A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read, alerted, favorite, and especially reviewed this story. My partner in crime, EternallyCullen, was at the Twilight convention in the UK over the weekend, so we apologize for the delay. She was too busy partying and having fun to actually write! I'm glad she's back! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: We own nothing related to Twilight, it all belongs to the great Stephenie Meyer. We are only using her characters for our own (and hopefully your) amusement.

Edward lay on his personal pyre, absolutely still. He was afraid that if he moved a muscle, the agonizing flames would return to completely engulf him once more – and he did not think he could stand going through that again. He just couldn't.

He felt different, almost as if every nerve ending had been rewired and every synapse had been expanded. It was an odd feeling, and he wondered if he was dead. Maybe Purgatory was real place, and that was where he had been. Possibly, he had passed whatever test had been thrown his way, and God had decided to give him a reprieve. He was afraid to open his eyes, afraid of what he might see, but he knew he could not exist in this new… whatever it was… with his eyes closed forever.

So, he opened his eyelids.

And was met by a pair of the most concerned eyes he had ever seen, apart from Bella's when he had required an emergency appendectomy.

They were strange eyes, too. A color he had never seen. Almost the hue of a butterscotch candy once it had been halfway sucked away and was partially transparent. Odd. He found that his mind could actually think of things without feeling too overloaded – as he could focus on the strange yellow eyes in front of him and make the candy analogy, along with wondering about where he was, and think about... Bella. Where was she? Was she here? He prayed - even if in vain - that she had not been subject to the personal hell he had just suffered. And time. Time seemed to have little meaning to him now. He was unsure of how long he had burned or how long he had been there. How long had it been since had left Bella to do... what? What had he left her to do?

"Son? Are you alright?" The man with the butterscotch eyes asked him.

Edward just stared at him, still afraid to move, feeling an involuntary need to defend himself. And suddenly, he was against the wall, his knees bent, his fingers curled into what could only be described as talons. What is going on? I was just... I was just on the bed...

The yellow-eyed man held his hands up in a gesture of peace. "We are not going to hurt you. It's okay." Alice did a great job, I couldn't have done better myself.

"Who's Alice?" Edward found himself asking out loud, his voice foreign to his ears. It reminded him of the melodic sound of bells pealing in a church steeple, along with the cadence of water trickling over stones.

"I beg your pardon?" the man asked again, confusion evident on his beautiful face. How did he know who Alice was? Did she mention her name to him when she changed him?

Edward was stunned. "Changed me? Changed me to what? And who is Alice?"

The yellow eyes surrounding him all grew in amazement. If you can hear this, then say that you can.

Oh, so now he was thejoke... the laughingstock of the group. Fine. "Of course I can fucking hear you," he grumbled.

"Oh, my..." the man said. He can hear... our...thoughts.

Edward thought he almost choked on the last word. Wait a minute. Thoughts? Hear their thoughts? He backed up into the wall even farther, feeling the dry wall give way a bit. This was crazy. No one could hear thoughts. That was just stuff in the movies. So, can they hear mine? he wondered, frightened. He thought really hard. If you can hear me, say you can.

He was met with silence. What the hell?

"Son? Do you remember what your name is?" the man asked him. He looks scared to death.

Edward's manly feelings took over. "I am not scared to death," he mocked. "And of course I remember my name. I'm not stupid." The feeling of disorientation was making him forget the manners his mother had instilled in him.

The man smiled at him. "I didn't mean to imply you were. I'm Carlisle, and this is my family."

For the first time, Edward noticed the other people in the room. They all had those strange, yellow eyes, like the man in front of him... Carlisle, he corrected himself. And they could all only be described as beautiful... breathtaking. They all looked different, yet, oddly similar. "Edward."

Yay! I did it! He turned out fine!

Edward looked around to see if he could place where this voice was coming from. "You did what fine?"

A tiny girl with dark, spiky hair was bouncing on her heels. "I did. So, you really can hear our thoughts! Finally, I'm not the only freak around here!"

Edward narrowed his eyes. "Freak?"

A tall, blond-haired man put his hands on her shoulders, effectively stopping her bouncing. "Alice, I think you're going to have to fill our new friend in here a bit more," he said, a trace of a Southern accent detectable.

She clutched her hands in front of her. "I'm Alice. I can see the future, so I'm glad that I'm not the only one now who can do something extraordinary. I'm also the one who changed you. I found you and saw you becoming part of our family, so I couldn't just let you die."

So it was her fault. "Changed me to what? What's going on?" He was hearing a plethora of thoughts coming from the people in the room, many of which centered on how well Alice had done, how he was reacting just as they had, and … blood. Everyone was thinking about blood in some shape or form. What the hell?

And how could he tell a "thought" from a spoken word? He knew. He was dead, and this was God proving he had a sense of humor. A strange one... but a sense of humor, nonetheless.

But if he was dead, then that meant he was separated from his Bella... and he did not feel as if he was. He had always known they were soul mates, connected on the deepest level. If something had happened to him so that he was no longer on the same plane as she was, wouldn't he know?

Was this a dream? That had to be it! He just hadn't woken up that morning. She had to still be laying beside him, curled up next to him, her hand touching him somewhere. She always slept with her hand in contact with him. He had plans for today. He was going to go out and... what was he going to do? Why could he not remember? He seemed to remember everything else just fine. Bella. She was as clear to him as... his parents. Who were they again? He could make out fuzzy images in his mind, but nothing would come clear to him.

Why couldn't he wake up?

"You should get some rest, Bella."

Poor Bella had heard that phrase so many times during the last forty-eight hours. Finally, she decided to get into bed after pulling on her ratty, old sweats and Edward's ancient Dartmouth hoodie. She hugged his pillow to her chest tightly, screwed her eyes shut, and willed sleep to come.

Bella knew that something was wrong, as soon as she and Edward got into the car at the school. He had jumped into the driver's side after opening his own door. He would usually hold hers open first – which she'd always thought of as a little strange – and she had many times before told him that it wasn't necessary... yet it was strange when he didn't do it.

The ride home was silent, other than the low drone of the radio. Bella sat uncomfortably, stealing glances at her boyfriend every so often, hoping that he'd look at her and smile. He didn't, however, his hands around the steering wheel, holding onto it tightly, his jaw was set.

"What's wrong? Did you have a bad afternoon?" she asked tentatively.

Edward inhaled deeply, but his glare was still fixed on the road. "I don't want to talk about it now. Later, ok?"

"Ok," she whispered and stared down at her hands in her lap, on, carrying on the rest of the car ride in silence.

Things were still tense in the house once Edward and Bella arrived back home. Bella didn't like it one little bit because, although like all couples, they'd squabble, it had never been uneasy like this. Usually they would yell and disagree, followed by sheepish apologies, and then mind-blowing, make up sex. But this was... different. No yelling. Just glares and silence.

Bella chewed on her lip and looked across the kitchen counter at her boyfriend, as he opened and peered inside the large refrigerator.

"Edward?" Bella questioned nervously. "Please. I'm going crazy here. What on Earth is the matter?"

Edward pushed the door shut and slowly spun around to face her, his eyes never meeting hers - distant and almost glazed over. "I need to know the history between you and that man you were talking to at lunchtime," he replied.

On Fridays, it was common for Bella and Edward to take their lunch period off the school campus. They would frequent a deli just half a mile down the street and purchase two delicious filled rolls. That day in particular, they'd had the pleasure in running into Michael Newton, one of Bella's old classmates from Forks High.

Now although Bella and Mike had just been friends, and never dated as such, she had known that Mike wished there had been more to their relationship.

They greeted each other warmly, exchanging hugs, as old friends do, and while waiting in line for their honey roasted ham and tomato rolls, they engaged in polite conversation. It turned out that although Mike had majored in accounting at The University of Washington, he was now running his parents store – Newton's Outfitters – as his parents were currently enjoying early retirement and off on a cruise in the Mediterranean, leaving Mike with the family business.

Bella had introduced Edward to Mike, and the two men had greeted one another and shook hands.

"Mike?" she asked him. "Mike Newton?" Bella tried not to laugh, as she choked out the name of her old high school buddy. This was a side that she'd never seen of Edward before. Was he... jealous?

"Yes, Mike," he replied sharply, exaggerating the man's name. "He was all over you, Bella. Even an idiot could see that much. Did you and he date?"

"No!" Bella exclaimed, looking at Edward with wide eyes. "I mean... we were just friends, in a few classes together. He was actually dating my friend Jessica. He asked me out a couple of times, but no... Edward. We never dated." Bella felt a little taken back because they'd never really discussed their previous relationships, aside from the fact that they'd both dated people in the past, but never really got past the 'dating' stage. Neither of them had been a part of a serious relationship until they had met each other.

"I don't like the way he was with you... he put his arms around your waist and held you..."

Bella didn't know what to do, apart from look at her boyfriend, her eyes and mouth wide. "Edward," she whispered. "If it means anything, I didn't want him to hug me. My hugs are reserved for two men only. One being my father - and you know he isn't into public displays of affection – and the other is you and you alone."

Edward still refused to make eye contact and turned around. Bella could tell that he was pinching the bridge of his nose – something he often did when he was stressed.

Bella chewed on the nail of her index finger and walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle, her hands coming to rest on his taught stomach. She leaned into his back and inhaled his sweet scent. She felt him relax a little.

"When we were at school, he asked me out a couple of times, but that was it. I never liked him like that. If I'm honest, I was more attracted to the quieter ones. Mike was... Mike was confident. Not my type. I know what I like, Edward."

"I'd... I've never seen you talk to another man like that, Bella. I felt uncomfortable. He's from your past."

"Edward Masen," Bella chastised as she moved away from him and tugged at his arm, pulling him around to face her. "He might be a friend from the past, but you are my past, my present, AND my future. Jesus... you have to trust me. We have been together for so long now."

Bella stepped away from him, her hands at her sides as tears brimmed in her red rimmed eyes. "I hate that you don't seem to trust me," she whispered, looking towards the kitchen floor. "Please, you have no reason to be jealous. I'd never do that to you."

Edward moved towards her, but Bella backed off further.

"Please, I just want to be alone... just give me a little while... order a pizza or something," she muttered, as she walked into the hallway and up the staircase to their small bedroom.

Bella's eyes snapped open, and she rolled over, hugging the pillow to her chest. The argument had happened over a year ago, and it was the worst one she could recall, so she did not know of any reason as to why he would run from her. It was then that Bella knew that there was something very wrong.

She knew that he had been taken from her.

She wondered if they'd ever find his body.

Bella knew then that she'd be alone in life forever and that she'd never want to settle for anyone else.

End Notes: Now, let us know what you thought! Please!