This one's for you, KatieCullenSwan. I really tried to update sooner, but I've had some serious writer's block. I hope this was worth the wait. Thanks to everyone who submitted reviews!

Edward didn't arrive until I was nearly asleep. I was lying in bed, watching the open window. My heart leaped when I saw his pale hands grasp the ledge. He climbed in as gracefully as ever, smiling crookedly.

"Hi," he whispered.

My anger and suspicion melted into mere annoyance. I just couldn't stay mad at him for long. "Hi," I whispered back. "Have a nice evening?"

He shrugged. "Emmett, Jasper and I went hunting. I always enjoy hunting. But I'd rather be with you." He made his way to the bed and stretched out next to me on top of the blanket. He nuzzled my nose with his and gave me a soft kiss that made my heart race. "I missed you, love."

I snuggled closer to him and rested my arm across his waist. "Mmm, I missed you too," I murmured, closing my eyes and kissing him again.

"Did you?" The surprise in his voice made me frown. "What about Jacob? How was your, er, date?"

It was obvious he really didn't want to talk about it. I started to feel suspicious again. Sitting up, I drew my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. Edward sat up next to me.

"Actually, our date was interrupted a couple of times by an anonymous vampire."

"What do you mean, 'an anonymous vampire'?" Edward asked flatly.

"I mean, Jacob smelled a vampire close by, but we didn't see anyone," I explained. "Once outside while we were walking, and once inside his car."

Edward stiffened. "Someone was in Jacob's car?"

I nodded and leaned in closer, narrowing my eyes. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you?"

Hurt and shock warred on his face. "You think it was me? What, you think I was following you?"

Suddenly, I was certain it hadn't been Edward. I shrugged uncomfortably. "Well, I just thought . . . maybe . . . I know how protective you are . . ."

Edward shook his head, his eyes wounded. "I would never invade your privacy, Bella. And I don't think I could bear to see you and Jacob . . . together, like that."

Tentatively, I reached one hand out and stroked the side of his face. "I'm sorry. I was wrong to suspect you. I mean, I knew you would never break into Jacob's car, but I thought it might've been you outside."

Edward trapped my hand against his face with his own. "It's puzzling. I need to talk to Alice, see if she knows anything about it. If you had been in any danger, she would definitely have seen that, and she would have called me." His eyes met mine. "I'm sorry if your evening was ruined." His mouth twisted slightly while he spoke.

I smiled. "No, you're not."

He laughed. "Well, I'm trying to be sorry." He wrapped his arms around me and drew me down until we were lying side by side. I sighed, feeling safe in his marble embrace. He pressed a kiss against my hair. "You don't smell like Jacob. Did you take a shower when you got home?"

I could feel a blush crawling up my neck. "Yeah. I sort of had an accident and ended up covered in mud."

"Were you hurt?"

"No. Just clumsy, as usual."

"Well, you smell like yourself." He sounded relieved. "I was worried he was going to saturate you with his stink and it would be difficult to be close to you."

"We can't have that, can we?" I teased. "I'll just have to shower as soon as I come home, after I've been with Jacob."

For some reason this made Edward pause. He drew in a breath as if he meant to say something, but he didn't speak. Or breathe.

"What is it, Edward?"

"I . . . Nothing. Never mind."

I rolled over to look at him. "No, I can tell you want to say something. Or ask me something. Spit it out."

He hesitated, eyebrows scrunched together, wincing now and then as his thoughts rolled around inside his head.

"Bella, do you plan to . . . I mean, I was wondering . . . Exactly how intimate are you with Jacob?"

I started to blush furiously, my own words ringing in my ears: after I've been with Jacob. "Edward, are you asking me . . . if I'm sleeping with Jacob?"

He hesitated again, his arms tight round me. "Not exactly. I don't believe you have yet—"

"What do you mean, yet?" I screeched.

"I only meant, do you plan to?" His voice was tight. "I'm sure Jacob would be willing, and since I'm not . . ."

Stunned, I fell back and stared vacantly at the ceiling. I couldn't decide if I felt indignant or ashamed. It had never even occurred to me that Edward would wonder such a thing. There were many things I was willing to do with Jacob, but sex was not one of them. I was saving myself for Edward. Didn't he know that? Hadn't I made that clear?

Edward's arms tightened fractionally while the silence stretched on. "Bella, please answer me," he whispered hoarsely. "What are you thinking?"

Finally, I found my voice. "Edward, I'm not going to sleep with Jacob. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I was even considering it." I rolled over so I could face him again. His beautiful golden eyes almost made me lose my train of thought. I drew in a deep breath – he smelled so good! – and forced myself to focus. "I love you, Edward. I love you more. Do you understand? Do you believe me?" He hesitated for a second and gave a short nod. "I am saving myself for you. We both know that doesn't equate to saving myself for marriage, but I am most definitely saving myself for you. Okay?"

Edward held my gaze for a long moment without speaking, and then his eyes closed and his face relaxed. He sighed, burying his face in my hair. His lips brushed against my neck. "Bella, you mean more to me than anything in this world. I don't want to lose you."

"You aren't going to lose me, Edward," I whispered fiercely. I hugged him as tightly as I could. He raised his face to mine and I kissed him once, hard, on the mouth. He drew me close to his chest. We were silent for a long time, lost in our own thoughts.

"Are you asleep?" Edward asked after a while.

"No."

"Are you sleepy?"

"Not really," I replied. "Why?" I propped myself up on one elbow and peered at him, curious.

"I'd really like to talk to Alice about the vampire Jacob smelled tonight. And I'd like you to explain it to her, if you don't mind. Would it be all right if we went to my house?"

"Is Charlie asleep?"

Edward stopped and listened. A smile stretched over his face. "Either he's asleep and dreaming, or else he's just caught a sixty-pound fish in your living room."

I laughed quietly. "Jeez, you'd think he'd be more imaginative in his dreams. He does plenty of fishing in real life – couldn't he dream about having super powers or something?"

"Maybe catching fish is his super power." Edward grinned. "Maybe he's dreaming he's the Fish Whisperer."

I laughed so hard I snorted like a pig when I sucked in a breath. Instantly, I began blushing so intensely my eyes watered. Edward's quiet chuckle turned into an uncharacteristic guffaw. That made me start laughing again, and for a few minutes it was all we could do to keep quiet enough so we didn't wake Charlie. By the time our laughter ebbed away my abs were sore. I stretched out full length until my back popped, and then I bounced out of bed and began rummaging around for shoes. Edward found some first and handed them to me. As soon as they were on my feet, he swept me into his arms and leaped out the window.

"It's strange," he said as he ran, "I didn't smell anything unusual at your house, or anywhere near it. You have the impression that someone was following you tonight, but if that's true, then they only followed you while you were with Jacob. They didn't follow you home. And that doesn't make sense."

"Do you think perhaps they were following just Jacob?" I asked. "I mean, if a nomadic vampire just passing through Forks suddenly smelled a werewolf, don't you think he or she would be curious?"

Edward considered this. "I'm not sure. Even if a vampire didn't know werewolves existed, he would still recognize the scent as something not human, and not vampire. I would think that would be enough to scare him off."

"Vampires don't scare easily," I reminded him. "The only things capable of even hurting a vampire are other vampires and werewolves. And if you didn't know werewolves existed, you wouldn't realize they were a danger to you, right?"

"You have a point," he admitted. He blew out a frustrated sigh. "I wish Alice could see Jacob's future. Then we wouldn't have to speculate; we would know."

I frowned. "You don't think Jacob's in danger, do you? Maybe I should call him."

Edward laughed. "Bella, he has an entire pack to protect him. They recognize a vampire's scent and they know how to defend themselves, and how to destroy vampires. He'll be fine."

Grudgingly, I admitted this was true. I was still worried, though.

Edward began to slow down. Up ahead I could see light and I knew we were close to his house. When it came into full view, he set me on my feet and took my hand.

Esme opened the front door before we could do it ourselves. She was smiling broadly. "Hello, you two! Alice told us you were coming." She gripped my shoulders lightly and kissed my forehead. I smiled back at her. I always felt comforted by Esme's presence. Her entire being radiated a mother's warmth and kindness.

She stepped back and gestured us into the house. "Is everything all right? Alice only knew you were coming to talk to her. She couldn't see what it was about."

"Where is Alice?" Edward asked.

"Everyone is in the living room, waiting for you."

We followed Esme to the spacious living room. Alice and Jasper were sitting together on one of the cream-colored couches set on either side of a glass-topped coffee table. Rosalie sat next to Jasper; Emmett stood behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders. Carlisle sat in a large beige-upholstered chair that had ornately-carved claw feet. Edward, Esme and I all sat down together on the other couch, Esme on one side of me, Edward on the other, my hand clenched between both of his.

"Someone was following Bella and Jacob tonight," Edward announced, without preamble.

Everyone raised their eyebrows in silent question.

"Jacob smelled a vampire," I hurriedly explained. "He can't distinguish between any of your individual scents, so he couldn't be more specific. He just smelled a vampire, and we couldn't see anyone we recognized around us."

"Where were you when this happened?" Carlisle's topaz-colored eyes stared intently at mine.

"Just in town, in Forks. We were outside, walking to the movie theater when it hit him – the scent, I mean.'

"Tell them about the car," Edward interjected quietly.

Everyone's eyes flashed back to my face. I drew in a breath, feeling like I was making an announcement. "Jacob smelled it again in his car, after the movie."

Silence while everyone digested this. Carlisle's head snapped up. "Someone broke into Jacob's car?"

Edward nodded, his lips drawn into a tight line.

"Was anything stolen?" Carlisle's question was directed at me.

"Actually, I didn't even think of that," I confessed. "We didn't check. It's possible it was a burglary, but if anything was taken it wasn't something big or immediately noticeable."

"I didn't smell anything unusual at or near Bella's house," Edward added. "So whoever it was, they didn't follow her home."

"Interesting." Carlisle covered his mouth with his hand, his attention focused inward.

Rosalie spoke up. "It . . . It couldn't be one of the newborns, could it? We got them all, didn't we?" Emmett's hands clenched her shoulders, a small, tight smile on his lips. Rosalie looked up at him. "There is not going to be another fight, so just forget it."

Emmett looked sheepish. "What?" he asked innocently.

"Of course we got them all," Jasper said soothingly. "It must be something else. Maybe he made a mistake."

"Perhaps he just smelled Edward's scent on your clothes," Esme suggested hesitantly.

I shook my head. "I asked him that. He said he could smell Edward right from the start, and this was something different."

Carlisle stood. "Let's fan out, see if we can find anything – or anyone." He glanced around at his family. "Alice and Jasper, you take the north side of town. Rosalie, Emmett, take the south. Esme and I will head east. The west side borders on La Push, so we can assume Jacob's pack is patrolling that area."

"What should Edward and I do?" I asked.

"You should get some rest, Bella. We can handle this. And anyway, I really don't believe it's that serious." He nodded at Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett, who stood and headed for the door. Carlisle took Esme's hand and followed. They all left so quickly I didn't have a chance to say anything else.

When they were gone, Edward stood and picked me up, cradling me in his arms. "Let's get you back to bed," he said, smiling to reassure me. I managed a small smile in return.

The trip back to my house was faster, and silent. Edward leaped back through my open window and set me on my bed. I kicked off my shoes and snuggled down with him, still deep in thought. Something was bothering me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Edward sang my lullaby and stroked my face until I began to drift off into an uneasy sleep.

My thoughts were starting to dissipate like smoke. One last tendril clung to my mind, but I was already mostly asleep. I hoped I would remember it in the morning, because I'd just realized what was wrong.

Alice hadn't said a word.

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