It continued to snow on into Saturday and, though it had been warm on Sunday, the light snow had started up again by the time I woke up Monday morning. As usual, Charlie had already left so I just ate a quick bowl of cereal and then left, pulling my jacket tight against the cold.

About a foot away from the truck, My feet slipped out from under me and I was only saved at the last minute by the mirror on my truck that stuck out far enough for me to get a grip on it. Where I was from, I didn't often have to worry about snow, much less ice, so I hadn't thought about what the mix snow rain and sun had meant. The ground was probably covered in a thin sheet of ice. I'd have to drive extra slow.

As slowly as I was driving I still expected to have some difficulty but my truck seemed to handle the ice just fine. I reached the school without any problems, despite the ice and despite the unfamiliar snow. When I got to the school, I realized why.

There were thin criss-crossed chains wrapped around the tires. Charlie must have gotten up insanely early to make sure that I would be safe. Er. Water came to my eyes and I quickly wiped them away as I leaned across my seat to grab my bag. I felt a tingle along my spine that I had come to associate with the Cullens. I glanced back over my shoulder and saw three of the Cullens – Edward, Alice, and Jasper – standing together, talking. Edward's eyes were on me and he didn't seem to be talking much to the other two.

I smiled weakly and he nodded in acknowledgment but he didn't look away. Somewhat unnerved, I looked back to my bag which seemed to be snagged on the seat.

A loud, harsh squeal behind me made me turn quickly. Tyler's blue van was skidding across the ground toward me at what seemed to me to be a high speed.

They say time is supposed to slow down when something bad is happening. For me, it did the reverse. Several things happened at once. Edward's pale face twisted in an expression of utter horror. The strap of the bag fell from my hand. The squeal of the van's breaks filled my ears entirely. I opened my mouth to scream – which, on reflection, I recognized as a completely useless action though I couldn't think of anything better to do at the time. An insanely powerful force slammed into me from the side, moments before the front of the van crashed into the back of by truck and slid to the front, finally stopping against the curb – directly where I had been situated moments earlier. I had just enough time to realize this before my head cracked into the asphalt and everything went black.

When I came to, I decided that not much time had passed because if I had been moved, it would be so disgustingly cold. Pain shot through my head and neck and my left hip hurt – a lot, though not as much as my throbbing head. I opened my eyes and panicked when I saw nothing but gray. It faded quickly and I blinked and looked around in relief.

Edward knelt over me, one hand supporting my back and the other pressed into and odd hand- sized dent just above the grill of the van. I realized, then, that the van had not been stopped by the curb at all but by the same unstoppable force that had knocked me out of harm's way. Edward.

I stared at him, wide eyed, in a mix of shock, confusion, pain, and some fear. He stared back, shaking with what I could only assume was lingering fear from the insane action he had just taken. He glanced to his hand where it sat, embedded in the front of the van, and then back to me. He pulled back both his hands.

"Don't move," he said, his jaw tight as though from gritted teeth.

Where does he think I'm going to go? I thought, but I didn't move.

"Are you alright?"

I blinked, trying to process his question. Once I was sure what he was asking, I still didn't know the answer. I did a quick check of all my body parts – toes, feet, knees, my hip was sore but it was just bruised, my stomach felt odd, presumably from the adrenaline and the blow to the head, my ribs were sore but they didn't hurt enough to be cracked, my whole left arm from my elbow to my shoulder burned as though it were on fire, and the throbbing in my head had not abated but my brain still seemed to be functioning.

"Bella," Edward said, his voice rising in panic that was only barely noticeable amid the slow calm that he projected, "are you hurt."

What a stupid question. Yes, I was hurt. How badly? Well, how was I supposed to know? But, since I could hear and understand what he was saying and I didn't feel like I was dying, I mumbled, "No. My head hurts like hell, though."

"I can believe that," he said, with relief, though the muscles in his neck and jaw were still tight. "You hit it pretty hard."

I blinked again, trying to focus my mind on something other than the pain. "How did you do that?"

Some of the fear returned to his face. "How did I do what?"

"All of it. How'd you stop the car? How'd you get over to me in the first place?"

"Bella," he looked up to where I assumed people were approaching. "Bella, I need you to listen very carefully. When you saw the van coming, you lunged out of the way and it was stopped by the curb. I arrived shortly after, too late to do anything but try to help."

"But..."

"Bella, don't try to speak right now. It's very important that you do as I say. The EMTs are on their way. I'm... I'm sorry for hurting you."

"What do you mean?" I said, in grudging agreement. "You got here too late to do anything." But my eyes flicked to the dent in the van as I spoke. I didn't like lying but something about the desperation in his voice banished any other notion from my mind. I still didn't enjoy the thought of lying to my friends, though.

Edward smiled slightly at my words but it didn't touch his eyes.

Then the first of the crowd reached me.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?"

"What happened to your arm?"

"Are you hurt?"

"How'd you get out of the way?"

"What's the guy doing there?"

I couldn't connect any of the voices with the faces around me and the questions overwhelmed me until I simply decided to ignore them. I closed my eyes and waited, unable to really think about anything but my aching head and the increasing throbbing in my arm.

After what seemed like forever, someone spoke slowly and calmly enough for me to pay attention. "Alright, Bella, we're going to have to put a neck brace on you before we move you over to a stretcher."

I nodded weakly. "Why?"

"It's just to be safe until we know for sure that you haven't damaged your spine."

I nodded again and after a moment I felt something sliding around my neck. A moment later, I was being lifted, very carefully, onto something soft. I barely felt the stretcher moving but I felt it stop at a familiar voice.

"I'd like to accompany her, if that's alright. For emotional support."

"Whatever, we have to get going."

It was darker inside the emergency vehicle than it had been outside so it didn't hurt as much to open my eyes. Edward sat next to me, watching me silently. He had stopped shaking but he was anything but relaxed.

"What's going on?"

"We're taking you to the hospital."

"That's not what I mean."

"I know."

"Well?"

"I -"

"And don't tell me you weren't there or you didn't do any thing because that's bull and we both know it. How did you stop the van?"

"Bella, I told you already."

"Yeah. And I agreed that to use that story, but it's a lie and I know that. I think you owe me an explanation."

"I saved your life, remember. I really don't think I owe anything."

"Look, Edward, I don't want to seem unappreciative – I really am thankful that you saved my life -" something of a shocked laugh escaped my lips "- but what ever your secret is, I'm involved now and I need some answers."

He shook his head. "No. What you need now is to get your head examined. We're almost there."

I closed my eyes. His words had reminded me of the pain in my head and I decided that he wasn't going to give in now. So I would wait.

I let my mind drift, unable to sleep, but unable to focus on the now. I could have, probably, if I had wanted to, but at the moment it was much easier to watch from a distance than to be there myself.

Eventually, I was moving again. My eyes slid open and I saw the emergency entrance of the hospital approaching quickly. At this point I was fairly sure that I wasn't hurt but it would be nice to know for sure and they might even be able to give me something for the pain.

When we entered the hospital, the scent of bleach, soap and perfumes filled my nose until my stomach began to twist. I have a sensitive nose but even with that, I'm sure most of it is in my head, but all the same, the effect was often nauseating. I clenched my right hand into a fist and clenched my teeth, trying to gain control of my revolting stomach.

The hospital was very bright and the stark white walls and furnishings only increased the harshness of the light on my sore eyes. Even with my lids closed tightly against it, the light shone red through them. Sparks and swirls danced before my closed eyes and nothing I could do would dispel them any more than I could the throbbing headache.

At some point I was moved to a bed and though I was sure I was still, the sensation of movement continued. Nothing happened for what seemed to me like a long time and I was left with nothing but the pain, nausea, and shock which remained from the almost fatal accident. It was some time before I opened my eyes and realized that I wasn't alone. Edward sat beside my bed. He must have accompanied me inside.

I was just opening my mouth to speak when I heard a door opening to my left. I turned my head to see who had entered and then closed my eyes as the pain and dizziness returned with a vengeance. When I opened my eyes again, there was a man in white sitting beside me.

His hair was pale blonde and his eyes, like Edward's, were a warm golden shade, framed my thick lashes. Like all the Cullens, he was eerily beautiful in some way I couldn't name though he smiled without the same reservedness they always showed. Though he was sitting, it was clear he was quite small for a man who must have been in his early thirties. But despite his kind expression and his unimposing stature, he still gave off a sense of almost predatory danger that I couldn't understand.

"So, you must be Bella."

I blinked a few times as I processed what he said and then I nodded.

"Edward has said a lot about you."

He had? I had been under the impression we were mere acquaintances that had been less than friendly at times. My mind flashed back too his cold hard eyes the first time we had met and I shuddered. I hoped that at least he had been saying good things.

Then my mind finally caught up with what the man had said. This must be Edward's adopted father, Carlisle.

"Dr. Cullen?"

"Yes?"

I shook my head minutely. "I just wondered if that was who you were."

"Yes, I am Dr. Carlisle Cullen."

I nodded again.

"Alright, Bella, I'm going to have to ask you some questions. I suspect that you may have a concussion. Now, are experiencing any dizziness? Nausea? Headache? Difficulty focusing? Sensitivity to light? Ringing in the ears?" He pulled out a light and shone it in each of my eyes and I tried to keep my eyes open against the glare.

I nodded. "Definitely"

He placed cold hands on the back of my skull and pushed gently. "Is this tender, here?"

I flinched. "Yeah!"

"Edward said you hit your head pretty hard... when you leapt out of the way of the truck."

I frowned, too confused to be truly suspicious but something seemed... off, somehow. "Yeah... I wasn't able to keep my footing." It didn't seem believable to me, but maybe that was just because I knew what actually happened, not that the truth was particularly believable either.

"Yes. So, you have a concussion which is damage to the brain – a bruise, if you will – that is most often caused by a blow to the head. Yours does not appear to be incredibly serious so I doubt there will be any permanent damage. But you will probably have a bad head ache for the next five to ten days, as well as a few of the other symptoms. You can take some acetaminophen for the pain but other than that, just rest. You probably shouldn't go to school until you're feeling somewhat better, You probably wouldn't get much work done in the state you're in in any case."

"Okay."

"There's not all that much we can do for you except bandage all your cuts and scrapes and send you home, I'm afraid. Just rest, try to limit your strenuous activity, and if the symptoms get worse, Go home, get something to eat, and then just drink lots of water and get lots of sleep. Charlie's in the waiting room."

I nodded again then said, "Could I just have a moment alone with Edward, please, before I go?"

Carlisle's smile became somewhat fixed and his eyes flashed up to Edward's for a moment. "Of course. I'll need to speak with Charlie to explain the situation. But remember, rest. Don't talk for too long."

I nodded and Edward assured his father that we would be brief. Then he sighed and turned to me. "What did you want to say?"

"Edward, I need to know." I said.

"Bella..." He took and deep breath and thought for a moment before speaking, choosing his words carefully. "Bella, you hit your head very hard. It's possible that things weren't quite the way you thought they were. I may have helped today, but next time it could be something worse than a concussion – something more lasting. It's best if we don't talk about this anymore."

I raised my eyebrows incredulously. "Well, that was cryptic."

"Bella," he began, but I cut him off.

"I have to go. See you... later." I sat up, wincing at the headache, and rolled out of the bed. I stood still for a moment, trying to get the room to stop swaying around me, before beginning to walk to the door. Is tumbled on my first step and Edward seemed to appear beside me, grabbing my arm to stabilize me.

"I'm fine," I snapped, but I didn't release his arm. He was kind enough to ignore the amount of weight I was putting on it as we made our way to the doors to the waiting room.

"Bella!"

I tore myself free of Edward and ran to my father. "Dad!" I lost my footing as I approached and he caught me as I fell.

"Bella, you might want to slow down until you're a little more steady on your feet," said Carlisle, who sat beside him.

"She's never steady on her feet, even on a good day," Charlie said with a weak chuckle.

"Thanks, Dad," I said dryly.

"Thank you, Carlisle," my dad said, tears in his voice.

"I didn't do all that much. She's very lucky though. She got away with little more than some scrapes and bruises in such dangerous situation." His eyes flicked to me as he said this and suspicion flared once more. Then he continued, "As I've said to Bella, it's very important to get something to eat as soon as possible – to help with the shock – and then make sure she gets some rest. Also, she should probably stay home for the next few days to give her brain time to recover."

"Okay." My father hugged me closer as he spoke.

"Thanks," I said to the doctor, but my eyes flicked to Edward.

As I turned to go, there was a harsh male voice from behind me. "Wait! Were you... Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

I looked at him blankly for a moment, confused. His hair was a sandy blonde that hung loosely to the nape of his neck. There were a number of bandaged cuts on his face and hands and there was a large bruise on his forehead above his left eye. Then I realized that this must have been the boy who had been behind the wheel of the blue van.

"It's fine."

"No really, I can't believe that happened. It must have been the ice – but I thought I was gonna kill you. Someone must have been praying for you or something but whatever miracle happened I'm glad it did 'cause I couldn't have lived with myself if I had..." he swallowed "done anything. And the guy – him!" He looked wide eyed at Edward "Are you okay? When I finally could see past the airbag you looked so close, I was sure I had hit you."

"I'm fine, but thank you for your concern. I came after.

"' just glad no one's hurt – permanently at least."

"What about you?" I asked, "You look like you got pretty banged up."

"It's nothing that won't get better in a few days, or keep me out of school which will suck given my driving privileges have probably been taken away permanently." He winced."But it's okay, I'll take that over being a murderer, any day."

"Actually, I think that it would technically be classified as manslaughter, not that that's much better."

"No."

"Excuse me," Carlisle interjected, "But the girl need rest."

"Yeah, I'll let you go."

"Yeah. Bye."

The boy turned and disappeared through the doors of the hospital and into the rain. At a look from Carlisle, Edward strode through a different set of doors and, patting Charlie on the shoulder, Carlisle followed after him.

"Come on, Dad," I said, "Let's go home."