AN: I finished the next chapter, I'm pretty happy with it, I hope y'all are as well. Don't forget to review and if you don't like it, let me know why! We're all entitled to our opinion. Oh, since my beta was confused, there's a flashback in here ;)

**HM**

Edward

When one had both immortality and the inability to sleep, Edward thought while staring moodily out his bedroom window, one had nothing to do but think. He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. That was not technically true, he admitted to himself, there were other 'pursuits' one could partake in. A crash and a giggle from Rosalie and Emmett's pointedly reminded him of some of those pursuits. Was he to blame for the fact that not a single soul, or lack thereof, had sparked his interest in ninety plus years? He didn't think so. Rosalie, that cow, did however. She loved nothing more than to harass him about his 'standards', grinding his nerves to the point that they often almost came to blows. While he had been raised with the rule that he should never strike a woman, he definitely thought that Rosalie had to be the exception that proved the rule.

He shook his head and pushed himself up from his desk, his eye watching his reflection. To a mortal eye, he guessed that his movement would have appeared fluid and graceful to the point of pain, but to his, he saw the mental effort it took, the pressure he was under. There was only one person he could talk to about it, but he didn't want to disturb her, she was busy in the same vein as Rose and Emmett. So instead of being the bachelor brother and bothering her, he wandered to the kitchen.

He passed Carlisle's study on his way, which he found empty. There was no noise from their room, but Esme wasn't in attendance either. This forced another sigh out of him, one that he hated himself for. Must he be so Victorian? It was bad enough to be whom and what he was, but to be yet another stereotype was almost too much to bear. He'd read a lot over the years and it seemed to be a common theme that men that would have been his contemporaries had Fate been more logical were either obnoxious philandering louts or limp-wristed fawning creatures with a predilection for drugs, alcohol and the dramatic. Was he becoming one of those?

His temper flared and he swatted a vase off a stand almost negligently, sending it flying through the room and taking out a cut crystal bowl. He made a face as he looked at the shards on the floor. The sight seemed familiar, though he'd never seen it before. He growled to himself and started to clean up his mess before Esme returned. As he picked up the pieces, he let his mind wander, trying to find the root of his irritation. For the last year, he'd been having issues with his 'ability', something that no one had seen before. It was so bad that he'd even consented to having Aro 'look him over' as it were. He grimaced, his hand tightening on the shards, crushing them into fine dust. That was an experience that he did not like to relive, so he did not allow himself to. Instead, he jumped to Aro's conclusion: There was something that had happened, would happen or should have happened that Edward's mind was grasping for and nothing but time and patience would figure out what.

Growling again, he stalked to the kitchen and threw away his mess. He was now so lost in thought, his mind trying to find the answer that he knew would elude him, seeming to slip through his mental fingers the harder he tried to grasp for it. What was he missing? When had this whole mess started? What was the trigger for his black mood? He snorted, picking up a pomegranate from the counter and tossing it up into the air as he paced. Esme loved the things, despite not being able to eat them. They amused her deeply for some reason she was unwilling to share.

Shaking his head, Edward reined his mind in, focusing back on the problem he'd been worrying a moment before. His distractibility was one more thing he hated about being a vampire, it was annoying at best. 'Right, old man' he told himself, 'Back on task." Ah yes, there was the thought again. The cause of all of his mess. Carefully navigating his memory over the most recent visit from Aro, he took himself all the way back to the day Aro had appeared on the Cullen's proverbial doorstep over a year ago….

The knock at the door had surprised all of them and they had all frozen in place for a moment, turning almost as one to look at Alice, who had her little brow furrowed in thought. She shook her head and said, "It's Aro. He came here as a side-trip and alone. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner."

Carlisle had given her arm a gentle squeeze as he'd passed by her. "No worries, love. We've nothing to fear from the Volturri."

She'd nodded, though her expression of concern hadn't changed one bit. Jasper crossed the distance to her in a flash even to Edward's eye, enfolding her in a hug that made Edward feel insanely jealous. Not for Alice, but for the relationship, the closeness. He'd dismissed the thought, he'd made his peace with his bachelorhood for the most part, except for the occasionally 'relapse'.

Carlisle was at the door, looking around the room, making sure all of them were ready for their unexpected guest. He must have been satisfied with what he saw in their faces; he nodded and opened the door, a smile on his face.

Aro stood in the doorway, his white papery skin seeming to stand out even more against the backdrop of the intense green that was Forks. Instantly, a smile that was exactly like Carlisle's spread across his old face.

"Ah, Carlisle, old friend!" he exclaimed. "It has been too long! How is my favorite aberrant clan?"

Carlisle had laughed, and hugged Aro momentarily. "I'd like to think we're doing well, old friend. As crazy as it seems, we're happy in our aberrations."

Aro shook his head and gestured with his hand. "May I come in? I'll never understand how you manage it, Carlisle, but it seems to suit all of you."

Carlisle laughed, "I've forgotten my manners while blending in with humans, I apologize Aro. Of course you may come in."

He stepped aside and Aro floated into the room in the way that all Volturri seemed to move. "It is quite alright, old friend. I know I came unannounced."

His eyes found Alice where she stood in Jasper's embrace. "I did not want to upset your little seer, so I did what I could to keep my intentions a mystery."

Carlisle nodded, "Is this a social call or do you have a reason for stopping in, Aro?"

Aro looked at all of them in turn, his eyes lingering on Edward for a long moment before moving on to Rosalie and Emmett. In that moment, Edward had been certain that there was something behind those ancient eyes, but it was gone before he could grab on to it. Something about the downfall of the Volturri, he thought, but had he been asked to bet his own money on it, he would have refused. Aro finished his 'inspection' of the Cullen family and turned back to Carlisle.

"A little of both, old friend, a little of both. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?"

Carlisle nodded and led his friend upstairs to his study.

As soon as they were out of sight, all eyes went back to Alice. She shrugged, "He wants to ask Carlisle to research something for him. Carlisle will accept and we'll move away until his research is done."

They had all sighed. Forks was a very nice town, one that they came back to whenever it was feasible, it was troublesome to have to leave now. Who knew how long they'd be gone? If they were gone too long, they wouldn't be able to come back again for another seventy years, and that made none of them happy. While it was true that he was the only one with a human friend, they all were happy here.

Sure enough, an hour passed quickly and Aro and Carlisle had come back downstairs. Esme had visibly drawn up her courage, and a little bit of her training as a turn-of-the-last-century housewife and approached them.

"Is there anything we can offer you, Aro?" she asked only the fluttering of her hands betraying her nerves. "I know you don't follow the same diet as we do, but we do have human blood in storage for when visitors come."

Aro had chuckled and reached out as if to touch her face, stopping just before he made actual contact. "Thank you, child, I appreciate the gesture. But I'm afraid I must rejoin my party before they miss me too much."

He continued down the stairs, stopping with his hand on the doorknob. "Thank you, Carlisle," he'd said quietly. "I appreciate you agreeing to not only do this but to keep it as much of a secret as you can."

They'd all turned to look at Carlisle, who had the grace to look uncomfortable. Aro opened the door, but stopped again, turning to look this time at Edward himself. "Young man," he said softly, with something in his voice that might have been pain, "When the time comes, remember that despite what it seems, nothing was done to make things worse, only to make them better."

Edward had been confused, but had kept his confusion to himself as Aro had walked out of the house, leaving them to make preparations for their move.

Pacing around this house, Edward snorted. Aro's comment still did not make sense, and Carlisle still would not tell any of them what he was researching for Aro. He'd taken to humming nursery rhymes that he'd translated into Mandarin in his head for the first hour after he'd left his laboratory to keep Edward out and keeping his intentions vague so that Alice couldn't see. At least, that was what she had told Edward, though he was not sure that he believed her.

A noise from behind him pulled him from his reverie. Glancing back, he saw Alice, leaning on the door frame with a small smile.

"You're miserable, Edward," she said quietly, almost skipping as she came to him, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Don't worry, it'll be over soon."

He snorted and tossed the lime back into the bowl. "Soon, Alice?" he asked, "By who's standards? You've been telling me that for almost a year."

She laughed her musical laugh and said, "Silly Edward, by the only standards that matter, mine."

He had to laugh at that. "Alright, little Time-Keeper, you win."

She turned to walk out of the kitchen, and just as she passed through the door, she looked back at him. "I'll throw you a bone, Edward," she said, a mischievous grin on her face, "Sooner than you're prepared for. Carlisle is almost done here; the last bit of his research needs to be finished in Forks. We're headed home in a few months."