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"We're cool," he confirmed．
"Awesome," Alice said nodding, her eyes shifting from side to side as she did. "I'm gonna go then," she said finally. "Cause, I've gotta … return some DVDs. Late charges are the worst.”
Charlie smiled and nodded, patting her reassuringly on the shoulder．
"I understand," he said intoned gravely. "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.”
"Number one Dad," Alice exclaimed, grinning at Charlie as she slapped him on the arm lightly．
Charlie was about to respond to that, but before he could Alice became distracted and turned her head to the side, focusing on something across the room．
"Number one human Dad, Carlisle," she said finally, and Charlie could see that her eyes were on her own father as she spoke. "The human part was implied.”
Turning his head to the side, Charlie followed Alice's gaze over to Carlisle who was looking at her with a hang dog expression. From the smiles on the faces of the rest of the family, Charlie was certain that Carlisle was just playing and wasn't really offended, and he smiled a little at the display of goofiness from the usually stoic patriarch of the Cullen family. Charlie's gaze moved from Carlisle back to Alice when she shifted in front of him, his eyes crinkling with delight a second later when Alice sighed and muttered, "you men are so sensitive," before she patted Charlie's shoulder one last time and made her way over to her father．
It didn't take long for Alice to reach Carlisle and when she did, she bent down at the waist and pressed a kiss to his forehead, and then after a brief moment of hesitation a devious smile spread across Alice's lips and she ruffled his usually impeccably styled hair, until it was sticking out in every direction. Once she was done giving Carlisle the out of control hair of a teen idol, Alice rested her hand on his shoulder and looked down at her father somberly. "You'll always be top nacho with me Papi," she said with utmost seriousness．
"You were watching Univision the whole time I was gone, weren't you?" Bella asked smirking, as Rose and Emmett exchanged looks and tried not to smile．
"Por supuesto que no, mi hermoso ángel del cielo!" Alice declared gesturing passionately as she stared deeply into Bella's eyes. Charlie's Spanish was a bit rusty, but he was pretty sure that Alice had just said, "Of course not, my beautiful angel from heaven!" and he had to bite down on his bottom lip to stop from laughing．
Alice's dramatic display made Esme giggle however, and once she lost it the rest of the family started to laugh as well. Alice turned her head to Charlie and winked at him conspiratorally, and then she took a seat on the floor next to Bella and took his daughter's hand into her own before focusing on the coloured slips of paper on the floor once again．
Charlie leaned back in the couch, settling himself comfortably. A small, content smile spreading over his face as Edward and Emmett started arguing, Edward gesturing manically to an empty spot on the floor while Rose surreptitiously passed the object that Edward was looking for to Alice behind Bella's back. Charlie reached for his beer, and took a sip, allowing his eyes to close as the cool liquid slipped down his throat．
In the Cullen's living room, surrounded by soft music, the warmth of a fire and the sound of soft laughter, he felt better than he had in months. Ｈe was finally beginning to believe – for the first time since finding out that Bella was a vampire – that things would really be okay．
To be continued …
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新章节36
Title: The Edge
Author: JanineFandom: TwilightPairing: Alice/BellaRating: PGDisclaimer: All characters are owned by Stephanie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them．
January 2ndBella leaned against the side of Alice's Porsche and tipped her head back, allowing her eyes to close as she basked in the feeling of sunlight warming her face. She didn't get a chance to luxuriate in the sun much anymore, but on the driveway of the Cullen's house, surrounded by forest, she didn't have to worry about prying eyes and was able to sparkle freely．
"I always did like shiny things.”
Bella's lips curved up into a smile at the sound of Alice's voice, and she tipped her head forward and opened her eyes to find her lover grinning at her．
"You must have been so easy to please as a child," Bella commented, holding her hand out to Alice. A wash of warmth shot through her when Alice took her hand and stepped closer, and Bella couldn't help but marvel once again at the effect Alice had on her．
Alice smiled and shrugged．
"Probably," she drawled playfully. "I'm pretty easy to please now, too," she continued leaning forward to brush her lips against Bella's softly．
"Oh, I don't know," Bella breathed out, her lips curling up into an impish smile as Alice continued to lightly dust her lips with kisses. "You made me work pretty hard last night.”
Alice purred softly at the memory, and the next time her lips brushed against Bella's the touch was more focused and heated．
Alice's hands began to wander and Bella pulled back from the raven-haired beauties lips and swatted her on the arm．
"Stop it," Bella murmured, rubbing Alice's arm gently as the tiny woman pouted adorably. "Dad's coming.”
"Ugh, fine," Alice grumbled taking a step back from Bella, as Charlie's loud footsteps began to register with her too. She and Charlie had just become friends again, and as much as she wanted to continue feeling up Bella, she wanted to stay on his good side more. It had been nice, being able to joke around with Charlie again, being able to hold Bella's hand around him and kiss her cheek without him glaring at her and making her feel like the love child of Lizzy Borden and Ｈitler. Despite her general giddiness, she was a patient person, but the tension between herself and Charlie had been fraying her nerves and she was happy that things had pretty much returned to normal between them．
"Don't be such a cranky pants," Bella murmured affectionately, moving to pinch Alice's cheek but just missing as her lover dodged away from the touch．
"I'm not even wearing pants," Alice muttered crankily, before her eyebrows knitted together in a look of intense concentration. She sighed. "I don't think that came out quite right," she murmured a second later, making Bella smile widely．
"Actually that sounded just about right. For later," Bella promised, letting Alice off without teasing this time．
"Promises, promises," Alice sighed meeting Bella's eyes. "I'm so happy you always keep yours," she continued grinning, and then she leaned forward and pressed her lips lightly against Bella's neck．
Bella rolled her eyes at Alice even as her lips curved up in a smile, and she shifted so that she could snake her hand around Alice's waist and draw her lover against her slightly larger frame. Even though she was taller than Alice, before she had been turned she had always just naturally found herself curling into Alice's embrace, being held by Alice instead of the other way around. Even though Alice was smaller, she had been stronger and Bella had enjoyed being wrapped up, secure and safe in Alice's arms. Since becoming a vampire herself however, she had discovered that it was very pleasant to wrap Alice's small frame up in her arms, to encircle her waist and hold her and know that she could protect her, that she could be strong for Alice as well．
Alice breathed in deeply, contently and let herself relax fully against Bella, knowing that her lover would hold her up．
"This was a good Christmas," Alice said softly, her eyes tracking back over to the house, tracing over its angles and planes as a soft smile touched her lips, "And a very good beginning to the New Year.”
"Ｈmm," Bella murmured, tightening her arms around Alice．
It really had been a very good Christmas. Many wonderful and amazing things had happened the previous year, but many very painful and difficult things had happened as well. Bella wouldn't have changed anything that had happened, and she knew that Alice wouldn't have wished for anything to change either. But, the road they had been walking had not always been easy and she was happy that things were beginning to settle down, and that previous wounds were beginning to heal．
"We could stay a few days longer," Bella said softly, burying her nose in Alice's hair. "I could take Dad to Forks and be back today.”
As Alice had predicted, Jasper – and Kate – had shown up for the family's New Years celebrations. Alice hadn't said anything about his arrival in the days leading up to it, but Bella knew that she had been nervous despite the fact that her visions had seemed to indicate that everything would go well. So, when Jasper and Alice had finally found themselves face to face after the rest of the family had greeted him, Bella had been relieved and incredibly happy to see him smile at Alice warmly before quickly walking over to her and wrapping her in a big hug that had actually lifted her feet off of the floor．
The hours that followed their reunion had been hectic, filled with music, and games and excited conversation as the full household caught up with other and enjoyed each others company. After the countdown – and the popping of a bottle of champagne that only Charlie had been able to enjoy – Alice and Jasper had slipped away from the others to go for a walk and talk. When they returned, Alice was happy, and tranquil in a way that would have brought tears to Bella's eyes if she were still able to cry, and when they retired to their room later that night, they had rung the New Year in together with a peacefulness that had eluded them for a long time．
"It's fine," Alice said, lifting her head slightly so that she could look at Bella as she spoke. "Really," she added seeing Bella begin to gear up to protest. "It's been nice seeing everyone, but I'm looking forward to some time alone with you too," she continued, her voice dropping a little and taking on a raspy quality that made Bella shiver. "Edward's staying, Jasper will be around much more in the future," she went on with a certainty that let Bella knew she had seen it come to pass. "And Jake will pout for eons if you don't go see him before we leave like you promised you would. We don't need to change our plans.”
"But you've only just seen each other again and …”
"Bella," Alice breathed out．
"I just don't want to rush you. I mean …”
"Bella," Alice interjected again, smirking a little this time. "It's better if we go. Things are better now, but there's no reason to pretend it's not a little bit awkward. Jasper would like everyone to get a chance to know Kate better without everyone glancing at me, or you, or Edward every few seconds.”
"Oh," Bella murmured. "Oh," she repeated nodding her head. "Right," she muttered. "Wait! I want to get to know Kate too.”
"We're immortal," Alice said, smiling serenely. Bella still reacted to things as a human did, always concerned with time as if it was a finite, limited thing, which of course for her, it no longer was. It would take years, however, decades before Bella really came to understand that they had all of the time in the world. They could take their time and let things happen when they were meant to happen. "You'll have time to get to know her better, and so will I. But, it's better for now if the four of us aren't living together. With Jasper's talent, and mine, it's a bit much at the moment.”
