Hey! Sorry this one took me a little longer to write, I had Fall break so that slowed my writing speed a bit. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, it's a little on the long side!

Bella's first time running with Red without the company of Jonathan or Martha took place on a half moon. Not four months had passed since the attack and the two of them were still working out their coordination and relationship. Martha thought a run alone together would do them well. At the half moon, they wouldn't be a real danger to anyone and Red only stood an inch taller than a regular wolf so they wouldn't stick out. Everything should have gone well if not for an argument breaking out between Bella and Red.

What it was about, neither can remember, but it ended with them being hit by a car. Red was the only reason she didn't die that night. Waking up the morning after had since reigned as the second most painful time in her life.

What could she say? Getting run over by a car sucked.

Which was why Bella's first assumption upon waking up was that a semi-truck had hit her and dragged her under all eighteen wheels.

What the hell happened? Bella asked, not even daring to open her eyes. Her head pounded. Red stayed quiet. Red? What happened? Red whined.

Got into fight.

With what? A monster truck? Red barked a laugh but quieted when the sound sent a spike of pain through Bella's skull.

Person.

Pft, yeah right. Who could do this to us? Bella hesitated after asking, not sure she wanted to know. On one hand, if what Red said was true, they were likely dead. Few people met a full moon werewolf and walked away. However, someone who made them hurt in the morning might have stood a fighting chance. Anything capable of fending off a werewolf was not someone she needed to meet again. Red stayed quiet. Cursing the stubbornness of wolves, Bella opened her eyes and rolled toward her phone, hissing as the movement made her head pulse and her whole torso ache.

She clicked on an all too familiar number, rolling back over and closing her eyes as the phone rang.

"Bella?" A feminine voice said.

"Hey Martha, is Jonathan there? Something happened last night," there was a shuffle, muffled voices Bella didn't even try to make out then Jonathan was greeting her.

"Are you alright?" He asked and Bella smiled at the obvious concern in his voice.

"I'm alive, feel like a semi-truck hit me, but alive."

"Were you hit by a semi?"

"Don't think so, Red says we got in a fight with a person,"

"Fight? With what? How do you feel?" His barrage of questions took her a moment to process and she could only answer one.

Bella listed off her headache and torso, throwing in the general achiness of all her muscles. The two conversed, and she waited until they included her.

"Bella, has there been anyone suspicious looking around Forks? Red eyes, maybe a few disappearing humans? Red wouldn't like them."

"Only people Red hasn't liked are the Cullen's, but they're over that now. Besides, they don't have red eyes, weird gold ones sure, but not red."

"How did you meet them?"

"They go to high school with me, they live outside of town, I think their dad works at the hospital?"

"We can rule them out then," Martha scoffed.

Bella knew by her tone she didn't like whatever they were talking about. She got the feeling the comment was more toward Jonathan than her. Still though…

"Rule them out as what?"

"Vampires, your achiness and headache sound like it bit you, I'd say you might have broken a few ribs too," Vampires? Yeah, not the Cullens.

Bella vaguely remembered learning about them not long after she turned. Other supernatural creatures was a touchy subject for the pair. Both were old and had dealt with their fair share of monsters during their time as wardens in Phoenix. Due to them, other creatures were not a big issue in the city due to them and they didn't bother her with Jonathan and Martha staying so close.

She'd never met a vampire but the Cullen's didn't fit the vibe she got from movies and internet lore. Neither did she but scary werewolf stories had a basis in facts and so to must fictional vampires.

"You probably ran into some nomads, I doubt you will have to worry about them. Even covens of vampires fear us on the full moon. I doubt they are still alive," Jonathan said.

Bella flinched thinking of them killing anything other than animals last night. Though vampires killed humans so in a way maybe she had saved lives? Red still seemed too guilty for Bella to be comfortable with the whole thing.

Jonathan and Martha chatted with her for a while longer, asking her mundane questions about school and how she was settling in. By the end of the call, Bella felt mildly better, Red working hard to heal her. Hanging up, Bella took her time getting out of bed. Every aspect of her ached, but it was workable.

The walk to the bathroom took far longer than Bella remembered and not for the first time Bella thanked whoever was up there that Charlie was out fishing today so he wouldn't see her like this and ask questions.

Upon reaching the bathroom Bella looked in the mirror, wincing at the purplish bruises under her eyes.

Broken nose?

Red whined in response.

She stripped, wanting to see what other damage remained. She felt as good as she looked. Her torso was a mass of black and blue bruises. A distinctive bite mark in the shape of a human mouth marred her shoulder, leaving the area sore. So for sure a vampire. Wonderful. While not bleeding or showing signs of infection, the wound hadn't healed.

Bad venom making us slow. Tiring. Trying best. Red said, taking in the wounds.

I'm sure you are. Just don't pick a fight with a vampire next full moon. Red perked up at her teasing tone, happy she wasn't too mad at them and assuring her they wouldn't.

Smiling, Bella hoped in the shower, letting the hot water relieve the tension. Red moved through her, working to heal but they were sluggish, uncoordinated. Red hit damaged areas as much as they fixed them. After the third yelp, Bella hastened her shower time.

Several apologies from Red later, Bella hopped out of the shower. The bruises under her eyes had faded to a lighter shade of blue. Her torso could not say the same.

Bella dabbed around the bite wound and wrapped it in some gauze, not wanting it to become infected before Red could heal it. Tomorrow her bruises would look better if Red's prediction for when the venom would wear off was correct. Good, it would be awkward to show up to the Cullens covered in bruises, especially the ones on her nose.

Heading downstairs, Bella pulled out a pack of roast beef, opening it up and eating the contents. Red grumbled about it not being fresh, but they both needed the energy and Bella was in no state to shift again. Polishing off the package, Bella tossed it and grabbed a Tupperware of leftover mashed potatoes. As it heated, Bella made an ice pack. She brought it and the Tupperware to the couch, curling up to watch tv as she ate.

Red left her alone mostly, diligent in their task of fixing them up. Exhaustion caught up to her quickly and upon finishing up the potatoes, Bella turned off the tv. She wrote a note telling Charlie she'd be sleeping when he came back and to not wake her, placing it next to his own note before going back upstairs. She settled down on her back and built her pillows up around her to keep herself from moving too much. Hissing at the aching, Red turned their attention to her. A wave of calm spread through her as Red curled around her consciousness, humming her gently to sleep.

Sunday came early. Jittery nerves saw the clock blinking an unholy six am.

Sleeping all day yesterday does not mean we wake up early today.

Bored. Run? Still dark?

Absolutely not. I'm still sore from Friday. Red whined but left her alone. Warmth flooded her chest, easing the aching muscles and bones.

Thanks, bud. A rush of affection from Red had Bella smiling and shaking her head. Stupid, lovable dog.

Charlie's strong heartbeat thudded from his room down the hall. Bella stood and tiptoed toward the bathroom. Didn't need him waking up and seeing her if Red hadn't finished healing her face. Red growled and Bella mouthed along to their offended rant.

Their offense had a reason. The light buzzed and flickered as it warmed up but it illuminated her unbruised face. Her ribs were not in the same state. Still, a blue-green color was better than they'd been. The bite on her shoulder was probably the least improved. Considering a scary venomous monster of the night had bitten her there, it was doing well.

Complimenting Red on their work, Bella threw her shirt back on and slipped downstairs. Eggs sounded good. Ooh and bacon.

Halfway through opening the bacon package and nearly drooling at the prospect of eating it, Bella realized Red was messing with their cravings.

Too late now.

Can't stop me from cooking it.

Charlie stumbled downstairs to a full coffee pot, a plate of eggs and a mountain of bacon.

"Pancakes will be ready in a couple minutes!" Bella smiled and waved.

"You're... chipper," Charlie said.

He reached blindly for a mug that Bella already had in hand.

"Early bird catches the worm, plus I slept all day yesterday so," no need to add in the hungry dog in her head helping her move at such a cursed time. The clock didn't even read eight yet.

Charlie grunted and drank his coffee, grabbing a plate and digging into the small feast Bella had prepared. Bella ignored Red's complaints at him eating their food and plated up the last of ten pancakes. Setting them down at the table, Bella almost missed Charlie's surprise.

"Think you made enough?"

No.

"I'm a little hungry," Bella scratched the back of her head and chewed on a piece of bacon. Charlie nodded, and they descended into silence.

Scrapping the syrup off her plate, Bella looked up in surprise when Charlie cleared his throat.

"You have any plans today?"

"Yeah, I'm going over to the Cullen's house. Jasper and I need to work on a government project," huh guess telling Charlie that had slipped her mind. Awkward and unfortunate. Worry gnawed at her but was unfounded, Charlie beamed at her words.

"The Cullen's you say? That's a good bunch of kids, glad you're getting to work with one. People say a lot of things about that family so it's good you're not listening," Charlie seemed to get fired up at the mere thought of people saying something bad about the Cullens. Well to be fair, Bella would have a few choice words if someone said anything rude.

"When are you heading over?" Charlie's question caught Bella off guard. It was a... good question. One she should have thought of like two days ago. Alice said morning, right?

"I don't know?" Bella said, regretting every choice in life she'd made to bring her to such a precarious point. She didn't even have the address. Or a phone number.

Charlie chuckled at her expression.

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out and if you need anything, let me know. Maybe I can get in touch with the good doctor for you. Thanks for breakfast, this was nice," he gestured to the table at large.

Bella's heart filled with emotion. He seemed so happy at the simple act and his willingness to help might just salvage her day. This breakfast thing might have to become more regular. Charlie grabbed both of their plates and ran the sink.

"Yeah, no problem," Bella said and slunk back upstairs to figure out what to do. As much as she appreciated Charlie's offer, she wanted to think up her own way of fixing this mistake. First, she messed up with Edward now this. They'd really think she hated them if she kept going on this path which is why she wanted to figure it out. Bella flopped face first onto her bed and hissed as her ribs throbbed. What a dumb idea. A nuzzle against her consciousness from Red was enough to make Bella smile.

Someone is lovey-dovey today.

Red barked and moved closer, offering her all the comfort they could give. With a sigh, Bella got up and went to her closet. She'd figure this out and it would start with her getting ready.

Though her closet hardly had anything good. Damn the Cullens for always having nice clothes. The closest thrift shop was in Port Angeles and she hadn't been able to look there for many non-plaid related clothes yet. Red helped her reluctantly decide on a comfortable green sweater over a t-shirt and khaki pants. Their use of the word studious both convinced Bella to wear the outfit and compliment Red for their expanding vocab.

Ten o'clock rolled around as Bella packed her bag. A doorbell ringing made her pause and stick her head out her door.

"Oh, hello Chief Swan!" A chipper voice said. Alice. Bella heard her introduce herself and the accompanying southern drawl. She rushed to the top of the stairs to see two Cullen's standing in the doorway.

"Alice, Jasper,"

"Bella! We realized we never gave you our address," Alice laughed at the mistake. Bella felt a rush of relief. They didn't blame her for the mix-up.

"I thought of that this morning too."

"If you're ready, we can drive ya over. If that's alright with you Chief," Jasper said grinning easily.

"Course, Bella are you-?" He trailed off.

"I still gotta get my bag," she pointed down the hall.

"Take as long as you'd like, can we come in?" Alice directed the second part at Charlie and Bella didn't stick around for the answer though she heard the pair walk into the living room. She finished throwing her notebooks into a bag and grabbed a pen. Did she need anything else?

Just school project? All you need. Red was right. Throwing on her bag and taking one last glance at the mirror, Bella ran downstairs.

Tripping on the stairs did not help her already short air supply and really it was not Bella's fault. Last she remembered there were twelve stairs, not thirteen. The ground came up too fast, Red and Bella yelping in surprise. Cold hands on her shoulders steadied her.

"Hey now, easy there," Jasper said smiling down at her. The bite on her shoulder burned and Bella had to suppress a wince. He'd saved her from falling, not his fault if he hit her vampire bite. He wouldn't even know such a thing possible.

"You all right?"

"Yeah, thanks, sorry I'm so clumsy," Bella laughed it off and straightened herself, trying to take in deep breaths to calm her racing heart without looking strange or causing more pain. Alice and Charlie stood in the doorway to the living room, watching them.

"Good catch, try not to slip on your day out," Charlie said.

"Don't worry Chief, even if she does our father will be home and he can patch her up. We'll take good care of her and have her home before dinner."

"Thanks, Alice, alright well scram all of you. I got a date with the tv and I'm already late."

"Bye Dad."

"Bye Bells," they waved, and the door shut behind Jasper.

On the side of the street sat the shiny silver Volvo the Cullens drove to school every day. Red wagged their tail at the sight and barked as she slid into the backseat, Alice in the drivers.

"Have a good sleep day?" Jasper asked as Alice sped onto the street.

"Oh yeah, slept most of the day," she wouldn't have if not for renegade vampires. Oh, what was she talking about? Yes, she would. The full moon shifts took a lot of energy.

"Really? That must be nice," Jasper said smiling over at Alice. She threw him a look Bella had no hope of deciphering. Jasper placed his hand over Alice's a cute gesture Bella would coo at if in a movie. To be in love and know someone so well. Maybe they'd have that someday. Red chuffed.

The three of them settled into a comfortable silence, Bella watching the trees fly past them at a too fast pace. In no time at all, the car slowed and turned down a road Bella didn't even see till they were already speeding down it. Even with directions, Bella wouldn't have found their street on her own.

A mile down the trees parted and Bella sucked in a breath. A house, or maybe mansion was a better term, rose out of the field. Light wood and windows, oh so many windows, were there any real walls? Bella was no connoisseur of fine architecture but she was sure this had to be in the top ten most beautiful houses in the world.

"Welcome to Casa de Cullen," Alice said as she parked in the front driveway. Bella, speechless, got out of the car and stared up in wonder.

"It's beautiful," she breathed. The word didn't do the sight justice.

"Tell that to Esme, she's done a lot of work to make this place our home." Alice tugged on her sleeve, snapping Bella out of her stupor.

Isn't it wonderful? She asked Red, but they remained silent, sulking near the back of her mind as they had been since they turned down the Cullen's road. Huh, would have thought they'd be jumping at the possibility of seeing honey-boy. Well, she wouldn't complain, she could act normal around him, maybe fix the horrible impression she'd left on Wednesday.

A man and a woman, both as gorgeous as all the others under their roof, stood in the foyer. He was tall and blonde, pale as the rest of them but with an older look. Like someone who'd seen everything yet the kind smile on his face set her at ease. The woman's caramel hair framed an equally tender face that seemed thrilled to see her. She reminded Bella of her mother or Martha. All of them gave off the same loving vibe.

"Bella, these are our adoptive parents, Carlisle and Esme," Alice introduced both though Bella could have made an educated guess as to who they were.

"It's so nice to meet you, I've heard quite a bit already," Esme said smiling at her.

"All good things I hope," Bella said, rubbing her arm. Esme laughed and Carlisle grinned, stepping closer. He looked from Bella to the two behind her, addressing all of them.

"Of course. Feel free to make yourself at home. A friend of one of us is a friend to all and more than welcome in our house. I made Rose clear off the dining room table for you two to work on whenever you wish."

"I think we'll start now, get somethin done before someone distracts us."

"We can give you a tour later, during a break if that's fine with you?" Alice asked and Bella could only nod. She hadn't even been expecting a tour, granted she hadn't been expecting a house like this, but she certainly would not argue with anything they said.

They bid Esme, Alice and Carlisle farewell and Jasper led her down a hallway and up a small flight of stairs. Bella continued to marvel at the simple elegance of the house as they delved deeper. Questions for her future tour already buzzed in her head, Red adding in their own but staying fairly quiet.

The dining room was a light and open area. A large oval table dominated the space, surrounded by glass giving a spectacular view of the backyard. Bella wandered over to it, amazed. She still missed the brown of Phoenix but the sight questioned her disdain for the greenery of Forks.

"Marvelous isn't it?" Jasper asked, coming to stand next to her.

"The woods look beautiful from here," she replied. Her eyes landed on several of the trees near the forest line. Two right along the edge had fallen, wood splinters littering the ground. Seeing where her eyes had taken her, Jasper answered before she could even ask a question.

"We had a nasty storm blow through not too long ago. Took out a few trees and damaged the house too," how awful. A house this beautiful didn't deserve to be damaged. Bella couldn't help thinking the trees looked like something large had run into them but storm a storm could have caused the damage. Jasper drew her attention away and banished the thought from her mind.

They worked together with ease, bouncing ideas for court cases off one another until they decided on the perfect three. Hopefully, only a few people would choose them. Jasper seemed confident no one would. Descending into silence to work out ideas for approaching the cases was rougher than Bella imagined. The silence of the house was deafening, didn't seven people live here? Maybe they weren't all at home.

Red, let me hear something. I'm going mad.

No need, quiet good.

Really? You're saying that? I'm calling BS, give me my hearing.

Jasper be loud.

Don't care, you can turn it down when he talks again.

Effort.

What is your deal? Let me hear. Bella's irritation grew at each of Red's attempts to dodge her request. It shouldn't be a big deal. The full moon was two days ago, so hearing heartbeats wouldn't make them that hungry. A rush of calm ran through her but it only pissed Bella off even more. Red would not mix up their emotions to win.

Whining, Red relented in the face of her anger. Bella ducked her head to hide her triumphant smile from Jasper, only to immediately wince.

Seven distinct heartbeats thudded from around the house, all far too loud. The sound seemed to press in on her own head and her own blood seemed to pump to their jilting beat.

Hilarious, you know this isn't what I meant.

You asked.

Shut it. The uncomfortably loud heartbeats faded but the sound of birds outside and Jasper's breathing stayed.

Bella looked up to see if Jasper had noticed her odd behavior throughout their little argument. Poor boy seemed to have other issues besides her though. His pen had broken, spilling ink all over his notebook. Footsteps coming into the room cut her off before she could ask what happened, Emmett clicking his tongue at Jasper's ruined notebook.

"I say you take that as a sign," Emmett said, coming to stand near Bella.

"A sign to what?"

"Stop, enjoy the day, there's more to life than hitting the books I hope you know."

"Yeah and more than watching anime too,"

"Ouch, well you're not even the one I wanted to talk to. Bella, now that Jazz can't work, do you wanna play a video game with me?" Bella glanced at Jasper, unsure how she should answer. He shrugged.

"A break's probably in order, can't do much with his," he gestured to the notebook.

"Alright! I got the ultimate racing game pulled up, let's go," Emmett beamed and Bella laughed at his enthusiasm. Esme entered the room, shaking her head at Emmett's antics and stopping next to Jasper, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It's past noon, are you hungry Bella? Carlisle and I made Alfredo." Her posture straightened at her words and her smile widened. Bella wondered if it was a new dish for her to make. Her shift showed a level of pride and Bella found it adorable. She would take Esme up on the offer after she took care of one thing first.

"That sounds great, but is there a bathroom I could use?"

"Up the stairs and down the hall, on your left," Alice chirped, Bella almost missing her too light footsteps.

Well, this was turning into quite the party.

Bella thanked her and left before more people came in and claimed her attention. Following Alice's instructions, Bella found the bathroom without trouble and took care of her business. She pulled up her shirt and frowned at the still slow progress on her ribs. At least the edges were more yellow than they'd been in the morning. Music caught her attention as she washed her hands. It was beautiful and familiar, in a way she couldn't quite place. She couldn't help following the sound, letting it wash over her and calm what minor nerves she had.

The music came from a room right down the hall from the bathroom; the door closed. She ran through a mental list of the Cullen's she had seen to place who could be beyond the door. Four had just been downstairs with her and she knew from Jasper that two others were not in their rooms. That left one. The one she longed to see the most and never wanted to set eyes on again. One bad impression was bad enough, a shiver went through her thinking about messing up again. But she'd never get over the bad if she didn't even try.

Bella stood outside the door, hand raised just listening to the sweet music. She couldn't quite place it, the names of old composers escaping her despite her appreciation. If she knocked, she could ask. That would make for a good transition into what she wanted to say. Taking a fortifying breath, Bella knocked on the door.

Honey-boy, no Edward, answered not a second later. Red hummed in her ear and Bella would give them credit for her heart skipping a beat. It was not because he was very pretty, beautiful even.

"I heard your music," Bella said, half focused on Red to gauge their reaction. All this would be for naught if they acted up. Red huffed and reminded her of their promise to behave.

"You like Debussy?" Edward said pulling Bella's focus back to him.

How could she have forgotten that name!

"Yes, yes I do, Clair de Lune?"

She recognized the lilting music as one of Debussy's few works her mother would play on her old record player while they cleaned the house. Bella hadn't listened to the song in a long time, not since well before Red came into her life. The tune brought back memories of open windows and easy spring day both of which she would have to revisit when she wasn't attempting to apologize to a gorgeous boy for her head-mate's awful behavior.

"Mm, few people know of him."

"My mom and I listened to him around the house sometimes but she's a bigger fan of Mozart."

"He's good, but Debussy is more fun to play. Who do you prefer?" Right, he played the piano. Emmett mentioned that.

"Chopin," Edward hummed at that and Bella took it to mean he didn't disagree with her taste. Nice as this conversation was, this wasn't what she'd come to say. Red paced and despite their insistence they'd behave, Bella felt herself tensing. Get this over, nice and quick.

"I, I wanted to apologize," Bella said and her eyes slid away from his face.

"For what?" Like he didn't know. His feigned confusion was convincing, but there was no way he hadn't noticed her behavior.

"How I acted on Wednesday, I was short-tempered and you don't deserve that."

"Oh," he breathed out the word and Bella felt his eyes on her but didn't want to look up from the highly interesting spot on the floor.

"Do you mind if I ask why? You're forgiven either way," he deserved some kind of explanation but what could she say and not sound insane?

"You reminded me of someone and I wasn't expecting it, can we start over?" Bella looked up at that. If she wanted to make things right with him, then she had to put forth more effort. Either her answer or her action startled him. He stood a foot further back then she remembered, his expression entirely unreadable. Bella wondered just what ran through his head. These were the times being a mind reader would be beneficial, how else should she know if she'd done something wrong? Edward stayed silent and even Red ceased their pacing, sending confusion and some other emotion through her.

"I'm Edward Cullen," his golden eyes had narrowed, his words hesitant.

Bella had to hold back a laugh at his comment.

She had requested for them to start over. A smile, warm and kind, graced his lips and his golden eyes seemed to shine when she couldn't hold in all her amusement. Her tension melted away under his gaze, so beautiful and dare she say it, tender, but cautious. Red stayed still, letting her have this moment they'd deprived her of the first time she met Edward.

"Bella Swan," she stuck out her hand.

He took it, shocking her with its coldness and leaving her hand tingling. Red all but purred at the sensation and Bella smiled happily at their pleasure. "We have biology together, right?"

"We do, only seat available is the one next to me. Hope you're alright being my lab partner?"

"I seem to be partners with the rest of your siblings, might as well continue the trend." He laughed lightly at that and this time Bella blamed him for her heart skipping a beat.