Disclaimer: All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

Last time on Eight Days: Renee arranged for a wedding planner from Sirelle's Whimsical Weddings to call Bella about having a medieval-themed wedding.

Edward was struggling with the aftermath of running into Bella's ex, Alexander, and being back in Forks.

Jasper and Alice had found Marion Tinsley and were going to help her find her vampire grandfather, Gheorge.

Edward and Bella tried to find the meadow, but they got lost in the woods and Edward's inner turmoil bubbled to the surface, until Bella reminded him of who he is now, and all that he has ahead of him.

-0-

The sun stayed with us, filtering through the canopy as we left the clearing and made our way out of the woods. There was a calmness about Edward now; a peace that showed not just in his face, but in the set of his shoulders, and the comfortable way his hand curled gently round mine. It seemed those few tears, so quietly shed, had washed away his Forks demons. We were silent as we walked, but every now and then Edward would sigh and smile, as if seeing the woods through new eyes.

"You've been very patient with me," he said softly, pulling me from my thoughts. "Thank you."

His expression was so gentle, his eyes full of gratitude. It took me a moment to find my voice.

"You don't need to thank me," I whispered. "Besides, I knew you'd get there in the end." I smiled and squeezed his hand. "I'm just sorry I didn't realise how deeply it affected you, being back in Forks."

"I don't think I realised it, either. Until last night and…" He returned my squeeze.

"You know, Edward, some of the best days of my life so far, have been in Forks."

"Yeah?" He flashed that crooked grin, but there was surprise in his eyes."Was that before you met me?"

I laughed and swatted his arm. "It'd serve you right if I said yes."

He laughed too. "The best, huh?"

"The very best. First kiss. So many nights falling asleep in your arms. And we had a perfect summer."

He smiled down at me.

"Remember all those days we laid in the meadow and looked for shapes in the clouds?" he said.

"I loved that."

"And the times we kicked off our shoes and waded in the creek behind my house."

"And you were freaking out in case I slipped on a mossy rock and broke a bone."

"I wasn't freaking out, Bella. That was just an excuse to hold you close."

"Except you didn't need an excuse to hold me close, and you knew it. No, you were totally freaking out, Edward."

"Well, the concern was justified," he said. "You were the clumsiest human I'd ever encountered."

"Me?" We stopped so he could hold back some ferns that blocked our way. "Who nearly fell over pulling their jeans on this morning?"

"I was tired."

We started walking again, but Edward took the lead now that the path had narrowed, walking ahead as he pushed more greenery out of the way.

"Were you tired when you cracked your knee on the corner of my desk yesterday?"

"It's a stupid place to have a desk."

"Against the wall? In the corner? Where it's always been?"

"It sticks out past the edge of your closet."

"Half an inch, Edward." I held up my thumb and forefinger in demonstration. "Half an inch."

He glanced at me over his shoulder. "You saying you've never cracked your knee on that desk over the years?"

"Yeah, well…" I sniffed and looked away. "That's irrelevant right now."

He chuckled, a low, warm sound that made me smile.

The path widened out, and Edward fell back into step beside me, taking my hand again.

"Remember the night in the Park?" he said. "We sat on the cliff tops and watched the sun set over the ocean?"

"Of course. And you sang to me." Nestled between Edward's legs, his voice had been soft in my ear as the sun disappeared below the horizon. "I'll never forget that."

"Neither will I." He lifted my hand and pressed it to his lips. "And then there was the night of the popcorn incident," he whispered.

"Oh my God!"The laughter burst from me. "It was everywhere! And you had butter all down your shirt, and in your hair…"

"Not a good look, I'll admit." He grinned as I laughed. "I've made less mess taking down mountain lions."

"But it was the thought that counted."We'd been settling in for a movie night, and he'd insisted on making me popcorn. "That was the end of your culinary attempts."

"Are you forgetting my tentative comeback with scrambled eggs?"

"Oh, yes! That was pretty good, actually. And you didn't get it in your hair." I smiled. "Lots of good Forks memories."

"Lots," Edward agreed. "And I've learned not to overfill a popcorn machine." Then his smile faded as his brow furrowed slightly. "Bella, do you mind that I couldn't find the meadow today?"

"No." I tapped my temple. "It's all in here. I can close my eyes and see it any time I anyway," I went on. "I think sometimes, maybe, you know, it's better to just leave things as you remember them."

"You might be right about that."Edward cleared his throat. "So, looking forward now instead of back…I've been thinking…" he paused as we negotiated a fallen log in our path. "We should probably start making plans for the wedding, before your mother or my sister do it for us."

"You don't want swords?" I teased, remembering the call from Sirelle's Whimsical Weddings, courtesy of Renee. "Or maypoles? Wands?"

"Nup."

"Suit of armour?"

He laughed. "Armour isn't really my style."

"I meant me."

He stopped suddenly, eyes shocked. When I winked and giggled, his face lit up with a wide grin.

"You had me for a second there, Swan." He flipped my hood up over my head, then hooked his arm around my waist, pulling me against his side as we kept walking.

"Will you keep Swan after we're married?" he asked. "Or do you want to be Masen?"

"Masen," I answered. "Although, I think I'll keep Swan for work." I pushed back my hood as I shot him a quick glance, curious about his reaction.

"Makes sense," he said, moving some more ferns aside. "Your qualifications, your research, it's all under Swan. And besides, it's Bella Swan I fell in love with, but…"

"But?"

He flashed me a brilliant smile. "It's also nice to know that when she's home from the lab, and all mine, she'll be Bella Masen."

"I'm all yours while I'm at the lab, too, you know."

He bumped his hip against mine. "I do know." He winked. "Pretty great, isn't it?"

So dazzled was I by that smile, and those vivid green eyes full of joy, I wasn't aware of the ground beneath me. My foot slipped on a mossy rock, but Edward's arm quickly tightened round me, keeping me from falling.

"Eyes on the path," he murmured, setting me back on my feet. "You need to watch where you're going."

"Then stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Dazzling me."

"I can still do that?"

"You know you do."

"I thought that was a vampire thing," he said.

"No. It's an Edward thing."

His lips twitched. "So, wedding…" He was clearly trying not to look too smug as he changed the subject back again.

"Wedding," I echoed, ignoring the smug. "Okay, where do we start?" We stepped our way around a mud puddle and Edward held some more ferns out of the way. "Were there this many ferns when we walked in?"

"I don't remember there being this many." Edward looked around, then up at the sky but the clouds had rolled back in and it was difficult to place the sun and get any bearings.

"Are we lost?"

"No, we're all good," he said quickly. "So, I guess we start with what sort of wedding we want. Any ideas?"

I blew out a breath, thinking. The idea of marriage was still relatively new for me. It wasn't something I'd considered before Edward came back into my life just a short couple of months ago.

"I'm not very traditional…" I began hesitantly.

"That's fine," Edward said. "We're not really a traditional couple."

Couldn't argue with that.

"Okay…" I began. "I think, for me, it's about celebrating with family and friends, good food and music. I don't need over-the-top, big and fancy." I tried to think how to describe the vision that was forming in my mind. "Something relaxed. But also elegant. If you know what I mean."

"Sounds good to me," Edward said. "Something small, relaxed, elegant. Now…where?"

"Where…" I echoed.

We were silent again, both deep in thought.

"Do we go for somewhere that's special to us?" Edward mused. "Or would you like to choose somewhere completely new and make it special?"

The idea of someplace new had a certain appeal."Do you have somewhere new in mind?"

Edward shrugged. "Alpine Lake in New Zealand. Villa in Tuscany. Scottish castle."

I could see myself in a Scottish castle. "Would you wear a kilt?" Edward in a kilt - now that would be really something.

"I'm not Scottish." There was a faint trace of amusement in his voice. He knew exactly where my mind had gone. "So, no. Probably not."

"Oh." I cleared my throat and pushed my hair back from my face. "And if we go with somewhere meaningful?"

"Well…" Edward began. "Charlie's dropped a few hints about the back yard."

"Mm, I know. But I think he's really just letting us know that we'd be welcome to have it there. Not that he really expects us to."

"Some people like to take their vows at the place they met."

I snorted a laugh. "Sorry, but the biology lab of Forks High doesn't do it for me, Edward."

He smiled. "I wasn't thinking that specifically. I was thinking of Forks in general. There are some beautiful areas in the Park with lots of easy access for guests." He paused. "Forks is the place we met. We've talked about the happy memories we have here. We could make some more."

He really was looking at the positive, and it made me so happy.

"Sort of, coming full circle?"
He shrugged, considering. "Yes, and no. Back to where it all began, yes. But at the same time, we've also come a long way from where we started, so in that respect, it would never be about coming full circle."

"Maybe more like the light conquering the dark?"

He looked down at me, his eyes soft and smiling.

"That's one way of looking at it," he said.

I nodded. "So I guess we can put Forks on the list."

"We can." He kissed the top of my head, then almost stumbled over a fallen branch. He let go of me quickly so he could correct himself.

"Eyes on the path, Edward," I smirked. "You know, this clumsy side of you is kind of sexy."

"I reject the clumsy comment, but I'll take the sexy." He curled his arm around my waist and pulled me into his side. "Okay, where else?"

"Chicago?" I said, nestling in close. "The Drake Hotel. You said when we stayed there that it was definitely a place to consider."

"It is. The Drake is a beautiful building. Very elegant." His thumb stroked over my side. "I used to walk past with my father sometimes while it was being built, and we'd stop and watch the construction work."

I gently nudged him with my shoulder."So it would be like including your parents in the wedding, if we had it there."

He responded by taking my hand and pressing a tender kiss to my knuckles.

"Florida?" he suggested.

"Nah." I shook my head. "Doesn't make my list."

"Okay, we'll cross that one off. What about Rose and Emmett's property? Down by the creek, beneath the gum trees. They did offer."

I felt my cheeks stretch with a grin. "It's so beautiful there."

"We could have a sunset wedding. Lanterns in the trees. Plenty of room for guests. We'd have it fully catered, of course, so Rose and Emmett didn't have to do anything."
I could just imagine it all, an elegant, rustic wedding in the Gold Coast Hinterland.

"When's the baby due?"

"Late January, why?"

"Well, I want to marry you sooner, rather than later, and I don't think it would be fair to ask them to have a wedding there if they have a brand new baby in the house."

"Ah…" Edward nodded, then his eyes sparkled. "So, tell me, how soon were you thinking?"

I smiled. "Maybe February? March? Three or four months should be enough to organise something, shouldn't it? It's not like we're booking The Plaza."

"Do you want The Plaza?"

"No!" I laughed.

"Just so you know," Edward said, "When Max was only six weeks old, Rosalie hosted a Mother's Day breakfast at their place for Hannah's pre-school. Turns out she loves entertaining. And organising." He smiled. "You look surprised."

"I guess I'm still getting used to the new Rosalie. So, a catered wedding wouldn't be a problem?"

"I don't think so. And like I said, they did offer, remember?"

I did remember. It was that night at Edward's as we celebrated the end of Aro and his cronies.

"And anyway," Edward went on. "The new baby will have a couple of doting grandparents to help look after things. Not to mention a besotted Uncle Jasper and Aunty Alice."

I could just imagine. "Uncle Jasper has been a surprise, too," I said. "He was doing magic tricks for Hannah and Max that night we were all at your place."

"Our place," Edward corrected with a smile. "You're right, Jasper has come an incredibly long way. But also, the kids' scents don't seem to illicit the usual vampire response. Might be something to do with their genetics." He shrugged. "So, do we add Rose and Em's place to the list."

"Definitely."

"And then your mother did suggest…" Edward paused, confusion in his eyes. "Hang on, just two days ago she texted about having the wedding in Hawaii at the new house, and this morning she had a wedding planner from Jacksonville call you."

"And you're surprised by this?"

He tugged his free hand through his hair. "I shouldn't be, should I?"

"No. It's just the way Renee's mind works, jumping from one idea to the next. I'll probably get a call about Vegas tomorrow."

"Vegas?"

"She'll have seen something on Facebook or Pinterest about a chapel shaped like a guitar, and thought it was cute."

"Is there such a thing?"

"Don't know, but if there is, Renee will find it. I remember one time she…Edward?" He'd stopped very still and was staring into the woods on his left. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he murmured, distracted. His gaze shifted quickly, now staring at the large mossy boulder ahead of us, before looking back at the trees again. He cocked his head slightly, in that vampire way. "Can you hear it?" he asked.

Edward's hearing was better than the average human's and as I strained to listen, all I could make out was the soft rustle of wind-blown leaves above us. A slow shiver snaked its way down my spine. My mind went back to my earlier fears when he'd asked that question on our walk in.

"Is it a mountain lion?" I whispered.

"No," he whispered back, turning to face me. "I think we've found the meadow."

He let go of me and stepped towards a small gap in the wall of trees. "I recognise that boulder," he said, pointing at the lump of granite in our path. "And that crooked branch." He gestured to a tree on his left. "And I can hear a creek. We've gone in a zig-zag somewhere along our trek, because we're coming at it from the north, not the east." He walked to the boulder, reaching out to graze his fingers through the moss. "I used to come this direction sometimes, if I was running back from the border." He turned back to me then, eyes bright, expectant. "What would you like to do, Bella?"

It only took me a moment to decide, and then my smile matched Edward's as I took his outstretched hand and together we walked into the meadow.

-0-

The meadow's winter beauty was different, but no less lovely than its summer days.

"So many flowers," I murmured as we walked to the centre of the perfect circle. "I didn't expect so many flowers. Or any flowers, really."

Little purple blooms had replaced the white and yellow wildflowers. They were scattered all through the gently swaying grass, which was also new. The tall blades now displayed a delicate silvery hue, instead of the bold summer green I remembered. As the grass swayed, it shimmered faintly in the pale sunlight that fell through a gap in the clouds.

"The flowers are a type of heather," Edward said. "They thrive in the cold."

"It's like everything's changed clothes for the season." I smiled. "This is the meadow's winter coat."

I let go of Edward's hand and spun around in a circle, breathing in the crisp air, grinning, and taking everything in. I stopped with a wobble and he was there to steady me.

"It's different," I said, falling into his arms, smiling into his eyes. "Different, but still so beautiful."

He kissed me then. Slowly, deeply, his mouth possessing mine, his body doing the same as he pressed me hard against him. When we broke apart, I leant my head against his chest, breathless and boneless, listening to the music of his pounding heart.

"You decide," I whispered, twining my fingers with his. "You decide where, and I'll be there."

He pulled back, his green eyes studying me closely. Then I gasped as he smiled and fell slowly, gracefully backwards, bringing me with him until he lay on the grass with me sprawled on top of him.

"I get to decide, huh?"

"Yep."

"You sure?"

"I trust you."

There was a flicker of emotion in his eyes, and then he grinned.

"Okay," he said and sat up, gently rolling me off him so we were facing each other, knees touching. He held my gaze for a moment, as my heart pounded, wondering what he would choose.

He tugged a piece of heather from the ground and held it out to me.

"Bella, will you marry me on March twelfth, at Palm Beach?"

Palm Beach. The place where we'd started all over again.

"Yes." I nodded eagerly, taking the little flower as a giggle escaped me. "Yes, I will. Palm Beach is..." I paused. "March twelfth?"

"It's the date I first brought you here." He gestured around us. "The day of our first kiss. And the first night you fell asleep in my arms." He cocked his head, his expression unsure now. "Is that okay? Not too corny? I know I was just supposed to choose the location, and if you want a different date then of course…"

I stopped him with a shake of my head, as a tear spilled down my cheek.

"No. Not too corny, Edward. It's perfect. All of it. Perfect." I climbed into his lap and wrapped myself around him, holding him and my little flower as close as I could. "I'll be there."

A/N: How is everyone going? The world is a strange place these days, but I hope you're all well and taking care and finding ways to get through this thing.

Thank you for your patience with this story. And also for your reviews and comments and messages - they're appreciated so much.

Another chapter is on the way. Take care, all! xx