CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:

"Well, what do you want to do?" Edward countered, and I shot him a droll look. He smiled. "Okay, how about we start with a tour?"

"A tour sounds good." I nod. He held out his hand, and I accepted it, and he led me up the massive staircase. I let my fingers trail along the satin-smooth handrail, enjoying the feel of my other hand in his. The long hall at the top of the stairs was paneled with a honey-colored wood, the same as the floorboards. It was lovely, there were really no other words to describe it.

"Rosalie and Emmett's room... Carlisle's office... Alice and Jasper's room..." he gestured as he lead me past the doors. He would have continued, but I stopped dead at the end of the hall, a burst of laughter escaping me as I catch sight of the ornament hanging on the wall above my head. Edward's lips curved into a grin. "I suppose it is kind of funny," he said, "it is ironic."

"Just a tad," I agree, eyeing the large wooden cross. "How old is it?"

"Early sixteen-thirties." Edward shrugs. "More or less."

"Let me guess- a keepsake from the past?" I mused. Edward nodded.

"It belonged to Carlisle's father."

"Which makes Carlisle over three hundred and fifty years old," I ponder, out loud, "assuming that his father wasn't a collector of antiques, that is." I add, smiling slightly at the thought. Wow, that would be embarrassing. Edward eyes me thoughtfully.

"You're right- Carlisle just celebrated his three hundred and sixty-second birthday." The Ravenclaw in me pushed to the front, then, and I could basically feel my face light up.

"The things he must have seen! That was during Cromwell's rule, right?"

"No, just before." Edward said, a curious sort of smile on his face.

"What?" I ask, crossing my arms, somewhat defensively, "why are you looking at me like that?"

"You never cease to surprise me, Bella." He admits, "the way you've accepted all of this... the way you just take it all in your stride, like it's such an everyday occurrence... I thought that your first reaction to learning Carlisle's age would be shock, but no," he pauses and chuckles, "no, you're, well, curious. And not even about immortality, you just want to know everything he's seen, experienced."

I shift slightly, biting my lip, fully aware of his scrutiny. Okay, maybe I should have reacted with a bit more surprise. Or a lot more. It was just hard, when I knew that for a vampire, Carlisle really wasn't that old. There were vampires out there that were thousands of years old. "What can I say? I'm just unpredictable like that." I say, finally, smiling at him.

"You are," Edward muses, "you really, truly are."

"You should be glad. Predictable is boring." I inform him. "So, is Carlisle the oldest in your family?"

"Yes," Edward nods, before flashing me a grin, "and I'm third oldest."

"Did Carlisle turn you?" Is my next question, and he hesitates for a moment before answering.

"Yes. He... it was during the influenza epidemic. He was working nights in a hospital in Chicago and I was left in a ward with the dying. He had nursed my parents, and knew I was alone. So... he decided to try." His voice trailed off, and he stared ahead, unseeingly. I gently touched his shoulder, bringing him back to the present.

"You know, you can tell me to butt out." I tell him.

"After my inquisition of you? It's only fair that you have a few questions of your own." He smiles.

"In that case, have you stayed with Carlisle since?" I asked, genuinely curious. From what I'd read, covens of vampires weren't exactly tight-knit, although animal-drinking vampires were more so, as thanks to their diet they weren't ruled by their basic instincts like human-drinkers, and were able to retain more of their humanity.

"Almost always." Edward admitted.

"Almost?" I pressed, and he sighed, seeming reluctant to answer, but he stuck to his word like the gentleman he mostly was- I still hadn't forgiven him for the Tyler incident.

"Well, I did have a typical bout of rebellious adolescence- about ten years after I was born... created, whatever you want to call it. I wasn't quite as sold on his life of abstinence, so I went off on my own for a while."

"For how long?" I asked. He gave me a dry look.

"I just admitted to feeding off humans, which should either horrify or disgust you, but you don't exactly sound frightened. Or repulsed. Like you should." He says, voice almost accusing, though his exasperated smile softened it.

"Haven't we already established that my reactions tend to be lacking in the common-sense department?" I ask. He rolls his eyes.

"I can hope. And it only took me a few years to come running back to Carlisle, with my tail between my legs." I reach out and pat the top of Edward's head.

"Good boy." He chuckles, and starts walking again, leading me to the last door in the hall. "My room," he informed me, opening it and tugging me through.

His room faced south, with a wall-sized window like the room below. The whole back side of the house must be glass, I decided, as I took in the view of the winding Sol Duc River, across the untouched forest to the Olympic Mountain range. The other walls were hung with heavy fabric, and a thick golden carpet covered the floor.

The western wall was completely onbscured with shelf after shelf of CD's- his room was better stocked then a music store, I thought with a snort. In the corner was a sophisticated looking sound system, the type you didn't want to touch because you were sure you'd break it.

There was no bed, only a wide, inviting black leather sofa, which admittedly looked cozier then my bed at home. And looked like it cost about three times as much.

As my gaze returned back to the CD's, I noticed something that made me step forwards, my eyes widening slightly. "Is there any order to those CD's? At all? Are they even slightly organized?" I asked, a touch incredulous, completely unable to find any rhyme or reason to the titles. "I mean, it's not like you spend your nights asleep, surely it wouldn't take that long to arrange them!"

Edward laughs. "They're arranged by year and then by personal preference within that time frame."

"Because you can't do anything like a normal person." I mutter. He points at himself.

"Vampire, remember?" I roll my eyes.

"Like you'd ever let me forget it." Edward's expression turned serious again, his smile fading, his forehead creasing, an almost pout forming on his lips. "You're still waiting for the running and the screaming, aren't you?" I guessed. A faint smile touched his lips and he nodded. I snickered. "Well I hate to burst your bubble, but you're not as scary as you think you are."

Edward froze in place, raising his eyebrows in blatant disbelief, and then he flashed me a wide, wicked smile. "Oh you really shouldn't have said that." He grinned. Then he growled, a low sound in the back of his throat; his lips curled back over his perfect teeth. His body shifted, half-crouched, tensed like a lion ready to pounce. I raise an eyebrow, unperturbed.

"Is this where I'm supposed to start panicking?"

I didn't see him leap at me- it was much too fast. I only found myself airborne, and then we crashed onto the sofa, knocking it into the wall. All the while, his arms forced an iron cage of protection around me- I was barely jostled. "Oi!" I complained, trying to right myself, but he was having none of that. He curled me into a ball against his chest, holding me more securely then iron chains. I glared at him, and he grinned, his eyes bright with humor.

"You were saying?"

"Do I look like I'm scared?" I grumble, pretending to be annoyed, though in all actuality I'm more amused then anything else. He groaned, correctly deducing my lack of fear, and released me from his iron grip, though I didn't try to move, not having any inclination to, instead staying curled up comfortably on his chest. The corners of his mouth turn down.

"Do you have even one ounce of self preservation?" He pleaded.

"Obviously, or I'd be a Gryffindor." I inform him, lips twitching into a smile. He gives me a despairing look.

"Humor me?" he asks, not even bothering with the Gryffindor reference, already well accustomed to my special brand of crazy. I had to give him points for that. Of course instead of humouring him, I leaned forwards, in a fit of daring, and licked his throat. He groaned again, and his expression was one of such defeat I sighed.

"Fine. You are a very, very terrifying monster. I'm positively shaking in my boots."

"I suppose that's the best I'm going to get." He muses before leaning down to kiss the small of my throat, his lips parting slightly so the tip of his cool tongue gently presses against my skin.

I giggle, and bright laughter from the doorway joined in. I turned my head to see Alice and Jasper in the doorway. Alice danced into the center of the room where she folded herself sinuously onto the floor. Jasper, however, paused at the doorway, his expression shocked at the embrace Edward and I shared. He stared at us, Edward in particular, and I wondered if he was tasting the atmosphere with his unusual talent.

"It sounded like you were having Bella for lunch, and we came to see if you would share." Alice announced.

"Huh?" Is my ever so eloquent response.

"Sorry, I don't believe I have enough to spare." Edward tells her, the amusement evident in his voice.

"Hey!" I complained, twisting around in his arms to face him. His expression is irritatingly amused as he looks back at me. "Naughty boy." I scold him, flicking his nose with my fingers. He blinks, surprised, and Alice starts laughing again, Jasper joining in despite himself.

"Actually, Alice says there's going to be a real storm tonight, and Emmett wants to play ball. Are you game?" He asks, walking into the room. The words were all common enough, but the context confused me.

Edward's eyes lit up, but he hesitated. "Of course you should bring Bella!" Alice chirped. I thought I saw Jasper throw a quick glance at her, but the movement was too fast for me to be sure.

"Do you want to go?" Edward asked me, excited, his expression vivid. He was like a three-year-old in a candy store. Or me, when faced with a cheeseburger. I couldn't disappoint such a face.

"Hmm," I pretend to think, tapping a finger against my lips, "I suppose I could take the time out of my busy schedule..."

"I'm flattered," Edward rolls his eyes.

"You should be- I'm a busy woman." I inform him. Alice giggles, the sound tinkling. "Will I need an umbrella?" I ask her.

"Nah," she shakes her head, "the storm will hit over town. It'll be dry enough in the clearing."

"Which brings me to my next question- exactly why do you need a storm to play baseball?" I ask Edward.

"We have to wait for the thunder to play- you'll see." He promises me. The enthusiasm in the room was catching, and I had to bite back a smile. It was funny, seeing all these hundreds of years old vampires getting excited about hitting a ball with a stick.

"Let's go see if Carlisle will come!" Alice enthused, bounding up and out the door in a fashion that would break any ballerina's heart.

"Like you don't know," Jasper teased, and they were swiftly on their way. Jasper managed to inconspicuously close the door behind him. I turn to Edward.

"Vampires like baseball?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"It's the American pastime." He answered, with mock solemnity.