her sides.

"Oh, the prettiest girl in major league, huh?" Edward laughed as he tickled her sides as he shakes his head. "One time making contact with the ball and suddenly she's a superstar."

She knew she probably sounded like a silly teenager, but somehow he'd managed to shift a trip she thought would be miserable into a perfect evening.

"Hey, when you're the only girl in major league there's not much competition so it's safe to toot your own horn."

He shifted over her lifting a hand up to stroke her cheek gently as he looks in her eyes a smile "Oh no, darlin, even if there were a hundred other women in the league it would be completely safe to toot your own horn. You are simply the most beautiful woman I've ever had the pleasure to spend time with."

"Shut up and kiss me."

His lips descended on hers as his fingers tangled in her hair.

In that moment, Bella felt as if this kiss were a matter of self preservation. Her body was pressing up into him her hands sliding over the muscles of his back and there was no thought more important, not even her next breath, then kissing him more. It may have sounded melodramatic, but in that moment that man and this kiss were all she needed.

His hand glided along her side teasing the skin exposed by her tank top riding up and she felt her hands gripping his his upper arms as she tried to get closer to him. She wanted him on top of her, under her, inside of her. She couldn't remember a moment when she had craved anyone with the raw desperation consuming her right now.

In this moment, she knew she was done for. She didn't know when it had happened if it had been an all in this moment thing or if over time he had created his own space in her heart, but she was sure she couldn't let him go now.

"So soft. Like silk, so much better than I imagined."

His words warmed her from the inside, as if they were her own personal sun bathing her in light and heat. A whimper of longing escaped her as his mouth left hers, she began to protest until her words melted her a little as her head fell back exposing more skin to his mouth as it descended on her neck, the world around them falling aside. No sense of time or surroundings. She never wanted this single moment to end.

The cotton of her tank top was thin and flimsy under his hand as his hands wandered up, she knew there was no doubt that he could feel her body's response to him. The heat she felt piercing through her shirt as his hands glided over her body was on it's way to igniting a fire when she felt as if she were being ripped out of her fantasy.

"Auntie Frina what's are they doin'?"

"Don't look over there Lexi, some people shouldn't even be allowed out in public."

Edward felt as if a bucket of ice water had been thrown on him, and yet it did nothing to extinguish the fire burning inside of him. Their eyes locked and he bit the insides of his cheeks to prevent from laughing, but he made no move to scramble off of her. Wrong place or not, he wasn't going to make apologies for losing control, not when he was with Bella. Her eyes dancing with mirth allowed him to laugh as he stood up slowly and offered her his hand "Shall we continue to a more appropriate venue?"

Her bottom lip jutted out in a pout as she slid her hand inside his, "you promised me ice cream."

"It's in the freezer at the hotel. Half baked, right?"

"There's no way you're this perfect."

"I'm just buttering you up so you'll pretend not to notice when you realize I snore tonight."

He watched her head fall back in laughter as he scooped her up honeymoon style and headed towards the car kissing her again, hoping he was right in thinking this was a straight path.

"You're going to kill us both on the way to the car and we'll never get to the ice cream."

"Oh have no fear, I promise to get us safely to the ice cream and to enjoy every last drop of it."

She swallowed at the hooded look he gave her as he set her into her car and nodded. "You sound confident it's going to be good."

Edward's eyes swept over her body as he slid in next to her. "I am and it will be. I thought you trusted me?"

"Oh I trust you, but I wonder if you're overestimating your own skills," she teased.

He reached over capturing her lips again, "why don't we let you be the judge of that in the morning."

She tangled her fingers with his as she looked down. His words caused a tightness in her stomach and suddenly

One minute the coolness of the metal spoon was against her lip and the next the heat of his lips, melted away any last drop of sugary goodness. All of the heat and fire from the batting cages was back and she couldn't help but bask in the fact that there would be no interruptions-no nosy or sick children, no time limits or emotional walls, nothing but a man and a woman and the promise of passion.

Edward's lips were on hers, the kiss slow, burning and demanding as his hands found their way over her body slowly as if committing every inch of her body to memory. While the gentle flick of his tongue caused a flock of butterflies to appear in her stomach. It had been so long since she'd been with anyone. Never had she imagined she could ever have these kinds of feelings again.

"Have I told you how I love your neck?"

Goosebumps raised on her skin as his fingers caressed the curve of her neck slowly, "No?" she whispered amazed she could even form a coherent thought in this moment.

"I do." He whispered his breath hot against the skin of her neck, feather light kisses followed his breath. Leaving no doubt to the validity of his words. His teeth scraped over the skin of her neck gently causing a shiver to race through her.

"I never paid much attention to the neck, but yours is perfection. It's long and smooth. I wondered on our first date if your skin was as creamy as it looked." His words were whispered against her skin.

Part of her brain found his words silly as if something she might read in a grocery store romance, but that part of her was silenced lost in the sensations. "Really?"

"The most perfect neck on the planet. Of that I'm sure." He whispered as he sucked gently at the spot under her ear as she let out an unladylike snort moan.

"That's ludacris."

"It's not. I've dreamed of having you like this. Under me, at my will. Touching you, kissing you." He pinned her under him on the bed his hands slowly tracing up her arms his hands encircling her wrists as he leans down and captures her lips again.

Gone were the slow, lingering kisses they had begun with; this kiss was different-hot, searing, she felt as if she were being devoured and she couldn't get enough of him. Her hands found the bottom of his shirt as she broke the kiss long enough to pull it over his head as his hands slid under her to cup her butt and pull her against his arousal pressing it into her. "Tonight. You are mine." His breath was hot against

"Always," the word was out of her mouth before she realized she was even going to speak. However, as she looked into his eyes she saw the desire there she felt her breath coming faster. Each breath felt more like an impossibly loud gasp; she could feel every inch of him covering her and her only regret in that moment was that there were still so many layers of clothing acting as barriers between them.

She had been dreaming of this night since nearly the first moment she'd met him. Despite the time that had passed between her last intimate encounter with a man and this one she was no innocent virgin; yet she had never imagined that simply the feel and the weight of his body stretched intimately over hers would feel so thrilling. Every inch of him was perfection. Muscled, smooth, strong; there was no way she could escape his embrace and she couldn't imagine ever wanting this moment to end. Being so close to him made every nerve on her body stand at attention.

Her hips arched up to meet his, and his hands found their way down her body pulling her up even further against him.

"My God, Bella," Edward gasped, hauling his body up to prop on his elbows was he looked into her eyes "I want to-I can't-" he searched for the words to tell her how much more this was than he had anticipated.

She grabbed at his back in an attempt to pull him back down against her. The air felt cool and foreign where his body had just been.

"I can't go slow..."

" I don't want you to. I don't care."

"I do. You should be cherished, adored, loved not ravaged like we're teenagers whose parents might walk in at any moment."

"We have all night." Her fingers caressed his cheek as she studied him. "You can cherish and adore me all you want later, but right now I want you to show me how much you need me."

His hands were on her again in an instant keeping the weight she desired off of her as he stripped her of the last of her clothes, his eyes devouring her as they took in her form below him. He slid his fingers gently down her arms to lace his fingers with her and prevent her from covering herself. "So beautiful..."

The reverence in his voice made her shiver as she reached for his clothes instead of covering herself. "So unfair. I need you and you have too many clothes on."

His clothes were shed in a tangle of hands as she pulled him down over her feeling him press against the place she desired him the most her hips arching off the bed towards him. "Please?"

"Anything for you." His lips met hers as he whispered the promise meaning so much more than what was happening in this bed or between them physically in the last few months she had stolen his heart and she was his life.

x*x*x*x*x*x*x*

The warm sun filtered through the room through the curtains of the hotel barely disturbing the the tangled web of limbs on the bed too spent to realize it was even morning. A shrill noise cut through the air again causing a hand to snatch ti and growl after hitting the answer button.

"Ms. Swan? This is Seattle General, we were calling in regards to your daughter."

What'd you think? We'll definitely see Alyssa in the next chapter and see just why she's at the hospital...