Keith was encouraged by the sounds that he heard when Kimberly and Edward came into the penthouse. Despite the strange way they had met, the two seemed to be getting along, at least as evidenced by the light laughter that preceded them into the room.

"I guess your shopping went well?" he said, trying to keep a brave face. He knew that being down the whole time would not help things at all. The situation called for calm bravery, not moroseness. Besides, it didn't serve any purpose to dump on Kimberly when she was trying her best to find the good in her situation. She had made a great sacrifice to try and help get Melanie back, it was only natural to try and minimize the scope of it, or to try and find the gold lining in the dark cloud. "What all did you get?"

"Oh, hello Keith," Edward replied. He quieted down and held up an armload of bags. At least ten bags hung from each of his massive arms, and Keith could see the straps from what looked like a large duffel bag slung over his shoulders. "Kimberly insisted on buying half the damn Army-Navy store for me, apparently, I look best in what she termed, what was it?"

"Urban commando," Kimberly replied. Her own smile faded as she looked at Keith, her escape from the situation broken. "Keith, I'm....."

"Happy that you had a good day out," Keith completed for her. "Which you both should be. I wanted you to anyway. Now, show me what you guys bought."

Edward carefully unpacked the bags of items that Kimberly had bought for him, saving for last his favorite, a pair of Nike Air Force One's in his size. "We never could get shoes like this up where I lived before," he said, carefully lacing up the contrasting lacing, white on black. "Most of the time we wore work boots, combat boots, or anything else that could be called a boot. During the winter if you blew out a pair, you were out of luck until spring came and the helicopters and planes could start to come in again. I had to wear handmade moccasins when I was ten because of it. These, though.... I was almost tempted to wear them out of the store, except knowing my luck I'd have scuffed them up on the way back here and ruined the surprise. By the way, I also got a matching pair for you."

Keith was touched and nodded. "Thanks. So where are you planning on keeping all this stuff?"

"I was thinking of renovating the floor below this one," Kimberly said. "I know it will be difficult, but with Mother gone, and now this situation...."

Keith shook his head, waving it off. "You’re right. Mother never did like it that you had a normal condo in the Towers even after becoming Alpha Female," he replied. "And with you two being betrothed, you can't exactly be spending half the nights in my guest room anyway. I think one floor apart is still pretty close, though, and if you want, we'll build a special stairwell connecting the two floors if you want. Send a message to the building manager tonight, he can do it ASAP. Until then Edward, you are more than welcome to stay where you stayed last night, or anywhere else you want."

"I think your guest room is great," Edward replied. "Your penthouse is really cool too. Although if you find me curled up in front of your fire pit, don't be too surprised. That thing speaks so much to my inner self that I might sleepwalk out here some night. The wood panels, the leather.... it's the closest thing I've seen to home since landing on the roof."

"In the meantime, do you need a hand putting it all away temporarily?" Keith asked. "As for the decor, I understand. It's the reason I have it the way it is as well. It also has some tricks that Kimberly can show you, she worked some of her high-tech gadgets into the paneling as well."

Kimberly shook her head. "Maybe later. As for the bags, the two of us have it. When we come back out, fill us in on what you learned today."

Scooping up a half dozen bags, Kimberly led the way back to the guest room, opening the walk-in closet for a moment before stopping short. She had forgotten that Melanie, in her moving into the penthouse, had set up half of the closet already as hers, and was already storing baby items that people gave her against the wall. The plan was for the guest bedroom to be converted into a baby's room soon. Tears sprung to her eyes, and she had to blink them away hurriedly. She felt a little ashamed that she’d had somewhat of a fun day while Melanie was god knows where. Setting Edward's bags against the wall in the unused portion, she turned to find him behind her, startling her.

"Oh!" she squeaked, stumbling back. "Sorry, I just lost my train of thought for a second."

Edward set down his bags and looked at the clothes hanging in the rest of the closet, and the things that were stacked up neatly. He picked up a tiny pair of knit baby booties, which someone had obviously hand made, so small they barely fit on his index finger. "You miss her, don't you?"

"Yes," Kimberly said quietly, her vision doubling again as tears filled her eyes. "She may be Keith's Mate, but she helps complete me too. She's my only Sister."

Edward reached out, taking her hand, and Kimberly came to him, embracing the gigantic man. They held each other for a long time, Kimberly gathering strength from him. Stepping back, she looked up into his gray eyes, and without knowing why but just knowing it was the right thing to do, pulling his head down into a kiss. His lips were gentle, and she felt warm and protected in his arms, more so than with any other man in her life.

Her body responded to the closeness of him, and her tongue came out to quest at his lips, seeking entrance. He didn't resist, and their tongues wrapped around each other, tasting each other with growing hunger. Kimberly moaned lightly, pressing her body closer against his, until Edward pulled back, shaking his head.

"No, not like this," he said, pushing her back carefully by the shoulders. "I want you, I really do. But not in this closet, and not like this."

"Why?" she said softly, resting her hand on his chest. She could feel his heart hammering, and she was sure her own was the same way. "It's not wrong."

"It's not wrong, but it's not right either," Edward replied. "Kim, I swore I'd help you get your Sister back. And I will. So until then, that's all I am going to focus on. Afterward, maybe when your own place is complete, if you want to continue this, we can. But until then, I can’t do what I want to do with you right now. That part wouldn't be right."

Kimberly nodded, taking her hand off his chest. He was nobler than she had ever hoped, and she knew that despite pulling away, there was a passion burning within him that she wanted to see unleashed some day. "I understand. And you’re right. But Edward, after we get Melanie back, I'm going to hold you to that promise. Remember, I'm not as fragile as I look."

Edward grinned and nodded. "Good. But let's go see what Keith can tell us."

Exiting the closet, Kimberly and Edward practically ran into Keith, who burst into the room excited. "The Mexicans just contacted Akiko Thornblood. They have a lead."