A/N - Flashbacks to the past are in Italics, FYI.

Chapter 3 - Tick Tock Go The Days

Alice sleepwalked down the stairs, her face drawn and pale, even for a vampire. She dragged her feet over to the living room where she promptly threw herself onto the couch, burying her face into a propped up cushion.

It had been three days. Three days since Bella's "arrival". Three days filled with an uneasy silence that was unaccustomed in the Cullen house. Three days of listening to Bella's erratic heartbeat as the muscle worked feebly trying to pump blood to where it was needed. Three days of stalking up and down the upstairs landing, daring anyone who wasn't Carlisle to come even a foot near the study door.

Alice paused, forcing herself to examine her behavior that past few days. She was thrown into a memory of Emmett attempting to peek in on Bella and how she had very nearly killed the man for it.

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Emmett could not contain his curiosity. Undeterred by the fact that Alice seemed to have promoted herself as this human's watchdog, Emmett sniffed the air delicately, wrinkling his nose against the scent of Bella's blood wafting up to tantalize his senses but not detecting Alice nearby. He slipped out of his room and quietly made his way down the landing to Carlisle's study, steadying himself as Bella's scent and blood became stronger. He shook himself out of his momentary bloodlust haze and had barely placed his hand on the doorknob when a mini tornado barreled into his side, knocking him away from the door and half into the opposite wall.

Small but deceptively strong hands were around his neck, crushing and squeezing with no small amount of mercy. Emmett struggled, shocked at the strength and force Alice was displaying, but even more confounded by the fact that he could not loosen her grip.

"Alice," he wheezed. "Ally, let go." He heard a crack and a brief sporadic flash of pain as his Alice's fingers dug into his neck.

"ALICE!" Emmett fell to the ground, hands instinctively reaching up to cover his neck, checking for injuries. Grooves in the shape of fingernails dusted either side of his neck and he could feel the indentations of Alice's fingers. He crawled up to his knees to see Carlisle and Edward holding a wildly struggling Alice; the pixie vampire bore a feral expression, her eyes blank with fury, lips pulled up in a vicious snarl. Emmett shrunk back from the sight, unable to believe that this was his sweet tempered little sister. He back up against the wall, mindful of the damages it endured as Alice slammed him against it.

"Sorry, Ally," he apologized, holding up his hands in defeat. "I won't go near Bella, ok? I promise."

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Alice returned to the present with a sigh tinged with guilt. She still couldn't understand why she reacted the way she did but when the vision of Emmett struck her, her inexplicable rage had been mind consuming. She had all but flew up the stairs and tackled Emmett away from the door, intent on twisting the big man's head off. So blinded by her need to protect Bella, she had very nearly succeeded, only to have Carlisle and Edward thwart her intent. When she had finally calmed, she apologized profusely to Emmett, spluttering apology after apology, only to have the mountain of a man grab her in a bear hug, whispering that all was forgotten.

Three days. Alice was mentally wrung out, leading to her current physical sluggishness. She wished for sleep, longed for it as a lover might long for a beloved they had not seen in years. However, she was a vampire and their kind did not slumber like the human race. For the first time in decades, she resented her present form.

"Alice?"

Alice lifted her head, her bleary eyes making out Jasper's lithe form. She grunted and let her face fall back onto the cushion.

Jasper moved forward hesitantly. Alice's behavior as of late was nothing short of peculiar. The pixie haired vampire had appointed herself Bella's guardian, snarling and growling at anyone who went near the human brunette. Even Carlisle had taken to asking permission before entering his study to check on his patient, and this was done under Alice's watchful gaze. His sister was irrationally protective of the human and Jasper could not understand why. His empathetic powers only gave him a brief insight; Alice was as confused about her actions as they were but acknowledged that the pull she had toward the room upstairs was one she could not ignore. It often struck the pixie vampire that this connection she had with a complete stranger was nothing if not unsettling. Nevertheless, she accepted it without question and had proceeded to spend her days mostly by Bella's side, reading to the brunette or simply recalling her day.

Jasper's train of thought was interrupted by Alice's soft voice. He bent down by his sister's head and tentatively carded his fingers through spiky hair. ""How are you, little sister?"

Alice sighed, leaning into Jasper's touch, still charmed by the nickname after all these years. "I'm sorry for being such a bear," she mumbled. She pulled herself to a sitting position and ran a hand over her face. She huffed and blew an errant stand of hair out of her face. "Gods, I'm cracking up."

Jasper placed a hand on Alice's knee, squeezing gently. "There's nothing wrong with you, Ally." Another nickname, used by all members of the Cullen household when Alice needed a spot of cheering up.

Alice knuckled her eyes. "This is insane," she muttered. "I practically start hissing every time someone trudges up the stairs. I know none of you will hurt her but..."

"But you feel a strong overwhelming need to protect Bella," Jasper finished. He pulled himself up to sit next to Alice. "You forget who you're talking to," he continued off Alice's surprised look. "I can feel your need to protect her. It's unlike anything I've ever felt."

Alice frowned. Jasper was never one to mince his words but she had to admit his observation on her feelings made no sense. "But I don't even know her, Jaz! Who is she? Why did I have a vision of her? Why did the vision affect me the way it did? I feel such a connection to her and I don't even know her!"

There was a touch of hysteria to Alice's voice by the end of her sudden rant and Jasper reared back slightly in alarm before wrapping an arm around the seer. "I can't answer those questions, Alice," he apologized softly. "Maybe you two were meant to be." Alice had never been shy about her sexuality and the Cullen household knew of her attraction to both men and women and had accepted it without hesitation.

Alice scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous," she retorted softly, taking away the sting of her words by nuzzling her head against Jasper's shoulder.

"When was the last time you fed, Alice?" Jasper let the issue drop, knowing that the pixie vampire needed no more aggravation.

Alice tensed. "I'm fine." Her tone was clipped, edged with warning.

Jasper sighed, tugging a frustrated hand through his messy blonde hair. "You'll do nobody any good if you starve yourself." He stared pointedly into eyes that had begun to dull into a murky brown, refusing to back down at the heated glare thrown his way.

Alice shrugged out from under Jasper's arm and yanked herself to her feet. "I said I'm fine."

"Alice." Carlisle stepped out from the kitchen, a disapproving mask on his face that seemed to age him subtly. "If I recall, you haven't fed in over a week." A blonde eyebrow jumped upward, daring the seer to disagree.

Alice growled. "I don't need to hunt." She flitted up the stairs before either male could get in another word and slowly pushed open the door to the study, closing it softly behind her. She made her way over to the chair positioned next to Bella's bed, settling herself down on it before glancing up at the brunette. What she saw made her breath hitch and if she could have hyperventilated, she would have.

"CARLISLE!"

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