Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters those rights belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N: Well, this chapter is filled with information in its most disturbing form, however, I'm certain that at least the end of it will leave you the least bit excited! ;)

Thank you Sunflower3759 for cleaning up my mess - I left a big one for you, I'm really grateful!

I hope that the holidays are treating you nicely!

- Soph


Chapter 2

As the spring sun was beginning to peek over the New York skyline, the citizens of this great city began to hesitantly wear skirts and shorter sleeves, but Bella and Emmett were wrapped in thick materials, several layers deep. They had literally just stumbled off the plane and tumbled into a waiting cab that was taking them directly to the Black News building. The second they stepped into the studio, eyes followed them everywhere. In this building, they were spoken of with awe, and the perceptual stares that now trailed their every move, made the tired Bella very uneasy.

However, she couldn't help but smile as a loud squeal sounded, girly and ecstatic, full with energy and force. A pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her and embraced her tightly. "You're here!" Rosalie said happily into Bella's ear as she hugged her, then Rosalie threw herself backward, cupping Bella's face with that maternal, serious look she had perfected over the years. Her brow furrowed as she took Bella in. "You are too skinny…" her eyes narrowed. "And you need some serious sleep."

The fact that they stood in the middle of the newsroom didn't bother Rosalie, this was after all her set, the place where she was irreplaceable. The room was cluttered with electrical cords that were meandering along the floor, duct tape holding it in place. Papers were scattered everywhere and people dressed in dark clothes littered every available chair. Those that weren't sitting, were running around, their eyes haunted by stress and most were faces stern, deep in concentration.

Everything in this room, was set up for one reason. Every chair, desk and camera, including most of the people, were pointed towards the wall across the room where a big, bright desk stood alone... Rosalie's desk.

As Bella's eyes dragged away from Rose's concerned face, she snorted. In a corner a big banner still hung, proudly stating that the Giants won the Super Bowl this year, around it was glitter that still needed to be swept off the floor, and the armchairs emptied of the occasional party hat.

This might have been Rosalie's indemnifying space, the place where she belonged… but Bella was just simply out of place in this environment. Thankfully, Bella had been in this room on very few occasions as an employee of Black News. Carlisle made sure that she was assigned to places where she was needed for other purposes, therefore, she didn't have to return to base very often. Her face was forwarded via the news back to her country, and via Rosalie to the people of America. And, of course, Hem.

Bella wasn't the only one who didn't touch down here often, the same went for the rest of her team. None of them belonged in these surroundings… well, maybe Seth. She could actually see the young man lolling in one of the chairs with his cap pulled down, and feet on a table, oblivious to the stress around him.

Emmett inhaled and laughed breathily. "The skinny might be because she shares her lunch with every dog nearby, I swear, it's like watching Dr. Dolittle," he said with a smile… towards the floor. Emmett was scratching his neck and glancing up every now and then, grinning uncomfortably as Rose gave him an onceover with a wrinkled brow.

The way the two of them circled around each other always made Bella laugh, Rosalie was evasive and tried to play it cool, while Emmett was uncomfortable and tried to make her laugh. They met through Bella years ago. Rosalie had claimed the self-conscious and lonely brunette as her best friend the last semester of college when she moved into the dorm next door. Both girls had steered away from the crowds and eventually, ended up in the center of attention, which they held most nights of the week – at least Rosalie did, while Bella preferred written reports to the spotlight.

Emmett and Rosalie have been doing this odd dance since the day they met, him chasing her until she was ready to be caught, this was when he backed off again. If Bella hadn't known the brawny man better, she would have thought that he was in it for the chase only.

"Emmett," Rosalie said sharply while giving him a tight smile. "It's nice to have you back." Her voice focused on being professional, but you could see the joy in her eyes, and hear the happiness in her voice. It was not often Emmett McCarty blushed, but the last part that left Rosalie's red lips sent his face into a brilliant crimson. A slightly strangled noise got stuck in his throat and his gaze fell even closer to his shoes.

She then turned her eyes back to Bella, her hands still placed on the dark-haired girl's cheeks. Rose's beautiful face lit up again as she once more drew her friend into a hug, giving off strength as she did. "Stay with me, fuck the hotel. "

Bella hugged her friend close and breathed in the energy that was Rosalie King, the face of New York. Every evening, she delivered the news from one of the top stations in the country, calm, yet still inviting. Passionately loved and equally hated. Rosalie was gorgeous, smart and had a wicked sense of humor. Bella had not felt at home until her loving best friend had grounded her.

Nevertheless, she needed space, breathing room… a possibility not to guard her every move since Carlisle, without a doubt would be calling. Rosalie didn't know more than Jacob Black about Bella and Emmett's job.

She squeezed her friend a bit tighter and then stepped away. "Thank you, Rose, but I've slept in a single bed with Seth snoring above me, and Em-" she sent him a pointed and playful glare. "- and Sam snoring next to me and let's not forget about Alice farting in the corner all night. I really need some room for just me… I need that fluffy hotel for my sanity."

Emmett had flushed even brighter and kicked the ground, all of a sudden completely mesmerized by a cord that ran along the floor and then disappeared in under a wall.

"And you are not trying to pull your selfless bull?" asked Rosalie defiantly, looking her friend up and down as she tried to decide what to believe and then nodded. "Fine", Rosalie said, "but the first day you stay in a robe and ignore your goddamn jeans and t-shirts, I'm officially kicking you out of there. No hotel robes, huh!" Bella nodded firmly, the compendious little speech didn't need more explaining. She was not allowed to hide herself, even if those thoughts never surfaced anymore, Rosalie always made sure that Bella never again slipped back into that self-loathing state of mind.

Suddenly, a short and very sweaty little man hurried past them, practically elbowing Emmett to push through and get by. "Rose, on the air in five!" he panted and kept wiping his forehead frantically.

Bella grinned at her friend and then nodded. "Good luck, not that you need it!" She took a small step back but Rosalie kept her hands on Bella's shoulders. "No robes, promise! You're beautiful," Rose said softly and then smirked, opening her mouth to say something but they were interrupted by another deep inhale from Emmett.

He had obviously found something to say again, "It's not easy for the rest of us either!" he threw out his arms but refused to look up from the floor, making Rosalie and Bella exchange a confused look. "You rambled in your sleep… you know…" his voice was almost timid and Bella snorted. Emmett's eyes kept flickering to Rosalie who just rolled hers, shaking her head.

Emmett had grown more and more uncomfortable the longer they knew each other, he was the one who had decided that nothing should happen between them. Emmett was rarely home and he was too aware of the fact that one of these days, he might not come back. Of course, he couldn't explain this to Rose's face. Instead of doing anything, he kept watch over her from afar – which also was how he best communicated with her. Rose on the other hand, played hard to get. Which seemed incredibly unnecessary ,since they more often than not, were several continents apart.

All of a sudden, a voice they were all maybe too familiar with, rang out from the other side of the room. Bella bit her cheek to keep from smirking. "Rosalie!"

Nobody turned to look at the source of this voice except a few of the news crew that milled in the room. Rosalie just rolled her eyes, and then fixed Bella with her stare. "Get some sleep, girl."

"KING!" Jacob Black now bellowed loudly, the smaller man that had passed them earlier flinched palpably and the papers in his hands scattered, sending him into a frenzy as he dropped to his knees and clawed them into a messy pile. Get that tight ass into that fucking chair befo-" this was as far as he got before Emmett stood taller, silently daring him to continue to speak to Rosalie in that manner. He seemed to finally had found a role to fill in this room, protector of Rosalie King's honor. One look at Emmett's impressive form and Jacob magically shut up.

Rosalie sighed and patted Emmett's chest twice, her eyes lingering a little longer than normal on his face before she kissed Bella's cheek and walked off while scowling at Jake.

As the tall Jacob walked towards them, Emmett chuckled. "You almost want to hum 'Here Comes The Bride' when he walks."

"Aw, crushing hard are we?" Bella snickered and punched Emmett's arm, grimacing slightly. "I need to learn…" she muttered and glared at him but then grinned. She leaned her head against his shoulder for a moment, her energy was dwindling, Emmett had slept on the plane but she had been unable to relax enough to even feel slightly rested.

Suddenly, Jake's sweaty palm was thrust out in front of them, quickly shaking both of their hands before he clasped his own behind his back and tried to stretch up taller. "Swan, not dead yet I see. Gotten yourself shot lately?" his face was clad in a fairly expressionless mask, but he never managed to empty his eyes of emotion, nor did the grating of his teeth do any good. "McCarty," he growled.

Jacob Black was once a handsome man, but now his once striking face was hollowed out, and his eyes dulled. His otherwise rather imposing height did nothing anymore, since his suit was hanging around his now thinning body like a tent. Only a shadow of the confident and handsome man remained. The name of his father weighed heavily down on this man who barely had hit his early thirties.

Emmett, in his habitual way, when it came to Jake, smirked smugly and crossed his arms while flexing. "How's daddy?"

Jake grimaced but Bella suddenly smiled and looked around. "Yeah, where's Hem?" she asked the son whose father was the founder of Black News… and nicknamed after Ernest Hemingway.

"Billy is in DC visiting some old friend for the week," Jacob said courtly and glanced behind him. "Excuse me." Then he strode off again, directing his anger towards a poor, mousy girl in glasses who looked absolutely terrified.

"Big bully," Emmett muttered. Bella raised her eyebrows as she met his eyes, and then patted his still flexed arms knowingly. "Hotel?"

"Please," Bella mumbled and held back a yawn, waving to Rosalie as the countdown in the room began. "C'mon Hercules."

«O»

After nearly fifteen hours of sleep, Bella finally opened her eyes to the hotel room. Everything was light and clean, the bed was more comfortable than she could remember any bed ever being. She let a huge yawn out and stretched her body.

Emmett had a room in the same hotel but they had barely spoken. Even with his hours of sleep on the plane, he, too, felt the impact of their work wearing down on him and wanted to disconnect with reality for a few hours.

Bella swung her legs over the side of the bed, it was almost eleven o'clock in the morning and usually, she would have been up and about long since. Now her feet lazily carried her over to one of her bags and she dug out her laptop. She wanted to chat with Alice for a few minutes before the day started. Technically, this was her vacation, but to let go of her work too much ,could be more dangerous than helpful. She needed to be ready when the time came, whenever that might be. In the past, Carlisle had interrupted their vacations after merely a few days, many times.

She typed Alice a quick email since her friend wasn't online and then looked around. The hotel had a gym which she would be using regularly, since she was addicted to the endorphins. But right now, her stomach grumbled for food and this lead her down to the restaurant after a quick change of clothes. Emmett met her in the elevator, a deep crease had ingrained itself between his brows and Bella grabbed his hand. "He'll be fine," she mumbled and squeezed. "We'll find him, and then Carlisle's men will get him out of there, you'll see."

Emmett met her eyes with one of his rare, completely serious expressions. "Do you really think that we have time for that? It's been weeks already, Bells. We won't be able to get close to any of the crucial people in less than a month – he won't be alive when we get there." Bella couldn't take how resigned Emmett sounded, the man with insatiable belief in the goodness of the world was slowly giving up.

"I promise that I'll find him for you Em." She wrapped her arms around him and laid her ear against his heart, quietly promising the steady thumping that she would not come back at all, if that was what it took. "He will be okay," she mumbled, just as much for her own sake as for his.

The elevator doors slid open in front of them and two more people strolled in, pushing the already glowing button for the ground floor. They glanced curiously at the two embracing each other, but not for long. If the aging couple recognized Bella, they made no show of it.

Bella snorted softly as the woman barked at the man to comb his – for an observer of the party – seemingly perfect hair and correct his tie. Her mouth was tight and eyes hard as she looked at Bella and Emmett embracing each other, clearly disapproving of their casualties.

Emmett seemed to relax slightly as they were one floor over the ground level, and then chuckled. "C'mon lover – let's have some banger with a side of poached, steaming eggs!" His voice was dripping with a suggestive, sexual proposal and he said it loud enough for the older couple to turn to him with wide-eyed expressions. When they did, Emmett waggled his eyebrows, causing the older lady to gasp. Bella stepped back and tried not to look at the horrified older gentleman whose eyes flickered between the woman and Emmett's fist that was waiting for a bump.

Bella couldn't coax him out of the elevator fast enough as the doors opened. "You can slice my toast any day!" Emmett then bellowed and winked at the poor couple that made no move out of the elevator, even though they, too, had been heading for the ground floor. As the door closed Emmett tossed an arm around Bella's shoulders and steered them towards the restaurant. "So, seriously, sausage and eggs?"

"You have no shame," Bella stated ,but smiled. As long as Emmett was making bad jokes and mildly harassing older people, she did not have to worry herself too much.

"I really don't."

As they arrived in the restaurant, most people were dropping in for lunch. Bella had called Rosalie who lived nearby to join them for breakfast and now the blonde sat by herself at a corner table, reading some papers with a slightly furrowed brow.

And suddenly, Emmett did have shame.

Rosalie looked up at them in askance as they pulled out chairs on the other side of the table. "How could you not tell me this?" she asked and tied her hair up from her face.

"Good morning to you, too. What didn't I tell you?" Bella crossed her arms and leaned back, something hazardous was playing in Rose's eyes.

Rosalie slammed the papers down on the table, scaring the waiter that had been heading their way, to go in the other direction. "When you said you were heading back I thought that you meant to where you came from – not into the hellhole where they tried to blow your leg off!" she sneered and glared accusingly at Bella, but a clear hint of fear was displayed in Rosalie's eyes.

Bella sighed and unfolded her arms, rubbing her hands against her jean clad thighs. "It was an accident, shit happens – it was a crossfire, bullets fly."

"Yeah? 'Cause I've done some digging! And from what I can tell, that bullet didn't miss someone else Bells, it simply missed your head!" Bella glanced at Emmett and tried to keep from begging her friend to stop digging before it was too late. "It's too dangerous to be a journalist on their soil, you can chase tornados here, no need to run abroad chasing crazy dictators," Rosalie hissed and both of Bella's and Emmett's eyes snapped to her.

"W-what?" Bella tried to stabilize her voice.

Rosalie heaved a sigh and clasped her hands on the table to calm herself. "Give me some credit, Bells. You keep going back to that godforsaken town and Jake-"

"Oh, conspiring with Jake, now are we?" Surprisingly, this came from Emmett.

"- heard Hem mention that you have met him on several occasions!" She bored her eyes into Emmett. "If you don't want me conspiring with Jake, then you tell me what's going on." It was more what was behind that dare , that either Bella or Emmett risked touching. "How come you have never written or told anybody about these encounters with-" her voice dropped to a whisper, "Volturi?"

Bella flinched and grabbed Emmett's hand under the table. "Need to know, Rose." She hated doing this to her best friend. However, telling Rose anything was out of the question. And strictly against Carlisle's rules.

"I just don't get it! If you're not doing a story on the guy – and don't insult me by trying to deny it," she glared at Bella who closed her mouth. "You are not doing a story on him, Jake is furious – he called me in last night after the show and he wanted to do a segment with it – it's amazing things you can say about this guy. Everybody knows them but they need details – details we don't but you do have, I'm sure of it. You're a journalist, Bella!"

No, I'm not, Bella wanted to say but she kept those words in.

"It's your job to report the truth and carry it out to the people, this is what we do. What could you possibly have on the guy? Because I bet it's big enough to ruffle some feathers." Rosalie looked pissed as she sipped on her water.

Emmett had finally grown a pair as he leaned forward, meeting Rose's eyes with a glare. "That's exactly what you don't want to do. Like you described him, Aro Volturi is a crazy, power mad dictator and you're right, you don't know shit about him. Trust me, you don't want to know, because the second you do, a giant bullseye will be placed on your forehead, and you wouldn't be smart enough to duck."

Bella started to wonder if this had more to do with the fact that Rosalie was speaking to Jake than anything else. Emmett was right, Aro was crazy, she shuddered at the sheer thought of him and what he had tried to do to her. Rosalie couldn't be digging into it. She shouldn't.

"Then wh-"

Bella cut her friend off, "Need. To. Know," she repeated, weighing down on each word. She couldn't trivialize this situation because the man who held the center of it could not under any circumstances be made unimportant.

"And obviously I don't." Rosalie groaned, but seemed to understand to drop it ,and then waved over the waiter who quickly took their mumbled orders. "Look," Rosalie said when the man had left. "I know that Hem and you hide things from the rest of us, probably for our own safety – I don't know and sometimes…" Rosalie frowned and stared at the tabletop. "Sometimes I frankly think that it's better that way. On the other hand, if you get yourself hurt again…" she lifted her eyes and forced a smile upon her face and a lighter tone to her voice. "I'll kill you."

Bella smiled tentatively and glanced at Emmett at the same time Rosalie did. "Not smart enough?" Rosalie said, seeming oddly happy about this fact. She met Emmett's eyes dead on, and raised an eyebrow. Emmett jutted his chin out slightly but he was – once again – giving up when it came to Rose, and she realized this too. Whatever had been a possibility to the way they had been long ago, was suddenly gone.

The conversation after that was forced and strained, the girls trying to act as if nothing had happened and Emmett slowly sinking back into his insecure, Rosalie loving, a-second-away-from-giggling-like-a-girl state of mind.

"So, did you phone home yet?" Rosalie finally asked. Bella rolled her eyes but shook her head. "Naw, I spoke to tweedledee and tweedledum last week and their quarrel was called off when Charlie was called out, animal attack again." She shrugged. Rosalie spoke more to Bella's parents than she did herself, after all, they made it clear long ago, that they would rather have her for a daughter any day.

Charlie Swan was a smalltime cop in an even smaller town. He sought perfection and had found it in his beautiful wife. Renee cared more about the color of her nails and the look of her hair than she cared if her daughter had found happiness. She demanded perfection on the surface, wanting Bella to always look perfect , and Charlie demanded perfection on the inside, brains and grades. That was all that mattered.

To say that they were disappointed when their slightly overweight daughter failed in school was an understatement. Then, sweeping in from New York and becoming best friends with their daughter, Rosalie King took their breath away. Surprisingly enough, Bella had never held that against her. It was a relief to get the focus off of herself, and her parents were so was happy to have Rose in their lives. Therefore, everyone was a winner.

Too bad that they failed to see that their beautiful daughter became a beauty and a success, maybe for them, a little too late.

"Oh, no!" Bella laughed. "They had to stop fighting? That's after all what they do best!"

Rosalie shook her head and smiled sadly. "But they don't have those immature fights that they hear their neighbors have."

"No, no. They simply have small quarrels to keep things interesting." Bella bit her lip and smiled, it had taken years for her to stop getting affected by her parents' thoughts. Speaking of, she glanced at Rose. "Have you spoken to Es, lately?"

Esme King. She was a surgeon in New York, the best neurosurgeon in the country, and she knew it. She had pushed her daughter to strive in whatever she chose to do with her life. Esme's God complex put as much of a weight on her daughter's shoulders as the Swan's expectations did to Bella's. Esme was sharp, smart and arrogant in a way that made everybody love her, look up to her and ask why her daughter didn't practice medicine.

And there it was, that small thorn of disapproval that had been shoved into Rosalie's side.

Esme had told Rose all of her life to become the best in whatever field she chose, but what she was really saying, was to become the best damned doctor she could be.

Rosalie met Bella's eyes and lifted her glass of water. "To the disapproving, neglecting and demanding, oxymoron parents of ours."

«O»

Bella winched as her phone set off loudly just as she closed the door to her room. She growled as she fished it from her pocket and answered, knowing that it only could be one person on the other end. "Yeah?"

The room looked as she had left it since the 'no cleaning' sign hung outside. This was a precaution she always took when living in a hotel, not wanting someone to go through her stuff. The trust issues might have started with Renee, but they had been thoroughly watered by the nature of her job.

"Swan," Carlisle said, he must have been speaking to several people at the same time, Bella noted as she heard him address someone in the background. "There."

Bella walked to sit down by the counter that also worked as a table. "What? Are you spying on us these days? Should I call Seth and have him close the curtains at night?" She took the receipt from the restaurant out of her pocket and snatched a pencil from a cup by the wall. Mindless doodling was necessary when speaking to Carlisle.

"I'm hardly spying," Carlisle sneered and the sound of a door closing floated over the line. "I'm keeping watch over you since we need you to be safe until you go, no need for the dramatics, Isabella."

The lead from the pencil made a dark blob on the small paper as she pushed it down, inhaling slowly. "But only until we get in the air, right?"

"Don't make this harder than it is."

Bella sighed and tossed the pencil down, leaning back. "Well I'm going to. Rosalie King and Jacob fucking Black – mostly the latter," she added as she felt guilt for selling her best friend out. Rosalie didn't know that Carlisle existed, and she wanted to keep it that way. "They have been digging and apparently come across some shit."

She could hear Carlisle take a deep breath and then mutter something that wasn't meant for her ears. "Why?" he demanded to know then.

"Beats me, they're journalists, they sniff out the truth, damned be the consequences." Bella grimaced and massaged her neck with her free hand.

"What do they have, Swan?" Carlisle's voice was unceremoniously asking for no bullshit.

"Aro."

"Tell Hem to hurry the fuck up!" Carlisle called out loudly, this time not even bothering to cover the mike on his phone. Bella groaned at the loud noise but kept her mouth shut. "Finally. Swan, I'm going to put you on speaker."

"Bella, how are you, sweetheart?" Billy Black wondered, sounding so fatherly that Bella's heart clenched in her chest.

She smiled as she said, "Billy! I'm good, how are the legs?"

"As good as new, Bells, as good as new."

"And my heart is crying. Billy can walk – with a cane but nevertheless. Isabella is back and intact. It's your son that's the problem, Billy."

Billy tried to sound insouciant as he laughed it off with, "Jake? He can't do anything to mess up this." But the incredulous tone in his voice wasn't directed towards Carlisle.

"Then get him to stop digging before I send his ass on a plane with the rest of them! He'll end up six feet under if he doesn't stop. Aro has people in New York, hell, he has people everywhere. If word gets out or if they stumble over the wrong information online, they are as good as dead." Carlisle's voice took a softer tone. "We promised long ago that Aro should never again be allowed to take a life, maybe it's time we make good of that promise."

"They?"

Bella stepped in before Carlisle could. "Rosalie King, she's way too public, too. I've asked her to stop digging but I honestly don't think that she will without an explanation."

"How did they even get wind of Aro? I know people are investigating him and he's known by everybody… who put them up to digging facts on him in the first place?" Billy muttered.

"Jake made the connection, we've been going to that damned place over and over for some time now, with or without a crisis, and the orders never come for his ears to hear, only the finished product. I guess that he got curious."

"That's what makes him a pain in the ass," Carlisle muttered, practically echoing Bella's thoughts.

"That's what makes him a good reporter!" Billy snarled.

"What did I say?" Carlisle chuckled and then inhaled slowly. "Isabella," he sounded truly concerned as he asked, "How's Emmett hanging in there? Will he be okay to go or do we need to leave him out? Honestly, I'm getting suggestions from every fucking direction here. They want him out for this one."

Bella didn't think twice about it. Emmett would go whether it was with them or not. If he got closed out of this one, he would head there himself. He wouldn't make an irresponsible decision. Bella would make sure of it. "He's good."

Carlisle seemed to accept this reassurance. "Good… now… Billy, I need to speak to Isabella in private for a moment, so if you wouldn't mind…" Bella frowned.

"Sure, talk to you later, Bells, and be careful. Send Emmett my regards."

Bella barely got a word out before Carlisle shut off the speaker and then began, "I have a favor to ask of you."

This, she couldn't help but laugh at. "Really? That's rich. Do you remember when you give us vacation or is that just to sound good?"

"Actually, this doesn't have anything to do with work… although, technically it does but…" Carlisle heaved a sigh. "It's about my nephew, actually."

"You have a nephew? I always thought that you were incarnated from some dark mass somewhere." Bella heard him chuckle at this and was quite surprised that he had reacted with humor.

"He used to be an actor, you might have heard of him… wasn't that successful, though. Edward Cullen?"

Bella frowned. She had heard of him, of course she had. He had one amazing movie, he had played a tortured soul an managed to touch everybody deeply. His words had been tortured, his expression… he was brilliant. However, that was all he could play, sad characters, tortured and deep. He tried one comedy and was forever ruined. That was the last Bella had heard of him. "Yeah?" she asked cautiously.

"He's writing, quite good if I may say so. But now… he needs to do some research on his next project and as it happens, you would be a very good source." Bella couldn't believe her ears… was Carlisle truly willing to risk everything… for his nephew? Something didn't add up.

"Where are you going with this?" She picked up the pencil again and squeezed it in her hand.

"He will be in New York for a few days and I was wondering… if you couldn't help him out… just answering a few questions." This time, it was Carlisle who sounded tortured. "Believe me, Isabella, this is not something I really want for you, but I trust you and simply tell him – from a journalist's perspective – how it is to live your life. Answer all his questions as truthfully as you can."

Bella gnawed on her lip. "It sounds risky."

"You speak to all of your friends about being a war correspondent, don't you?"

She sighed, she did. And she hated each and every one of the lies she served them. "Of course, but they need to know something. Why don't you tell him? You had the same job as I have, once."

"Not on paper, I was never a journalist – not even as a cover. And… I don't think that he wants to speak to me more than necessary. I will tell him to come to your hotel tomorrow at noon, will that be okay?"

"This will be on you if I fuck up," Bella muttered, decisively deciding to do it. "Fine."

"Thank you." She was a bit taken aback by his gratefulness but didn't comment on it, not that she would have a chance to, either. "Bye, Swan."

"Conceited, manipulative ass…" Bella rubbed her temples. She was not sure of what had happened, how she could have been convinced by that almost vulnerable tone in Carlisle's voice to do this. A former actor, future author, was coming into her hotel room the next day. Sure, she would rather have it that way than to meet in a restaurant where he would, without a doubt would be recognized, but still.

Edward Cullen hadn't been an active actor in about two years, but he had a look that wouldn't be forgotten, famous or not. Them being seen together would only make it worse. Bella tossed the phone on the counter and sighed.

This was going to be a very long vacation.


A/N: See, Edward! I came through after all. I hope that you enjoyed it and if you have the time and words, feel free to leave a review to tell me what you think so far. :)

- Soph