I don't own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.

Cheryl, Noles, and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and April, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.

Ch 24

I yawned and stretched; the bed was like sleeping on a cloud. The sun was still shining, and I felt well rested. But I missed Edward's solid and firm body wrapped around me. I rolled over in bed and found him sitting up and leaning against the headboard.

"That was a good nap." I snuggled into him.

He started to chuckle, making me shake. "Nap? Kitten, you've been asleep almost for twenty-four hours."

"Really?" I sat up, feeling astonished that I was out that long. "Why did you let me sleep that long?"

"For one, I thought you needed the rest after everything. And there's also the fact I tried to wake you a few hours ago and you shocked me." He gave me an amused look.

I bit my lip guiltily. "Oops, sorry."

Edward fixed my hair from falling into my face. "I've gotten used to it. You'll have to find another way to torture me."

I laughed then blushed when my stomach let out an embarrassing growl. "I guess I should get something to eat."

I was feeling too lazy to cook, so I had an omelet with home fries and bacon appear before me. I was so hungry that I wolfed it down and made a second one appear. Edward watched me eat with a raised eyebrow.

"When was the last time you ate?" he asked.

"Um…dinner before the Halloween party," I answered. "It's not like I had time to take a break to eat."

"I suppose not." He chuckled sadly.

I swallowed my mouthful, realizing I was rudely eating in front of him again. I opened my mouth to ask if I could get him anything when he spoke first.

"I'm all set, Kitten. I don't have to eat as often as you," he reminded me.

"Can you suddenly read my mind?" I frowned.

He laughed. "No. You almost always ask me when you're eating something."

"Oh," I said sheepishly.

He kissed my forehead. "It's very sweet of you to offer. You've even stopped wrinkling your nose at the thought of getting me blood."

I stuck my tongue out at him for teasing me. "Have you given any thought to animals like Liam?"

Edward was the one to wrinkle his nose now. "I'm not fond of the idea of chasing down deer."

"So go after bears," I shrugged, trying not to giggle.

"There are no bears around Chicago," Edward stated, looking less than amused.

My grin broadened. "Sure there is. There's a whole football team."

Edward looked at me with an incredulous look. "Kitten, that isn't remotely funny. Have you been hanging out with Emmett without me knowing?"

I huffed. "It was a little funny."

"No, it wasn't." He shook his head. "We're probably going to move soon. We've been in Chicago for a long time. We were originally thinking Seattle, but Boston is another possibility. Maybe Vegas, but then we'd really be part of the night life, due to the sun."

"I can easily fix that issue. In fact, I already have with most of you, and the spell doesn't seem to have worn off. So, the sun won't be an issue anywhere," I told him.

"There will probably be more changes too. Usually, we switch up who is the boss, so Jasper may take a turn," he explained to me.

I got an idea. I wasn't thrilled with big cities, they're nice to visit, but I wasn't sold about living in one all the time. I made my plate disappear then got on my knees and wrapped my arms around Edward.

"Can we do something else? Like travel for a while," I asked, nuzzling his face.

"Travel?" he said skeptically.

"Maybe it's something you've already done since you've been around so long. But I've always wanted to see the seven wonders in the world and visit other countries like England, France, Spain, and maybe even Australia. Do something adventurous like climb Mt. Everest or cliff diving," I told him, building more excitement with each idea.

"I thought you wanted a baby? Wouldn't that be hard with all the traveling?" he questioned.

"I do. But the next eclipse isn't for a few more months. We can have an extended honeymoon or something. Just the two of us alone with no worries." I fluttered my eyes at him and gave him a pleading look.

"We are already alone." He pressed his forehead against mine, then kissed me lightly.

"But…" I protested.

Before I could say anything else, Edward stood, pulled me up into his arms, and ran out the door. He raced so fast that my sight blurred. We came to a stop on top of a waterfall on a small cliff. The water cascaded into a pool below.

"It's so pretty," I gushed.

Before I could take it all in, Edward jumped with me in his arms into the water below. When we broke the surface, I pushed my hair out of my face and coughed.

"Why did you do that?" I asked as he let go of me, so I could tread water.

"You wanted to cliff dive." He gave me a mischievous grin, looking years younger rather than the uptight vampire he usually was.

I frowned. "Is this your way of saying no to traveling?"

"This is my way of starting with your requests." He smirked.

"Really?" I asked as I bobbed in the water.

"It would be nice to have a change of pace after everything. There are places I would be interested in seeing in the daytime too."

I tackled him and made our clothes vanish so our naked bodies could entwine. Making love in the mist of the waterfall was only the start of our island days.

On the third day on the island, we watched the sunset from the beach. We had spent the past few days carefree, swimming, exploring, and having sex in many places and multiple ways. I was feeling mostly relaxed, the only thing that was keeping me from total peace was that my aunt kept trying to peek in at me. I currently had her blocked but knew I'd have to confront her sooner than later.

Edward wrapped his arms around me and held me so that I was leaning against his chest. "You seem deep in thought."

"My aunt keeps trying to locate me, but I have her blocked," I told him. "At first, she wanted to congratulate me. Now she's growing concerned about me."

Edward scoffed. "About time she shows compassion for you."

"I think it will be best for me to go to see her." I waited for him to argue with me about it. When he didn't, I turned my head so I could see his expression. His mood seemed all over the place. "You're not going to try to stop me?"

He snorted and the corner of his mouth lifted. "I think we both know how that would work out if I tried. I won't tell you not to; however, I do wish to be there. I promise not to harm her."

"Agreed. Let's get this over with." I changed our clothes and transported us to the front yard of my aunt's house.

We were there only a few moments before she and Liam exited their house. They both seemed surprised to see us. Liam was on his guard, eyeing Edward warily, but he also knew I was stronger than him. Aunt Siobhan seemed unsure how to proceed since I still had her blocked.

"I'm not used to being taken off guard," Aunt Siobhan said in lieu of a greeting.

"It was rather a last-minute decision. I had a feeling you wouldn't stop looking for me until we spoke," I told her.

"Do you blame me? You disappeared, and I didn't know where you were," she stated.

"Now you worry?" Edward scoffed. "Alice knew, and Jasper informed Liam where we were."

Siobhan shot him a look and asked me in her mind to block him. Edward narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything.

"I'm not going to do that. Anything you have to say to me can be said to him as well," I informed her.

"He has the impression I don't care for your life." She frowned.

"Well, keeping secrets from him won't help." I placed my hand on his arm to make sure he was staying calm.

"I know you care for her. What I don't like is anyone using her powers for their own desires. Like she is some sort of genie they can command," Edward snarled.

Aunt Siobhan glared back for a moment then took a deep breath and her shoulders sagged. "I can admire you defending her for that reason; however, that wasn't my intention."

"You wanted vengeance at any cost," Edward argued.

"I wanted vengeance, but not at any cost. This also benefited the two of you. Now Bella can be free to have the life that she wants. Don't you think I have looked into the future for every possible solution? I knew Bella was the only one who could do it," Aunt Siobhan implored us.

Her confession made me freeze. "That means you knew that Edward and his family were going to walk into the lion's den."

"And I also knew you would arrive in time. If I didn't, I would've gone to you myself to warn you in plenty of time to get your mate out of there," Aunt Siobhan assured me.

"Didn't you also see how this shattered her afterwards? While you were celebrating, she was breaking down because she had killed." Edward shook his head in disgust.

Aunt Siobhan looked regretful. "I admit I did celebrate my parents' and sister's murderer was destroyed. I can't be sorry that they finally got their justice. But, sweet niece, can't you see all the good you have done?"

"It doesn't feel all that good. There were lives lost who didn't have to die." I still couldn't help but feel guilty.

She stepped forward and reached for my hands, cupping them in hers. "Those other vampires were just as evil. They killed for fun and often tortured their victims. They weren't like the Cullens, who only go after bad humans. The Volturi destroyed other covens to become more powerful—they all thirsted for power. No one in that room was innocent. Eliminating a couple dozen vampires saved more lives from a horrible fate than it ended. I'm not just talking about a whole tribe you rescued, but many other innocent humans, who are oblivious to this world. You're not a killer, but a hero to many, who won't even know it. And you will never have to do it again. You're free, sweet niece—it's all over."

I nodded my head while blinking back my tears. Aunt Siobhan pulled me into a hug and gently squeezed me. I believed her words; she was being nothing but sincere. I knew I was starting to come around to be at peace with what I had done.

A/N: I know there are mixed feelings about Siobhan. Although she did use Bella, but her intention weren't for herself but for Bella's own happiness as well. At last the couple finally got some time for themselves. This story is coming to a close soon.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.