I could not love your story more!  It made perfect sense that the family -especially Esme_ would have an intervention.  I think it was also good for B &E to understand that all their drama doesn't just affect them.  I love that Edward is so trusting now, and really has the conviction in their being together, and is not worried about Jake.  Okay, but the last bombshell is freaking me out...I hope he is just trying to be selfless because he knows Bella didn't want a wedding...but she DOES now, so I hope he listens.

Please don't torture me with too long a wait...Since discovering your story a few days ago, I've already reread it three times.  It is so amazingly emotional and romantic....*sigh*  please keep it coming.

Author's Response:

It's a hard line to walk with the Cullens, on the level of intervention the family should have in E/B's relationship. That's why I wanted Esme to say, "uh, I'll ignore you two sucking at relationships if you'll stop almost dying because of it." We'd have to answer to our friends if we kept putting ourselves in the situations E/B do, so I didn't think it would be that OOC. The little bomb will definitely require a little give and take listening, eh?

 

And holy cow, 3 times? I'm completely flattered in every way. Thank you!

Ha i love Carlisle. Comes down the stairs sees his wife is angry and does what any decent husband would do... and runs away. Perfect.

 

Yet again you manage to get in one genius line in each chapter.. i thought you couldn't top the one about associating the Vanquish with high heels but then you go an put in

“I’ll be damned if Jake knows what necrophilia is, and if he does, what the hell makes him think I’d be more inclined towards bestiality?”

absolutely hilarious and pretty much sums Bella up doesn't it.

 

I thought Esme was just right, she was always to wishy washy in the books, but you've mad her a real mum, angered by her kids trying to destroy themselves but ultimately terrified that they'll succeed. She needed that rant but you didn't let her go too OOC, which was great.

 

I'm also glad Atlas Bella finally realises that all the things the Cullens did for her was actually for HER and not as Edwards girlfriend, the real Bella for me never got this and as such was never thankful for it or repaid them for making her part of the family. I like Atlas Bella's understanding  of this and hope she'll be a little more grateful than SM Bella.

 

Excellent chapter and as usual can't wait for the next. Oh and as a London girl can i say sunday night ARE Top Gear, who says girls can't be petrol heads?? And Eddie Izzard, well a gorgeous man in PVC and lipstick has got to be a genius right?? "I'm covered in Bees" lol. I hope you have that DVD or that quote will make no sense.

"Little bomb?" That was huge. I started reading your story today and have added it to my Favorites. As far as the Cullen intervention, I think it was time for them to have a say. It was also nice seeing them act as a family instead of just a group of vamps who live together. Esme's rant was kind of hard for me to read since I don't like the idea of her being upset or B&E getting in trouble. I don't think it needed to be more severe because then her reaction wouldn't be Esme-ish. Regarding E saying B needs to deal with Jake alone, I completely agree. Jake needs to know that E isn't coercing B into whatever she's going to say and that her decisions come from her own head/heart. Bella does need to deal with the consequences of her actions with Jake/discussions with him by herself otherwise she'll never grow and learn how to maturely deal with things. Oh, and I love how you're progressing their physical relationship. Can't wait for the next chapter!

Not getting married??? i guess she deserved it. but still....

Author's Response:

Don't panic just yet. That's all I can say :)

Whaa?  Ah, Edward's gone crazy I see.  Hee hee, just kidding, I'm sure there's some reasoning behind the "not getting married thing" 

I love, love, love what you're doing. Great chapter, thanks for updating!

Author's Response:

No more crazy than he did at the end of Eclipse...that's all ima gonna say.

 

Thanks for loving the direction we're going in. I know it's throwing a lot of folks for a loop.

The bomb at the end.  That's what I want to know about.  Seriously?  Thanks for keeping me guessing though ; )

Author's Response:

I'm happy to keep you guessing. Come on over to the Atlas thread and all the theories about the little bomb are being floated around it.

  Thanks for reading!

Glad they have finally seen and mending all the cracks in their relationship. This level of maturity was always absent in the original novels (except the first) where Bella more or less behaves like a brat and refuses to see Edward's hurt and Jacob's manipulation.

Author's Response:

She was a bit of a brat wasn't she? Amazing what a little bit of clarity can do for a relationship :)

  Thanks for reading!

"I keep seeing a vision or myself having a vision.  Not altogether helpful" 

yeah I loved that line.  It seems silly to point out that one when there are so many more with such profound meaning.  But still, that one made me smile. 

Author's Response:

I'm just enjoying screwing with Alice's visions and limiting them. She relies so heavily on them, as do authors, and I want to see Alice helping while not being omniscient.

   Glad it made you smile too :)

   Thanks for reviewing!

Okay first, I had to look up what 'polemical' meant. (thanks for that Texas A&M education mom and dad!) 

Secondly, I love that Rose came to get her.  Oh and that Charlie finally realized how much Bella needed Edward.  I almost thought she was going to tell Charlie the truth.  Sneaky Sneaky. That was a great chapter.  And I love your writing style.  Very nice.

Author's Response:

Hey now, Texas A&M is a better ranked school than the one I went to! Polemical tends to be an international relations term, and I forget most people didn't have to sit through those boring ass classes too ;)

 

I really liked the idea of Bella giving Charlie the *almost* truth. I promise, there will be more of that to come, though not in any of the as yet released chapters!

 

Thanks for reading!

Hi, I just wanted to tell you that I love this story. You're putting into words so many thoughts and ideas I had while reading the books. I hated Eclipse because of what Bella was doing to Edward and it was hard for me to justify any of it from her point of you (I just relate to Edward so much more than I do her, which is rather odd, I know). So thank you for writing a story that I always thought needed to be told. They can't just jump from the fight with the newborns to the wedding - that made no sense to me at all.

And you're bombshell in this chapter? Hmm...Edward understanding that you shouldn't have to "wheel and deal" to get someone to marry you? That's a sure fire way of figuring out that that isn't what they want. In a way though its obvious she does want it, but she hasn't proven it to him yet. So I guess I don't think its such a big bombshell since I have a feeling it will work out. :-)

Author's Response:

Can I just give you a hug and thank you for your faith in our characters? Their communication skills are still a bit lacking and they've gotten a bit cocky about it. How could they have forgotten they haven't talked about their future in any capacity?  It also seems a bit redundant to just have them routinely saying, "ok let's talk about x now.." besides, they're new to this, and making mistakes, there's not exactly a laundry list of what they need to discuss. They're making it up as they go, and they're bound to 'eff it up from time to time. This might be one of those moments.

Thank you, thank you for your insight and understanding. I love nothing more than when someone understands why I was doing something!

  - Katie

Phew, what an amazing chapter, and then you threw in that zinger at the end!  I had to reread it twice. Crap, I thought Edward had learned everything here, but I guess he didn't quite get the part about Bella wanting to be part of the Cullen FAMILY. I know he probably thinks he's giving Bella a break, since she was so anti-marriage in the beginning, but now she seems to want the whole package.  

Working backward, I'm really nervous about Bella going to see Jake alone. Again, Edward thinks he's doing the right thing, but he is not.  She should not go alone; in fact, it might be best if she took the whole Cullen family (or at least Emmett) for that discussion with Jacob.

As for Esme, that was terrific!!  She really is the heart of the family, and it was great to see her take center stage for once.  Really well done, and as always, amazingly written.  

AND OF COURSE WE ARE STILL INTERESTED AND STILL LOVING THE STORY!!!  THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST OF THEM!!  I so hope you finish it.  Thank you!!!

Author's Response:

Oh I will certainly finish this story, I'm far too invested in it!

I actually asked that question on the Atlas thread, who would you have Bella talk to Jake with... if i were in her place, I'd take Rose and Emmett. Personally I can't think of a better pair, and the sarcasm would make my whole day. That said...bah I can't say anything besides Edward is not going to see Jake with her. The whole scene would escalate to such an extent that nothing would get done, and while a pissing contest would be hliarious to watch, I'm not sure how much closure would be involved. But just...dont' give up hope on that just yet. I've got plans. he he he.

You are absolutely on track about Edward not being privy to all the necessary information. Bella was primarily narrating through her internal thoughts in this chapter and she hasn't said a word to Edward about marriage in any of their talks. That's about all I can say on that front.

As Giselle said earlier, if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Bella's always filled the mom-role in her family, so she's never really dealt with that. But Esme kinda set her straight on that front, huh? ;)

 

Thank you so much for sticking with Atlas!!

 

It's very funny, and yet real, to see Esme overreacting. And I'm very glad to see Bella respond to Esme's distress with guilt. I think that's very important and real. You don't upset Esme. I'm glad she made that clear.

Love the necrophilia line, and Bella's reaction. I also like that the Cullens are reacting like Bella and Edward's maturity = strangeness.

"Carlisle's always wanted to play warden..." Right. So this is where I admit that I read, reviewed, and really enjoyed a fic that portrayed Carlisle as being into BDSM...I think it's not quite OOC for him. Pacifists always need an outlet. So this cracked me up, big time.

I really like Bella's musings on her relationship with the Cullens and how it maps on to her relationships with her human parents. Very insightful, although I'm still a little surprised that she's willing to dismiss her human relationships so completely. I'll be anxious to see where that goes.

And...very surprised by the marriage thing. Someone mentioned on the boards that Edward is maybe still thinking she's only doing it for him...perhaps so? That would make sense to me. In any case, I'll be curious to see what's on his mind.

Love them taking the Ducati down to LaPush. Woo for not giving it to Jasper!

 

Author's Response:

aha, so we've found Giselle's Carlisle kink...hahaha. Sorry, had to go there ;)

And them being mature is ridiculously strange, and I don't blame them for thinking all their big talk about communication might've been for naught. Afterall, not 5 minutes later, Bella starts assuming and Edward makes a blanket statement...

As for her brush off of her human relationships, I don't necessarily agree with it, but Bella notoriously doesn't take them into account. That said, one of the few things I liked about BD was her realization that perhaps she was always meant to be a vampire. Her rare moment of insight with that is what prompted that section of this chapter, as well as wanting her to really establish how much she wanted to be with the Cullens.

We talked so much about the Ducati I couldn't not bring it out in some fashion ;)